25 YEARS AGO From the Evening News, July 12, 1976

TO 16-years-old Bolton youths were rescued by inshore lifeboat at the weekend when they were trapped by the tide on the Ribble estuary sands near Lytham.

The youths, Peter Leigh, and Stephen Todd, both of Chipping Road, set off from Southport on the five-mile journey to Lytham. The tide was out when they began the trek, but it started to come in and they got cut off. The Lytham inshore lifeboat turned out and rescued the youths.

THE blue and grey-clad armies of the North and South clashed again yesterday - only this was not Gettysburg. It was Longsight Park, Harwood, where the American Civil War Society staged a battle display to raise funds towards a youth club at St John the Evangelist Church, Top-o'th'-Moss. Hundreds watched as the two armies skirmished through woods alongside Bradshaw Brook before emerging on to a clearing for a full-scale conflict.

50 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News, July 13, 1951

ACCORDING to the doctor, the Wilkins quad who is giving least trouble is the only girl - Anne, the last to be born. Both David and Peter are still poorly, but James, the third to be born, died at 7.50pm yesterday at Bolton District General Hospital where the quads were born on Wednesday. The "Quads Appeal" fund, organized by Counc. H. Barnes, Chairman of Little Lever UDC, the Farnworth and Worsley Journal, and the Bolton Evening News, will still be kept open.

SIR, - Is it quite correct that the new quads are the first to be born north of Derby? I seem to remember a case of Mrs Joe Darby, then living at the Jolly Drummer, Lupton-st., or Partridge-st., off Moor-lane, having quads over 40 years ago.

Joe was Bolton champion jumper in the early days, giving displays on the Pikes-lane ground. Yours, RJT.

SIR,- Quads were born at Gilnow Arms, Deane-rd., to the the wife of Mr Temple Jones, the professional jumper. They did not live longer than two weeks. I don't know the year, but it would be soon after Bolton Wanderers left the Pikes-lane ground. Yours, J. Atherton.

125 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News, July 13, 1876

THE notices for a reduction of 15 per cent in colliers' wages in West Lancashire have expired, almost the whole of the men - and the notices affect nearly 30,000 colliers - have stopped work for a few days awaiting the result of the negotiations with the masters.

The Executive of the Miners' Association desired a representative meeting of masters and men, or that the matter should be referred to a board of conciliation; but no reply was received to the several communications, except one from Mr Peace, who expressed his opinion that such a meeting would be entirely useless.

Much dissatisfaction is felt by the men at the conduct of the masters, and although at the several meetings Mr Burt, MP, and Mr Brown expressed themselves strongly against a stoppage of work, they said that, much as they deprecated strikes, they knew of nothing so likely to provoke ill-feeling between employers and workmen as treatment such as the miners had received.