1965 (29 Jan) Jack Hylton (1892 – 1965), English pianist, composer, band leader and impresario, died.
Del Shannon
Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders
Herman's Hermits
Just Four Men
Jerry Stevens
Dodie West
The Soul Savages featuring Paul Dean
The Dollies
Zephyrs
Promoter - Peter Walsh
1965 (20 Mar) Del Shannon played Bolton Odeon
1965 (6 Apr) Andrew Francis Walker, Scottish former footballer, born in Glasgow.
1965 (9 May) England manager Alf Ramsay gave Alan Ball Jr his international debut for England in a 1-1 draw with Yugoslavia in Belgrade
1965 (14 May) The Moody Blues at Beachcomber Club, Bolton, England.
1965 (21 May) The Walker Brothers played Bolton Odeon.
This tour was initially headlined by the Kinks and the Yardbirds. The Kinks left the tour after Dave Davies and the drummer Mick Avory had a fight onstage at the Capitol Cinema, Cardiff. Davies needed hospital treatment.They were replaced by the Walker Brothers for the final four dates. The Yardbirds left the tour to fulfil prior bookings in Scotland
The Kinks
The Yardbirds
Walker Brothers
The Hollies
Goldie & The Gingerbreads
Jeff & Jon
Riot Squad
Val McKenna
Bob Bain (compere)
Promoter : Arthur Howes
1965 (1 Jun) Nigel David Short, British chess player, born in Leigh
Studied at Bolton School. Was a member of Bolton Chess Club
1965 (1 Jul) The section of railway line Bolton No.2 to Plodder Lane (Highfield Siding) (goods) closed
1965 (Jul) Ron Hill set a world record for fifteen miles at 72:48.2 at Bolton
1965 (Jul) Ron Hill set a world record for 25 kilometres at 75.22.6 at Bolton
1965 (14 Aug) The section of railway line Bolton Great Moor St. to Bolton No.1
(goods) closed
1965 (27 Sep) The railway station at Horwich closed
The last passenger train departed hauled by 2-6-4T number 42626
1965 (Sep) A RAF De Havilland Chipmunk flew into Winter Hill in cloud, without serious injury to the crew
1965 (16 Dec) Battle of the Bulge had its world premiere, the 21st anniversary of the battle, at the Pacific Cinerama Dome Theatre in Hollywood, California.
Robert Shaw played Colonel Hessler.
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1965 The Queens Hotel and the Brown Cow on Bradshawgate both closed in 1965
1965 Clothing chain Stolen from Ivor: Founder Ivor Hazan (born c.1948) opened his first boutique on the King Street West in Manchester city centre in 1965
1965 Frank Finlay nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor as Iago in Othello
1965 Halliwell’s Filmgoers Companion first published
1965 Railway from Great Moor St to Daubhill, Chequerbent, Atherton and Leigh ceased all operation. [[The last goods train to use Crook Street Goods Yard was in 1967, the line from Atherton remaining open as far as Hulton Sidings until January 1969. William Nightingale]]
1965 When it was decided to build the Bolton Institute Of Technology (now the University Of Bolton) on a site bounded by Deane Road, Derby Street and John Street it meant the end for a small community of houses, shops and factories that stood in Kirk Street – which was badly damaged in a Zeppelin bombing raid on Bolton in 1916 – Ebenezer Street, James Street, Roundcroft Street, Bethel Street, Liptrot Street and Ardwick Street. All were demolished in 1965 so the BIT could be built and the redevelopment also saw a number of pubs demolished. These were mainly on Deane Road and Derby Street but there was one, the Roundcroft Tavern, that stood off both main roads at number 50 James Street.
1965 The Britannia closed in 1965.
1965 The Bridgewater, Manchester Road, closed in 1965 and was soon demolished.
1965 Permission was granted in 1965 for the Farnworth and Kearsley By-Pass and building began almost immediately.
1965 Roy Greaves scored twice in his league debut against Southampton in 1965.
1965-1966 Charles Henry Lucas – Mayor of Bolton.
