We visited The Salford Armed Forces And Veterans, Breakfast Club in Winton today to speak to organiser, Glenn Croston, who told us of plans to remember, Harry George Crandon and William Mariner, two local men who won the coveted Victoria Cross.

Their names which are on a Roll of Honour at the Breakfast Club and will be added to new benches to be sited at the Swinton Cenotaph on November 2nd this year, the names of other medal winners will be added shortly.

Today we spoke to Linda Martinez who is a relative of George Henry Crandon who won his Victoria Cross in South Africa, for putting a wounded comrade onto his own horse, and taking him to safety whilst dodging hails of bullets on a 1,000 yard dash, he died in 1953 and is commemorated by a sheltered housing complex in Pendlebury which bears his name, and is buried in Swinton cemetery.

Also attending was Margaret Clarke who is married into the Mariner family who brought along a treasure trove of photos, letters, postcards, many of them from William Mariner to his mother who lived at, Fletcher Street, Lower Broughton, Salford.

Mariner was a fascinating character who I have written about before, who it must be said was a bit of a character, but the type of man you would want next to you in the trenches, a born fighter who didn't seem to know the meaning of fear.

He had served in the British Army since 1889 and was stationed in India, from 1901 -1907, being discharged in 1912 for several misdemeanours, he re-enlisted in August 1914 and was sent to France, serving in The Kings Royal Rifle Corps, on the night of 22nd May 1915, his unit was pinned down by German troops, he scrambled through barbed wire and hurled bombs into their placements, he actually waited until more Germans advanced and threw more bombs at them, wiping them out.

For this he was rightly awarded the Victoria Cross and returned to Salford in triumph, he went on his own to Buckingham Palace to receive his medal from The King, sadly his mother and sister had to pay their own train fare to see him be decorated, ironically they went to Windsor first, then onto Buckingham Palace and were too late to see him receive it.

The Army wanted Mariner to be a "poster boy" for the army and help in recruiting new soldiers, however he had other thoughts and went out enjoying his fame, often running into scrapes with the police and authorities until he returned in October 1915, and true to form he was killed in action attacking German lines, August 1916 aged 34.

It is right and fitting that these, two brave men should be remembered and full credit to Glenn Croston and his team of volunteers at The Salford Armed Forces And Veterans, Breakfast Club for ensuring that their names shall live for ever more.

I came across this story from the Salford City Reporter, August 1922 which carried the headline, "Woman's Amazing Conduct", judge for yourself.

Ellen Coleman aged 23 who gave her address as being, Regent Road, Salford appeared at Salford Magistrates Court charged with being drunk and disorderly at Exchange Railway Station.

Railway Constable Corless told the Court that he found the prisoner, drunk in the waiting room at 1.10am, when he attempted to wake her up she became abusive, so much so that he required assistance from a Police Constable to take her to the nearby, Chapel Street Police Station.

Ellen denied the allegations and asked Corless why he had come into the Waiting Room, he replied that it was his job and to see if she had a valid ticket, and when asked was told...."To -----with you"

He then added that Ellen's shoes and purse were on the waiting room floor, with money scattered around, and by her side was a Gents umbrella.

P.C. Gleeson said that he was on duty near the station when he heard screams and shouts and going up the ramp he saw Corless  struggling with Ellen Coleman, she was lying on the footpath and calling Corless, "opprobrious" names - look it up, I had too, and refusing to move an inch.

He tried to pick her up but she tried putting his hand in her mouth and attempting to bite it, at the Police Station she carried on struggling, even taking her shoe off and throwing it at his head, which missed.

P.C. Knott also gave evidence saying that she was very drunk when being took into custody.

When asked to comment, Ellen said there was no point as it was three policemen against her.

She then told the Stipendiary Magistrate that she arrived at Exchange Station at 12.20am and was waiting for the opening of the ticket office at 12.50am, when Corless walked in, she told him that she was going to Liverpool, he grabbed hold of her and took her to the Police Station but she said she walked all the way, unaided.

The Stipendiary Magistrate asked Inspector Mitchell if anything was known about her, he replied,

"No, nothing but I would like to ask for a remand in custody, when she was brought into the Police Station she was in possession of three brooches and four tickets relating to parcels in the left luggage office, she has told me that she has lived with Mother at an address on Regent Road, Salford, but told the Police Matron that she is a war widow and then told me her husband was away"

The 24 hour remand was granted.

