From the Evening News, January 21, 1904: MR M. Kemsley presided on Wednesday evening over the annual meeting of the Bolton and District Trades Council held in the Spinners' Hall.

A report said the Council had had a moderately active and successful year, but every section had suffered from fluctuations in a more or less acute manner. The cotton trade had been made the victim of cotton speculators and gamblers. The industrial classes, by the unkind and unscrupulous attack of avaricious wealth manipulators, were being made to feel the consequences of their past indifference. The sole ambition of those employment dislocators appeared to be to see which could be the most wealthy and live on the finest estate no matter who suffered. That state of things would continue until the voice of labour became sufficiently powerful to make its influence felt in the counsels of this great nation.

From the Evening News, January 21, 1954: FLOODS caused by swollen rivers in Lancashire and Yorkshire following yesterday's non-stop downpour drove many people from their homes during the night and badly delayed both road and rail transport. The rainfall in Bolton during the 24 hours ending 9am today was 2.323 inches, the highest ever recorded. Records of rainfall have been kept since 1886 and on only three other occasions - in 1888, 1919 and 1946- has the two-inch mark been exceeded. In 1888, 2.203 inches were recorded and it was said then by the Evening News to be the heaviest rainfall since 1877. Flooding was reported from several areas in the Turton district, including Birches Road at Turton Bottoms where the swollen waters of Billy Brook poured over the roadway, flooding two houses.

From the Evening News, January 20, 1979: ELEVEN club trophies were won by seven members of the Westhoughton Central Labour Club angling section. They were Terence Mann (Charrington Shield), Thomas Mann (Godfrey Cup), Leonard Ashton (Simm Cup and Magee Cup), Norman Bromilow (CIU Cup), Stephen Roper (Harry Boydell Memorial Trophy), Dennis Colquit (Challenge Cup) and Graham Morris (Champion Angler, Ramsden Cup and the President's Cup).

The first batch of the 3,400 Vietnamese packed aboard the freighter Huey Fong went ashore today after the British authorities in Hong Kong finally relented and decided to admit them to the crowded island. The four-week old saga of the battered freighter ended suddenly at sunset last night. Some refugees wept, old men prayed on the decks and children jumped for joy at the sight of the harbour lights.

From the Evening News, January 21, 1994: MORE than 400 shop floor workers walked out of British Aerospace Defence Dynamics' Lostock factory as anger erupted over plans to axe 330 jobs. The workers, including some scientific staff, said they were "incensed" that management had rejected the shop floor's offer to share shorter working hours rather than allow so many skilled men and women to be thrown on the dole. The redundancies will mean that the factory - which had 3,500 workers in 1974 - will be left with just 910.

TRIBUTES poured in today for soccer legend Sir Matt Busby, who died yesterday, aged 84. Bolton Wanderers President Nat Lofthouse said: "He was respected not only in England but throughout the world for what he did for Manchester United."