mass migration of rats!

jimmyjim · 07-03-2007, 13:13

Having had a conversation with one of our towns older members we touched on the above subject. can anyone rember? has anyone heard of this event??

garinda · 07-03-2007, 13:23

Are you sure they weren't getting Hamlyn mixed up with Hambledon?

WillowTheWhisp · 07-03-2007, 19:06

Migration to where from where?

cherokee · 08-03-2007, 01:28

didnt less take one in as a companion???? lol!!!

JohnW · 08-03-2007, 17:15

I've heard of this happening but have never actually witnessed the event myself. I used to work in Skelmersdale in the 1960's and some old guy in a pub there told me he'd seen it happen twice. The way he described it was the rats came up out of the sewers in their thousands and a sea of them poured down the street. He said that on one occasion he was in the street as they ran towards him and he just stayed perfectly still and the stream parted and they just ran around him leaving him unharmed. Don't ask me how they came out of the sewers because I don't know the answer. Neither do I know how reliable a witness the old guy was, he could have been pulling my leg but he appeared serious and sincere.

jimmyjim · 08-03-2007, 18:31

the story in question happened during the 1950's.. it was witnessed by the gent i had the chat with and has now got my curiosity.... I will find out more details this weekend, but with the lack of imput, it is obviously a little known happening

moonshiner · 08-03-2007, 20:01

Over the years there as been a few storys about this, once in clayton, once on the old church tip, after the kids set it on fire the rats infested the allotments and the last time was when the old copy clough sewage works was demolished How true the storys are i couldunt say

panther · 09-03-2007, 00:05

rats are everywhere now, they say there is a rat for every person not more than six feet away, probably meaning the sewers because i have never seen a live rat!, squashed ones but never live ones!

garinda · 09-03-2007, 00:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by panther

rats are everywhere now, they say there is a rat for every person not more than six feet away, probably meaning the sewers because i have never seen a live rat!, squashed ones but never live ones!

Start humming the music from Michael Jackson's 'Ben', and then listen very quietly for the scratching.

panther · 09-03-2007, 00:25

LOL....not in my house i got pest repellents

cashman · 09-03-2007, 23:27

remember reading about a similar event over in yorkshire, had completely forgot about it till i read this, think twas in the late 50s or early 60s.

s.pollard · 09-08-2010, 12:35

It was mentioned when I was younger , it was called a rat flitting. That was in Blackburn

jaysay · 09-08-2010, 17:59

I actually witnessed a movement of rats about 1967, was about 12 midnight and was talking to a mate on the way home, at the bottom of Rhyddings Street Ossy near the war memorial, when something ran across our feet, it was the biggest rat I'd ever seen, within seconds it was followed by thousands more they came from near the Fire Station (now Tesco) and went up Rhydding Street and off the top corner of Shopfitters, me and my mate were on the top step of the War Memorial, put the fear of God in use both. At the time there was a lot of work being carried out to repair the bridge on Union Road, which had been damaged when the top reservoir burst, taking to people afterwards they seem to think they had been disturbed by the work and decided to move out, just wished they'd have done it when I wasn't about

Retlaw · 09-08-2010, 18:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnW

I've heard of this happening but have never actually witnessed the event myself. I used to work in Skelmersdale in the 1960's and some old guy in a pub there told me he'd seen it happen twice. The way he described it was the rats came up out of the sewers in their thousands and a sea of them poured down the street. He said that on one occasion he was in the street as they ran towards him and he just stayed perfectly still and the stream parted and they just ran around him leaving him unharmed. Don't ask me how they came out of the sewers because I don't know the answer. Neither do I know how reliable a witness the old guy was, he could have been pulling my leg but he appeared serious and sincere.

My Father told me of a similar occurance when he worked at H & B, it must have been in the 1920's
when he was at H & B's, he and his mates were leaving afterworking overtime so it must have been around 1935 hrs, some one heard a funny noise and then shouted stand on window bottoms. 1/2 dozen blokes stood on window ledges on Scaitcliffe St, as 1000's of rats went by, didn't know where they came from or where they went.
Retlaw.

kikine · 09-08-2010, 18:34

One I remember my grandad telling me was from the bakery at the bottom of Fielding Lane, he was walking home late at night and the rats were flittingng thousands of them. I always remember him saying that they were carrying their weak and wounded which as a child struck a chord with me. Must have been the 40's 50's