Warrington U3A

History

In February Alan Hayhurst gave a talk on the improvements in detection techniques. In the 19th Century it was very difficult to prove a person's identity and, in cases such as that of the Titchborne Claimant the personal identifications provided by witnesses was the only evidence available. This all changed with the development of fingerprinting which was first used in 1858, quickly followed by improved methods of identifying poison found in a victim's body. The next step was the identification by blood group which led ultimately to the DNA identification of suspects which has conclusively proved the guilt of certain criminals even years after their crime has been committed. A famous case where DNA has proved guilt is that of James Hanratty, the A6 killer, now conclusively proven guilty by new DNA techniques, of a particularly nasty crime that a number of people who should have known better, have tried to prove he did not commit.

Our March speaker was Evelyn Vidgeon who gave a talk on the history of Eccles Cakes. The first reference to Eccles cakes was noted at a wake in the 1780s. A man named James Birch was the first to sell Eccles Cakes on a commercial basis. He was a baker and corn-miller who set up a shop opposite the Grapes Hotel, Eccles. By 1822 the fame of the delicacy had spread around the world. A rival shop run by William Bradburn soon opened and there was great rivalry between the two. A total of 9,000 cakes were baked daily and distributed all round the area It is difficult to establish the exact ingredients of a true Eccles cake although a copy of the original recipe held in Eccles Local History Library is believed to include 9 lbs of dust! Eccles cakes are known to have been baked in the trenches during World War 1 and remain extremely popular today.

With no meeting in April due to a clash with Maundy Thursday, our next speaker at the May meeting was Margaret Curry who gave an illustrated talk on Beatrix Potter. She traced Beatrix's family connections - she was descended on her father's side from Edmund Potter, a calico printer from Hyde. Her mother's family name was Leech and came from a textile family in Duckinfield who lived on the Gorse Hall Estate in Stalybridge, where it is still possible to do a Heritage Walk which contains sculptures representing Squirrel Nutkin and Peter Rabbit. Beatrix was born in late July 1866 and was not liked by her mother so was largely brought up and educated by her various governesses. The family spent many holidays in Scotland and the Lake District and it was there that Beatrix studied the animals whom she later developed as the central characters of her stories.

Our June speaker was Sam Wright who told us a number of fascinating stories under the title "Stranger than Fiction but True". Mr Wright attended conferences addressed by ex-members of various countries' Intelligence Services and he told us many instances where the truth has been suppressed or manipulated in the interests of Government and big business. Before Labour's spin doctors began their corrosive work I might have had difficulty believing some of it but now I can quite easily accept Mr Wright's theory that we are only told what Government thinks we ought to know.
Stranger than fiction it was indeed!

In February we visited the "Fashion v Sport" exhibition at Liverpool's Walker Art Gallery. Divided into four sections, Dare, Display, Play and Desire, the exhibition looks at a range of styles that link fashion to sport. For example, Desire looks at sportswear obsessives who own hundreds of pairs of trainers. There was a collection of different styles of hood including some which featured elephant trunks when drawn fully over the head. I thought nobody would ever wear something like that only to find when watching a College soccer match some three weeks later that half my fellow spectators, mostly students were wearing them!

March saw us visit Manchester Town Hall where we looked into the Council Chamber, saw the Great Hall with its murals depicting Manchester's development through the Centuries and saw the wall listing those awarded Freeman of the City Status for their achievements. We went to look at the City's Silver Collection and finished up in the cobbled Courtyard where many TV and film scenes have been shot. Our April visit was to the Working Class Movement Library in Salford. The library contains a unique collection of books, pamphlets, banners, cartoons, newsletters and other ephemera relating to all aspects of working class life from the 1760's to the present day. The struggle to obtain decent working conditions and proper recognition for the ordinary working men and women of this country has been faithfully preserved in the treasure trove of memorabilia.

Report by Joan and Gerald Hudd

Group Leader: Gerald