1946 (2 Mar) The Trotters ran out 2-0 winners at the Victoria Ground in the first leg on March 2nd 1946 in front of a crowd of 50,735
1946 (2 Mar) Bolton travelled to The Potteries on March 2nd and came away with a 2-0 victory, both goals scored by Ray Westwood.
Bolton were however aware of the need for more spectator accommodation and during the week leading up to the game sought permission to open up the 2,800 capacity Burnden Stand, which had been requisitioned by the Government during the war. The stand was still full of food and other supplies though and Wanderers’ request was turned down.
The club announced that 14,000 tickets had been sold for the game, with the main stand and Burnden paddock both sold out, but emphasised that there was plenty of room elsewhere inside the ground. Indeed, the local newspaper ran a story on the eve of the game under the headline “Plenty of Room for Spectators Without Tickets.”
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1946 (9 Mar) Burnden Park Disaster.
1946 (9 Mar) The Burnden Park disaster was a human crush that occurred on 9 March 1946 at Burnden Park football stadium, then the home of Bolton Wanderers. The crush resulted in the deaths of 33 people and injuries to hundreds of Bolton fans. It was the deadliest stadium-related disaster in British history until the Ibrox Park disaster in 1971.
The match, an FA Cup Sixth Round second-leg tie between Bolton and Stoke City, was allowed to continue, with the game ending goalless. The disaster brought about the Moelwyn Hughes report, which recommended more rigorous control of crowd sizes.
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The 33 supporters who so tragically lost their lives -
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LIST OF PEOPLE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE BURNDEN PARK DISASTER
Wilfred Addison 68 Stockton Street, Moss Side, Manchester.
Wilfred Allison (19) 11 Selborne Street, Leigh.
Fred Battersby (31) 16 Argyle Street, Atherton.
James Battersby (33) 23 Worthing Grove, Atherton.
Robert Bentham (33) 96 Bolton Old Road, Atherton
Henry Bimson (59) 86 Leigh Road, Leigh.
Henry Ratcliffe Birtwistle (14) 10 June Street, Blackburn.
John T Blackshaw 11 Norman Street, Rochdale.
W Braidwood (40) 96 Green Lane, Hindley.
Fred Campbell (33) 49 Garstang Avenue, Bolton.
Fred Price Dearden (67) 61 Florence Avenue, Bolton.
William Evans (33) 90 Glebe Street, Leigh.
Winston Finch 50 Deneside Avenue, Hazel Grove, Stockport.
John Flinders (32) 2 Clough Terrace, Littleborough.
Albert Edward Hanrahan 21 Cambria Crescent, Winton, Eccles.
Emily Hoskinson (40) 49 Garstang Avenue, Bolton.
William Hughes (56) 28 Byrom Street, Poolstock, Wigan.
Frank Jubb 103 Greenbank Road, Rochdale.
John Livesey (37) Collins Road, Bamber Bridge, Preston.
John Thomas Lucas (35) 13 Arthur Street, Leigh.
Harold Mcandrew 13 Sharp Street, Wigan.
William Mckenzie 2 St Paul`s Villas, Bury.
Morgan Mooney (32) 167 Escrick Street, Bolton.
Harry Needham (30) 41 Bella Street, Bolton.
David Pearson 66 Brimrod Lane, Rochdale.
Joseph Platt (43) 34 Thwaites Street, Bolton.
Sidney Potter (36) 10 Charles Street, Tyldesley.
Grenville Roberts 5 Foy Street, Ashton-In-Makerfield.
Richard Robey (35) 24 Lower West Avenue, Barnoldswick.
Thomas Robey (65) 118 Upholland Street, Billinge, Wigan.
T Smith (65) 2 King Street South, Rochdale.
Walter Wilmot (31) 175 Crescent Road, Bolton.
James Wilson 1210, Ashton Old Road, Higher Openshaw, Manchester.
The youngest victim was 14 year-old Henry Birtwistle from Blackburn, while the only female to perish in the tragedy, 40 year-old Emily Hoskinson of Bolton, was killed along with her brother after helping pass her young son over the heads of the crowd to safety. She was attending just her second football match.
1946 (22-25 Mar) An enquiry headed by Justice R Moelwyn Hughes was ordered by the then Home Secretary James Chuter Ede and opened on the 22nd March 1946 and formally presented on the 25th May 1946.
1946 (Mar) In March 1946, 33 people were killed and hundreds injured at the Burnden Park grounds of Bolton Wanderers football club, who were playing Stoke City in an FA Cup match. Hughes was appointed to lead the official inquiry into the disaster, and his report recommended limitations on crowd sizes. An estimated 85,000 fans were present in a stadium with capacity for only 60,000.
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1946 (17 Jun) David Anthony Crausby, born in Bury, Lancashire
MP Bolton North East 1997- (Labour)
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1946 (27 Aug) Maxilin -manufacture of sugar confectionery - incorporated on 27 August 1946
1946 (31 Aug) Nat Lofthouse made his league debut for Bolton Wanderers. He scored twice in a 4-3 defeat to Chelsea.
