RUNCORN may be a New Town, but it is also an old town with a long history.

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The words are those of historian Bert Starkey, eloquently summing up an introductory piece to his latest pictorial book entitled Runcorn - A Town Not So New.

The book provides us with everything we have come to expect from the historian's offerings: more than 200 photographs (the majority new to most of us) with every one accompanied by explanatory, lucidly presented, self-contained captions.

And once again, the contents are neatly compartmentalised, beginning with breathtaking pictures of the building of the Runcorn-Widnes Jubilee Bridge, followed by chapters on industrial Runcorn, town and country views, landmark buildings, church activities, pageants and processions.

Finally, there is a chapter on Some Runcorn Folk, in itself a modest title for a number of revealing and fascinating pictures, ranging from an Edwardian wedding 100 years ago to a picture taken at a banquet at the Exchange Station in Liverpool on December 7, 1916, when Hazlehurst & Sons Limited celebrated its centenary.

Hazlehursts was acquired from the United Alkali Company by Levers who closed the soapworks in 1913 and transferred production to Port Sunlight. Among the 150 guests were some retired employees of the firm. Hazlehursts brand name was still in use in the 1930s.

There are also photos of the boys of the old Runcorn County Secondary School, seen in formal pose in 1927, and a group of sixth formers of the Runcorn County Grammar School at the Waterloo Road site in 1946.

Within a couple of years the school was closed and the pupils were transferred to the then new Helsby Grammar School.

Bert prefaces his book with an easy-to read account of the town's 1,000-year history, skipping easily though the years from the third century AD when the Romans established a settlement at Halton Brow.

Published by Avid Publications, Runcorn, A Town Not So New is priced at £12.99 and is available from the Curiosity Bookshop, High Street, Runcorn

THE much awaited book telling the story of the Crewe Kings speedway club will be published in May - but there is still time for Chronicle readers to have their stories included.

The launch of When They Were Kings - The Crewe Speedway Story will coincide with the 40th anniversary of British League speedway beginning at the old Earle Street stadium in 1969.

The authors Mark Potts, Tony Marks, Kev Tew and Andy Scoffin have all but completed their labour of love, which is to include all the heat details from all of the 350-plus meetings which involved the Kings. Junior and training school matches and details will also be included.

The authors are interviewing ex-riders for the final chapter of the book, who include Dai Evans, Dave Morton, John Jackson and Phil Crump.

The foreword has been penned by Dave Parry, who was involved in the Kings story from start to finish, first as a rider, then manager and promoter.

Readers are being invited to send in their memories and stories of the Crewe Kings to the Chronicle office at 32-34 Victoria Street Crewe; e-mail crewe.news@cheshirenews.co.uk. The top 10 will be published in the book and the best one will receive a free copy.

The launch next year will involve many ex-riders who will be present to sign the books.
The 375-page hard back book, published by Brookmark Publications of Nantwich (Quayside Creative) will feature many never previously published photographs and will retail at £12.99 (ISBN 978-0-955-6733-4-4).

Cheshire airfields had a massive hand to play in the Second World War, according to leading World War II historian, Aldon Ferguson.

At the height of of the Second World War, Cheshire had nine operational airfields, with six of them purpose-built to aid the war effort at Calveley, Stretton, Poulton, Cranage, Little Sutton and Tatton Park, while airfields at Ringway, Hooton Park and Woodford were already in existence.

These nine airfields were used by the Royal Air Force and many war-time fighters and bombers were built, while thousands of pilots, navigators and paratroopers were also trained according to the book Cheshire Airfields of The Second World War.

The book explains in depth what has happened to all nine of the airfields since the war, with only two of the sites, Ringway and Woodford still operating.

The other seven have been built over or returned to the quiet fields that they once were, with a corner of the old Cranage airfield now lying under the M6.

Detailed research takes the reader through the action during the conflict that took place at the airfields during the war, including the construction of an aircraft that was amazingly assembled in just 24-hours, before having a successful test flight within just 45 minutes.

