George Formby

Another exciting historic addition to Grand Arcade is the bronze statue of George Formby, which was located in the centre during its opening year of 2007.

Born in Westminster Street, Wigan in 1904, George Formby entertained an estimated three million Allied Servicemen and women during World War II throughout Europe and the Middle East. During his career he made 22 films and over 350 records, he was also popular in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. In his heydey, George Formby was the fifth highest-paid star in the world - ahead of Errol Flynn, Bette Davis and even Bing Crosby.

George Formby was quite literally the legend of Wigan.

It has been 50 years since George Formby’s death, on 6 March 1961, and to celebrate the legends life both BBC 2 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00z2kkz and ITV http://www.itv.com/granada/turned-out-nice-again51750/ paid their respects to the entertainer.

Check with us to see if any George Formby related events will be taking place as it is not uncommon for the members of The George Formby Society to pop in for a ukulele performance or two!