Famous Vessels Built At The Laird Shipyard In Birkenhead

The Only Known Image Of  The Troop Carrier HMS Birkenhead

The Cammell Laird shipyard started life as a boiler making company known as the Birkenhead Ironworks. The company was owned by Scot, William Laird (1780 - 1841), who moved to Birkenhead from his native Greenock in Scotland in 1810 in order to set up a rope making firm.

In 1822 William set up a steamship company with partners William Hamilton and John Forsyth.

In 1829  his son, solicitor's clerk John Laird (1805 - 1874) talked his father into manufacturing ships made from iron, resulting in John Laird becoming a pioneer of the iron built ship.  

John Laird, who was the M.P for Birkenhead from 1861 until his death in 1874 was also instrumental in the rejuvenation of the town of Birkenhead, which in those days was just a river side village, where he commissioned the building of a church, a hospital, an arts school and several housing projects, many of which still bare his name today.

The father and son's first shipyard, William Laird & Son, was situated at Wallasey Pool, which is an arm of the River Mersey situated just outside Birkenhead.

Their first ship was a sixty foot prefabricated iron lighter which was built for the Irish Inland Navigation Company which was launched in 1829.

In 1857, sixteen years after the death of his William, John Laird bought a new twenty acre shipyard at Tranmere.

When John retired in 1861, in order to devote more time to his parliamentary work, the shipyard was taken over by his three sons, William, John and Henry.

In 1903, twenty nine years after the death of John senior, the company merged with a Sheffield steel making company owned by Charles Cammell, which resulted in the beginning of the world famous ship building company, Cammell - Laird, which continued to build hundreds of ships until it’s closure in 1993. 

Several of these ships went on to become quite famous for a variety of reasons, many of which are listed below; 

Aircraft Carriers

The shipyard at Birkenhead built several aircraft carriers for use by the British Navy, including HMS Venerable built in 1943 and the first two HMS Ark Royals in 1939 and in 1950.

The first Ark Royal was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea in 1941 and the second became a T.V star after featuring in the British television documentary series ' Sailor ' in the 1970's.  

Battleships

The shipyard was instrumental in the building of iron war ships, many of which were built for the British Navy, these warships included the HMS Royal Oak built in 1892, HMS Glory built in 1899, HMS Audacious built in 1901 and HMS Achilles built in 1932. However the most famous one of these warships was the HMS Prince of Wales, a vessel which was instrumental in the sinking of the German Battleship the Bismarck in 1941. 

Cruise Liners

The shipyard at Birkenhead is probably most famous for the building of it's cruise liners than any other ship, although it made considerably less of these than any other ship.The shipyard built liners for several of the large cruise companies, including the Cunard Line, which commissioned the building of The Cephalonia in 1882, the Samaria in 1920 and the second ship to be named Mauretania built in 1939.

The company also built ships for the Union Castle Line, the most famous of which was the Windsor Castle built in 1960, which was used as a mail ship for use in South Africa. 

HMS Birkenhead

Two Cammell - Laird ships were built bearing the name HMS Birkenhead. 

The first vessel was a steam frigate launched in 1845, originally under the name of HMS Vulcan.

In 1851 she was overhauled into a troopship and renamed HMS Birkenhead.

On the 25th of February, 1852 with 643 men, women and children and nine horses on board, she set sail from Simonstown in South Africa on the last leg of a journey bound for Algoa Bay on South Africa's east coast.

At 02.11hours on the 26th of February HMS Birkenhead struck a concealed rock at a place called Danger Point situated off the coast of Gansbaal.

Her captain, Robert Salmond, ordered all the women and children into the ship's cutter and had the horses thrown into the sea - in the hope that they would swim to shore. Ten minutes later, the ship struck the rock a second time tearing the ship's bottom in half.

Captain Salmond immediately ordered those that could swim to abandon ship and swim for land, but a Colonel Seton ordered his military personnel to ' stand fast'  realising that letting the men jump overboard and that they would make strait for the cutter, would seriously endanger the lives of the women and children.

Colonel Seton's men obeyed him and did not move even as the ship broke up and began to sink around them.

This horrific event led to two things - the naval protocol of women and children first when faced with helpless circumstances, which became known as the Birkenhead Drill, and the building of a lighthouse at Danger Point in 1895.

Of the 643 passengers 193 men survived, 8 of the nine horses managed to swim to shore and all the women and children were rescued.  

The second HMS Birkenhead was a light cruiser launched in 1915, which, along with her sister ship HMS Chester, was originally built for the Greek Navy, but ended up being bought by the British Navy. These two sister ships were part of the light squadron of the Grand Fleet and both took part at the Battle of Jutland in June of 1916.

This particular HMS Birkenhead was then sold for scrap in 1921.   

Merchant Ships

Several merchant ships were built at Birkenhead, particularly oil tankers.

The most famous of these oil tankers was the pioneering Shell tanker, Sepia built in 1956, which was the first vessel to be propelled by a gas turbine in the world. 

