by Malcolm Pheby | Jun 16, 2019 | History, Liverpool, Transport
The ferries plying their trade on the River Mersey received a rare honour from King George V in April 1918. The steamers Iris and Daffodil were awarded the title ‘Royal’ in recognition of their wartime service. Both sailed far from Wallasey to be used as troop ships...
by Malcolm Pheby | Apr 19, 2019 | History, Liverpool
Many Merseysiders will remember the King’s Regiment, which served with distinction for nearly half a century from 1958 to 2006. Formed from the King’s Regiment (Liverpool) first raised in 1685 and the Manchester Regiment, its soldiers were deployed as far afield as...
by Malcolm Pheby | Mar 2, 2019 | History, Industry, Liverpool
More than 200,000 people gathered on a fine summer day by the Mersey in July 1934 to witness a major public event for Liverpool. It wasn’t the Reds or Everton bringing back the FA Cup a few months late – or a victory parade at the end of a conflict. The big occasion...
by Malcolm Pheby | Jan 5, 2019 | History, Liverpool
Resourceful Liverpool manager Bill Shankly knew just what to do when the Big Freeze of 1963 buried the Anfield pitch under a thick sheet of ice. He called in a local tractor owner with a disc harrower to split the ice so it could be bulldozed away before a Fourth...
by Malcolm Pheby | Jan 2, 2019 | History, Manchester
The winter of 1962-3 was unique for Bolton Wanderers. They didn’t concede a point or a single goal – and never lost a match. But they didn’t win any either. In fact they failed to play at all from December 8th to February 16th. Bolton were frozen out – quite...
by Malcolm Pheby | Sep 26, 2018 | 1940s, History
Worshippers prayed in silence in St Anne’s Church as the first news of the Normandy landings reached Manchester on Tuesday June 6th 1944. Others crowded round loudspeakers as allied troops made their way into Northern France to liberate Europe from Nazi tyranny....
