:00:07. > :00:11.Good evening. Welcome to North West Tonight on the
:00:12. > :00:17.day Preston came to a standstill to bid Sir Tom Finney farewell.
:00:18. > :00:28.We've spent the day talking to those who loved and knew the man known as
:00:29. > :00:31.Preston's favourite son. Tonight: Thousands line the streets `s the
:00:32. > :00:39.hearse slowly made its way through the city to the Minster.
:00:40. > :00:44.I was there with the thousands of well`wishers outside. I've `lso been
:00:45. > :00:47.speaking to some of those inside about their memories of one of the
:00:48. > :00:51.country's greatest players. I've looking back at his life here
:00:52. > :00:56.at Preston North End and talking to the fans who've been turning out in
:00:57. > :01:00.their thousands today. And we look at the legacy ldft
:01:01. > :01:21.behind by Sir Tom for the chty's generations to come.
:01:22. > :01:27.Just look at the tributes hdre and you will have an idea of thd
:01:28. > :01:32.affection in which he was hdld, not just here in the city, but `cross
:01:33. > :01:40.the nation and around the world Flowers, scarves, from all over the
:01:41. > :01:47.world, and well`wishers havd travelled from all around. He was
:01:48. > :01:51.devoted to Preston. The people of Preston were devoted to him. Here at
:01:52. > :01:58.the home of his beloved Preston North End, he played that the club
:01:59. > :02:02.for many years. Between 1946 and 1960 he made more
:02:03. > :02:05.than 400 league appearances for the club. He won 76 caps for England and
:02:06. > :02:12.was universally regarded as one of the greatest players ever. But he
:02:13. > :02:16.was so much more to the people here. People used to travel to thd matches
:02:17. > :02:24.with him on the bus. People would ring up his plumbing firm and find
:02:25. > :02:26.that he would fix their leaking tap.
:02:27. > :02:35.He's often referred to as Preston's favourite son. The funeral
:02:36. > :02:38.procession passed here just after midday, moving along the ro`d named
:02:39. > :02:41.after him, Sir Tom Finney W`y, before passing Preston Guildhall
:02:42. > :02:53.where members of the Preston and District Veterans Association
:02:54. > :02:59.lowered flags as a mark of respect. He served in the war. His football
:03:00. > :03:06.career had a delayed start due to his service for his country. 60
:03:07. > :03:15.guests were waiting in the Linster. Many thousands outside, places six
:03:16. > :03:20.or seven deep. Stuart Flinddrs was one of them. He's there at the
:03:21. > :03:23.Minster now for us. It was quiet when I arrived here
:03:24. > :03:29.this morning before the service gamut, there were lots of pdople
:03:30. > :03:36.here, but the atmosphere was subdued. Everyone had just one thing
:03:37. > :03:44.on their mind. I was speaking to Mark Lawrenson, the comment`tor and
:03:45. > :03:55.former player, and he said ht was as if part of Preston had died. Tom
:03:56. > :03:59.Finney always could draw a crowd. It is 50 years since he played for
:04:00. > :04:06.Preston, but they have never forgotten it. What does he lean to
:04:07. > :04:13.this town? He means everything. A bit of the
:04:14. > :04:18.town has died with his death. Many people were here three hours
:04:19. > :04:22.before the service began. Preston really has come to a standstill
:04:23. > :04:29.today as it pays its respects. Why is it important for you to be
:04:30. > :04:33.here? I watched Sir Tom plax and he was a gentleman and a true
:04:34. > :04:38.footballer. You will not sed a player like that again. He hs a
:04:39. > :04:42.gentleman. He was there all my life, so we knew the day would cole and we
:04:43. > :04:47.knew that we would come herd when it did.
:04:48. > :04:56.Preston players past and prdsent carried the coffin and gave a
:04:57. > :05:01.tribute. I looked forward to meeting him. He was humble, he was never
:05:02. > :05:18.bigger than what you thought he was. He was a great man.
:05:19. > :05:27.Inside, music and memories. He got 14 quit all the year round.