Preserved Ships

Several of the Birkenhead war horses have been preserved for prosperity and can be seen in various locations around the world.

These include the turret ship, Huascar built in 1865 for the Peruvian Navy, which now takes pride of place in the Chilean Naval base at Talcahuano, the training vessel, Presidente Sarmiento built in 1897, which is now a museum ship berthed in Buenos Aries in Argentina and the Corvette Antarctic explorer, ARA Uruguay built in 1874, which is still in use by the Argentinian Navy.   

River Steamships

The company started life building river steamships, mainly for use on and around the lakes and rivers of Great Britain.The most famous of these steamships was the Ma Robert, built for African explorer Dr David Livingstone (1813 - 1873) for use on during his travels along the Zambezi River. 

Submarines

Submarines were also built at the shipyard, including HMS Unicorn, HMS Reknown, HMS Revenge and the most famous one of them all, HMS Conqueror, who sank the Argentinian warship the ARA General Belgrano in 1982 during the Falklands conflict killing 323 of it's crew.  

  

Vessels Still in Service

Although the shipyard in Birkenhead officially ceased business in 1993, there are still quite a few of it's ships sailing the seas to this day. These include the three RFA support tankers HMS Appleleaf, HMS Brambleleaf and HMS Orangeleaf, the two destroyers HMS Liverpool and HMS Campbletown, the WWI Cruiser HMS Caroline and the submarine HMS Onyx. 

Vessels Under Restoration

Two former Birkenhead built ships have been found locally and are presently undergoing restoration at their home port.

They are the former tug boat the Daniel Adamson built for use on the Manchester Ship canal in 1903 and the Isle of Man cruise steamer the Manxman. 

Warships

Iron built warships were becoming big business in the latter part of the nineteenth century where the Laird & Sons shipyard began to make warships not only for the British Navy but for foreign navies too.

Their list of warships include HMS Scorpion, HMS Wivern, HMS Captain and the steam destroyer HMS Rattlesnake, but the most famous of them all was the CSS Alabama, built for the American Confederate Government in 1862.

The CSS Alabama terrorised international waters all over the world during it's seven expeditionary raids over a two year period.

On the eleventh of June 1864 the CSS Alabama made her way to Cherbourg in France for a much needed and long awaited refit. As she entered the English Channel she was met by the Union Warship the USS Kearsarge.

The two ships engaged in a battle (instigated by the CSS Alabama) in which the CSS Alabama was sunk and her survivors rescued by the enemy ship the USS Kearsarge.  

Film And T.V Locations On The Wirral Peninsula

The Wirral is fast becoming an up and coming area for film and T.V set locations. Found below is a list of  advertisements, films and T.V shows which have been filmed around the Wirral Peninsular.  

 

Wirral Based Movie Awaydays

ADVERTISEMENTS WHICH FEATURED THE WIRRAL 

Vauxhall Cars - Quick clip of West Kirby seafront – Aired in  2011.

Walker's Sunbites – Featured X Factor winner Rebecca Ferguson and was shot in Wallasey. Aired in 2011. 

Cathedral City Cheese - Quick clip of New Brighton - Aired in 2012. 
John Lewis Department Store - The John Lewis Christmas ad for 2014 displays a number 45 bus with the destinations Heswall, Hoylake and West Kirby. This is down to it's director Doug Wilson who was born in Heswall. - Aired between October & December 2014.

FILMS WHICH FEATURED THE WIRRAL

The Magnet - 1950 – An Ealing Comedy starring James Fox. Partly filmed in Birkenhead and New Brighton. 

Chariots of Fire - 1981 – Feel good film starring Nigel Havers about two British runners competing in the 1924 Paris Olympics. Partly filmed in Birkenhead and Bebington.

Let Him Have It - 1991 – The true story starring Christopher Eccelstone about the controversial hanging of Derek Bentley. Filmed partly in New Brighton, where it doubled as Croyden.

51st State - 2001 – Crime thriller starring Samuel.L.Jackson and partly filmed around Birkenhead Docks.

Away Days - 2009 – Period film starring Stephen Graham about a group of teenage football hooligans who lived on the Wirral during the time of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 - 2010– Small clips of the Queensway Tunnel. 

Blood - 2012 – Thriller starring Paul Bethany and Stephen Graham  - Partly filmed in several Wirral locations including Hilbre Island, West Kirby and Seacombe.

Jack Ryan Shadow Recruit - 2014 – Small clips of the Queensway Tunnel.

Breaking Free - 2014 - Filmed in and around Birkenhead.

T.V SERIES WHICH VISITED THE WIRRAL

Antiques Road Show – This popular iconic BBC series visited Port Sunlight in 2012 

Antiques Road Trip – Visited Hoylake and Wallasey in 2011 and again in 2013. 
Cilla - This three part ITV drama about Liverpudlian entertainer Cilla Black visited New Brighton seafront and Wallasey Town Hall in 2014. 

George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces – Architect George Clarke featured an art studio located on Caldy Beach in 2013.

