FEBRUARY

A MEMORIAL stone dedicated to Dame Gracie Fields went back on display at her birthplace on Molesworth Street.

The stone, which marks Gracie’s childhood home above a fish and chip shop run by her grandmother on the street in 1898, was moved in late 2014 to accommodate a road widening scheme.

But it was put back in place in February, following cleaning and restoration by professional stonemasons. THE legacy of a community stalwart lived on at a rail station close to his heart. A painting started by popular volunteer Stuart Carmichael, who died in 2016, was presented to Littleborough Station in his honour.

Stuart was a member and secretary of the Friends of Littleborough Stations from 2006 to January 2013, when he suffered a bleed on his brain.

In 2012 the former art teacher, who had a lifelong passion for railways, started the picture, which shows a steam Rugby Special train from Wigan to Wakefield, passing over Smithy Bridge level crossing.

Sadly, due to his illness, Stuart was unable to finish the painting and his wife, Jackie, arranged for a specialist railway artist to complete it.

“Stuart would have been thrilled to and humbled to know that the painting is finally completed and has found such a wonderful home at his beloved Littleborough Station,” she said.