1946 (17 Nov) Peter Freeman, heavyweight boxer, born,
1946 Another large crowd saw an altogether blacker day in the club's history, when in 1946 at a FA Cup quarter-final, 85,000 gathered to see the home side take on Stanley Matthew's Stoke City. Overcrowding occurred as fans got into the ground without paying and a gate was opened for someone to get out, but many fans outside stormed in. The mass of people led to two crash barriers in one corner of the ground giving way and causing a crush which led to 33people losing their lives. However, most of the crowd (including a young Kenneth Wolstenholme) were oblivious to the tragedy as the match continued, despite the bodies being carried out from the terracing. Extensive changes were carried out at Burnden Park as a result of the disaster and a report produced after the event recommended licensing of grounds and limitation on crowd sizes.
1946 Founded in 1946, the Maxilin company specialises in the manufacture of unique liquorice and associated sugar confectionery products. (>1993)
1946 Church Institute, Silverwell Street became Canon Slade School
1946-1960 Nat Lofthouse scored 255 goals in 452 league appearances, and 285 in 503 overall, for Bolton between 1946 and 1960. He is the seventh highest goal scorer in the history of the top flight.
1947 (8 Feb) Kathleen Ferrier sang at the Albert Hall, Bolton
1947 (15 Mar) Cyril Holmes made a try scoring England debut in a 24-5 Five Nations rugby union victory over Scotland at Twickenham.
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1947 (29 Mar) The final Bolton Corporation tram service (Tonge Moor route) closed.
1947 (Mar) Ivor Isaac Hazan, British company director, born.
1947 (4 Apr) Roy Greaves, English former footballer, born in Farnworth, near Bolton. Made more than 500 appearances in the Football League playing for Bolton Wanderers, where he spent the vast majority of his career, and Rochdale, and in the North American Soccer League for the Seattle Sounders.
487 League apps (+8 as sub), 66 goals for Bolton Wanderers.
1947 (Apr) Mr Leon Joseph Pownsey, British company director, born
1947 (2 Jul) Winifred Ann Taylor, Baroness Taylor of Bolton, British Labour Party politician, born
MP for Bolton West 1974-1983
1947 (6 Sep) Bruce David Rioch, born
Manager of Bolton Wanderers 1992-1995
1947 (w/c 8 Sep) Laurel & Hardy came to Bolton on just one occasion – at the Lido Cinema/Theatre. It is said that the doors had been closed since the beginning of WWII, and that it re-opened specially to cater for Laurel & Hardy’s appearance there. Stan and Ollie stayed at the Brooklands Hotel in Sale, Cheshire – at the corner of Hope Road and Marsden Road. The hotel was demolished in 1972
1947 (18 Oct) Saturday - The official opening of the Le Mans Crescent museum by the Mayor
1947 (7 Nov) Herbert Kirk died aged 21 from illness
Son of Israel and Mary Ellen Kirk of Bolton
Stoker Mechanic P/KX725903 H.M.S. Victory II Royal Navy
Buried in Walmsley (Christ Church) Churchyard
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1947 (6 Dec) On Dec. 6, 1947 Nat Lofthouse married the love of his life, Alma Foster, to whom he would remain married until her death in 1986. His devotion to Alma was matched only by his love of Bolton, and true to form, that Saturday Nat got married in the morning then played football in the afternoon at Burnden Park. The match in question was a 3-2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Nat scored 2 of Bolton's goals.
1947 After playing 131 games for Bolton Wanderers Harry Hubbick joined Port Vale in 1947
1947 The Transport Act.
1947 Laurel and Hardy performed at the Lido in 1947.
1947 The spire of St Matthews Church, Mount Street, Little Bolton was leaning at an alarming angle so the top 30 feet was removed. The stones were numbered and arranged in the churchyard, with plans to rebuild. Unfortunately, the foundations were found to be inadequate (>1955)
1947 Tommy Lawton moved from Chelsea to Third Division Notts County for a record transfer fee of £20,000.
1947 By 1947, the Hulton coal empire was the largest in Lancashire,
1947-1948 Cyril Butler Holmes was capped three times on the wing by England in the 1947-48 season and scored a try on his international début in the Calcutta Cup match against Scotland.
1947-1948 Walter Rowley's "Trotters" finished in 17th place in 1947–48,
1947–1950 Harry McShane (Bolton Wanderers) scored 6 goals in 93 appearances.
1947 -1961 Tommy Banks (born 1929) played for Bolton Wanderers from 1947 to 1961. 233 appearances 2 goals.
