Wigan's ex-mayor makes heartfelt gift to hospital

The tale of how a baby abandoned in a railway station waiting room grew up to become the Mayor of Wigan has earned the town’s infirmary a cash boost.
Coun John Hilton and wife Margaret present a 250 cheque to neo-natal staff Jenny Jennings, lead nurse Julie Armstrong and Sue RobinsonCoun John Hilton and wife Margaret present a 250 cheque to neo-natal staff Jenny Jennings, lead nurse Julie Armstrong and Sue Robinson
Coun John Hilton and wife Margaret present a 250 cheque to neo-natal staff Jenny Jennings, lead nurse Julie Armstrong and Sue Robinson

Former borough first citizen Coun John Hilton was at the hospital’s neo-natal unit this week to hand over a cheque for £200.

Other news: Beer festival is back and hailing Wigan CasinoThe money was an accumulation of donations that the 79-year-old member for Aspull-New Springs has received for giving talks about his remarkable back story.

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He was just a couple of days old when, in 1940, he was discovered by a porter at the now defunct Clegg Street station in Oldham.

After spending an astonishing three and a half years in hospital being looked after by nurses, he was eventually brought up by “wonderful” adoptive parents and he never tried - or felt he needed to try - to find his natural parents.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” he says, adding that it would have been nigh impossible to trace them anyway.

The retired train driver has always felt a debt of gratitude for the care he received in infancy and so when he was mayor in 2004-05 he chose the neo-natal unit as his charity cause. At the end of it he was able to hand over £91,000.

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This week the great-great-grandfather, who plans to step down from the council in May 2020 after 34 years, said: “Call this £200 a little, belated bonus to the mayoral donation.

“I don’t charge for my 45-minute talk but people do give donations so they have been building up in a jar and I thought it was about time I put them to good use.”