From the Evening News, November 29, 1976

25 YEARS AGO

ONE of the oldest British Legion branches in the country is threatened with closure because of dwindling membership. Turton Royal British Legion, 56-years-old had a membership of 500 about 10 years ago. Now it has only 200 members and only 50 have paid their annual subscription.

DEFENDER Sam Allardyce scored yet another vital goal for the Wanderers to land a couple of points and keep up their remarkable record. They have dropped only one point out of the last 14, and their 1-0 win over Charlton Athletic keeps them well in touch with the second division pace-setters.

50 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News,

November 29, 1951

HONOURS were even at the England-Austria soccer clash at Wembley today in front of a 100,000 crowd, when the result was 2-2. In the second half, Nat Lofthouse headed past goalie Zeman. His colleagues mobbed him.

ANOTHER local link with television was seen in the Children's Hour programme last evening, when in a competition feature "The house that Jack Built", a model house made by a nine-years-old Blackrod child, was included in a number shown to viewers.

Although the model was not amongst the prizewinners, the youngest competitor, Katherine Chadwick, received commendation of her handiwork and was invited to visit the Alexandra Palace studios.

125 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News,

November 29, 1876

A CHORLEY correspondent writes:- For the past week or ten days considerable alarm has been created among the railway employees of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, at Chorley, in consequence of certain strange phenomena that have been manifested about a large engine shed a short distance from the passenger station.

Some few months ago a most shocking suicide occurred close to the shed, and latterly strange sounds have been noticed by the engine cleaners, supposed to "arise" from that circumstance. Added to this alarming phenomena, large stones have been thrown by some unexplained agency at the workmen throughout several nights, and this became so serious that several of the workmen have actually left their employment. Watch has been kept, under the impression that someone has been playing a practical joke, but although the stones were occasionally thrown as usual, nobody could be discovered at the agent. On Tuesday an official investigation was held by the railway company's detectives, but without any apparent result.