On February 24th I wrote a blog Abuse in Oaklands Children’s Home?”. In it I recall a memory of thirty years when in Oaklands childrens home a young boy told me he’d been abused. In the blog I explain that recently an ex-worker of Wigan Council contacted me to see if I remembered a staff member. She explained that he was shifted from one home to another to conceal his abusing and that she had witnessed it in his files at The Town Council. Like me the memory of this man stuck in her mind. And like me she didn’t have the power to do anything at the time. The Jimmy Saville case alerted her feelings of guilt. No record of the home exists online except where I’d referred to it in passing. The member of staff’s name in those files was the same as the one who’d abused the boy thirty years ago.
Today I received a message from an unconnected friend: Wigan Today reports Scout leader in sex ring quiz, The Leigh reporter Sex case suspect is scout volunteer and The Daily mail Pensioner 70 arrested for abuse. The same man. The papers mainly omit any mention of his near twenty years working in the children’s homes of Wigan Council except the daily mail who quote his description from a social networking site as “deputy superintendent’ at a children’s home between August 1979 and December 1997′. He was at Woodfields children’s home and Oaklands. John Harding (or Jon Harding) an avid Manchester City supporter who liked his beer was head of both homes and took him from one to the other. Would it 
be fair to ask Wigan Social Services what action they feel should be taken in light of these present allegations on a staff member who worked for them for a near quarter of a century? And would they investigate the question of who concealed information within Wigan Council whilst moving the aforementioned?
Full Disclosure: Wigan Council were my legal parents for seventeen and an half years. I return to Wigan, as a writer, down that long road to Wigan Pier at Wigan Literature Festival on 8th April. I’ll see you there I hope. Top left photo: Rankin
Lemn,
I worked nights at the unit next to Oaklands chilrens home and used to let you in for a chat when you used to abscond. Read your blog with interest as I also worked at Woodfields way back.
Alison, is it you? Did you go to LA as an au pair after Oaklands or have I got it wrong?
Question why did I “abscond”?
Hi Lemn,
First of all congratulations on becoming so successful in your life despite such a bad start.
I still have your first book ‘Perceptions of the Pen’ bought from you while you were at Oaklands.
A friend has directed me to your blog as you make several references to me and I need to correct you on several points.
First of all, I never worked at Woodfields or Wood End and was working at Oaklands long before John Harding even came to Wigan.
I was not ‘moved from one Home to another at any time. I did leave Oaklands by choice to take up administrative duties at HQ – and I never, and never would, abuse a child at Oaklands or anywhere else.
t is true that allegations were made against me while I worked in Kent, but that is all they were – allegations. After investigation no charges were made and I have several clearances from the DBS (formerly CRB) to continue to work with children if I wish.
As I’m sure you know, it is quite common for allegations of this nature to be made against people in this profession. While some are, no doubt, genuine, others are not.
As far as I am aware no abuse went on at Oaklands during my time there. I can’t speak for Wood End as, like I say, I was never there.
Your own stay at Oaklands, as I recall was quite short as you were already 17 when you first came to us – hardly a child.
Keep up the good work,
Ron Parker
Thanks for your message Ron. We are all accountable for our actions. And I am pleased no charges were brought against you after investigation. Assumed guilt was what many of us “children” encountered on a daily basis in the care system. We have a different perspective as I am sure you are aware. “Hardly a child” may be how you saw me. But a child I was. It’s good to hear from you. It’s a rare thing for a staff member to regain contact. You’ll be aware of the staff at Wood End facing allegations.
Hi Lemn, Thanks for your response. It is good to hear from you.
Let me know if you still have questions about your time at Oakland’s. I can, for a start, answer your question to Alison earlier in this thread as to ‘why you absconded’.
The answer is you didn’t. You did present problems at times as I’m sure you remember, but absconding wasn’t one of them.