:05:28. > :05:32.They said that I wasn't as good a player as him, I said I was in the
:05:33. > :05:38.summer. A reminder that he was a falily
:05:39. > :05:45.man. But he was Preston's m`n as well. Today, they gave him ` final
:05:46. > :05:49.round of applause. I was privileged to meet Sir Tom
:05:50. > :05:55.Finney on many occasions, and it is true that everyone says that he is
:05:56. > :06:00.very modest. I wonder what he would have thought of such a grand
:06:01. > :06:07.occasion. You saw Tommy Dohdrty putting a smile on people's faces,
:06:08. > :06:13.but he was very serious when I spoke to him about how good a plaxer Sir
:06:14. > :06:17.Tom Finney was. The best player I've ever sden. When
:06:18. > :06:21.I see Barcelona play and I look at Messi, I thought that he's Tom
:06:22. > :06:25.Finney in a Barcelona shirt. Messi might be just as good as hil. But as
:06:26. > :06:31.a person, none better, absolute gentleman. Two great feet, five foot
:06:32. > :06:40.eight, ten and a half stone. A good force to play against. Messh,
:06:41. > :06:49.Barcelona, people like that. He might be as good as Tom Finney. He
:06:50. > :06:53.would've earned a fortune today The game today is crazy. But th`t's the
:06:54. > :06:57.thing, it never bothered hil. Never heard him talk about terms `nd
:06:58. > :07:02.financial ways. He was just delighted to come in for tr`ining
:07:03. > :07:08.early in the morning. First in, last away. I trained with him and he was
:07:09. > :07:18.such a talent. He made me ndarly a good player.
:07:19. > :07:25.Tommy Doherty, one of the bhg names here today. There were many people
:07:26. > :07:30.here today, some of whom probably do not know about football, but they
:07:31. > :07:34.cared about a man who was all about Preston, and that was what lade
:07:35. > :07:43.today so special. Stuart, thank you. Outside the front
:07:44. > :07:52.of the Deepdale grounds is this famous statue of Sir Tom Finney It
:07:53. > :07:58.was based on a photograph of him. He was one of a quartet of Northwest
:07:59. > :08:07.footballers, Stan Matthews, Stan Mortensen. They work, this hs in the
:08:08. > :08:14.`` they were giants in the post`war era. Many footballers since have
:08:15. > :08:22.been touched by him, amongst them Sir Bobby Charlton, who madd his
:08:23. > :08:27.England debut in the same shde as Sir Tom Finney. He told me that he
:08:28. > :08:34.was dazzled by the man. He was the type of player that, when
:08:35. > :08:41.he got the ball, it got you on the edge of your seat. Such a f`ntastic
:08:42. > :08:48.player. I think about him most when I played my first game for Dngland.
:08:49. > :08:53.He was playing on the left wing and I could not believe it. I w`s
:08:54. > :09:00.actually on the same field `s Tom Finney. He took the ball to the back
:09:01. > :09:10.area and he did not even look up and he chipped it. He was great. It was
:09:11. > :09:19.just right for him, this. It is a marvellous turnout. Yes, he was a
:09:20. > :09:25.lovely man. I played one match with him and I was really pleased. He was
:09:26. > :09:31.sensational and deserves all the credit that people give him.
:09:32. > :09:39.Sir Bobby Charlton outside the Minster earlier. A lot has been made
:09:40. > :09:45.of the fact that Sir Tom Finney was a one club man. Very few people
:09:46. > :09:51.these days do that, Ryan Giggs is a modern comparison. Back in the day,
:09:52. > :09:57.he would come to the game on the bus. He was a man of the people The
:09:58. > :10:04.stand behind me bears his n`me. Inside Deepdale, we will find our
:10:05. > :10:10.reporter. Yes, it is dark in here now, but
:10:11. > :10:16.nobody lit up the ground like Sir Tom Finney did. He was born a few
:10:17. > :10:23.streets away from here. He was a star. But he was a fan, likd the
:10:24. > :10:28.people who cheered him on. Lany people were here today to honour
:10:29. > :10:34.him. They came in their thousands to
:10:35. > :10:40.honour a player and a man who is one in a million. Very emotional. I
:10:41. > :10:47.loved him. I saw his first game and his last game. I met him a few
:10:48. > :10:59.times. The nicest man I knew, apart from my father. Pride for the
:11:00. > :11:07.city's greatest son. I have been in his company, I thanked him. I said
:11:08. > :11:15.that what you gave to us on the playing field, nobody could ever
:11:16. > :11:21.thank you enough. That was Sir Tom. Sir Tom Finney was an outst`nding
:11:22. > :11:29.footballer. Sir Stanley Matthews compared him to Maradona, and his
:11:30. > :11:35.team managers said this. If I had a choice of picking any player in the
:11:36. > :11:43.whole world, with my life at stake, I would pick Tom Finney.
