Thursday, 10 July 2008

The World War and Leek Residents

Did you know that many of Leeks residents were involved in fighting for our country in the First and Second world wars? Well there were 101 Soldiers, Seamen and Airmen from Leek whom lost their lives to the 2nd world war!

There are many books about the Leek-onians that were sadly taken from us during WWI and WWII such as....

Roll of Honour - Slippery Slope to War
Written and Researched by C.W.SheldonPublished by Three Counties Publishing (Books) Ltd Retail: £15.95
Roll of Honour - First Leek Casualties
Written and Researched by C.W.SheldonPublished by Three Counties Publishing (Books) Ltd Retail: £15.95
Roll of Honour - The Battle of the Somme
Written and Researched by C.W.SheldonPublished by Three Counties Publishing (Books) Ltd Retail: £15.95
In Name Only - The Battle of Britain
Written and Researched by C.W.SheldonPublished by Three Counties Publishing (Books) Ltd Retail: £13.95
In Name Only - The Blitz
Written and Researched by C.W.SheldonPublished by Three Counties Publishing (Books) Ltd Retail: £13.95
.................................................................................................................
Leek people who lost their lives in WW2
Douglas Charles Carding - Leek
Gilbert Wardle - Leek
Kenneth George Bishop - Leek
Sidney Collier - Leek
Ronald Bostock - Leek
Sidney Poole - Leek
John Shaw Allsop - Leek
Jack Trafford - Leek
Horace Lovatt - Leek
Ronald Sheldon - Leek
Leslie Sheldon - Leek
Ambrose William Johnson - Leek
George Norman Hill - Leek
Charles Lockett - Leek
Tom Lewis - Leek
George Edmund Percival - Leek
Thomas Edward Lucas - Leek
James Coates - Leek
Victor Mee - Leek
Edmund James - Leek
Frederick John Rogers - Leek
Charles Johnson - Leek
Norman Sigley - Leek
Herbert George Hall - Leek
frank Morley - Leek
Leslie Whittaker - Leek
John William Brunt - Leek
Jack Shutt - Leek
James Hannan Charnock - Leek
Harold Beech - Leek
Harry Bould - Leek
Joshua Herbert Hilton - Leek
John William Malkin - Leek
Frank Notley - Leek
Frederick Rogers - Leek
Leslie Maydew - Leek
Keith Wilson Smith - Leek
Peter Kenyon Green - Leek
Albert Grindey - Leek
Ernest Jones Mart - Leek
Harry Mellor - Leek
Basil Cope - Leek
Frederick Bostock - Leek
Michael Roy Stafford - Leek
Arthur Ball - Leek
Basil walmsley - Leek
Norman Sherratt - Leek
William Pickford - Leek
John Stanley Tipper - Leek
Harry Cook - Leek
James Beech - Leek
James Sidney Gordon - Leek
Alfred Derrick Critchlow - Leek
Ronald Poultney - Leek
Ronald Herbert Ager - Leek
Norman Yates Tatton - Leek
Rowland Hickin - Leek
Geoffrey Wood - Leek
Charles Tipper Hudson - Leek
Douglas Hancock - Leek
Gilbert Brereton - Leek
Harry Mellor - Leek
Charles Abbott Ball - Leek
Edgar Lovatt - Leek
Edward John Cooley - Leek
Harry Ratcliffe - Leek
Harry French Hooley - Leek
Stanley Biddulph - Leek
Frank Smith - Leek
Basil Bailey - Leek
John Fowler - Leek
Jack Renshaw - Leek
Derek Lawson dean - Leek
John Clark - Leek
Richard Kenneth Shaw - Leek
George Kirkland - Leek
Harvey Lomas - Leek
Arthur Ernest Pope - Leek
John Carter - Leek
Derek John Povey - Leek
Alfred Ward - Leek
George Woodcock - Leek
Leonard James Plant - Leek
Kenneth Baxter - Leek
Howard Gordon Emmerson - Leek
George Bailey - Leek
Arthur Lockett - Leek
Fred Poole - Leek
Norman Botham - Leek
James Arnol Cope - Leek
Clifford Harold Talbot - Leek
Frank Hammersley - Leek
Keith Norman Hodgkinson - Leek
Herbert Hambleton - Leek
Eric Peacock - Leek
Joseph Stonier - Leek
Harry Rowley - Leek
Harry Mear - Leek
Harold Tatton - Leek
Edward Alexander Belfield - Leek

The Many villages, Hamlets and their history...

