IT'S TIME I SAID HELLO FROM TASMANIA.

[wombat]

Although I have been on the forum for a while now, I never got around to saying hello and introducing myself.

I originally come from Manchester (Ardwick), and if anyone knows that area I went to Burley Street school.  When I met my wife who was a nurse at Boudry Park and Oldham Royal, I moved to the Oldham area.

My main interest lay in collecting medals in general, and when I moved to Australia 20 years ago it wasn't long before I started to get nostalgic about Manchester and particularly Oldham. Then one year my wife bought me a QSA medal to a member of the St. John Ambulance for christmas, and when I began researching the medal I found that the chap came from Oldham.  The deeper I dug the more interested I became, I found that I knew where he lived, and worked, and had walked the same streets that he had, which really brought the person behind the medal to life in a way I had not experienced before, the name on the medal had become a real person.

This led to my interest in colledting to the St. John Ambulance brigade, (Oldham Corps) volunteers who went to South Africa during the Boer War. Or members of the Manchester Regt. who had served as medics and stretcher bearers.

My interest in this field has now begun to lead me away from the medal collecting side of this area, and more into the actual people involved. 

There is not a lot I can contribute to the forum as information on Oldham and Manchester is pretty hard to come by here in Tasmania, infact I am relying on the forum to teach me a thing or two.

I hope I haven't bored you all, and thank you for taking the time and trouble to read about me.

James.
P.S. Last week I bought a 6th VB Cap Badge of the web, I knew it was a repro but it looked good enough for the display I needed it for.  When it arrived it was a SHOCKER

[george.theshed197]

G'Day Jim,
Welcome to the forum,when I saw the 'Wombat' I wondered at first.-but not since you have explained - a is ok.
Let's hope that we can help you in some ways, that is what we are basically here for.
Looking forward to hearing more from you now that you have broken cover.
Take care,
George.

[harribobs]

hi wombat

nice to have a bit of back-up info 

i work in Oldham now btw

chris

[Roughyed]

Hi Wombat

As the name suggests I come from Oldham albeit I now live in Wigan (not as far away as you!).  Could I ask a favour?  If, on your medal collection searches, you stumble across any Mayall medals could you let me know?  You may have seen from other posts that I have 4 great uncles/ Grandads who served.

Cheers

Phil

[pete th]

Welcome to the Forum James 

Pete

[wombat]

Thanks for the welcome chaps.

George, wombat comes from the fact that my wife runs a wombat rescue, and all the neighbours refer to me as the old grey wombat. I have to deal with temper tantrums, big teeth and long nails, and the wombats aren't much better

Phil, I will certainly let you know if I come across anything to Mayall.  Strangely enough you are the 3rd person who has asked me to look out for medals to that name. Lucky for you, I don't like the other two

James.

[george.theshed197]

G'morning James,
I spent several years teaching in NSW, Armidale back in the sixties and seventies and made several friends in that area especially one by the name of Ronnie Diamond out in the Geogla area of Wyatts Creek, 'The Gorge Country'. In due course I also met up with many of his former comrades ( The Light Horse) Ronnie had a special pool on his stretch of the creek which included a number of familes of platypus' (or should that be platipi ? ), he also introduced me to his pride and joy an albino wallaby. I came to know many of his 'pets' in his love of his country, the mistake I made was in coming back to the UK due to the fact that" ..blood is thicker than water".
Hey ho.
George.

[Roughyed]

Cheers James.  Funnily enough there are plenty of people named Mayall that I don't like either!  It feels like a needle in a haystack but I hope to try and get hold of at least one.

Phil

[wombat]

Hello Phil,

I suppose you know about this chap, but just in case you don't, there was a Cheif Constable of Oldham, retired 1942? by the name of "A. K. Mayall"  would he be a relative?

I will let you know if I come across anything.

wombat,
James.

[Roughyed]

Thanks James

Not directly, I suspect my line of Mayall's were more likely to be customers of his!  As you probably know it is a relatively popular name in the town so there is a chance we have some distant connection.

Thanks again

Phil