Retracing GEORGE ORWELL’S Steps from THE ROAD TO WIGAN PIER

The 10th episode of the Death of the High Street - WIGAN

But today is going to be more than just a roam around a town looking at the decline of retail. I decided to follow in the footsteps of George Orwell, who in 1936 came up North to look at unemployment and the mining communities. This led him on to write 'The Road To Wigan Pier'.

I have just finished that book and so this video is accompanied by his words at times as well. This video has been the most interesting I have made, as not only looking at Wigan, but it also took me to the National Coal Mining museum in Wakefield. Beyond that, it lead me on to look at my own family history of mining, and visit my great great great grandfather's grave, who died in a mining accident when he was 33.

Thank you as always for watching.

W.T

#london #abandoned #capital #urban #decay #towns #buildings #fail #city #levellingup

All stock footage paid and fully licensed, listed below with thanks to the creators and sites.

Smoking Chimneys -
Stock Footage provided by victorfort, from Pond5

Old footage from Northern mines and town -
British Pathé

1946-Coal Mine / Ruhr Area / Germany / 1946
ITEM ID: 77880225
TheArchivalCollection
By: TheArchivalCollection

Brown Coal Miners Gathered Around Fire Warm Their Hands
ITEM ID: 91898285
VelvetMemories
By: VelvetMemories

The Man Produces Coal Miner Using A Jackhammer
ITEM ID: 94126221
Desperado3
By: Desperado3

[gerrardhession]

WT - this structure using Orwell’s book as the narrative engine of the trip is superb . Love seeing your presenting growth .

[gbrodie]

Beautiful tribute to your forefather and the men who worked and died in the mines.

[robbflynn]

Born and raised in Wigan. We left there in 1983 when I was 16, and we emigrated to the US. Looking at this brought back so many memories. I remember the old Market Hall, it was demolished to make way for the newer one in the mid 80's, and by the looks of it, it is now in the process of being demolished! What a waste. 😢

[adamwojcik]

Mate. Big respect for You.
I am Polish living in 🇬🇧 UK
From my experience, British people are great, and should
be proud of this country 👏.
Wish You all best 👌 👍.

[jankarel]

Talking about how your distant grandfather had to move coal, and you walk around carrying a camera to record things--having some coal mining in my family history (in another country), I would have to say that your ancestor would most likely be thrilled that you are not in the mines, and think that you are doing a valuable service with your camera and your words. Well done.

[OldQueer]

Your channel is excellent. Using Orwell to drive the narrative was a brilliant idea. I'd love to see more like this

[Enlightened-WOLF]

im a 50yo Wiganer lived there all my life the change over the last 10 years is drastic it used to be bustling town but now with ebay and amazon and the huge industrial shopping centres just out of town the town centre is dying when i was in my 20s we had a fantastic night life where 1000s of people would enter king street where there was 27 bars and clubs within 200m people came in coach loads from all over for the party atmosphere now your lucky if there is 3 bars open on a weekend. i worked on the canals in wigan for 10 years mainly on the wigan flight of 27 locks going passed all the old coal mines i loved it helping all the boaters going up and down the flight and maintaining them but the management had a brain wave that they did not need 7 lockkeepers because they saw volunteers would come up and help boats so there was no need for 5 of us so they let us go because 2 lockkeepers can oversee the volunteers by the time they realised a year later that the volunteers did not want to work 6 days a week in the rain and snow for no money and the canal system started fail due to maintenance no longer being done because they fired us and would have to spend lots of money training new workers because we all had better paid jobs and would not come back. so at the moment they are spending millions closing them down and trying to repair them. needles to say the guy who had the brainwave to cut costs ended up costing them more in the long run. i still go up every few weeks to chat to the last few workers and see how its going

[s.n.francis]

Richard Ashcroft, the lead singer of The Verve, was born in Wigan. You are walking down the streets that inspired hits like "Bitter Sweet Symphony, " "Lucky Man, " and "The D***s Don't Work." Thank you, Wandering Turnip.

[joetidy]

Seriously turnip your content is getting better and better and it started off brilliant in the first place. This episode was outstanding. I too, even though I’m a soft southerner have mining in my family history and the story of your great……grandfather and others like him I found very moving. A fascinating history and family story to be proud of for sure.

[amberdy]

Emotional video - we owe a lot to the miners. There job was so important that they weren't conscripted in the wars

[threethymes]

I'd love to see this appear on mainstream TV. Brilliant work to set the Wigan of today against Orwell's work.

[Mancheguache]

My great Grandfather was one of the three survivors of the Maypole Abrham Pit disaster in 1908 shown on that plaque. I lived here til I was 12 til my old mum escaped with us to Manchester. Yeh, from frying pan into fire

[dannyboyspain]

A powerful video. I come from a mining background from St Helens and what you say is very true. I remember my dad coming home from Sutton Manor colliery and using margarine on his eyes to wipe the coal dust away. Going to the miners welfare christmas party and coach trips. Miners looked after each other and sadly the strike of '84-'85 killed off the mining community and it was never the same after that. Thank you for a brilliant video.

[asatimmins]

Mate you are an inspiration. You should be there right on top of any history programme. Your presentation and your editing is bang on. You and your family be they present and past should be and I believe are immensely proud if you.

[martinmountford]

I found this very moving and a tribute to your relatives and mine, my great grandfather died down the pit at 38 he collapsed down the mine due to pneumonia, if you didn't work you didn't get paid it was new years day 1937 RIP George Espley

[pastyman]

My Grandparents, born in Wigan in the 19th Century, had a north facing larder in their Pyke Street semi in Whelly, It was ventilated, with a thick marble floor but they had no fridge until the 70’s. When Grandad left the pit and became a copper, he arrested crooks and walked them in a full Nelson through Wigan to the station on his own, with no car or radio, or even a street phone initially. He was promoted to Detective Inspector of Wigan Borough Police. He refused to join the freemasons as he said it was full of crooks. In his youth he marched with the Protestant Loyalists, but realised it was wrong.

[ruffsilver]

My Mum was born in England . My ancestors were all farm laborers. My father worked in a gold mine here, in Canada. I was raised in a mining town. I love history and finding your channel has been so informative and interesting for me. As a result, I just ordered the book 'The Road To Wigan Pier', and look forward to reading it.

[pastyman]

My Grandad, born in the 1890's in Wigan, volunteered to fight in WW1 in a Lancashire Pal's regiment. He fought for 18 months in the Somme, eating nothing but bully (corned) beef and hard tack ( dog biscuits), sometimes sleeping upright in mud and drinking out of muddy puddles, always covered in lice. He fought hand to hand with Germans and hated it but it was either them or him. Him and his pals were so fed up with the food that they drew straws and he drew the short one. He had to stalk the Officer's Mess and steal a cooked chicken. They ate all the evidence and as a serious offence the whole group were punished but nobody ratted on him. A shell exploded next to him and he was seriously wounded. If a doctor had not given him a transfusion from his own arm he would have died. The clean sheets of the field hospital were like heaven after never having had a bath for months. He lived to 89 and died in Lancashire in the mid 70's.

[EmmaHurst-jf]

Welcome to Wigan! As a proud Wiganer it was nice to hear something which talks both about the good and bad.

The site where Orwell lived is marked by a plaque and you wandered close towards it at one point.

[Delorkay]

When I saw the latest one was about Wigan I wasn't expecting much but I think this might be your best video yet.

The heart of your own personal connection, the eloquent literary extracts and the grizzley truth of the past and present, they paint a picture with many colours. I think these sum up what I love about this channel.