Great Railway Journeys – Train enthusiast Michael Portillo visited Port Sunlight and Birkenhead in 2014.

Hollyoaks - This popular teen soap has used various Wirral locations throughout it's long history. 

Location, Location, Location – Popular estate agents Phil Spencer and Kirsty Allsop featured a couple from the Wirral on episode 2 of Series 11. 
Peaky Blinders - This 1920's gangster series filmed part of it's first episode of series two at Port Sunlight in 2014.  

TELEVISED SPORTING EVENTS HELD ON THE WIRRAL 

British Open Golf Championship –  Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake - 2006 & 2014 

T.V ONE OFFS BASED ON THE WIRRAL

When Michael Portillo Became A Single Mum - Current affairs programe aired in 2003. 

Mary Queen of Shops - Featured an ailing Hoylake greengrocer in 2010.  
What's The Right Diet For You? - A BBC Horizon special aired during January, 2015. 
Who Do You Think You Are? - Featured celebrity chef Paul Hollywood driving through New Brighton and was aired in August 2015.  
Channel 4 idents, small films shown between ad breaks and the start of programes, which feature a metal block giant running alongside several wheelchair racers along New Brighton promenade. These idents can be seen on Channel 4 at various times throughout the day.

WHOLE T.V SERIES BASED ON THE WIRRAL 

Watching - Situation comedy about a bird watcher from Meols – Televised between 1987 and 1993

Mike Bassett Manager - Comedy series about the manager of the spoof Wirral County F.C aired in  2005.

Candy Cabs - Comedy drama about an all female taxi company aired in 2011.

Puppy Love - Romantic comedy series filmed in West Kirby, Heswall and Meols in 2014. 

WIRRAL PEOPLE WHO HAVE FEATURED ON T.V

Come Dine With Me – Featured a lady from West Kirby in 2009.

Master Chef – Wirral chef Claire Lara won the series in 2010.

Lapland – Featured a Wirral family visiting Lapland at Christmas - 2011.  

Gogglebox - Featured a Wirral family in 2014.  

There have also been several Wirral people who have competed in the long running, popular, BBC quizzes Pointless and Egg Heads.  
  

2010 Master Chef Winner Claire Lara

Merseyrail's Wirral Line railway



Merseyrail's Wirral line is a commuter railway line that serves the Wirral Peninsula, which is owned by Network Rail and operated by Merseyrail.
One hundred thousand passengers a day use Liverpool's Merseyrail trains by way of 800 daily departures. The Merseyrail system is 75 miles long - 6.5 miles of which is underground and via the Mersey Tunnel - and has 66 stations, four of which are located in and around Liverpool City centre, they are -  

Liverpool Lime Street - For national rail services.
Liverpool Central - For main shopping areas.
Moorfields - For central business district. This station is the deepest of the Merseyrail stations as it is located below the Queensway Tunnel.
James Street - For Liverpool One, Liverpool Waterfront and tourist attractions.


The Wirral Line was developed by way of the amalgamation of three former historic, national railways - the Mersey Rail - Britain's second underground rail system built in 1886 and the first line in the world to be wholly electrified - the Wirral Railway built in 1863 and the Chester + Birkenhead Railway built in 1838.
Today, the Wirral Line is 33 miles long ( 54km) and has four routes - Liverpool to West Kirby, Liverpool to Chester, Liverpool to New Brighton and Liverpool to Ellesmere Port - which are served by 34 stations between them.
The Wirral Line has been known by this name since it was officially opened by H.M Queen Elisabeth II on the 25th of October 1978.
The line's 1,435mm standard gauge track is electrified by way of a 750 v DC third line which became a fully electrified system in May 1994.
The Wirral Line links the Wirral Peninsula with Liverpool City centre by way of the Liverpool Loop, a clockwise circular rail route built in the early 1970's.
The Wirral Line is connected to the country's mainline National Rail system by way of connections at Liverpool Lime Street and Chester.
The system uses Class 507 and Class 508 rolling stock which can attain speeds of up to sixty miles an hour.

The Wirral Line system is operational seven days a week from approximately 06.00 - 24.000 hrs. The line runs trains every 15 minutes during daytime, every five minutes during rush hour and every half an hour in the evenings and on Sundays.
For timetables, rail information and various ticket types please refer to Merseyrail's informative website - www.merseyrail.org. 

The Wirral Line is highlighted in green. 

Origins of Wirral placenames.

The Harvest Mouse, Heswall.

Bebbington. 
Bebbington was named after an Anglo Saxon tribal chief called Bebba and the name means Bebba's town. 

Birkenhead.
There are two given forms as to where the name Birkenhead comes from. 
One is that it comes from the name of Wirral's longest river, the River Birket, on which the town was built. 
It  could also come from the Saxon word birchen, which meant birch forest, of which the area was completely surrounded during medieval times.


Bromborough
Comes from the word Brunanburh.  Brunnr was the Viking word for spring or well and burh was the Saxon word for settlement or town.

