Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past Wirral History Wirral History : Did you know?

Sorry guys its a copy and paste job but some brilliant facts so thought it deserves to be put up.

Wirral had the first commercial hovercraft service in Great Britain which operated from Moreton in 1962.

Thomas Henry Ismay the founder of the White Star Line which built the Titanic, lived and died on the
Wirral.

William of Orange launched his main task force to attack Ireland from the Wirral ports of Hoylake and
Denhall.

Wirral is said to be the site of the bloodiest battle ever fought Britain. It is reputed to have taken place
in around the Bebbington and Brombrough area, it was known as the battle of Brunburgh.

The first shot of WW1 was fired from the Wirral. It was shot from one of the guns on Fort Perch Rock
as a warning across the bow of a Norwegian vessel just 30 minutes after war had been declared. The
officer in charge of the Fort was Major Charles John Luya. (1870 - 1933). He was a dental surgeon from
Wallasey, who had joined the Territorial Army and risen to the rank of Major.

Birkenhead Park was the first municipal park open to the public in the United Kingdom. The park was
so much of a success that Central Park in New York was based upon its design.

Brigadier Philip John Denton Toosey, (12 August 1904 – 22 December 1975) was the senior Allied officer
in the Japanese prisoner of war camp at Tamarkan in Thailand during World War II. The men at this
camp built the Bridge on the River Kwai. His character was immortalised by Alec Guinness in the film.

The legend of Canute holding back the sea was said to have taken place at Moreton in Wirral. A
Canute Chair was present there up until the 1950s.

Wirral has the highest amount of Grade 2 listed buildings outside of London.

The tidal activity research for the D Day landings were taken from Bidston Observatory.

The first commando raid was carried out at Zeebrugge by the Iris and Daffodil, of the Wallasey ferries in
1918.

Wallasey Ferry Service was the first in the world to have Radar.

The Waltons from Wallasey were Britains first Sextuplets to survive.

The New Brighton palace was the first indoor amusement arcade in the country.

Wallaseys life boat the Duke of Northumberland, was the worlds first Steam Jet Lifeboat.

Mary Elizabeth Williams of Moreton, was the first female lighthouse keeper in Britain.

The mole was used to bore the Wallasey tunnel was the first to be used in Britain.

The New Brighton Tower was the highest building in Britain at the time, standing at 621 feet high.

New Brighton Swimming Baths was the largest aquatic stadium in the world and also the largest open
air pool in Europe.

New Brighton Tower Ballroom stage was the largest in the world at 3240 feet.

Wirral has the longest Promenade in Britain.

Leasowe Lighthouse built in 1763, is the oldest surviving lighthouse in Britain

Wow! It's fantastic that wirral has so much interesting history..really makes you proud to live here. I hope at least some of this knowledge is being passed on to the children in wirral schools. Thanks for the post, very informative.

it is a wonderful place and as i say to my friends in liverpool we also have the nicer view across the river.

im proud of coming from new brighton.

This is fabulous stuff. I travel all over the country with my job and consider myself to be a great ambassador for The Wirral (capital "T") Can you email me this please? I am at [email protected]. I will use it for my after-dinner speaking.

Fantastic info

copy and paste it to microsoft word mate

Great Facts, I have that particular page bookmarked.

More interesting facts.....

101 Interesting facts about Mersey Ferries

Where have my earlier posts on this thread gone? I realise some were off topic but to just remove them without even telling me is a bit off, don't you think?

Admin : Removed Due to being off topic. We do like to keep history topics "on topic"
It would also be nice if the topic stayed on topic.

It should be stated, the shot fired from Perch Rock was possibly the first British shot, don't want people thinking Wirral started the war. Apparently it hit a beach in Liverpool, thankfully our aim got better.

Thank god for that hey Bert. Was it a shot in panic or an time aimed shot?

Apparently it was meant to be a warning shot across the bow of a Norwegian ship that failed to stop when ordered to. Unfortunately it landed in the sandhills at Crosby because the gun’s elevation was too high! The shell was found by a resident who handed it in to Seaforth Battery where it was given a place of honour in the mess room with a plaque marked ‘A present from New Brighton’

A second shot was fired but it hit the bow of an Allen liner which was at anchor. Not a very successful day’s work!

Thanks nightwalker very detailed response, much appreciated. was the person firing the cannon, sampling the alcohol to keep warm?

The aim of a warning shot is to land in the water in close proximity of the ship one is trying to warn and not frighten the life out of someone blowing their lilo bed up on a beach, if it doesn't land in the water a blank may as well be fired or get your best top tenor to shot bang. Then to fire another shot into the bow of an anchored ship is a piece of history best forgotten.

Wirral is a wonderful place. Don't know if the following will be of interest to anybody.

Thomas Ismay lived at Thurstaston and has a plaque in Thurstaston Church. He was also resposible for blowing up the rock between Thurstaston and West Kirby for a road to run through.

King William and his Queen, stopped at Gayton Hall on their way to Hoylake. Two trees were planted to commemorate their visit, which still stand to this day.

I believe that it is Birkenhead that has the most Grade II buildings outside London not Wirral in general.

Birkenhead Park was designed by Joseph Paxton which I think is something to be proud of.

Thanks tony for the interesting things about the wirral, i was born in plymouth 1960 moved up here in 1965 i,am now 51. My mum is from tranmere and my dad was from dingle [royal navy] and you know what i like living here what a great place the wirral is to live in! cheers mike...ann..x.