'We are grateful that recognition is being given to those navvies who worked so hard.'
He stands proudly astride his labour - the cutting of the "Big Ditch" - in his waistcoat and neckerchief. The black and white photograph captures the toil required from thousands of men to build the Manchester Ship Canal.
The memorial will take two forms. The first will be a forest with about 600 trees planted in a small area but in a dense fashion close to the canal. The local community and relatives of the workers have helped with the design. The trees will come from all over the UK, but particularly from Ireland - linking with the large migration of workers from there.
Ellen said: "In the often shown photo of navvies working on the Manchester Ship Canal, my great grandfather Lawrence Hannan is at the front of the group, seen at the bottom of the ‘ditch’, wearing a dark waistcoat." "There was an Irish community/settlement in the Irlam and Cadishead area, some working as farm labourers on Chat Moss. Another ancestor of ours, Thomas Linnane, also from Ireland but we don’t know where, had a shop which served the local community.
Lawrence had five children, Mary, John, Charles, Thomas and Dorothy. His son, Charles died at Erquinghem Lys, France, in 1917 at the age of 20, and is buried in a war grave there. "By this time the horse and cart was long gone and replaced by lorry. The bulk of the produce went to Smithfield market in Manchester, but some was taken also to Sheffield. In the early days Charles made trips to London with produce - lettuce was so popular there that it became known as London lettuce."
"My sister Cath and I read an article in the MEN and recognized the photo used as being one that has been very familiar in our family," Ellen added. Many of the navvies, particularly the thousands from Ireland, faced extreme prejudice. The artwork and related events will, for the first time, recognise and commemorate those who lost their lives and tell their story to today’s audiences.
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