The book also describes how the airfields helped to protect Manchester and the docks at Birkenhead and Liverpool and how training at the airfields directly affected the D-Day Landings.

Mr Ferguson has also obtained access to several interesting photographs which help the reader to picture what the airfields looked like in the early forties.

AN OLD journal has been discovered which sheds light on life in South Cheshire more than 170 years ago.

It was written by Ellen Tollet of Betley Hall and describes two years in the life of a privileged 22-year-old living in the 1830s.

She was the daughter of a wealthy landowner and close friend of Emily Darwin, the wife of Charles Darwin.

The journal and a collection of letters have been transcribed by Staffordshire woman Mavis E Smith into a book called Ellen Tollet of Betley Hall which includes 60 illustrations and sketches.

The journals were found by Mrs Smith in the Shropshire archives and she got permission to transcribe them.

Mrs Smith said: "It's been a tremendously rewarding experience transcribing this book and I feel like I have got into the head of someone who lived an incredibly long time ago.

"The journal was written before trains and at a time when Crewe was just a small village."

From tragic deaths to house parties, the diary includes the deepest thoughts and witty observations of a well-educated lady.

It follows Ellen Tollet's experiences travelling before trains, and at a time when women did not enjoy the same freedoms as they do now.

The book also includes unpublished letters from Florence Nightingale and Charles Darwin.

It costs £12.50 and can be bought from the Nantwich Bookshop or directly from Mrs Smith on 01782 750176.

Any profits from sales or subsequent talks Mrs Smith may make will be given to a cancer charity.

PHOTOGRAPHS OF Newtown including this image of Christ Church school (above) are jogging a few memories.

The photographs form part of an exhibition called Newtown Remembered at Chester History and Heritage Centre until November 29. It features pictures and memories of the area, from the 1920s onwards.

Christ Church School, which opened in 1842, is now home to Chester Little Theatre.

If you have photographs or memories to add to the exhibition, e-mail Elaine Pierce Jones at Chester History & Heritage at e.pierce-jones@ chester.gov.uk or telephone 01244 402110.

A GOLDEN couple are looking for some of their old friends.

Ray and Brenda Harper were married on November 15 1958 at Holy Trinity Church in Chester (now the Guildhall) and will celebrate their golden wedding anniversary next month.

They have sent The Chronicle this picture, taken after their wedding, with the combined choirs of Holy Trinity Church and St Chad's Church, Blacon (now Holy Trinity Without-the-Walls).

Ray was organist and choirmaster at Holy Trinity and Brenda sang in the choir at St Chad's. Brenda also sang in the Chester Ladies' Choir and is now the longest serving member of that choir. Ray is now principal organist at St Werburgh's RC Church in Chester.

The couple, who now live in Highfield Road, Blacon are keen to hear from any of the choir members who sang on their special day.

They know that two of those pictured have sadly died but if you recognise yourself or anyone in the photograph please reply to this post.

CHESTER'S last city centre school is on the move. St Mary's Nursery School, on St Mary's Hill, will up sticks in December and move from its site within the city walls to a new site in Handbridge.

Past pupils, parents, staff and friends are invited to celebrate the school's history on Thursday, October 23, from 4-7pm at the St Mary's Hill site.

Headteacher Ken Jones said: "We look forward to celebrating the part this building has played in our community and then 162 years of history will be packed into our bags and moved across the river."

From January the nursery school will be rehoused on the site of Overleigh St Mary's CE Primary School in Old Wrexham Road.

The school was established in 1846 to provide religious education for the poor of the large inner city parish of St Mary's. A reorganisation of city schools in 1972 meant St Mary's became a nursery school and it has provided pre-school education for three and four-year-olds across the city since then.

It has an active PTA group, called the Friends of St Mary's Nursery School, which regularly raises money for extra curricular activities including school trips, equipment and the annual Fair Day in May.