1965–1980 Roy Greaves (Bolton Wanderers) scored 66 goals in 495 appearances
1966 (16 Feb) The Who played the Beachcomber, Bolton
1966 (Jun) The Queen’s Cinema closed June 1966.
1966 (Summer) John Byrom was signed in the summer of 1966 by near neighbours Bolton Wanderers for £25,000. Originally signed to partner Francis Lee and Wyn Davies, when both players quickly left, Byrom became the senior striker. As Bolton moved between the second and third divisions of English football, he scored 130 goals in his ten years at Burnden Park, including twenty when Bolton won the Third Division title in 1973, before moving back to Blackburn for a final season,
1966 (30 Jul) Alan James Ball Jr was the youngest member of England’s World Cup winning team and was made Man of the Match in the final following his performance
1966 (30 Jul) Kenneth Wolstenholme, former Farnworth Grammar schoolboy, commentates on the FIFA World Cup which included the famous phrase “They think it’s all over”, as Geoff Hurst lashed in the clinching fourth goal.
Alan Ball had also attended the same school some years later.
1966 (20-27 Aug) The 1966 European Aquatics Championships were held in Utrecht, Netherlands from 20 to 27 August 1966. Titles were contested in swimming, diving and water polo (men).
1966 (Aug) Alan Ball Jr sold by Blackpool to Everton for a fee of £112,000
1966 (7 Oct) Johnny Kidd, British rock and roll performer, was killed in a road accident near Bolton in Lancashire when he and his latest batch of Pirates were driving away after a performance.
1966 (7 Oct) On October 7, 1966, Johnny Kidd died in a car accident on the A58, Bury New Road, Breightmet, near Radcliffe, Lancashire. He was only 30-years-old. Kidd was traveling as the passenger in a car that experienced a head-on collision. He was killed instantly in the crash and was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium, London. The Pirates’ bassist Nick Simper, who later became an original member of Deep Purple, was also in the car with Kidd and suffered a broken arm.
Johnny Kidd (aka Frederick Heath) died auto-wrecked gig-wards on the A58 to Radcliffe, Lancs, near the junction of Ainsworth Hall Road, 9pm Saturday 7th October 1966. His Cortina GT, driven by Wilf Irshwood, husband of his Fan Club secretary, also carried Nick Simper, a Pirate who survived the head-on impact and went on to form Deep Purple. Seventeen-year-old Helen Read in the Mini approaching from the opposite direction was also killed…
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1966 (Nov) Lostock Junction railway station was closed by the Beeching cuts.
1966 (10 Dec) Pink Floyd played Rivington Hall, Bolton Art College, Bolton, England (Winter Bolton Art College Ball)
1966 (12 Dec) “A Man for All Seasons” released (U.S. premiere)
1966 (18 Dec) The film “The Family Way” premiered in London
Directed by Roy Boulting. Written by Bill Naughton, Roy Boulting and Jeffrey Dell. It starred Hayley Mills and Hywel Bennett.
1966 (22 Dec) The Gala Charity Premiere of “The Family Way” was held at the ABC on 22nd December 1966 with the stars of the film Hayley Mills and Hywel Bennett and others who appeared in the film; Avril Angers, Marjorie Rhodes and Liz Fraser all appeared ‘in person’ together with its director Roy Boulting. The film was filmed on location locally.
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1966 (Dec) The Trotters pub opened in December 1966.
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1966 In 1966 Stolen from Ivor became the first store in the north of England to stock Levis jeans, which then cost £2.37 a pair.
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1966 The former Horse and Vulcan /part of the enlarged Joseph Foster premises, the Olympic works, was demolished in 1966 to make way for the Bolton Institute Of Technology. It was situated on Deane Road in the block between Ebenezer Street and John Street.
1966 Frontage of Great Moor Street Station demolished. Whole site levelled early 1970s
1966 Bull and Wharf, Church Wharf, demolished in preparation for St Peter’s Way
1966 Arndale partly complete, partly under construction, buildings on corner of Hotel Street, Mealhouse Lane have been demolished in preparation for M&S extension (still there 1957).