1947 Syd’s (Butchers) Ltd was formed as a limited company in 1947 and was finally dissolved in 1997.
1948 (13 Feb) Jim Crawford (1948-2002), motor racing driver, born in Dunfermline, Fifeshire, Scotland. Crawford moved to Bolton as a child and lived on Crompton Way until he moved to America to drive in the Indianapolis 500. He was a mechanic in Bolton when he got the chance to compete. Grands Prix: 2 (1975)/ F2 starts: 14 (1975-1981) Indy 500s: 8 (1984-1995) Died: 6 Aug 2002 Tierra Verde, Florida, USA
1948 (14 Feb) Ireland beat England 11-10 at Twickenham in the rugby union Five Nations match at Twickenham
1948 (29 Mar) France beat England 15-0 in a Five Nations rugby union match at Colombes, Paris. Cyril Butler Holmes (England) last match
1948 (12 Apr) Unsolved murder of Jack Quentin Smith (11 years and 5 months) at Farnworth, Lancs.
1948 (Apr) News of the World offered £500 for information leading to the arrest of the murderer of 11-year-old John Quentin Smith, who was waylaid and stabbed while returning from school on April 12 in Farnworth, Lancashire. On May 2 that year the offer was increased to £1,000.
No payment made.
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1948 (Jul) Bolton Corporation’s Howell Croft South Bus Station opens (July).
1948 (23 Nov) Frank Stewart Worthington, English former footballer, born into a footballing family in Shelf near Halifax, West Riding of Yorkshire. Both of his parents had played the game and his two older brothers, Dave and Bob, became professional footballers, both began their careers with Halifax Town. His nephew Gary was also a professional footballer.
1948 (28 Nov) Tadeusz Novak, Polish international right winger of the 1970's who was distinctive due to his bald head, born in Warsaw.
1948 (28 Dec) During the first house performance of a circus at the Grand Theatre on Churchgate, the lion tamer was caught by a lion and badly mauled.
Marayan Swami, a 36-year-old lion tamer from Madras (known as Captain Swami) was knocked to the floor of the stage by an African lion and found himself wrestling with it – in full view of the audience
Swami was mauled by a lion again on March 29 1950 during the performance of a travelling circus which had stopped at Evesham, Worcestershire. He died from his injuries
1948 Bernard Wrigley (“The Bolton Bullfrog”), singer, actor and comedian, born in Bolton
Former pupil of Thornleigh Salesian College.
1948 Foundation of the NHS, Fishpool and Townleys hospital were amalgamated
1948 Farnworth-born Jim Halliday was 3rd in the 1948 Olympics Lightweight weightlifting class (340.0 kg)
1948 Farnworth-born Jim Halliday was 1st in the 1948 European Championships Lightweight weightlifting class (340.0 kg).
1948 Lord Leverhulme’s bungalow demolished
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1948 Farnworth Little Theatre, an amateur theatre group, established
1948 After retiring from playing, George Hunt (1910-1996) returned to Bolton Wanderers as coach and trainer in 1948.
1948 Relphs Funeral Service was established by Thomas Relph and the Relph family in 1948.
1948 Edith Rigby (1872-1948) died near Llandudno in Wales in 1948.
1948-1949 Walter Rowley's "Trotters" finished in 14th place in 1948–49.
1948-1949 Willie Moir (Bolton Wanderers) was the English First Division Championship’s top scorer - with 25 goals.
1949 (16 Mar) Alan Edwin Gowling, English former footballer, born in Stockport, Cheshire. He played as a forward for several clubs in the north of England.
1949 (22 Apr) Pauline Sillett, a retired British freestyle swimmer who participated in the 1964 Summer Olympics, born in Bury, Greater Manchester.
1949 (29 May) Brian Kidd, English football coach and former player, born in Collyhurst, Manchester.
1949 (Jun) Ladyshore Colliery closed
The last colliery to remain in use on the Manchester Bolton &Bury canal
At the close, the last full year of output was given as 39,541 tons with a manpower of 236
Ladyshore Colliery (originally named, Back o'th Barn, opened 1830).
The pit closed in 1949 and the colliery offices (now a house) and the stables survive.
1949 (23 Oct) The Ink Spots at Theatre Royal, Bolton, England
1949 (28 Oct) John Prescott McGovern, Scottish association footballer and manager, born in Montrose, Scotland
At the age of 19 he became the youngest player to play in all four divisions of the Football League. He won promotion with Hartlepool, Derby County and Nottingham Forest
Won a League Championship medal at Derby County. Captained Nottingham Forest where he won the League Championship again along with two League Cups and two European Cups
Player manager at Bolton Wanderers 1982-1984
He is a former Horrocks Fold resident.
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1949 (19 Nov) Bert Trautmann made his debut for Manchester City away to Bolton Wanderers at Burnden Park, in Division 1.
1949 (16 Dec) Terence Poole , English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper in the Football League for Huddersfield Town, Bolton Wanderers and Sheffield United, born in Chesterfield
1949 Walker & Homfray’s were taken over by another Manchester brewery, Wilson’s of Newton Heath, in 1949.
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1949 The first full length play presented by Farnworth Little Theatre was 'Night Must Fall'.
1949-1950 Walter Rowley's "Trotters" finished in 16th place in 1949–50.
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