By.
Several place names on the Wirral end in the suffix by, which is Norse or Viking for settlement or town. 
The Vikings called each of their settlements -
Frankby - French town.
Greasby - From the Old English Gravesberie, meaning settlement near a wooded area. 
Irby - Irish town.
Pensby - Town on a hill.
Raby - Town on a boundary.
West Kirby - Town with a church situated to the west.
Whitby - White town. 

Caldy.
Caldy comes from the Anglo Saxon word calders, which was the name given to a nearby hill which meant  cold arse.


Clatterbridge.
This unusual placename comes from an area which was once the home of a bridge that spanned the Clatter Brooke.


Eastham.
East Ham means home in the east in Anglo Saxon. The village of Eastham is situated at the southern most tip of the Wirral Peninsula and local historians believe that it is the oldest, permanently inhabited settlement on the peninsula.


Egremont.
In 1835 a large house was built in what is now Egremont by the harbour master of Liverpool Docks, Captain Askew, who named his house and then the village that grew up around it, Egremont, after his birthplace of Egremont in Cumberland.


Ellesmere Port.
This River Mersey, port town, originally known as Netherpool, was built at the end of the Ellesmere Canal, an arm of the Manchester Ship Canal, and was built as the canal's main port and docklands area. 
The word Ellesmere comes from the British peerage title Earl of Ellesmere,of which there were five men who held the title between 1800 - 1963. The title was superceded by that of the Duke of Sutherland.
The instigation of the building of the canal was an industrious project originally planned to link the Rivers Dee, Mersey and Severn by way of the Shropshire Union, Manchester Ship, Llangollen and Chester canals by industrialist Francis Egerton, first Duke of Bridgewater, known in engineering circles as the father of inland navigation. 
Francis Egerton was unmarried and died in 1803 without issue, thereby entrusting the canal to his second cousin, another Francis Egerton, first Earl of Ellesmere. 
The name Egerton is synonomous with canal building and the family name is remembered by way of Egerton Wharf, Egerton Bridge and Egerton Dock in Birkenhead and ten street / road names found in various parts of the peninsula.

Ferry.
There was once eleven ferry crossing sites along the Wirral side of the River Mersey and some of their names still live on in the placenames of Monks Ferry - the very first Mersey Ferry crossing - New Ferry and Rock Ferry.

Heswall.
The estuary town of Heswall received it's name from one Patrick de Haselwall former Sheriff of Cheshire, who bought the land the town now stands on in 1277. 

Hilbre.
Several places on the peninsula have been named after the tiny island of Hilbre, situated off the peninsula's coast between Hoylake and West Kirby.
Hilbre is a corruption of the name Hildeberg, a 17th century Anglo Saxon holy woman.


Hoylake.
Situated about a mile out to sea off the seaside town of Hoylake, was once a large sand bank known as Hoyle Bank that protected a pool of sea water known as Hoyle Lake.This lake was used by the Port of Liverpool as a holding bay for waiting ships coming into port and as an anchorage for larger ships to be loaded and unloaded, which were too large to sail into Chester along the River Dee. The town was subsequently named after this lake.


Landican.
Landican comes from the Celtic word Landechene.  


Leasowe.
Leasowe is an Anglo Saxon word which means meadow pastures.


Liscard.
The word Liscard comes from the Old Irish - lios na carraige - which meant hall on the rock.


Meols.
Meols - pronounced mells -  is of Viking origin and means sand dunes.


Mockbeggar.
There are several references to the name mockbeggar between the coastal towns of Moreton through to New Brighton.
The word mockbeggar is an Old English word for derelict building, and the derelict building in this case pertained to Leasowe Castle. 

Moreton. 
Moreton is an Anglo Saxon name that meant town by the lake.


Ness / Neston.
Ness is a Viking word for promontory and neston is Old English for town on the promontory.


New Brighton.
This once thriving, Regency holiday resort was named after the other thriving, Regency holiday resort on the south coast of England, Brighton.


Noctorum.
This most unusual name comes from the Old Irish - Cnocc Tirim - which meant dry hill. 

Prenton. 
Prenton is an Old English name which meant town in the woods.


Saughall Massie.
Sau Hall is Old English for hall built near willow trees. The suffix Massie probably pertains to Hamon de Mascey, a rich, medieval, land owner whose family originated from Auranches in Normany, and whose name is synonomous with the medieval history of the peninsula.


Spital.
The word spital is the end of the word hospital, suggesting that there was once a hospital or leper colony in the area.


Storeton.
Storeton comes from the Viking word for large farm.


Thingwall.
This unusual name has Viking roots and comes from the term bing volir, which meant meeting place, suggesting this area was once a very important administration area.


Thornton Hough.
The land that now contains the village of Thornton Hough was given to the daughter of Rojer de Thornton upon her marriage to the son of Richard de Hoghe.The couple named their new settlement by combining each of their family names.


Tranmere.
Comes from the Viking words trani meir, which meant sandbank of the cranes.