1966 The One Horseshoe, Manor Street, closed down
1966 There were 34 mills
1966 Merton Mill, Oriel Street/Adelaide Street: Bolton demolished
1966 Bolton Great Moor Street station was demolished.
1966 The Brazil team, including Pele, used Bolton Wanderers’ training facilities at Bromwich Street, for the World Cup in England.
The training ground is a housing estate now
1966 Smithills Coaching House restaurant established.
1966 Zakariyya Jaame Masjid was established in 1966 being the first Masjid in Bolton and one the First in the UK. It is one of the most recognised Masjids in the UK and around the world. This masjid was at the heart of the great beloved scholar of the last century Hazrat Maulana Zakariya (RA) hence the Masjid was named after him.
1966 The Northern Mill Engine Society formed
1966 The Lord Nelson, 121 Derby Street, was demolished in 1966.
1966 The Kay Street Arms closed in 1966.
1966 Pauline Sillett (born 1949) won two bronze medals at the 1966 European Aquatics Championships.
1966 Robert Shaw nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as a young Henry VIII in A Man For All Seasons.
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1966 The Trotters on Bradshawgate, built in 1966.
1966-1970 Hamish Thompson attended Bolton County Grammar School.
1966–1976 John Byrom (Bolton Wanderers) scored 113 goals in 304 appearances.
1967 (14 Apr) The Jimi Hendrix Experience concert at Odeon Theatre, Bolton, England from the First European Tour 1967 Tour.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience perform two shows at the Odeon Cinema in Bolton, Great Manchester as part of the ‘package tour’ alongside The Walker Brothers, Cat Stevens, Engelbert Humperdinck, The Californians, The Quotations
Jayne Mansfield attended the concert
1967 (30 Apr) Family at Beachcomber Club, Bolton, England
1967 (14 May) Family at Cromwellian, Bolton, England
1967 (21 Jun) Wednesday :The Pink Floyd played for the Bolton College of Art Midsummer Ball in the Rivington Barn near Chorley and Horwich in Lancashire. Support: The Chasers, The Northside Six
1967 (6 Sep) Paul Anthony Joseph Moulden, English former footballer, born in Farnworth, near Bolton, Lancashire Played for Manchester City, Bournemouth, Oldham Athletic and Birmingham City as a striker.
1967 (3 Oct) Julian Timothy Darby, English former professional footballer who played as a defender and midfielder from 1986 until 2001, born.
1967 (20 Oct) Monica Ali, author, born in Dhaka, Bangladesh
Moved to Bolton at the age of three. She went to Bolton School.
1967 (26 Oct) The Herd at Palais, Bolton, England
1967 (Oct) Manchester City manager Joe Mercer signed Bolton’s Francis Lee for £60,000, setting a club record transfer fee.
1967 (27 Nov) Octagon Theatre, Bolton, opened by Princess Margaret
The building was designed by Geoffrey H Brooks, Bolton’s Director of Architecture, and was constructed for the sum of £95,000 using money raised by public subscription. It was the first professional theatre to be built in North-West England following World War II
The first production was Annie and Fanny by local playwright Bill Naughton.
1967 (1 Dec) Philip John Parkinson, English professional football manager and former player who managed Championship club Bolton Wanderers, born.
1967 (21 Dec) The Farnworth and Kearsley By-Pass opened on 21 December 1967.
1967 Fred Dibnah bought 121 Radcliffe Road in Bolton in 1967 for £5,000. A Grade II listed former park keeper’s lodge, the building is known as “Two Cats” locally because of the coat of arms of the Earl of Bradford on one of the gables features two leopards and is said to have been built in 1854.
1967 Blinkhorn’s chimney in Bradley Fold was demolished in 1967
1967 The Regent Cinema was closed in 1967, and was demolished later that year together with the Gladstone Hotel.
1967 Fort Vale was founded in 1967 by Edward S. Fort, O.B.E., manufacturing parts for the fuel oil delivery industry.
1967 Lostock Electrical Projects was established in 1967 by Brian Nutter and James Simm to manufacture electrical switchboards and motor control centres. In 2002 Horwich electronic laboratories was purchased and incorporated into the parent company.