:11:44. > :11:48.He was a gentleman who was never walked or sent off. A one club man
:11:49. > :11:56.and a one off. Tom Finney starts his season for
:11:57. > :12:03.Preston North End. Have you still got the same enthusiasm for the
:12:04. > :12:10.game? Yes, I have. Tom, people took to him, because he
:12:11. > :12:17.was Tom Finney. From Preston, a great player.
:12:18. > :12:21.Some people from Preston have precious personal stories about Tom,
:12:22. > :12:29.like this man who remembers kicking a ball about on the streets when Tom
:12:30. > :12:37.walked past. I shouted his name and I passed the
:12:38. > :12:41.ball to him. I picked up thd ball and thought I would never khck it
:12:42. > :12:46.again. And other people from Preston will
:12:47. > :12:52.never forget what he gave to them, to football and to the city. He was
:12:53. > :13:00.a real gentleman. Everyone was proud of him. He was our Sir Tom.
:13:01. > :13:06.If ever Sir Tom was injured, used to keep it quiet, because if ndws got
:13:07. > :13:13.out, 10,000 people would not come out. Whenever anyone else's name was
:13:14. > :13:20.read out with the number seven, people used to do.
:13:21. > :13:28.You mentioned the draw and `ppeal of Sir Tom Finney at grounds all across
:13:29. > :13:33.the country, where he played. Just some of the scarves here, scarves
:13:34. > :13:41.from all around the country. Most of them from Preston North End. Many
:13:42. > :13:50.more to go with the floral tributes. He was so central to this chty. You
:13:51. > :13:55.cannot undermine it enough. `` you cannot emphasise it enough. There is
:13:56. > :14:01.a sports centre at the Univdrsity and even a school that bears the
:14:02. > :14:08.name of Sir Tom Finney. At this school, they know something
:14:09. > :14:21.about Sir Tom Finney. He was born on the 5th of April. He made hhs North
:14:22. > :14:26.end debut on August the 23rd 19 6. `` 1956. He played for Engl`nd many
:14:27. > :14:34.times and scored many goals. He became Sir Tom Finney in 19 88.
:14:35. > :14:41.Hardly surprising when you realise that this school bears his name
:14:42. > :14:47.This was forms with an amalgamation of three specialist schools, and it
:14:48. > :14:49.needed a name, and one of the suggestions was Sir Tom Finney
:14:50. > :14:56.Community High School. We thought that was excellent. It was like the
:14:57. > :15:00.idea is that we wanted to ptt out there of loyalty and integrhty. That
:15:01. > :15:06.is what he stood for. It was only proper that the students
:15:07. > :15:12.join thousands of other people from Preston in paying tribute to Tom. In
:15:13. > :15:25.the city centre, you could see just how highly regarded he was. He did a
:15:26. > :15:30.lot for Preston. He was one of those people that everybody knows wherever
:15:31. > :15:36.you go. He meant a lot to the community. The fact that he stayed
:15:37. > :15:42.in a Preston and the loyaltx for Preston was brilliant.
:15:43. > :15:47.Sir Tom Finney was very protd of Preston, and as far as the city was
:15:48. > :15:57.concerned the feeling was mttual. He may now be gone, but he will never
:15:58. > :16:02.be forgotten. Sir Tom Finney, the perfect player
:16:03. > :16:08.and a wonderful man. Much loved and never forgotten. Just one of the
:16:09. > :16:14.tributes written here on thd back of a shirt. We will have more from a
:16:15. > :16:23.Deepdale later in the progr`mme We will now go back to the studio.
:16:24. > :16:27.Plans to close up to four fhre stations and shed 150 jobs over the
:16:28. > :16:30.next two years have been approved by the Merseyside Fire Authority. It
:16:31. > :16:34.says the cuts are needed, to save more than ?6 million by the end of
:16:35. > :16:37.2016. Around a hundred of the job losses will be firefighters. The
:16:38. > :16:44.authority says it's hoping to avoid compulsory redundancies.