The next day when she appeared in Court she was charged with being in possession of a Gents umbrella and coat, suspected to have been stolen and giving a false account of how she obtained them.

Inspector Mitchell said she had told P.C. Gleeson that they belonged to her brother who had gone the Isle of Man, and lived with her at Regent Road, enquiries revealed the address she had given was a lock up bicycle shop and neither her or her brother were known there.

P,C, Gleeson, gleefully told the Magistrate that when he told her that morning she was going to charged with these new offences, she replied..."Any more?  is that the lot, then?"

Ellen then said the items were her brothers and she was going to the Isle of Man to return them when she  was arrested and wanted them back for him.

Inspector Mitchell in a last ditch attempt to besmirch Ellen said that her fingerprints showed that she had been arrested for theft in Glasgow 1917...some five years ago!

Finally the Police Court Missioner. Mrs Wilford said that Ellen had told her that she had started a drapery business on Regent Road with money given to her by the Canadian Government in respect of her dead husband.

The Stipendiary Magistrate, no doubt as confused as the rest of us, fined her 30 shillings for being drunk but dropped all of the other charges.

Is it just me or do you think Inspector Mitchell had it in for Ellen, a 24 hour remand then adding new charges on top of the original charge? as for Ellen she sounded a bit of a character with little regard for authority, I hope she returned her brothers coat and umbrella to the Isle of Man and I bet she was smiling walking out of that Court!

Photo: Exchange Railway Station platform.

As we continue to look back at the archives of Salford's gruesome past, we look back over 50 years to an incident that would live in infamy with the people of Salford for many years.

On the morning of Wednesday 27 March, 1963, local people in Duchy were horrified to hear of the brutal murder of a 25-year-old woman on the steps of Cock Robin Bridge. 

There is a new video which compliments this article.

A spurned suitor would turn savage killer. Read on. 

Dalip Singh Kumar, 24, came from India to Salford in January 1962 and after studying Law was employed as a costing clerk at R.A. Brands paper mills in Brindleheath, Salford. 

At work he met and fell in love with Kathleen Martha Parkinson, 26, who was employed in a separate office as Divisional Sales Manager. 

Kathleen, who lived at Westwood Drive, Pendlebury, was described as being tall, fair haired and one of the most popular members of staff at Brands. 

Dalip Kumar who was described as being a dapper, bespectacled, dark skinned young man who became besotted with Kathleen after they had a few dates including a visit to the Opera House in Manchester. 

However Kathleen wanted to cool their relationship and told several workmates that their friendship was over. 

Kumar had written to his mother in India stating that he wished to marry Kathleen and she said she would send him 1,000 towards the marriage. 

When he heard that Kathleen didn't want to associate with him anymore, he became obsessed with her, and events would take a much darker turn. 

On the morning of Wednesday 27 March 1963, at 9am Kumar was observed by several people waiting at the foot of Cock Robin Bridge on Laundry Street, a stones throw away from Brands which was on the other side of the bridge. 

Charles Wilson, a driver employed by the wholesale grocery merchants Snowden and Bridges of Villiers Street, was loading his vehicle in the loading bay when he heard loud screams and was then stunned to see a woman stagger into the yard covered in blood. 

She said: "I've been hit" and grabbed hold of him before collapsing into a state of unconsciousness. 

An ambulance was called and Kathleen was rushed to Salford Royal Hospital on Chapel Street where she was found to be dead caused by six stab wounds to the neck and head. 

He then looked down the street and noticed a man lying down at the foot of the bridge covered in blood, this was Kumar. 

Sgt Stanley Walker of Salford Constabulary arrived on the scene and saw Kumar lying on the ground with a knife by his side. The officer asked if he had inflicted the injuries on himself and Kumar nodded his head in agreement. 

When asked if he had stabbed Kathleen he also nodded in agreement. 

Kumar was taken to Salford Royal Hospital and an emergency operation was carried out on him to a lacerated left lung. 

He was charged with the murder of Kathleen Martha Parkinson and remanded in custody until 18 April when he appeared at Salford Magistrates Court in front of Stipendary Leslie Walsh. 

In court he said that he felt that she had humilated him in front of workmates and laughed at him behind his back. 

He then decided to confront her and ask why she had treated him in this manner. 

They met on Cock Robin Bridge and he claimed that she laughed at him once again, he also stated that he intended to kill himself in front of her with the knife that he was carrying. 

Instead he launched a frenzied attack on her inflicting fatal stab wounds before turning the knife on himself. 