Thurstaston.
Upon the Vikings expulsion from Ireland in 902, the Norsemen first made their way to the Isle of Anglesey, but were driven out by the King of Gwynedd, Anarwd ap Rhodri.
The Norwegian refugees pleaded with the Anglo Saxon Queen, Aethelflead, daughter of Alfred the Great and widow of King Aethelred, for permission to come to England.
The queen duly granted them the right to stay on the Wirral Peninsula under the proviso that they did not venture into the City of Chester.
 The Vikings  landed on the Wirral peninsula sometime between 912 - 913 under the leadership of one Ingimund Thorsteinsson, where they made their very first Wirral settlement at present day Thurstaston, then called Turstanetone, Thorstein's settlement. 
Within months the Norseman had made the Wirral Peninsula a self governing Viking state, which saw hundreds of former Viking refugees from Ireland, who had previously fled to the Isle of Man and the Scottish Western Isles, come and make their permanent home on the Wirral Peninsula.  

Wallasey.
Walha meant stranger or foreigner in the ancient Saxon language and ey meant island. The land that is now the town of Wallasey was once seperated from the rest of the peninsula by the Wallasey Pool, which was made into the Birkenhead Docks in 1820. Today there are four bridges that link the island with the rest of the peninsula across this vast pool.

Willaston.
Comes from the Old English word Wilavaston, which suggests the town - ton - is named after someone called Wilav. Local historians believe that Willaston was once the largest Anglo Saxon settlement in the ancient area known as the Wirral Hundred and was an important, administration area.

Famous people born on the Wirral Peninsula

Wirral's most famous daughter, actress Glenda Jackson.

                                                              
ARTS. 
Shirley Ballas - ballroom dancer and Strictly Come Dancing adjudicator, was born in Wallasey in 1960. 
Shirley Hughes OBE - children's author and illustrator, was born in West Kirby in 1927.
Mark Lechey -  Turner Prize winner in 2008, was born in Birkenhead in 1964.
Ralph Steadman -  cartoonist and caricturist, was born in Wallasey in 1936.
Philip Wilson Steer OM -  impressionist and landscape artist, was born in Birkenhead in 1860. 
William Bill Tidy MBE - cartoonist, was born in Tranmere in 1933.  


BANDS FORMED ON THE WIRRAL.
The Boo Radleys, a 1990's alternative rock band was formed in Wallasey.
Engine, a 1970's boogie rock band was formed in Birkenhead.
Half Man, Half Biscuit, was a 1980's rock band formed in Birkenhead.
Orchestral Manouvers in the Dark was a famous synthpop band of the 1970's and 80's and was formed in Heswall.
The Coral, was a 1990's folk rock band formed in Hoylake.
The Rascals, is an Indie rock band formed in Hoylake in 2008.


FILM, T.V. & RADIO.
Mathew Ashton - BAFTA award winning movie designer, (Lego movie), was born in Upton. 
Alan Clarke -  T.V and film director, was born in Wallasey in 1935.
Lewis Collins -  T.V actor, was born in Bidston in 1946.  
Taron Egerton - actor, born in Birkenhead in 1989.
Richard Dickie Davis - T.V and sports presenter, was born in Wallesey in 1933. 
Anthony Tony Hall (Baron of Birkenhead) - present director general of the BBC, was born in Birkenhead in 1951.
Paul Hollywood - celebrity chef, was born in Wallesey in 1966.
Geoffrey Hughes -  actor, was born in Wallasey in 1944.
Glenda Jackson - , academy award winning actress, CBE and MP was born in Birkenhead in 1936.
Megs Jenkins -  actress, was born in Birkenhead in 1917.
Phil Liggit -  T.V sports commentator, was born in Bebington in 1943.
Nigel Lythgoe -  choreographer, T.V & film director, was born in Birkenhead in 1949.
Paul O'Grady -  comedian, was born in Birkenhead in 1955.
John Peel OBE - radio presenter, was born in Heswall in 1939. 
Jan Ravens - actress and impressionist, was born in Bebington in 1958. 
Simon Rimmer - celebrity chef & restauranteur, was born in Wallasey in 1963.
Patricia Routeledge -  comedy actress, was born in Tranmere in 1929.


MILITARY.
Emma Hamilton -  mistress of Admiral Horatio Nelson, was born in Ness in 1765.
Brigadier Sir Philip Toosey CBE, DSO, TD, JP, LLD -  senior allied officer in the Thai P.O.W camp Tha Maa Kham. Toosey was portrayed by actor Alec Guiness in the film Bridge over the River Kwai.
Toosey was born in Oxton in 1904.


MUSIC.
Pete Burns -  singer / songwriter, was born in Port Sunlight in 1959.
Paul Heaton -  singer / songwriter and former member of the Housemartins and Beautiful South, was born in Bromborough in 1962.
Malcolm Holmes -  drummer in pop group Orchestral Manouvers in the Dark (OMD) was born in Birkenhead in 1960.
Stephen Hough -  concert pianist, was born in Heswall in 1961.
Miles Kane -  singer and former member of pop groups The Rascals and Last Shadow Puppet, was born in Hoylake in 1986.
George McCluskey -  songwriter and member of OMD, was born in Heswall in 1959.
Cyril Meir Scott -  classical composer, was born in Oxton in 1879.