Ron
Mr Parker i know you and i Know David Mann and i i never believed the allegations against either of you. I think you were both used as to pass the blame from WBMC to a person/person’s . I treated you very badly Mr Parker, I was never sivel with you and i basically treated you like crap. I hope your still alive and nob jockey here lets you read this. I think you was one of them do gooders like Mr green Wood at wood end. Fighting a lost cours. A bit weird yes. A pedo no. You had that label when i got there and i watched you. Like i say i never believed it and look how bad i was with you. I remember you being a very patient man just like Greenwood. I actually did listen to some of what you said to me. I bet you thought i never just took years to sink in lol. I want you to know me John O’malley believes you Ron Parker even thought you took all my pocket money off me. Dave Mann beat kids you didn’t.
An honest marker from you John
Say’s the man who took £100,000 grand of Wigan council and a job and now never speaks of woodend and Wigan council……your a rat mate and everyone knows it.
Hows your relationship with Wigan council these days Lemn more of a love than hate relationship since you started the new job. £100,000 is nice but the contacts you’ve made now and the shoulders you rub. They all work for Lord Smith and so do you now no matter how you justify it ,you work for them. Your books a history of other peoples story’s which you collected before hitting WMBC for the cash prize. I was on to you 30 minutes after meeting you. Never got a slap in Woodend or you would of know what it was like. I realised after, what all the in death question’s were about. I will give you one thing Sisaay your no mug. No wonder you have the tongue of a politician. Sleep well in your silk sheets ..you’ve earned um!
i would like to know lemn why you stated you met such a wonderful man named mr sharples in your book MY NAMES IS WHY? you cant tell me lemn that this evil specimen was a wonderful man when i witnessed him calling you a w-g and a black b——–d when you first arrived at woodend in 1984,,,i was stood 6 feet away and those racist words sharples used are still fresh in my mind today as they were the minute he said them in 1984,,,i was blessed with an amazing photographic memory and i recall every bad event that i witnessed and i recall every event of abuse bestowed on myself and other children,,,you have already confirmed that my memory is amazing and youve already confirmed everything i reminded you of is 100% correct but when i reminded you of those sharples racist comments you suddenly stop replying to my emails????? i do not want to verbally attack you lemn neither do i want to make you out to be a liar but i will not hide the truth and i tell things how they are,,,i believe that wigan council only paid you compensation on the grounds that you would not make your racial abuse as part of that claim because wigan would have been in serious trouble had they paid part of your claim for racial abuse,,,this would have done serious damage to them concerning race relations and lots of uncomfortable questions being asked of them of which they would of had no answers,,,well we have a dialema lemn because i have very strong evidence which proves sharples did racially abuse you and evidence which proves sharples was sacked by ofsted for calling young children w–s and n-g n–s,,,,,,,,this is not a wonderful man he is a vile specimen and many other children who he abused will also back this evidence up,,,you might be able to live with your conscience lemn but i cant,,i actually believe that following the racial abuse sharples became very nice to you which swayed your feelings towards him making you fond of him so once you made the remarks of sharples being a wonderful man you were only remembering the nice side of him not the bad but this was how the abusers worked in woodend,,,they would abuse a child then would treat the child with friendly affection to confuse the childs memories and to distort the childs feelings regarding the abuse,,, im sure everbody who reads my status will be expecting you to tell the truth lemn,,,please think of those words you printed on your business cards at woodend in 1984,,,,RAIN RAIN GO AWAY COME AGAIN ANOTHER DAY,,,ASWAD GUTTER CLEANING IN RED GOLD AND GREEN,,,YOU WORE A PAIR OF BLUE AND WHITE DECK PUMPS THEN YOU BECAME VEGAN AND WENT BARE FOOT,,,YOU ALSO HAD A PAIR OF LADDERS,A TIN BUCKET AND WIRE BRUSH GIVEN TO YOU SO YOU COULD EARN MONEY ON THE HAGFOLD ESTATE,,,YOU KEPT YOUR MONEY IN A TOBACCO TIN AND WOODEND CHARGED YOU £5.00 PER WEEK FOR BOARD,,, I COULD ADD MUCH MORE TO THIS TO PROVE MY MEMORY BUT I THINK THIS IS ENOUGH