Video of WW2 Event at Chorlton Good Neighbours

Video of WW2 Event at Chorlton Good Neighbours, Feb 7th 2013

A video of the World War 2 Event at Chorlton Good Neighbours, celebrating 4 local WW2 veterans. The video show the build up to the event and the presentations to the two arctic convoy veterans, Bob Cowan & John Mackay, In addition,  Mickie Mitchell the petrol lorry driver and Alan Wood the fighter pilot, were also honoured at this event

Full versions of the videos shown at the event can be viewed online at:

Alan Wood: Fighter Pilot with coastal command, Banff Strike wing

Mickie Mitchell: She served in the army and then the Fire Service in Manchester during the blitz

John Mackay is another Arctic Convoy veteran who lives in Chorlton. Here is a video where he talks about his experiences on HMS Keppel in the Arctic Convoys

Bob Cowan: the World War Two Arctic Convoys and the Chorlton Good Neighbours campaign to get the British Government to allow veterans like Bob to received the medal of Ushakov from the Russian Government

Photos of WW2 Veterans Event, Feb 7th 2013

Photogallery of the event celebrating our Word War Two veterans  held on Feb 7th 2013 at Chorlton Good Neighbours.

Thanks to Carolyn O'Hanlon for the photos

Bob Cowan & WW2 Arctic Convoys

Bob Cowan and the World War Two Arctic Convoys

Bob Cowan, 93, and his wife Joyce are regulars at Chorlton Good Neighbours coffee mornings. One day last year he came in with a letter from the Russian Embassy in London, telling him they wanted to award him and other veterans the medal of Ushakov in recognition of their role in supporting Russian through their participation in the WW2 Arctic Convoys.

I followed this up and eventually found out from the Russian embassy that they were being prevented from giving the medal by the UK government because it was against the rules. We then mounted a campaign to get the government to change its mind and allow the awarding of the medal. This resulted in a front page article in the Manchester Evening News, articles in the Daily Mail and an interview on Granada Reports



The wider campaign to have an Arctic Convoy medal issued by the UK government gathered momentum because of this story and eventually the Prime Minister, David Cameron, announced in PM Questions just before Christmas 2012, that such a medal would be awarded. However, the medal of Ushakov can still not be awarded and the fight to allow the Russian Government to award this still goes on

[youtube=http://youtu.be/23s0BywHGzg]

The  video above includes descriptions by Bob of what it was like to be in the Arctic Convoys and to have been rescued from the water after being on a ship (HMS Mashona) that was sunk. He also describes his experiences on the Malta convoys. Bob went on to serve in the Pacific campaign, to have been present at the surrender of Japan and to have walked through Hiroshima shortly after the Atomic Bomb.

The campaign to have the Arctic Convoy veterans contribution to the defence of this country in WWs is described in a clip from his interview with Granada TV in October 2013. This campaign which was supported and promoted by Bob's friends at Chorlton Good Neighbours, was successful when the Prime Minister in PM Questions Time in December 2013, announced the awarding of an Arctic Convoy medal for the remaining veterans

Bob Cowan, 4^th from right, with shipmates onboard the HMS Ashanti off Iceland, 1942

History Group meets Thurs Feb 7th at 1.30pm

Chorlton History Group's next meeting:  

Chorlton’s World War 2 Veterans          Thurs Feb 7^th 2013 1.30pm 

At Chorlton Good Neighbours, Wilbraham St Ninian’s Church , Egerton Rd South, Chorlton

£1.50 charge for tea & biscuits  - All welcome

A tribute to some of Chorlton Good Neighbours members who served in World War Two:

• Bob Cowan, for whom we mounted a successful campaign for an Arctic Convoy medal to be awarded to veterans such as himself and also John Mackay of Chorlton who is also a veteran of the Arctic Convoys


• Alan Wood, fighter pilot, who was once shot down over the North Sea and was adrift in a one-man dinghy for 4 days


• Mickie Mitchell, who drove army petrol tankers round during the Manchester blitz

The session, led by Bernard Leach, will include film footage of the Arctic Convoys, an interview with Bob Cowan and a presentation to Bob to mark his being awarded the recently announced Arctic Convoy Survivors medal. We have also invited the Russian Ambassador to present the medal of Ushakov which the Russian Federation have awarded to Arctic Convoy veterans. We hope that Bob, John, Alan and Mickie will all be at the presentation to contribute and answer questions


