44 :OLD BIKE AUSTRALASIA
Photographs and information
supplied by Mick WoodSQUIRREL HOTEL
Just northwest of the city of Manchester lies the
town of Horwich, with a population of about 20,000.
Typical of the north midlands, Horwich had a
manufacturing industry and textile base, locomotive
workshops and an aircraft industry which began
with de Havilland and is now part of British
Aerospace. It also had plenty of pubs, one of which
was the curiously-named Squirrel Hotel, which stood
on the Bolton Road. A feature of the Squirrel was a
huge car park, although few people owned cars and
this area was a major refreshment stop for the
numerous buses and coaches that plied the main
road. It was a popular spot for coaches full of
holidaymakers on their way north to the seaside
attractions at Blackpool. The original hotel dating
back to the 19th century, was demolished in the
1960s and much smaller licenced premises erected
at the rear of the site. It was in this structure that
the licencee and owner, Eric Biddle, established a
museum which was home to what would today be
described as a treasure trove of racing motorcycles.
Mick Wood, who subsequently immigrated to
Australia and served as a submariner in the RAN,
was born in Horwich and has fond memories of The
Squirrel. A treasured possession is a set of
photographs featuring some of the bikes that were
on display. Mick takes up the story:
“As a young lad of about 13, my older brother Bill
sneaked me in to the hotel one day and I recall the
old one-armed bandits (the old fruit machines,
cherries, lemons and oranges ) which I played
before being caught and kicked out. The owner of
The Squirrel, Eric Biddle, had a museum in the back,
which was humidity controlled, and housed a
collection of rare motorcycles and some cars,”
recalls Mick Wood. “Eric was a great lover of Nortonmotorcycles and had a huge supply of rare Norton
spares. On behalf of Jack Crowhurst, who was an
Australian sidecar speedway rider and later a
sponsor of Peter Scaysbrook in Historic racing, I
purchased a number of bikes and had them shipped
to Australia. One was a long-stroke 350 Featherbed
Manx Norton, and others that I bought included an
Ariel Red Hunter and a Square Four. Jack also
became a customer of Eric’s and bought a lot of
Norton spares to keep his two Manxes running in
the classic races in Australia. The Hotel is long gone,
and last time I was there it was an Indian
Restaurant painted bright red. Now, four upmarket
houses occupy the site.
“We emigrated to Australia as 10 bob tourists
on a ship called the Fairsky, one of four Italian ships
of the Sitmar Line. Our worldly possessions consisted
of two suitcases of personal belongings, a sewingThe Squirrel Hotel
ABOVE The last traces of
the Squirrel – the India
Palace Restaurant –
under demolition.
LEFT The Squirrel Hotel
boarded up and
deserted.