POLITICS. 
Selwyn Lloyd - Conservative politician, Foreign Secretary 1955 - 1960, Chancellor of the Exchequer 1960 - 1962, Speaker of the House 1971 - 1976, was born in West Kirby in 1904. 
Fredrick Edwin Smith GCSI, PC, KC (First Earl & Baron of Birkenhead) - Lord Chancellor 1919 - 1922 and personal, best friend of war time prime minister Winston Churchill, was born in Birkenhead in 1872.
Edith Smith - First female police officer given full power of arrest, was born in Oxton in 1880.


SPORT.
Nigel Adkins - football player and present manager of Reading Football Club, was born in Birkenhead in 1965. 
Chris Boardman -  1992 Olympic gold medal winning cyclist, was born in Hoylake in 1968.
Ian Botham OBE -  England test cricketer, was born in Heswall in 1955. 
Paul Bracewell - football player and football manager, was born in Heswall in 1962. 
Steve Cummings - acclaimed road racing cyclist was born in Clatterbridge in 1981.
Matt Dawson -  Rugby Union scrum half and most capped English scrum half to date, was born in Birkenhead in 1972.  
Peter Davenport -  footballer and football manager, was born in Birkenhead in 1961.
William Dixie Dean -  the most prolific goal scorer in English footballing history, first man to ever wear the number 9 shirt in league football and holder of the record for most goals scored (60) in one season, was born in Birkenhead in 1907.
Charlotte Dod -  five times winner of the Wimbledon ladies singles, holder of the record for youngest (15) female ever to win Wimbledon, Olympic silver medalist for archery in 1908, twice capped for the England ladies hockey team and voted most versatile female athlete of all time by the Guiness Book of Records, was born in Bebington in 1871.
Austin Healey -   rugby player, capped 51 times for England, was born in Wallasey in 1973.
Andrew Irvine -  mountaineer, was born in Birkenhead in 1902.
Neil McKechnie -  swimmer, Olympic finalist at the Melbourne Olympic Games of 1956 and holder of every British swimming record from 100 metres to one mile (30) in 1958, was born in Wallasey in 1939.
Alan Rouse -  mountaineer and first Briton to conquer K9, was born in Wallasey in 1951. 

Wirral's most eminent sporting hero, footballer William Dixie Dean.

Swimming on the Wirral Peninsula.

Beach and lighthouse at New Brighton.

Below are the addresses of public swimming pools, the locations of the area's finest beaches and a list of Wirral hotels with swimming pools.   


PUBLIC SWIMMING BATHS.


Europa Pools.
Conway Street, Birkenhead. CH41 6RN. Tel - 0151 666 5555.

Caldy Grange.
Gourleys Lane, Caldy. CH48 8AS. Tel - 0151 625 7170. 

The Oval.
Old Chester Road, New Ferry. CH63 7LF. Tel - 0151 645 0596. 

Concourse Leisure Centre.
Grange Road, West Kirby. CH48 4HX. Tel - 0151 929 7801. 

Guinea Gap Leisure Centre. 
Riverview Road, Seacombe. CH44 6PX. Tel - 0151 606 2010. 

Leasowe Recreation Centre. 
Twickenham Road, Leasowe. CH46 1PF. Tel - 0151 677 0916.  
 
BEACHES.


The area's finest beaches are situated at -

Caldy - A sand beach with brackish water situated on the River Dee Estuary.
Hoylake - A sand beach situated on the Irish Sea coast.
Meols - A sand beach situated on the Irish Sea coast.
New Brighton -A vast stretch of sand beach situated on Liverpool Bay in the Irish Sea.
West Kirby - Sand beaches situated on both the River Dee estuary and the Irish Sea Coast. 

For Hilbre Island (West Kirby) tide times and heights please refer to this website  pol.ac.uk/ntslf/tides

HOTELS WITH SWIMMING POOLS.


Mercure Chester North Hotel.
Berwick Road, Little Sutton. CH66 4PS Tel - 0151 339 5121.


Rockland Guest House.
70 Birkenhead Road, Meols. CH47 0LA. Tel - 0151 632 4249.


Thornton Hall Hotel and Spa.
Neston Road, Thornton Hough. CH63 1JF. Tel - 0151 336 3938.


Village Leisure Hotel.
Pool Lane, Bromborough. CH62 4UE. Tel - 0151

Interesting facts about the Wirral Peninsula.

Coat of Arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral

Below is a myriad of  facts and figures, amazing feats, British and world firsts, did you knows? and sporting achievements all pertaining to the Wirral Peninsula. 

                                                           THE  WIRRAL PENINSULA.

1) The Wirral Peninsular covers an area of 60.35 square miles and is joined to mainland England at the north western tip of the county of Cheshire.The peninsula is actually completely surrounded by water officially making it an island, although it's southern border at Ellesmere Port is actually at the site of the man made Shropshire Union Canal.