Interestingly enough when the police searched Kumar's briefcase they found a photgraph of Kathleen and across the back scribbled in pencil were the words: "What do you expect out of an uncivilised person from an uncivilised country?" 

Scrawled across her face was the word "civilised". 

In court he expressed remorse for what he had done and said that he wished that the doctors hadn't saved his life as he wanted to die. 

He appeared at Manchester Crown Court that summer charged with the murder of Kathleen Parkinson. 

After some deliberation the jury found him guilty of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and he was given a life sentence. 

The Cock Robin Bridge is still standing and locals still talk about the dreadful events of that day in March 1963.

This article first appeared on SalfordOnline on the 4th April 2014 and is reproduced here courtesy of its author Tony Flynn

The Eccles Journal for December 29 1964 reported on the fate of Ian Bebbington 14, of Grasmere Crescent, who the paper described rather cruelly as being a "heavyweight" who tipped the scale at just over 10 stone. 

Ian and his pals, Malcolm Gelder, 12, and Peter Murray, 12, had been playing at the Eccles Corporation tip at Dukes Drive off Carriage Drive, Monton when Ian became stuck in slimy mud and sand on the edge of a floodwater lake. 

Malcom Gelder and Peter Murray waded into the muddy lake in an effort to retrieve their friend but all three got stuck up to their knees in the ooze. 

They struggled for an hour until Malcolm eventually managed to get free and shouted for help. 

Luckily his cries were heard by Mr Stanley Stout 52, a railwayman of Verdun Road who was walking along the towpath of the Bridgewater Canal which runs alongside the tip. 

Mr Stout could not rescue the boys because of the deep water but shouted across the canal to his home where a member of his family called the police. 

Police contables Duckworth and Shelton arrived on the scene and discovered that Malcolm had been able to escape from the mud and was sat with Peter shivering on the canal bank. 

However Ian was still stuck in the mud up to his knees and it was getting darker. 

The two officers managed to obtain a plank on which they stood upon and managed to drag Ian out by his wrists and to safety. 

Disaster struck however when both of Ian's wellingtons came off and had to be abandoned to the deep mud. 

The boys were taken home in a police car for a hot bath and doubt a right telling off just as other policemen arrived with ropes and safety equipment. 

The strong arms of the law had once again managed to save the day, if not the boots. 
 

This article first appeared on SalfordOnline on the 27th of June 2008 and was republished here with the permission of its author, scale tipping Tony Flynn.

The pub got serious media coverage when Bev Callard - of Coronation Street fame - was the landlady. 

Thankfully her grandiose ideas never really took off, and I am glad to say that it has returned back to being a proper pub. 

The new landlady Maria has done a grand job in reversing the pubs fortunes, the ill fated M30 restaraunt has been scrapped and the vault reinstated, complete with pool table, some rather posh card tables, apparently poker is a big draw at the pub, also Sky TV is on for the sports fans. 

The main room has been decorated throughout and is the venue for something diffrent most evenings, Tuesday is an open mic night with local musicians organising events, karaoke evenings, talent nights and the really popular Saturday evening cabaret nights, try and catch The Mere Cats, a rock and roll band who really raise the roof. 

If you get the chance try and get in on a Sunday afternoon. Firstly, Alex the award winning chef puts on a great Sunday dinner, and secondly music is provided by Roman, a keyboard/vocalist who has a huge following, mainly ex-locals from The Woolpack, Salford, who come along for a good old fashioned sing song. 

Whilst I was in I was amazed to watch local icon and singer "Pendleton Ernie", a sprightly 87 year old who certainly knows how to belt out the tunes getting the crowd up dancing. 

Mention must be given to Alex the chef who provides breakfasts seven days a week, and meals everyday until 7.00pm, ask him about his Gordon Ramsay connection, it's true believe me. 

Robinsons beer is on draught along with, lager, cider, guinness, wine, soft drinks, etc. 

Maria deserves a big round of applause for turning around a pub which to be honest was becoming more White Elephant than White Horse, so pop in for a pint, worth it just to see "Pendleton Ernie"!

Sadly the pub is no more and it is now a branch of Sainsbury's.

Peter Lobengula professed to be the son of King Lobengula of Matebela, which became Rhodesia after the Matebela wars of 1893, and is now modern-day Zimbabwe. 

He came to England at the request of Frank Fillis, a showman entreprenuer, in a show called Savage South Africa which alleged to show the battles that Cecil Rhodes had fought against the Matabele tribesmen. 

