Ormskirk & district - Mona Duggan

This collection of photographs dating between the late nineteenth century and the 1960s offer a portrait of life in the market town of Ormskirk and the nearby villages. Wars and preparations for war are featured in the mustering of the Hussars in the 1890s, the faded photograph which accompanied the soldier to the trenches in the First World War and, more recently, the checking of gas masks and digging of ARP trenches in the Second World War. The progress of hospital care is charted by the photos of the workhouse, the cottage hospital and finally the temporary wooden huts which preceded the modern hospital. The evolution of transport is represented as horse-drawn vehicles are replaced by motor vans and taxis. Changes to the landscape of town and neighbourhood are seen in a chapter on views past and present, but perhaps most important are the activities of people - their theatrical appearances, their sporting achievements, their chosen hobbies, their schooling. This is a trip down memory lane that cannot fail to be enjoyed by all those who know the area well and those who come to visit.