               AB Seaman Bob Cowan 1941


                        HMS Mashona, 1942


Alan Wood, fighter pilot 1941

For further information ring Chorlton Good Neighbours on 881 2925
or email BTLeach@gmail.com

Bob Cowan and the Arctic Convoy medal

Granada Reports interviews Good Neighbours user, Bob Cowan, a WW2 Arctic Convoy veteran, following a campaign by Chorlton Good Neighbours to get the UK government to allow him to receive a Russian medal in recognition of his wartime service

Denise's Leaving Party in 1988

Clips from a video made by Ian Hobbs in 1988 of Denise Jones's Leaving Party. Denise was leaving Chorlton Good Neighbours to go and live in South Wales. Included in these clips are Helen, Enid and Arthur who are all still active in Chorlton Good Neighbours but unsurprisingly look a little bit younger in this video!

Brian Hallworth's Talk on "The life and times of Mr George Formby"

Brian Hallworth gave a great talk on - “Still leaning on a lamppost” the life and times of Mr George Formby, at Chorlton Good Neighbour's History Group meeting on Sep 6th 2012, attended by over 30 people. Here are some clips of his illustrated talk which gives a flavour of the talk and of the music of the great George Formby 

Brian Hallworth giving his talk

Lights, Camera, Drizzle

Chris Lee, a film and culture historian, gave a talk to the Chorlton History Group on 2nd August 2012, entitled "Lights, Camera, Drizzle: Manchester, England and Film". Nearly 40 people attended and enjoyed finding out about Manchester's film history and seeing a series of clips particularly of films made at the the Mancunian Film Studios on Dickenson Road 

 The audience enjoying Chris's presentation

 Chris and his wife Pam having a cup of tea before the talk

Hurray for Jollywood!

The next History Group talk will be on Thursday 6th Sep at 1.30pm  

“Still Leaning on a Lampost: The Life & Times of Mr George Formby" by Brian Hallworth

As usual, it will be held at Good Neighbours (Wilbraham St Ninian's Church). 

All welcome 

Day Trip to Rhos on Sea

A day trip to Rhos on Sea, Wales on 25th July 2012 for over 40 people from Chorlton Good Neighbours, Ends with an interview with Joan who has lived in the same house in Chorlton for 85 years and reminisces about working for the Ministry of Food during the second World War and what it was like using the Anderson Air Raid shelter in their garden

Jubilee Sunday

Special Jubilee themed Sunday Tea at Chorlton Good Neighbours. As well as the enterntainment, people shared some of their memories of the Queen's Coronation in 1953

Good Neighbours Radio Broadcast

The CGN Radio Programme for Chorlton FM was broadcast during the Chorlton Arts Festival in May 2012. There were interviews with the Good Neighbours Coordinator, Helen Hibberd,  with wheelchair support worker, Amanda and with volunteers such as Carolyn, Peter  and Yvonne. We also got the views of users such as Hilda, Arthur and Nancy. As well as the interviews there was music from  Carolyn O’Hanlon singing a song about her grandmother,  “Sweet Charlotte” and songs from the Spring Variety Concert – featuring:

• The Loreto College drummers
• Amanda singing “Breakfast at Tiffanys”
• The Beech Band singing “the Manchester Rambler”
• The Melodics singing  “Red River Valley”, and finally,
• The Part Timers “Goodnight Sweetheart, goodnight”

The radio broadcast can be heard at the Community Reporter website by following this link

Chorlton Good Neighbours Radio Broadcast

MMU Design Lab Students return visit

MMU Design Lab Student Gemma Latham and two of her colleagues, visited Chorlton Good Neighbours to report back on their 'creating an age-friendly city' project. They talked to people atr the coffee morning on 26th April and showed them Annabel's lamp. This is a visual representation of the concerns and memories of older people in Chorlton they had talked to.

They are working with the City Council Valuing Older People team to provide a model of community engagement. Gemma herself will be finishing off her project with an event on the 12th May at St Clement's where she be asking people to donate memories that will be woiven on to a memorial bench in Beech Road Park - "taking memories and turning them into yarn" - or another way of looking at it - turning Yarns into Yarn!

Joan, Christine, Marion & Enid

Joan, Christine, Marion & Enid having a discussion about their memories of Chorlton, before and after World War 2,  and their current roles as volunteers in Chorlton Good Neighbours