Unveiling Ceremony of the War Memorial -1925
Order of Service for the unveiling of the War Memorial - 1925
This unique document is the order of service used by the Mayor of Wigan, JM Ainscough, on the day. It includes the text of his speech; you can even see some of his hand-written amendments.
He was standing in for The Earl of Crawford but read a letter from him, the text of which is included.
The speech is an interesting bit of social history. It refers to the huge difficulties the coal industry is experiencing. There is a reference to General Lawrence, who performs the unveiling, being part of a Royal Commission to look at the future of mining.
The commission will confer on the side with the colliery owners and recommend a pay cut for miners.
This precipitated the General Strike the following year.
Courtesy of Anne Hurst and Jim Meehan.
This is part of the Anne Hurst Collection:-