I WAS interested to read the article on the waxis in a recent edition of the Messenger.

However, in the interests of accuracy, the reference to Steven Cadwell's 'vision' is somewhat off the mark.

The vision was had by Ernest Leonard Leeming (1889 - 1964) in 1935 when he was a civil engineer with the Urmston Urban District Council.

His idea was to have taxis on the Manchester Ship Canal and to leave the canal at the various locks to re enter the other side.

As with some others of his innovations, this was dismissed although you can barely walk anywhere in Urmston, Flixton or Davyhulme today without seeing evidence of his work.

He designed the now demolished swimming baths on Bowfell Circle and the concrete road signs, concrete ended benches and cycle track down Longford Road were his work also.

Leeming can be seen on the attached photo just behind the little girl presenting the flowers. This is a photo of the opening of Davyhulme Circle on July20, 1929.

Incidentally, the lady in the white dress in the background slightly right of centre is my maternal grandmother.

Leeming supervised the work in building the circle. The cenotaph had already been built some years earlier in the farmyard of Bethell's Farm.

Michael Billington