Fillis had heard about the success of the Buffalo Bill Wild West tours and saw this a great chance to jump onto the bandwagon and make a pile of cash into the bargain. 

Prince Peter was the star of the show and even got to drink champagne with the Prince of Wales in 1899 when he visited the London show at Earls Court. 

Controversy dogged the show with the London press complaining that local women were becoming too friendly with the African showmen, going so far as to describe the Africans as "savages". 

Matters were not helped when Prince Peter announced that he was going to marry a white woman called Kitty Jewell, thus causing further outrage, with the London Evening News going as far as to say, "there is something inexpressibly disgusting about the mating of a white girl with a dusky savage". 

Their attempts to get married were obstructed by the local vicar, the owners of the show and by Kitty's mother, this prompted Lobengula to quit the show and threatened to return to South Africa, which he never did. 

The Savage South Africa Show moved to Salford in 1900 and set up camp at Broughton Football Club where Prince Peter reappeared but lower down on the casting; the Boer War had just started and the show's main attraction were families of Boers that Frank Fillis had brought over. 

Again the show ran into trouble, local people were often in the Magistrates court for causing trouble with the black performers, also more trouble occured when Kitty Jewell ran away from Lobengula threatening suicide going so far as to leave a suicide note on the canal bank. It has to be said that Kitty was never seen again, but there is no evidence of suicide. 

The show lasted for eight weeks before moving to Blackpool, Leeds and Liverpool, however losses of £1,800 a week meant that Frank Fillis sold the props and moved back to South Africa. 

Peter Lobengula remained in Salford and little was known of him apart from the odd court appearance for drunkeness, it is known that he married an Irish woman called Catherine and had four children, living in Gladstone Street, off Indigo Street, Pendleton whilst working as a collier at Agecroft colliery. 

He made the news again in 1913 when he appeared at Salford Magistrates Court saying that as son of King Lobengula of Matabele then part of Rhodesia he was entitled to vote. 

He won the case and was allowed to vote in the Salford East ward. 

His health had deterioated over the years and he contracted consumption, the local vicar of his parish applied for a pension for him, this caused further controversy when The British South Africa Company investigated Lobengulas family tree and declared him to be a hoaxer and therefore not entitled to the money. 

Sadly Prince Peter Lobengula died from consumption in November 1913 and was buried in a public grave in Agecroft cemetery. By 1920 his wife and four of their children were to join him in the cemetery. 

As a footnote I was pleased to read that after his death, his funeral cortege passed by Agecroft colliery and that his workmates dropped their hats as a mark of respect to their friend, also crowds lined the route to the cemetery. 

We will never know if he was a Prince or not, but he certainly conducted himself like one and showed better manners than many of his so called superiors, an extraordinary man who led an extraordinary life. 

Many thanks to Salford Local History Library for allowing us to use the image of Peter Lobengula. 

This article first appeared on SalfordOnline on 21st June 2011 and is reproduced here courtesy of the unenviable Tony Flynn.

The accident occurred without warning at 5.35am on the morning of Tuesday 28 April. 

Locals first noticed a rumbling sound followed by an almighty crash as a railway tunnel which passed underneath Temple Drive collapsed in on itself. 

The 'Black Harry' tunnel was on the Patricroft and Clifton branch of the London and North Western Railway line linking Patricroft with Clifton Junction. 

Two houses - numbers 22 and 24  were swallowed up and the adjacent house number 26 had its end wall sucked into the pit. 

The alarm was raised and at first ambulances arrived with fire brigade and police following swiftly behind them. 

Locals hurried to help sift through the debris however confronting them was a crater,20 feet deep and into it was tipped timber, tiles, brickwork and a section of roof. 

Agnes Williams, the 77-year-old resident of number 26, was lying near the pavement, buried in rubble up to her waist. She was reported as calm and relatively unscathed while three neighbours pulled her clear. 

Her maid, Frances Watson, was then seen standing against the wall of her devastated bedroom, alongside an overturned wardrobe. 

Miraculously, she had survived the collapse and rescuers soon brought her down. 

Sadly the residents of numbers 22 and 24 were not so lucky. 

It was later in the afternoon that the first body was recovered - Fred Potter, aged 87, followed by his wife Clara, 73, and Jean Salt from next door who, at 28, was the youngest victim. 

Sara Salt, 69, and daughter Emily, 45, were found still in their beds, 15 feet below ground level. 

Black Harry had claimed five lives. 

