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Besides watching football and colouring old pictures I have an interest in family history.
I’ve recently got access to a large archive of old newspaper reports and thought I’d share this with you. You can find confirmation of the match on this page, half way down under “several fixtures and results”.
York Herald – Monday 12 October 1896
FOOTBALLERS PUNISHED
Before the Lancaster County Bench on Saturday, John Winstanley, Ellis Wardle, and Peter Foster, members of the Wigan Football team, were charged with disorderly conduct at Morecambe station on the London and North-Western Railway. On September 5 Wigan visited Morecambe, and after the match several players got intoxicated and missed their train. They demanded a special, and because they could not be accommodated assaulted the stationmaster and a porter. Winstanley, who was the ringleader, was committed to prison for two months without the option of a fine, and the others were fined forty shillings and costs, the magistrates saying they would stop such ruffianism.
Huddersfield Chronicle – Monday 30 November 1896
IMPRISONED
Charles Wilding, a member of the Wigan football team, was sentenced to two months’ hard labour by the Lancaster County Bench, on Saturday, for assaulting James Parker Shaw, stationmaster at Morecambe on the London and North-Western Railway. On September 5th the Wigan team visited Morecambe, and because the special train was not run back the members of the team became disorderly and assaulted the officials. Wilding knocked Shaw down with his bag, and gave a false name when arrested. One of the men, named Winstanley, was sent to prson at a previous hearing, and two others were fined. Wilding was also ordered to pay the costs on a second charge of abusive language or suffer 14 days’ additional imprisonment. When Winstanley was committed to prison Wilding signed an affidavit that he was the player who assaulted the officials.
In a similar vein, I have a book called Wigan’s Worst Victorian Murders. Some of you will surely have come across it. It’s a belter, Tells you the crimes committed, The police investigations, The trials and then the punishments (which often let to hanging). Anyone who is anyone from Wigan should get it, It’s fascinating. I saw it on the shelf when i went for my Martinez autobiography.
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