:16:45. > :16:47.An Ellesmere Port company h`s assured local residents thex won't
:16:48. > :16:50.be in any danger when it destroys some of Syria's chemical we`pons
:16:51. > :16:53.stockpile later this year. People living near the Veolia site have
:16:54. > :16:57.signed an online petition against the disposal of a150 tonnes of
:16:58. > :17:05.material due to arrive in April or May. The French firm insists the
:17:06. > :17:11.process will be safe. It saxs that it is used to handling such
:17:12. > :17:20.operations. We process many tonnes of waste per annum, less th`n the
:17:21. > :17:28.150 tonnes of our annual output only 1.5%.
:17:29. > :17:31.An investigation has found that the NHS Trust in charge of Furndss
:17:32. > :17:35.General Hospital caused unndcessary distress to a family whose baby died
:17:36. > :17:37.just days after he was born. Joshua Titcombe's father made five
:17:38. > :17:40.complaints about the way st`ff dealt with his concerns about his son s
:17:41. > :17:44.preventable death in 2008. The Health Service Ombudsman upheld four
:17:45. > :17:46.of his complaints, and the Trust has now apologised.
:17:47. > :17:53.We are pleased with the recommendations. We want thdm to be
:17:54. > :17:58.honest and open in the future. That is positive. There are still many
:17:59. > :18:01.questions that have not been answered, including white they were
:18:02. > :18:10.not investigated in the first place. All of these issues will be looked
:18:11. > :18:12.at by the investigation. The Government today issued an
:18:13. > :18:16."unreserved apology" after ` Rochdale woman who'd been in a coma
:18:17. > :18:19.for two months was sent a ldtter encouraging her to find work. The
:18:20. > :18:22.town's MP Simon Danczuk said it showed the Department for Work and
:18:23. > :18:25.Pensions was hounding disabled people. It was written by a private
:18:26. > :18:28.contractor, even though 47`xear`old Sheila Holt had suffered a heart
:18:29. > :18:32.attack and had been sectiondd under the Mental Health Act.
:18:33. > :18:36.Now, all this week we've bedn marking the centenary of World War
:18:37. > :18:38.One. We've told stories of the volunteers, of the arms factories,
:18:39. > :18:42.of conscription. Tonight, though, a story that gives a real inshght into
:18:43. > :18:51.the scale of the impact of the war on communities back home. It's the
:18:52. > :19:01.story of England's bravest street. April five, 1919. Crowds and
:19:02. > :19:06.marching soldiers here to unveil a memorial to the war dead. Btt why
:19:07. > :19:10.did a film crew appear for this one? What made this street so
:19:11. > :19:16.special? 100 years ago, this was Chapel
:19:17. > :19:20.Street in Oldham. It is now a car park and a block of flats, but it
:19:21. > :19:27.used to be a cobbled street of back`to`back houses, living in them
:19:28. > :19:32.a largely Irish community. Ht was an ordinary street that was to become
:19:33. > :19:37.extraordinary. Extraordinary, because this street
:19:38. > :19:43.provided 161 soldiers, setthng a recruitment record that gavd it the
:19:44. > :19:51.name England's bravest Stredt. This is the only remaining marker that we
:19:52. > :19:56.have left, really. George h`s been fascinated by the story for years.
:19:57. > :20:05.The street would have gone straight down. There were 61 houses. 30
:20:06. > :20:13.houses either side. Within three weeks, 80 week `` 80 men had
:20:14. > :20:20.enlisted from this street, 80 out of 161 altogether. It was incrddible.
:20:21. > :20:26.61 houses, 161 men eventually enlisted.
:20:27. > :20:33.But what was the reality behind that street name? Chapel Street was poor.
:20:34. > :20:37.Many of the men would have been in a cramped lodging houses, would have
:20:38. > :20:44.been unemployed and desperate. Patrick Chisholm may not have been
:20:45. > :20:49.top of the list `` patriotism may not have been at the top of the list
:20:50. > :20:56.for them to enlist. They got a nice meal, a uniform and a free holiday
:20:57. > :21:03.to France. And they thought it would be over by Christmas.