The tunnel collapsed at a point directly beneath an old brick-lined construction shaft, the contents of which fell into the space below, the surrounding soil which was a loose mixture of sand and clay, poured into the hole and formed a large cavity underneath the foundations of the two houses on Temple Drive. 

Work to secure the tunnel got underway the following day. 

Even this was not without incident. Four workers were overcome by diesel fumes after a concentration of gas build-up caused by lighting equipment. 

On 1 May, work came to an abrupt halt after more rumblings were heard, but with ashes packed solidly at either side and timber bulkheads in place, the fall was finally sealed nine days after the roof came in. 

Sadly, it appears the Black Harry disaster could have been prevented, as on 15 April 1953, a labourer noticed some bricks had fallen onto the tracks and that more were peeling from the roof. 

All traffic on nearby roads was stopped to allow repairs, and it was decided to use steel ribs to reinforce the damaged area. Over the next two weeks, further land movements were detected and cracks started to develop. 

Immediate steps were taken to stop rail traffic and arrangements were made to strengthen the tunnel at this point, but before the protective work had been completed, the roof collapsed in the early morning of 28 April. 

Brigadier C A Langley conducted the official inquiry on behalf of the Minister of Transport. He concluded that the failure was in no way attributable to mining subsidence but due to an inherent weakness in the construction of the tunnel. 

When the old shaft was examined, rotting timbers were found amongst the wreckage. 

It was determined that these had been used to brace the shaft when it was filled in after the tunnel was built, and that over time they had corroded, increasing the stress on the walls of the shaft. 

When they gave way, the full load of the shaft was transferred to the tunnel roof. 

The timber exposed by the original fall of brickwork formed part of a frame which supported this shaft. It was slowly being crushed by a 200-tonne column of wet sand perched on top of it. 

This, together with a century of decay, resulted in a massive load being transferred onto the tunnel arch. 

When the timber finally gave way, the brickwork could not withstand the pressure, allowing the contents of the shaft to break through catastrophically a vacuum pulled the houses into the void above. 

Today there is only a collection of garages to mark the spot of this infamous disaster where 22 and 24 Temple Drive once stood. 

This story originally appeared on SalfordOnline on the 12th May 2014 and is reproduced here thanks to Tony Flynn

19-year-old Thomas Kean, who lived on Clarendon Crescent in Eccles was returning home from a night in Manchester city centre, when he spotted a bright light in the sky. 

He told the Eccles Journal: "I dismissed it as unusually bright flash of lightning, [but] I mentioned it to my family when I got in." 

He believed it to be a strange shooting star with what appeared to be sparks coming from it. 

Brushing it off, he retired to bed, but later that morning at around 3.45am Thomas's mother Elizabeth awoke with a start. 

When she went into the bathroom, lo and behold she too saw a strange light in the sky. 

She said: "Looking through the window I saw a bright white light, the stars were much higher in the sky and as I watched the light it appeared to become a red ball, not completely round, but more of an oval shape, and its brightness was going out and then coming back again. 

"It almost disappeared and then came back and grew larger, I thought I was seeing things so I went and woke up my son Frank." 

Frank was roused from his slumbers with the third Kean son Peter, and the family watched the bright flashing object until 4.15am when they traipsed back to bed. 

The newspaper went on to say that while there were no confirmations from officials, reporters believed it might have been a new satellite which had been launched. 

It is worth noting that shortly after midnight there was a storm over Eccles with torrential downpours which reportedly roused many people from their sleep. 

So what do we make of the bright, glowing red ball, possibly oval- or cigar-shaped with sparks coming from it hovering over Eccles? 

The report came at a time when the Cold War and space race between America and Russia was hotting up, paranoia abound, and stories of little green men in flying saucers spying on planet Earth. 

Then again, I could be wrong, and the Kean family really did have a close encounter of their own - what do you think? 

This Story by Tony Flynn originally appeared on Salford Online's old site on 29th August 2014

Shortly after 8.15am on this Tuesday, two trains full of people on their way to work, collided just beyond the platform on the Manchester side of Eccles Station.

Rescuers, worked by the light of fires built from wrecked coaches, toiled throughout the morning and recovered 16 bodies. Over 80 people were taken to hospital, three dying later.

The trains involved were the 6.53 am from Kenyon Junction to Manchester Exchange and the 6.5 am Workman's Special from Rochdale to Pennington.    

The train from Kenyon had stopped at Eccles to pick up passengers and was moving slowly from the station when the collision occurred.