2) Despite it's small size the peninsula boasts no less than 1,900 listed buildings, 215 churches, 50 towns and villages, 25 conservation areas, 9 scheduled ancient monument sites, 8 sites of special scientific interest, 10 lighthouses, 5 nature reserves, 4 windmills, 4 historic parks, 2 watermills, one castle and one fort.


3) The indiginous people of the Wirral Peninsula were the Celtic, Cornovii Tribe who lived in the modern day counties of Cheshire, Staffordshire, Shropshire and Clywd.
The oldest known reference to the tribe was mentioned in an historical record written by Roman philosopher Ptolomy in the 2nd century A.D.
The name Cornovii means people of the horn. The word horn pertains to a horned, religious idol that the tribe worshipped.
The Cornovii made their living from salt and copper mining and from the building and running of hill forts, the most famous of which is the Wrekin in Shropshire.
Their tribal capital city was Wroxeter in the county of Shropshire, at one time the fourth largest Roman town in Britain.
The Roman built City of Chester, which is now the county town of Cheshire, was once part of the Cornovii tribal lands.

4) Historians have classified the Wirral Peninsula as the birthplace of England, after the Battle of Brunanburh - present day Bromborough -  in 937 brought together the might of England's combined armed forces for the very first time in order to fight the armies of both Norway and Scotland.

5) In 1376 King Richard II designated the entire peninsula with Royal Park status.

6) The peninsula's Leasowe Lighthouse, built in 1763, is the oldest brick built lighthouse in the U.K. The lighhouse was also the first in the country to have a female lighhouse keeper, when Mrs Mary Elisabeth Williams began her service as keeper in 1908.


7) The Wirral's only recognised holiday resort, New Brighton, is home to the United Kingdom's longest promenade at 3.5 kilometres. 
As well as having the country's longest promenade the Wirral seaside resort was also the site of other record breakers during it's heyday of the 19th century.
Classified as one of the most elegant seaside resort of the Regency period the town could boast the highest tower in Britain, the largest theatre stage in the world, the largest open air swimming pool in Europe, Britain's first amusements arcade and was the smallest town in the country to have a league football club.


8) Hilbre Island situated one mile off the Wirral coast at West Kirby covers an area of just 11.6 acres and is the United Kingdom's smallest, inhabited island. 

9) The Wirral Country Park was Britain's first ever designated country park when it was opened in 1973.

10) The world's first, commercial hovercraft service began on the Wirral Peninsula during the Summer of 1962, when passengers were ferried from the Wirral seaside town of Moreton to Rhyl in North Wales on a Vickers VA - 3 hovercraft.

11) The Ministry of Defence's tidal activity research for the infamous D - Day landings of June 1944 were all taken at Bidston Observatory. 

12) In 1947 the Mersey Ferries were the first boats in the world to be installed with fog radar navigation systems.

13) The charitable organisation, The Guide Dogs For The Blind Association, was formed 1934, three years after Britain's first four guide dogs completed their training by German Shepherd breeders Muriel Crooke and Rosamund Bond, whose business was based in Wallesey.



                                                                 BIRKENHEAD. 

1) The largest town on the Wirral peninsular is Birkenhead, a town which grew up around the Benedictine, Birkenhead Priory built in 1150.
The town's industries first centred around the priory and the River Mersey and since then has been home to an established pottery industry - the Della Robbia pottery - and large areas of docklands and shipbuilding industries. 

2) It is unclear as to where the  town get's its name from, one theory is that it comes from the peninsula's longest river, the River Birket, which flows from the town of West Kirby and makes it's way eastwards towards the town of Birkenhead, where it drains into the river Mersey at the site of the West Float  Docks. 
Another theory is that the name comes from the town's Benedictine Priory which was known as Birchen Priory.Birchen means birch forest, which that area of the peninsula was covered by during those days.

3) The town we know today is in part the brainchild of Scots shipbuilder and local entrepreneur John Laird who became both Birkenhead's first mayor and the town's first member of parliament.
Laird was elemental in the building of dockside cottages, the town's St James' church, the Borough Hospital and the Laird School of Art.
As the first mayor of the town Laird was instrumental in improving policing in the town and for implementing the town's market place - originally held in Market Street near Hamilton Square - street cleaning and street lighting. He was also instrumental in creating several public areas for recreation and the arts.
Laird was owner of the largest ship yard in the area and contributed to the income, welfare and health of 80% of the town's inhabitants.
Laird became Birkenhead's first member of parliament in 1861 and remained the local Conservative member until his death in 1874.
Laird,his wife Elisabeth and their three sons William, John and Henry all lived at 63 Hamilton Square.
Laird died after a riding accident on October 29th 1874 and is buried in the grounds of Birkenhead Priory.
A statue erected in Laird's honour was unveiled in the town on the 30th of October 1877 with the unveiling ceremony witnessed by over two thousand of the town's inhabitants.
John Laird is remembered today by way of Birkenhead's Laird Street, Laird Close, Lairdside Technical Park,the Laird Memorial Statue that now stands on Hamilton Square and Liverpool's Laird Place.
       

