Town historian Peter dies at 78 Author ‘was proud of his Southport heritage’
LOCAL author and historian Peter Aughton has died at the age of 78. The author of the book North Meols and Southport and a number of other publications, Peter was the second of five children born to John and Emily Aughton of Oak Street, Southport.
He was born at the Christiana Hartley Maternity Home in Curzon Road when the Liverpool Blitz of 1940-41 was at its height – his parents recalled walking over Meols Cop bridge one winter’s evening and seeing the sky red from fires burning in Bootle and Liverpool, 20 miles away.
His brother John said: “He went to St Philip’s School in Southport where, in spite of being one of the youngest, he was often placed top of the class - in those days there were exams every term and class positions were given.
“His education continued at KGV, still a boy’s grammar school in those days, where he won a state scholarship and then read Physics at Manchester University.
“His true inspiration though was perhaps as a mathematician, and he gained a maths degree from the University of London in 1973.
“His mathematical ability has been passed on to his two daughters, both of whom gained a maths degree and are following careers using mathematics.
“After leaving Manchester University he tried several jobs before joining British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) in Bristol in 1967.
“There he worked on the supersonic airliner Concorde and was involved in pioneering work on numerical control of machine tools.
“Later he joined the staff of the University of the West of England (UWE) where he taught Computer Science and Mathematics and while
there gained an MSc and PhD.
“However, he will be best remembered in this town for his book North Meols and Southport – A History, first published in 1988.
“I can do no better than to quote from the book’s cover: ‘Southport is a fascinating place. It has a distinctive atmosphere all of its own which draws people back again and again.
“‘Among its residents, there is a powerful sense of its history and a great attachment to its heritage, from the fine 19th Century buildings of Lord Street to the thatched cottages of Churchtown and the old parish of North Meols, from which Southport grew in the early 1800s’.
“On the day of the book’s first publication, the Southport Visiter wrote: ‘This is probably the most important book ever to be published on Southport.
“‘It combines the pick of all that is out of print on the history and architecture of the town and much more and is a guaranteed best-seller in local bookshops for many years to come’.
“Peter was proud of his Southport heritage and had managed to trace his ancestry back to the time of the Norman Conquest and also discovered that the Aughtons were Lords of the Manor of North Meols back in the 16th Century.
“He also established that he was a direct descendant of Richard Aughton or Cockle Dick as he is popularly known, the 18th Century ‘King of the Cocklers’, after whom Cockle Dick’s Lane in Marshside is named.”
Peter subsequently published a number of other books (see panel).
In 1999, following publication of his book Endeavour, Peter was invited to undertake a lecture tour in Australia and New Zealand, where he and his wife Dilys visited Captain Cook’s landing place at Botany Bay and Cook’s cottage in Melbourne, which had been transported from Yorkshire.
After giving a talk at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Club they were permitted to see the heavily guarded America’s Cup. In the following years he was in high demand as a speaker. Upon retirement he moved to Leeds to be near his daughters and grandchildren.
He and Dilys, who were married for more than 52 years, looked forward to a long and happy retirement of travelling and lecture tours, until Peter was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2011.
He died peacefully at home on April 11.
He is survived by Dilys, daughters Jackie and Julie and two granddaughters Isobel and Charlotte.
Any comments or communication may be sent to jaughton@onetel.com