The author and researcher of this site, Denis McCann was born at Heaton Grange, Bolton during 1961, and went to Wolfenden Street County Primary School as a child. Living on Blackburn Road he retained family links with Bolton and an interest in the history of his home town, despite moving to Rossendale aged 10.
Denis’ grandfather Henry Herbert McCann, of Eckersley Road Bolton was an inveterate adjuster and mender of clocks, which by reputation, seldom ever worked again.
A long-standing interest I’m mechanical things, such as steam engines, machinery, cars, motorcycles, clocks, and watches sparked an enduring interest in clocks and latterly pocket watches, especially from my home town.
Denis is a diagnosed Dyslexic and has researched neurodiversity for over 45 years, as well as working to raise awareness and to deal with crisis interventions in Fire, Police, Ambulance, Prison, and Coastguard services as well as trades unions.
Following his father Gerard, who served as a firemen in Bolton, he followed his father into Lancashire Fire County Brigade. His fire service career, covering almost 32 years, took him from Many stations in Lancashire to Avon, Bath and Bristol, and then to working for the Fire Service College and also The College of Policing.
Denis’s Fire Service career led him to deal with a number of wonderful opportunities, significant incidents, and important Fire Investigations.
Notable amongst his operational career are the following:
Gold Command during Civil Unrest in Bristol.
2007 Gloucester Flooding at Waltham, ‘The Battle of Walham’ Denis was the Fire Incident Commander during the critical night when the high tide met the floodwater and a 400k volt switching station needed to be saved. (Subjected to a command study by the UK Military)
2010 BOC Bristol major industrial explosion and fire at the acetylene filling plant, with an eight-day cooling operation to stabilise 440 other at-risk acetylene cylinders stored at the facility and prevent a catastrophic chain reaction.
2012 Olympic Torch Relay – Silver Commander while the convoy was in the South West.
2012 Olympics Wales and Weymouth, headed up a team available from Bristol Filton Airport by helicopter deployment to those locations.
As a qualified National Incident Liaison Officer, he held executive authority and was involved with a number of significant incidents, including supporting Counter Terrorist roles.
His Investigative training has allowed him to be a qualified fire Investigator, where he has worked on a number of cases, including recreating incidents under the direction of the coroner, working as a Subject Matter Expert and specialist supporting an eminent barrister at QC/KC level, in a corporate manslaughter based case.
Denis headed up the adults and children’s safeguarding Quality Assurance Panel in Bath and North East Somerset.
His exploits in training led him through various roles and positions.
He became nationally recognised for his command training abilities, introducing many of the protocols used in the design and delivery of incident command simulations and the assessment of commanders. He devised and authored the SfJ Awards Level 6 Incident Command Trainer Qualification, and designed and delivered courses to deliver that qualification.
Through the College of Policing, Denis became involved in the delivery of a number of courses, including the Multi Agency Gold Command (MAGIC), The Police Senior Command Course (SCC) and a number of other specialist courses.
Denis delivered Incident Command training to many organisations, including Military, Fire, Police, Ambulance, and Industry at all command levels.
Denis Worked with the Military Command And Staff Training Team (CAST) from Warminster to develop testing exercises for military personnel operating in the civil environment in 2008. This identified key learning for the Military operating in the civil environment.
as well as his career qualifications, Denis holds a number of other qualifications, he has qualified as a Department Of Transport Rescue Boat Coxswain, and an RYA Powerboat Instructor.
He is a qualified Motorcycle Instructor, with qualifications form the DVSA, IAM and ROSPA, he has taught riders from absolute beginners, to Advanced Instructors, to serving Police Officers on formal courses.
Denis is a specialist in neurodiversity, an area he has studied for over 45 years he has worked to raise awareness and understanding of Nurodiversity, and has supported organisations with interventions in specific cases, in Fire, Police, Ambulance, and Prison services as well as The Coastguard and Trades Unions.
Denis has a long standing interest in his home town of Bolton, he authored a number of facebook pages looking at the History of Little Bolton, Ancient Bolton, Boltons Locomotive Builders, Bolton’s Railway Stations.
This work stated out to catalogue the known clock and watch makers from Bolton, it wasn’t expected to take long as there town isn’t renowned as a centre for clock and watch making, yet slowly inexorably more and more details came to life, and the scope and variety of the Clock and Watch trade in the town became clear. With well over 450 names, it became clear that the scale of clock and watch making has been completely overlooked in the town.
This work is now the definitive wort listing Bolton’s Clock and watch makers, and it has been expanded to cover adjacent towns associated with Bolton, and to include Barometer makers as well the Clocks and watches.
In researching the makers, many interesting social and local history cases have been identified and captured, including a murder in the time of the plague, links to SS Great Eastern, finding the ‘lost’ 16th Century clock from the original Parish Church, and many other exiting stories.
This free work is published for research and education, but commercial use should reference the Author and Site.