4) Birkenhead's Hamilton Square contains the second largest number of listed buildings in the country after Trafalgar Square in London.

5) The town's Birkenhead Park was designed by Joseph Paxton and was the world's first publicly funded municipal park when it was opened on the 5th of April 1847. The idea of publicly donating money for the creation of parks and gardens became the forerunner of the National Parks Movement of Britain.
Today the park is a grade I listed landscape which houses many attractions including the country's only covered, wooden bridge, the 23 foot long Swiss Bridge built in 1847.
The park is also the home of the Wirral Academy of Art.
Paxton's park went on to be the inspiration for the creation of neighbouring Sefton Park in the city of Liverpool and Central Park in New York City, U.S.A.

6) Birkenhead was the site of the country's first ever cross river ferry service, after monks at  Birkenhead Priory were granted ferry rights by King Edward III in 1318. This charter made the route taken by the Mersey Ferry classified as a Royal Highway. 

7) Birkenhead became the first town in Europe to run a public tram service when the town's public tramway system opened on  the 29th of August 1860. 

8) Birkenhead was the home of the first two Boy Scout Groups in the world after Lord Baden - Powell held the inaugural meeting of the Boy Scout Movement at the Grange Road YMCA in Birkenhead on the 24th of January 1908.



                                             WIRRAL SPORTING ACHIEVEMENTS.


1 ) The Wirral's league football team is Tranmere Rovers who play their home matches at Prenton Park, Tranmere.
The team was formed in 1884 and have used the Prenton Park ground since 1912.
The team hold an all time football league record for the most goals scored in one match, after a game played on the 26th of December 1935 when Tranmere Rovers beat Oldham Athletic 13 goals to 4 -  nine of which were scored by centre forward Robert 'Bunny' Ball -  giving the aggregate score of 17 goals the most goals scored in any football match, a record that still stands to this day. The football ground's address is -
Tranmere Rovers Football Club.
Prenton Park, Tranmere. CH42 9PY. Tel - 0151 221 2001.


2) The World Windsurfing speed record was set on the Wirral Peninsula, when windsurfer Dave White attained a speed of 42.16 knots at West Kirby Marine Lake in October 1991.


3) Guinea Gap swimming baths situated in Wallasey has been the site of more swimming records than any other swimming pool in the world.
This amazing feat is due to one man, local born, Olympic bronze medalist, Neil McKechnie who attained no less than thirty English and British swimming records at this Wirral swimming pool during the 1950's and who, by 1958, held every English freestyle swimming record from one hundred metres to one mile during his time as a member of the Wallasey Swimming Club. 
His prowess in the water has been attributed to the baths being filled with water from the River Mersey.

4) West Kirby situated on the Wirral's Irish Sea coast is home to the prestigious Wilson Cup, the world's biggest team yacht racing event.


                                               WIRRAL'S OLDEST BUILDINGS.


1) The majority of the Wirral Peninsula's oldest buildings are made from the area's local, red, sandstone and are most prominent in the area's smaller villages such as Caldy, Saughall Massey, Brimstage and Raby.

2) Several of the area's 215 churches have their roots in medieval times with St Hilary's Church in Wallasey and St Bridget's Church in West Kirby both vying for oldest church in the area, both of which have their origins in the 11th century.

3) The peninsula's oldest pub is reputedly that of the Wheatsheaf Pub in Raby, which dates back to 1611.

4) The peninsula's oldest house is a large, two storey, stone built house situated on Limekiln Road, Wallasey which dates back to around 1627.

5) Although the oldest building on the peninsula is Birkenhead Priory, built in 1150, Birkenhead is not the oldest town, that honour goes to Wallasey which was already an established settlement when mentioned in the Doomsday Book of 1086.
However, some have suggested that the village of Eastham is the oldest permanently inhabited area of the peninsula owing to the site of an aged yew tree that stands in the grounds of the village's St Mary's church, which is reported to be around 1,500 years old.
But the peninsula's record breaker has to be Greasby,where archaeologists have been able to define evidence of human habitation dating back to 7000 BC, when the peninsula was inhabited by it's native people the Cornovii Tribe.  

6) The United Kingdom's oldest brick built lighthouse is situated on the Wirral Peninsula, at Leasowe shore. It was built in 1763 by the Liverpool Corporation Docks.

7) The area's oldest railway line was a branch line of the Birkenhead to Chester line, from West Kirby to Hooton, opened in September 1838. Although the line is now defunct, the line lives on in the form of the twelve mile long Wirral Way nature trail.

8) The area's oldest farmhouse is Old Hall Farm situated in Chapel Lane, Moreton believed to have been built in 1719 for a Daniel and Mary Wilson.

9) Brimstage Hall situated in the picturesque village of the same name was apparantly built between the 12th and 14 th century, making it one of the peninsula's oldest buildings and certainly the oldest manorial residence in the area.