George Formby, Ted Ray, Joe Gormley, Roy Kinnear, and Limahl are just a few of the names that hail from Wigan. For those of you who have not heard of Limahl, he was a 1980s singer with the band Kajagoogoo, who were too shy to trouble the hit parade for too long. Despite being nowhere near the sea, Wigan can also boast of having a pier which was made famous by George Orwell’s book The Road to Wigan Pier. Obviously it was not made to stretch out to the sea but was in fact for tipping coal into canal boats, at least it did before miners leader Joe Gormley’s day. Wigan Borough was, in fact, the first team to represent the town at football, being a founder member of the old Third Division North in 1921, but was liquidated ten seasons later and reformed in 1932. Wigan Athletic joined the league in 1978 when they were elected to the old Division Four.
Wigan’s badge which they proudly wear when Saturday comes, has been adopted from the arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan. (PIC 1) Thanks, to Mr Stuart Hayton at Wigan Athletic for his help here. The meaning of the badge is steeped in heraldic history going back as far as the 12th Century. The black lozenge or diamond in the shield refers to coal mining and reflect the arms of Atherton Urban District Council, Golborne UDC, and Hindley UDC. The red roses are the emblem of Lancashire, they also feature in the arms of Golborne and Hindley. The gold lion in the chief is taken from the Borough of Wigan and features in ancient seals of the borough. The chief is the name given to the area at the top of the shield. The crowned castle is also taken from the Borough of Wigan, the crown and the castle being elements from its medieval seals. The crown itself is known as a fleur-de-lis, due to its floral design, and a fleur-de-lis is a type of lily originating from France. The mountain ash, or as it is also known the Wiggin tree was chosen as a pun on the name of the district of Wigan. Branches of this tree are borne by the supporters in the arms of the Borough of Wigan. The lion supporter here wears a crown as seen in the borough crest. The sparrowhawk occurs in the arms of the Borough of Leigh, and in the crest of Atherton UDC, the District Council, deriving it from the Atherton family crest. The motto “PROGRESS WITH UNITY” is apt inasmuch as that the authority embraces 14 former districts.
Wigan’s old badge was also the old arms of Wigan. Granted in 1922 they were based on old seals and devices mentioned earlier. (PIC 2) It was considered privileged as it bore many royal symbols. The king’s head at the crest does not represent any particular king but from Wigan’s point of view it seems to symbolise Henry I, in whose likeness it is thought to appear. The crowned castle is derived from the towered castled gateway that appears on the towns earliest seal dating back to the 12th Century. The motto reads “ANCIENT AND LOYAL”.
Around the time that Wigan gained league status, they used another badge. Much simpler in design, and it was favoured a lot by the fans. (PIC 3) Known by all for obvious reasons as the Tree and Crown badge it displays two of the elements of the first badge, the crown fleur-de-lis of the Plantagenet’s and the Wiggin tree from the arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan. Set in the roundel it has the club’s name surrounding it. The present badge is almost the same apart from the colours used are that of the team’s home shirts, with the formation date under the crown the Wiggin tree, and the addition of two old-style footballs. (PIC 4) The club’s nickname is a derivation of the name Athletic, letics, becoming “The Latics”. The people of Wigan are also big rugby fans and The Latics share the DW stadium with the Wigan Warriors Rugby Club. The DW holds 25,113 supporters. Local rivals are Man City and Utd. As well as, Preston, Bolton and Burnley. It is generally believed that the ancient name Wigan is French in origin and refers to the son of Wingard derived from Wiucon, meaning noble. The name is likely to have arrived by boat during the Norman Conquest of 1066. If you would like to find out more about Wigan and are feeling athletic then sprint to www.wiganathletic.com