1967 Whitbread took over Threlfall’s in 1967
1967-68 Manchester City won the Football League Championship
Francis Lee scored 16 League goals in 31 appearances
1967 Alan Bannister, professional basket ball player, born
He attended Rivington and Blackrod School
Played in the US NBA for Utah Jazz.
At 7ft 4in almost certainly the tallest Boltonian
1967 Horwich Railway Station closed
1967 Nat Lofthouse appointed chief coach at the club in 1967.
1967 Bolton Evening News named as the country’s best-designed newspaper
1967 Hylda Baker (born 1905) made her legitimate West End début at the Vaudeville Theatre as the clumsy usherette in Charles Wood's play Fill the Stage with Happy Hours.
1968 (16 Apr) Brackley Pit Tragedy Tuesday 16th April 1968 Three girls and a fireman died today in a disused mine at Brackley Colliery, near Bolton (Lancs). They were believed to have been overcome by gas. The girls were Susan Shaw aged 12, Lorna Shaw aged 10 sisters of Silverdale Road, Farnworth and Sheila Watson aged 13 of Derwent Road, Farnworth. The dead fireman was leading fireman Jack Liptrott of Devon Street, Bolton. Two other firemen were also overcome by fumes received hospital treatment and made a full recovery. A police officer said it appeared that the girls were playing in the colliery grounds and had squeezed through a small cavity into the entrance to the mine shaft. Two boys raised the alarm. Firemen used sledgehammers to knock a hole in the brickwork at the shaft entrance to reach the girls. A fireman was overcome by gas while making an attempt to rescue the girls after they were trapped.
Susan and Lorna were visiting their friends house Sheila Watson on Derwent Road, Farnworth. They decided to go out and play as the sun was out and so off, they went. Sheila's brother Keith (10yrs old) was also at the house that day with his friend Glen Lawton (also 10yrs old). As the girls went off across the fields, Keith and Glen followed them secretly, until the girls eventually saw the boys and took them along to a secret den the girls had found. The girls led them to the disused drift mine at Brackley Colliery which had closed 4yrs earlier. There was an opening in the bricks which allowed the children to see into the mine, and a further hole in the roof of the brick work which was easily large enough for the children to climb down into the entrance of the mine, on to an old table type wooden structure. Once they were all inside the mine, one of the girls started to walk down into the tunnel but, this in itself would of stirred up the heavier then air gas laying on the ground, as she stepped maybe only a few feet she was very quickly overcome by fumes of black damp (the dreaded gas of miners) and collapsed to the ground, a second girl attempted to reach her friend but was also overcome by the fumes of the deadly gas, bravely the youngest of the girls also attempted to rescue her friend and sister, but was also overcome by the fumes. Keith and Glen watched in horror as all three girls collapsed to the ground, they climbed out as quickly as possible and ran home to get help. Once they finally made it home Keith told his mother what had happened, who quickly rang the emergency services for help. A police car arrived and took them all to the colliery, where firefighters were already trying to smash through the bricks of 14" inches with a sledgehammer in order to reach the girls, leading fireman Jack Liptrot entered into the mine to rescue the girls, however, due to the fact that he was not wearing the correct gas mask Jack was quickly overcome by the fumes and collapsed to the ground. Two more firemen later received hospital treatment due to them having also breathed in the black damp gas, attempts were made to resuscitate the girls and the fireman but unfortunately, they had all died.
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Confined space incident – HAZMAT, Methane (CH4).
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A Leading Firefighter (LFf) was overcome by ‘fumes’ at a confined space incident, special service call (SSC) at a Colliery incident (House & Settle, 2016).
It is understood that the incident occurred during the attempted rescue of 3 children, all girls aged 10, 12 who were both sisters and their friend aged 13, who also died at the incident. The LFf had breathed in Methane (CH4) also known as ‘black damp fumes’, during the rescue, collapsed and died as a result (McMullin, 2016, Unknown author, 1968 and Bolton & Radcliff, 1968).
