1969-1970, Albert Lyon, Mayor of Leigh

Albert Lyon became Leigh’s fifty-eighth mayor at a time when Leigh Borough Council was in the process of streamlining its operations with a view to delivering greater efficiency.

So it was seen as fitting that the town’s new first citizen should be a dedicated public servant who had risen from a part-time warehouse boy at Leigh Spinners at the age of 12 to become manager of the factory where he spent all his working life.

The Conservative member for St Thomas’s Ward, Albert was born and brought up in the Bedford area and in his younger days was a keen sportsman, playing cricket, football and both codes of rugby.

Despite his rather humble beginnings in the textile industry, he showed a determination to improve his position at Leigh Spinners, where his education and training at Leigh and Salford technical colleges helped him progress through various departments before becoming manager in 1965. He retired five years later.

Elected to the council in 1959, Albert served on numerous committees and outside public bodies, including the Divisional Education Committee and the Makerfield Water Board. He also did a lot of work with local youth clubs.

Fellow councillor Albert Shepherd, who had been mayor four years earlier, said his sincerity, knowledge of local affairs, integrity and his industrial background were all qualities which would make him a successful mayor.

Albert served the Council for 15 years until local government reorganisation in 1974 when Leigh became part of Wigan Metropolitan Borough.

He died in July, 1979 at the age of 73, and was buried in Leigh Cemetery following a funeral service at Bedford Church.

Written by Gordon Sharrock

References

Biographical cuttings – Albert Lyon, available at Leigh Local Studies.