Fulwood Barracks in Preston was the last and largest of a chain of barracks built in the North West in the wake of the Chartist riots of the 1830s.

The barracks - which houses the Lancashire Infantry Museum as well as being a working barracks - had been slated for closure in 2022. However, the MoD has now announced that it will not shut until 2027. The MoD said it was an "Updated disposal date following detailed work to assess the optimum laydown required to support operational capability." (Lancashire Evening Post) I don't think they were quite ready.

A fearful tragedy

We had the pleasure of walking to the Museum with Roy Palmer and his wife Pat. It was my task to go through the newspaper records in the Harris Library looking for reports of events that Roy had found recorded in songs.

The book The Old Lamb and Flag - The Songs and Story of Preston and its Guild has a nine verse version from the singing of Bill McAlister of Ashton, Preston in 1968. It is broadly similar to Ewan MacColl's version above, but with four lines missing.