A few weeks ago we went to Ladderedge Nature Reserve, however, on the way there we were supposed to be originally going to find 'Lud's Church', We turned left after the Roaches, towards Gradbach, unsure where we actually went wrong, we never did find Lud's church, sadly not enough research from myself meant I was actually looking for a church of some kind and not a rock formation....

"Gradbach is a tiny hamlet on the River Dane, and a well-known beauty spot which attracts many visitors. The hamlet is centred around a fine stone-built mill which was built in 1785 for the spinning of silk. Though the mill was water-powered and therefore cheap to run, this was too remote a site for an enterprise like this and the mill closed as early as 1885. It is now a Youth Hostel.Besides the valley of the Dane, the attractions of the area are the fine moorland walks and the unusual formation known as Lud's Church.
Shuttlingsloe from AllgreaveAllgreave is a tiny farming hamlet clustered around the A54 where it makes a steep descent to cross Clough Brook, below Wildboarclough. On the main road there is a pub called the the Rose and Crown."


So maybe next time, after doing more research we can park up the car and go walking to find said Lud's Church, not only that, but a map would be handy (yes we still haven't equipped ourselves with a map).

Don't you think that it is just more fun to keep walking and see where you end up?

What about Cheddleton? Have you ever ventured there? Here you will find a couple of shops, 'Bargain Booze', 'One-Stop', 'Peak Pharmacy', 'Veterinary Surgery', 'Cheddleton Dental Surgery' and a total of 3 public houses... 'The Boat Inn', 'The Red Lion', and 'The Black Lion', as well as 'Gastro's' Latin American restaurant (situated by the canal where the Cheddleton canal wharf was once sited).

Did you know there was a flint mill in Cheddleton? Well there is, Follow the road from Leek, through Leekbrook and towards Cheddleton, down the Cheadle Road, as you near the dip in the road, look to your right where the canal is, there is a small drive there that leads you down to the Flint mill. Somewhere I/We, have not yet ventured yet are planning to when the weather is much better than it is now!

"Cheddleton lies 5km south of Leek, where the A520 road crosses the River Churnet, which has cut a deep-sided valley in the soft sandstone here. The village is rather spoilt by the main road, which is busy and noisy, and by the industrial estate which sits alongside the river, but the surrounding countryside along the Churnet Valley is mostly very pretty.There has been a settlement here since at least Saxon times, since the river was an obvious source of both water and water power. One of the flint mills (which are now a museum) was originally a corn mill and dates from the 14th century.
On the Caldon CanalCheddleton began to expand with the construction of the Caldon Canal, in 1779. This was originally built to bring limestone from the quarry at Cauldon and linked Stoke on Trent (where it joined the Trent and Mersey canal) with Froghall, lower down the Churnet Valley. The canal brought improved communications and hence industry (such as flint-milling) to the area. The construction of the North Staffordshire railway in 1849 brought further industry to the area, which has remained to this day.The Caldon Canal is now a popular route for tourists, and Cheddleton Station is the main centre for the Churnet Valley Railway, a popular tourist attraction."


Other villages situated around Leek are...


Butterton
Elkstone
Gradbach
Ipstones
Onecote
Rudyard
Upper Hulme
Wincle
Danebridge
Swythamley

So that is at least 9 out of 10 places I have to visit and photograph to blog which I haven't yet visited.

map

The map of where we live... See the red road between Cheddleton and Leek, where the blue river goes in around a U shape is where we live! If you look further up you will see the Roaches, that is where I intend to take the family and find "Lud's Church".