Local Life - Wigan - October 2020

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Monument
Unveiled
For those readers who haven’t yet seen the new addition
to the town centre arts landscape in College Street, we
reproduce the image of this impressive statue for you.
The memorial was unveiled in a somewhat informal
fashion during lockdown.
It was an underwhelming and undeserving end to a
tough fundraising campaign that started back in 2016
when a group of people from the local history group, set
up WHAMM (Wigan Heritage and Mining Monument)
to commemorate the thousands of Wiganers that were
affected by the town’s coal mining industry.
Donations were successfully secured, quiz nights, music
festivals and church festivals were held, merchandise
was sold, all with aim of raising funds for the memorial.
One generous benefactor, who remains anonymous,
donated a total of £80,000 towards the fund.
For more information about the memorial, visit the
Facebook page@whammwigan