The Rochdale train ran into it sideways, missing the engine, scraping the first coach and then ploughing through several coaches before striking the embankment and toppling over onto its side.

A number of coaches on the train were wrecked and debris was strewn over the permanent way. Uninjured and slightly injured passengers immediately set about the work of rescue.

They were handicapped by the conditions. Rescuers used wood from wrecked coaches in order to make bonfires to see where the trapped were.

In the meantime, help had arrived and ambulances were kept busy conveying the injured to hospital.    At the outset, pieces of the coaches were used as stretchers and splints. When the casualty service arrived they took control and the injured were quickly transferred to hospital.

Many who were trapped underneath had to wait for special lifting devices and breakdown gangs from Patricroft sheds. Some of the trapped were dead. It was well into the afternoon when rescue work was finally completed. One of the last to be released was a man who was located fairly early after the accident had occurred.

A red-bearded man who was trapped by the legs and in great pain was given sustenance by Councillor E Moore, a member of the Eccles casualty services by crawling under the wreckage.

Dr. G Leslie also gave the man an injection of morphia. The man was released after 4.1/2 hours and lived. He was part of a group of workmen who survived the crash.  

In one instance, a nearby house was converted into a rest centre for those who were badly shaken. The scene shortly after the crash was indescribable. In the pitiful light of the fires men were engaged in stripping coaches to get to those who were trapped.

The injured were being pulled out by the score, receiving first aid treatment on the ground. There was a steady stream of stretcher bearers along the platform and up the station steps to the ambulances which waited at the station approach.

Hundreds of passengers who escaped with bruises and a shaking were standing amongst the wreckage. Doctors in white coats were administering morphia to the badly injured, whilst nurses in their uniforms were to be seen applying bandages and supplying stimulants.    

Shouts of "Doctor here" were frequently heard amongst the din of creaking wood and the hissing of steam from the engine which had overturned. Later the work of rescue was made easier by the light of powerful lamps. A 16 year old member of the Eccles Casualty Service (Dept. 5) was one of the victims. She was of Anson Street, Monton and her body was recovered by a member of the casualty service. Two railway officials from Longsight were also among the dead.    

The driver and fireman of the Kenyon train were also uninjured, but the driver of the Rochdale train and his fireman were detained in hospital. Passengers who had escaped injury and some of the slightly injured, also assisted in the work of rescue, as did the police and many others who were at the scene.    In addition to the local ambulances there were ambulances from several neighbouring districts. The work of removing the injured to Eccles and Patricroft was carried out expeditiously.    

Considerable difficulty was experienced in identifying the women victims, chiefly because they carried their identity cards in their handbags which were lost amongst the wreckage. By the afternoon of the same day practically all the male victims had been identified. When the last of the trapped passengers had been removed, breakdown gangs with cranes set to work clearing the track of the wreckage.

This went on throughout the night. By next morning sufficient progress had been made to permit traffic on certain sections of the track.  

Officials of the L.M.S. Railway Co. visited the scene of the accident prior to instituting an enquiry

This story by Tony Flynn first appeared on the original SalfordOnline website on the 9th January 2003.

This coming June 11th, International Man of History and award winning author Mr Tony Flynn, will be embarking on another of his legendary historical pub walks around Eccles.

Meeting 12 pm at Eccles Train station and finishing at 2 pm outside the Royal Oak pub, learn about murder, mayhem, bodysnatchers, millionaires, arsenic beer, rioting, looting, celebrities, secret tunnels, and thats all in one pub!

Tickets will be just £4 and will involve a drinkypoo in the Lamb, and maybe a half in the Albert Edward. (It's not his round). 

Tony says ...

"We used to have a buffett and quiz in the Royal Oak which had a room available for a brawl if the days entertainment went wrong. We shall have a quiz though in a pub, sadly no buffet so bring yer own butties, no tongue butties for me thanks."

Tony needs no introduction as he a Salford legend, his guides to Salford's historical past are essential reading, his history of the pubs of eccles exchanges hands on Amazon for almost £25 per copy, astounding considering Tony only ever sold them for £1.50 (Not taking account the cost of publishing it).

Tony served his sentence as community reporter and history editor at SalfordOnline and has published countless stories of the past, all available to peruse on this link.

This once in a lifetime not to be missed experience is limited to just 20 place, so it's best to get in contact with him on Facebook to let him know you will be coming along for the ride walk.

https://www.facebook.com/tony.flynn.775