This incident was also a near miss for 3 other firefighters (Ff) who were all overcome and had to be ‘pulled out by other rescuers’ but recovered after treatment in hospital. It is currently understood that one of the girls who had entered into the disused mine a short distance had been overcome, whereby a further friend or sister and then another subsequently also followed into the mine to help, where they were also overcome. The alarm was raised by one of the girl’s young brother aged 10 (Robinson, unknown date, Unknown Author, 1968 and Bolton & Radcliff, 1968).
It is also understood that the 10-year-old boy had also entered the shaft but had ‘smelt gas and turned back’ and then gone to get help (Bolton & Radcliff, 1968).
Ffs had to use sledge hammers to widen the hole that the girls had got through to gain access. It is currently understood that LFf Liptrott who died entered without breathing apparatus (BA) and then donned a BA set while in the mine shaft. The Boothstown mines rescue team from Boothstown had also attended the incident and assisted with the rescues including those of Ffs (Bolton & Radcliff, 1968).
The incident, it is believed, also changed rules to fire service pensions in that a widow could also claim for her husband’s pension if they had died on duty at a non-fire incident, or special service call (SSC). Prior to this incident the relevant pension rules wording had only included fire related on duty deaths (Bonner, 2017).
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1968 (Jan) The St George’s Hotel closed in January 1968.
1968 (9 Mar) Youri Raffi Djorkaeff , former French international footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or as a striker, born to a French father Jean Djorkaeff and an Armenian mother Mary Ohanian in Lyon
1968 (6 Apr) On 6 April 1968, in the British AAA 10-mile (16 km) championship at Leicester, Ron Hill set a new world record of 47:02.2
1968 (9 May) Ruth Maria Kelly, British Labour Party politician, born in Limavady, Northern Ireland
MP for Bolton West 1997-2010
Her grandfather, Philip Murphy, served as an officer in the Irish Republican Army (old IRA) during the Irish War of Independence (1919-1921) and was interned in 1922 by the Government of Northern Ireland during the Irish Civil War (1922-1923).
Murphy’s detention file refers to him as “quartermaster of the West Fermanagh IRA Battalion”. He went on hunger strike to protest at his detention. He was released unconditionally in June 1924 when internment ended.
1968 (22 May) Ten Years After at Bolton Institute of Technology, Bolton, England.
1968 (29 May) The 1968 European Cup Final was a football match played at Wembley Stadium on 29 May 1968 to determine the winners of the 1967–68 European Cup, the 13th season of the European Cup, a tournament organised by UEFA for the champions of European leagues. The final was contested by Benfica of Portugal and Manchester United of England, with Manchester United winning 4–1 after extra time. Brian Kidd had the distinction of scoring on his 19th birthday for Manchester United. Tony Dunne was at left back for Manchester United.
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1968 (Summer) Marks and Spencer's new Bolton store was fully opened in Summer 1968.
1968 (15 Aug) First episode of Nearest and Dearest (Granada) broadcast
The premise was set up in the first episode; Joshua Pledge, in his will, bequeaths a large sum of money to his middle-aged son and daughter but only if they stay together for five years at his small pickle business, Pledge's Purer Pickles. However his children, the hard-working spinster Nellie (Hylda Baker) and her ne'er do well womanising brother Eli(Jimmy Jewel), rarely saw eye to eye.
1968 (13 Oct) The Men's 10,000 metres Race at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico held on Sunday October 13, 1968. There were a total number of 37 competitors from 23 nations. Ron Hill finished 7th in 29:53.2.
1968 (Oct) The last Winter Hill crash occurred when a Cessna 172 force-landed between Winter Hill and Rivington Pike.
1968 (8 Nov) Dean Christopher Holdsworth, English former professional football player and manager, born. As a striker he scored 193 goals in 610 league games over a 22-year career
1968 (9 Dec) St Joseph’s School: The Infant department in Shepherd Cross Street was opened on 9th December 1968
1968 (18 Dec) Nat Lofthouse took over as manager of Bolton full-time on 18 December.
