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

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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."

Resource: http://www.cressbrook.co.uk/scripts/towns/villages.php

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."

Resource: http://www.cressbrook.co.uk/scripts/towns/villages.php

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.



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".