Spellbound, Thomas Edmondson stared out of the first floor window of Leigh Grammar school. “A dense layer of industrial smog was trapped by an inversion and day was turned to night”, Tom recalls in his schoolboy diary dated January 3rd 1938. “The scene over Chat Moss was particularly awe-inspiring and the maths teacher tolerated the distraction and discussed the cause of the phenomenon.”
This may seem a rather odd way to introduce a man – now 86 and living in Chester – who is described as the “father” of conservation in Wigan and Leigh and who will soon officially unveil a plaque renaming a hide in his honour.
But the scene evokes a smokey sense of a pre-war Leigh; a skyline dotted with headgear from local pits and whose pastures were criss-crossed with railway lines chugging coal, stone and corn from Bolton to Wigan.
Fast forward 70 years and visitors to Pennington Flash are greeted not with carts of coal but Great Crested Grebes, Little Ringed Plovers and, in winter, the rather aptly named Northern Shoveler.
And there’s little doubt where this transformation from coal subsidence flood plain to nature haven began. Dave Wilson, 66, is one of the founding members of Leigh Ornithological Society formed in 1971 and an advocate of Thomas Edmondson’s work.
He said: “It’s no overstatement to say Tom’s pioneering spirit makes him the father of conservation not just in Leigh but for the borough as it now is.
“His contribution to alerting people to the importance of the flash as a wildlife haven was massive.”
Tom’s collection of photographs, diaries, scientific studies, letters and columns written for the local paper are both poetic and powerful.
The great crested grebe, which makes its home on the Flash.
In his February 1948 article “Wings Over Industry” he made some highly critical comments on the illegal activity of some “shooters” and was approached by angling correspondent William Miles, who discussed the possibility of establishing a conservation area at Pennington Flash. And by May 1948 the Leigh Field Naturalists and Town Improvement Society had been formed, whose aims included the study and appreciation of natural history and countryside, conserving wildlife and promoting cleanliness and good planning of the district.
As the initial post war enthusiasm faded the group folded in 1950 as people tried to build for the future. But as Tom puts it: “The scheme was visionary and ahead of its time and a decade or so would elapse before the movement to establish conservation trusts became widespread. However, the rich bird life of the flash had been established and a group of like-minded individuals emerged, resulting in the formation of the Leigh Ornithological Society.”
One of the society’s many aims was to promote wildlife conservation in the Leigh area. This new generation of naturalists following in Tom’s footsteps was instrumental in Pennington Flash officially gaining country park status in 1981.
It is now managed by Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust and attracts more than 750,000 bird watchers, walkers and wildlife enthusiasts a year.
In his last article for the Journal in 1954 Tom wrote: “In future years when flicking the pages of memory’s notebook, I shall always remember the spring of 1954 and the sight of thirty-odd exquisite black terns floating and swinging in the air against a background of colliery headgears and mill chimneys.
“Perhaps, however, I shall recall those things which belong more permanently to Leigh Flash – an elegant white wagtail hurrying along Sorrowcow creek.”
Tom will officially re-name what is currently known as ‘New Hide’ as the ‘Tom Edmondson Hide’ in early June.
His contribution to alerting people to the importance of the flash as a wildlife haven was massive.