1968 Ron Hill (Bolton Harriers) the 10,000m at the Olympics.
1968 Leslie Halliwell took responsibility for purchasing films for the entire ITV network.
1968 Spring and Port Wine was filmed in Bolton in 1968.
1968 Mark Charnock, actor, born in Bolton
Educated at Canon Slade School, Hull University, Webber Douglas Academy, London
Played Marlon Dingle in TV soap “Emmerdale” and Brother Oswin in “Cadfael”
1968 Victoria Sq still through traffic with buses but new shops on north side of Newport St
1968 Howell Croft North demolished to make way for Paderborn House
1968 The King’s Head closed in 1968 and was demolished that year.
1968 Horwich Leisure Centre Swimming Pool opened
1968 Nat Lofthouse spent a brief time as caretaker manager of the club.
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1968 Indespension, a leading manufacturer, retailer and reseller of trailer and towing products. Originally founded as Mechanical Services (Trailers Engineers) Ltd in 1968.
1968-1969 Ethel Maisie Ryley – Mayor of Bolton.
1968–1978 Garry Jones (Bolton Wanderers) scored 41 goals in 203 appearances.
1969 (Mar) Pedestrianisation of Newport Street.
1969 (Mar) Blackhorse Street widened at junction with Deansgate
1969 (22 Apr) The Who at Bolton Institute of Technology, Bolton, England
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1969 (12 Aug) Bill Haley and His Comets at Bolton Casino, Bolton, England
1969 (13 Aug) Bill Haley and His Comets at Bolton Casino, Bolton, England
1969 (15 Aug) Bill Haley and His Comets at Bolton Casino, Bolton, England
1969 (16 Aug) Bill Haley and His Comets at Bolton Casino, Bolton, England
1969 (23 Aug) Ibex at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton.
1969 (24 Aug) Ibex played in an open-air festival at Queen’s Park, Bolton
The vocalist was Freddie Bulsara later known as Freddie Mercury in Queen.
1969 (Aug) The Queen’s Cinema opened as a bingo hall in August 1969.
1969 (8 Sep) Gary Andrew Speed, MBE (1969 – 2011), Welsh professional footballer and manager, born. Died 27 Nov 2011.
1969 (2 Oct) Damon Gough (stage name Badly Drawn Boy), Mercury-prize winning English alternative music singer/songwriter, born in Dunstable, Bedfordshire
He grew up in the Breightmet area of Bolton and was educated at Thornleigh Salesian College
1969 (28 Nov) The M61, part of the national motorway network between the M60/M62 (Manchester) and the M6 (Preston) was opened by Fred Mulley, Minister of Transport.
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1969 (Dec) Simon Dingley aged 4 of Arthur Street Little Lever was terribly upset when he saw on television that Father Xmas had been arrested so he sat down and wrote an appeal to the police for his release. His sorrow turned to joy when he was visited by P.C. George Obersby from the Bolton Police force who put him in touch with the station by phone to receive an assurance that the distinguished visitor would be around as usual.
1969 Ron Hill won the gold medal for the marathon at the European Championships on the Marathon-to-Athens course in 1969
1969 Sam Allardyce (born 1954) was signed by Bolton Wanderers from Dudley Town in 1969 and spent nine years at Bolton.
1969 Bark Street Hotel, Bark Street closed 1969
1969 Church Institute in Silverwell Street demolished
1969 Howell Croft bus station was closed in 1969
1969 In 1969 outdoor scenes for the Bolton-based film Spring and Port Wine, starring James Mason, were filmed in Queen’s Park
1969 In the first match of the World Snooker Championship John Spencer beat reigning champion John Pulman 25-18 at Wryton Stadium, Bolton
Later in the semi-finals John Spencer beat Rex Williams 37-12 at the Co-op hall, Bolton
1969 British television series A Bouquet of Barbed Wire first shown on ITV
Starred Frank Finlay.
1969 Ron Hill won the Manchester Marathon in 1969.
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1969 Bolton Hebrew Congregation: Congregation disbanded in 1969
1969-1970 Everton took the Football League Championship title.
It was Alan Ball Jr’s first and only major domestic honour in the game
1969-1970 The first Catholic Mayor of Bolton, Herbert Glynn elected.
1969–1972 Roger Hunt (Bolton Wanderers) scored 24 goals in 76 appearances