In 2002, the group organised a "street" party for parents to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee.

The celebration will include an exhibition of the history of the school and organisers are keen to hear from anyone with any photographs or memories.

Alternatively visitors on the day will be able to add their memories to a memory book.

There will be light refreshments, provided by the Friends of St Mary's, and at 6pm, there will be speeches, a cake and a toast to mark the past and look forward to the future of this school.

THE authors of the forthcoming book When They Were Kings - the Crewe Speedway Story, which is due out next May 2008 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of British League speedway at Earle Street, have set about interviewing the riders who rode for the Kings from 1969-75.

They visited Ironbridge to interview Dai Evans, the captain of the Kings when they won the league and cup double in 1972.

The interview, which is to appear in the final chapter of the book, gives a fascinating insight into the sport and the goings-on at the Earle Street stadium.

Dai was already somewhat of a veteran when he was signed for Crewe to replace Colin Tucker in May 1970. He had ridden for Wolverhampton (twice), Cradley, West Ham and Newport in Division One before signing for Crayford and Nelson and finally Crewe.

At the start of 1973, after leading the Kings to their best ever season, Dai shocked the management at Crewe when announcing his retirement just a few hours before their opening home match of the season versus Workington. In his time at the club he appeared in 107 league and cup matches and rode in 436 races, winning 83 and scoring 774 points (including bonus points) for a more than respectable calculated match average of 7.1.

He would later return into the speedway fold in a management capacity at nearby Stoke. Among the many questions he answered during the two-hour interview was who he thought was the best rider at Crewe while he was there.

"No question about it. Phil Crump was unbelievable during the '72 season. He first lodged with me when he first came over and I soon realised that this young Aussie was going to be someone special. He should have been World Champion, you know."

Dai still has fond memories of his time at Crewe and will be attending the book launch in May with other notable riders from the Kings. Pre-ordering details are to be announced in the next few weeks. The book is being compiled by Mark Potts, Tony Marks, Kevin Tew and Andy Scoffin.

A PHOTOGRAPHIC record of an old Chester school has been unearthed in Newtown.

Roland Waite was clearing out his attic in Talbot Street when he found a photograph album in the rafters.
Put together by the Scholastic Souvenir Company in Blackpool, the album captures life inside Christ Church School in Gloucester Street, which closed in 1960.

Roland, 70, said: "The album is in pristine condition and if I could find out who it belongs to I would gladly give it to them."

Roland's wife Shirley, 57, who has lived in the house for 25 years, recognises a number of faces in the photographs. This dates the album to the 1950s.

The photographs now form part of an exhibition called Newtown Remembered at Chester History and Heritage Centre until November 29. It features pictures and memories from the area from the 1920s onwards.

Christ Church School, which opened in 1842, is now home to Chester Little Theatre.

If you have photographs or memories to add to the exhibition, e-mail Elaine Pierce Jones at Chester History & Heritage at e.pierce-jones@chester.gov.uk or telephone 01244 402110.

A FAMILY researcher got in touch from the other side of the world for information on his Cheshire relatives.

Martin Donson, of New Zealand, said: "On my grandfather's side I have very little knowledge and I wanted to connect with relatives on his side.

"Although my grandfather passed away in the 1990s and my grandmother last year, I have recently become aware that he may have a brother who may still live in the area.

"I would dearly love to be able to get hold of him to learn more about this side of the family, which is a complete mystery.

"My grandfather was John (Jack) Shields and his wife was Nellie Shields and they resided in Little Sutton.
"I want to be able to get hold of any surviving relatives or anyone who can help with who John Shields' brothers and sisters were.

"I am also interested in learning about anyone who is related or knew a George Francis Dorrington and Jean Dorrington as there is some family connection with them that I have been unable to ascertain."

Contact Martin at martin@style-sense.co.nz or call The Chronicle on 01244 606415.