[Retlaw]

Originally Posted by Pudwoppa

The soldier connection: I've found a photo in William Turner's book 'The Accrington Pals: A tribute to the men of Accrington and District... Who Volunteered, Fought and Died in the Great War, 1914-1918' (ISBN 1-871236-16-9) on page 7 showing recruits for the Pals Battalion. Caption reads "No.3 Platoon 'B' (District) Company, ready for 'Swedish Drill' (physical training) in front of Hyndburn Park School, September 1914."

At a glance the photo seems to show them right where the glass bmw/mini building is, but this does seem to suggest they used open ground in the area for training so maybe your spot of land was used too? Might be worth PM-ing Retlaw and asking if he has more specific info; he seems to be the man for Pals details.

Admin: am I allowed to scan and post an image from a book?

Oh, and on the subject of "feeling a presence"; in my experience, it's usually a dodgy curry

The picture on page 7 was taken in front of the school, the school building is in the back ground, Sgt Wood is kneeling in the foreground.
Several of those men in the picture, never made it farther than Carnarvon, and several of them never made it past the 1st July 1916.
As for feeling a presence, it only takes one silly beggar to feel a bit off colour, and before you know it every body claims they felt sumat, mild form of mass hysteria.
Retlaw