:21:04. > :21:08.Local history enthusiasts h`ve been trying to discover more abott the
:21:09. > :21:16.stories behind the 161 who larched away and 29 who never returned. Like
:21:17. > :21:22.46`year`old Ralph Ryan, killed in 1916. His family were told that he
:21:23. > :21:27.had been transferred from France to a hospital from England, but they
:21:28. > :21:31.could not tell him which ond. He did not turn up, and when the army
:21:32. > :21:36.looked into it, the key mean occasion was wrong. There wdre two
:21:37. > :21:51.Ryan's, but he was not one of them. So his poor wife... False hope. The
:21:52. > :21:59.Chapel Street soldiers are, like the street, long gone. Their street is
:22:00. > :22:03.under a council car park. Btt it is time to recognise the terrible price
:22:04. > :22:05.that one street played for hts place in history.
:22:06. > :22:08.And tomorrow night, Radio Manchester's Allan Beswick hs at
:22:09. > :22:11.Dunham Massey Hall in Cheshhre, where the house has been tr`nsformed
:22:12. > :22:15.back into the military hosphtal that it was in 1917.
:22:16. > :22:31.And now we will look at the weather. Yes, it has been a good day of
:22:32. > :22:36.weather, with some sunshine. A few showers now and again. On Friday and
:22:37. > :22:40.Saturday, we should see somd sunshine, maybe some rain on
:22:41. > :22:47.Saturday night into Sunday `nd some blustery showers, possibly some
:22:48. > :22:53.heavy rain, from Sunday into Monday. This evening, we still have a few
:22:54. > :23:00.showers. They may be falling as wintry showers on high ground and a
:23:01. > :23:07.touch of snow in places. As we head into dawn, it will be mostlx dry,
:23:08. > :23:13.but it will be cold. Maybe some freezing fog patches. Temperatures
:23:14. > :23:19.at two or three Celsius. In oral areas, possibly below freezhng. ``
:23:20. > :23:27.in the countryside. It will be a frosty start tomorrow,
:23:28. > :23:32.maybe some freezing fog, and plenty of cloud, but generally you are in
:23:33. > :23:39.for a dry afternoon. The cloud should break to allow some
:23:40. > :23:45.sunshine. Six or seven Celshus. Tomorrow evening, summer shower was
:23:46. > :23:50.from across the Irish Sea. Ht will be quite cold. Temperatures dropping
:23:51. > :23:55.possibly below freezing and a lot of frost around, but the weekend does
:23:56. > :24:00.not look too bad. We will go back to Preston for a
:24:01. > :24:08.final word on the funeral of Sir Tom Finney.
:24:09. > :24:17.Yes, our sports presenter h`s come from inside the stadium to join us.
:24:18. > :24:24.You are a Preston man. Tom Finney of the same mould. It was suggdsted he
:24:25. > :24:31.may have been embarrassed bx the fuss?
:24:32. > :24:38.Yes, I was pleased to meet him on several occasions. Once I fhlmed on
:24:39. > :24:47.his front room, and he made me a cup of tea. Rather than a sports car
:24:48. > :24:50.after training, his brother would be there with a wheelbarrow of plumbing
:24:51. > :25:02.equipment. Yes, he carried on working, ?14 a
:25:03. > :25:08.week. Yes, the fame and fortune did not bother him, he felt connected to
:25:09. > :25:15.the city. Yes, the people fdeling connected to him? Yes, therd have
:25:16. > :25:20.been tears today, but also great pride about what he meant to the
:25:21. > :25:24.city. A couple of people travelled from
:25:25. > :25:30.California to pay their respects today. It was said in the etlogy
:25:31. > :25:39.that Tom Finney was a local boy made really good. Also a gentlem`n who
:25:40. > :25:51.was a gentle man. Bank you for watching.
:25:52. > :26:07.# Amazing Grace how sweet the sound # That saved a wretch like le
:26:08. > :26:25.# I once was lost # But now I am found
:26:26. > :26:38.# Was blind but now I see # Was Grace that brought my heart is
:26:39. > :27:11.to fear # And Grace my fears relievdd
:27:12. > :27:17.# Hal precious did that Grace appear # The hour I first believed #.