About Us:

Founders

Lindsay Hoyle MP

Lindsay was elected Member of Parliament for Chorley in 1997 - the first Labour MP to represent Chorley for 18 years.

Before entering Parliament Lindsay served on Chorley Borough Council, being the youngest ever councillor to serve in Chorley when elected in 1980 at the age of 22. During his time on Chorley Borough Council Lindsay acted as Chairman of the Economic Development Committee and initiated plans for the redevelopment of the Royal Ordnance site. The work is now underway with 2,500 new homes, a state of the art business centre, and the re-opening of the railway station.

Lindsay also held the post of Deputy Leader from 1994 to 1997 and his time on the council finished on a high as Mayor of Chorley from 1997 to 1998.

Coming from a political family - his father, Doug Hoyle, was MP for Warrington and now sits in the House of Lords - it did not take Lindsay long to realise that this was the route he wanted to follow. Having his appetite wetted by local politics Lindsay decided to go one better and stand for Parliament. Winning the selection for the seat of Chorley Lindsay campaigned hard on local issues and was elected with a majority of 10,000.

On being elected to Parliament Lindsay hit the ground running with a number of debates and questions on issues of concern to him. e.g. defence, farming, trade and industry, tourism, in addition to championing the needs of local constituents. This was reflected in his re-election in the 2001 general election where he experienced a swing from the Tories to Labour.

In particular Lindsay ran a successful campaign of behalf of the local TA barracks, ensuring that the barracks remained open, helped secure funding for a renal unit and new 30 bed medical ward at Chorley Hospital, and successfully campaigned for the government to support the Eurofighter programme who showed their commitment by recently signing a contract for further orders of the fighter plane which will help secure thousands of jobs in the North West.

Outside of politics Lindsay likes to relax at home by reading, watching sport and in particular watching rugby league. As former Chairman of Chorley Rugby League Club the game remains his personal favourite. When not occupied by rugby the pets and garden take up the majority of his free time.

Lindsay celebrated his 50th birthday in June 2007.

Steve Williams

Originally from Blackburn, Steve has lived in the village of Brindle near Chorley since 1984 having married a local girl some 10 years before. Born in 1952, he was a football referee for 29 years serving as a Linesman in the professional ranks for 12 years before retiring from the game at the end of the 1995-96 season.

Heavily involved in the local community, he has served on Brindle Parish Council since 1996 and was Chairman for two years between 2004 to 2006. He stood as an Independent Candidate for the Brindle & Hoghton Ward in the local elections in 2004, pushing the Conservative incumbent and finishing well ahead of the Labour and Liberal Democrat candidates.

He has also served as Governor at Brindle St. James' School C of E (Aided) Primary School for several years around the millennium.

A Trustee of Brindle Community Hall since 1996, he played an integral part in the campaign for a new building in the village. An active Vice-Chairman with responsibility for marketing, PR & Media relations, he assisted in raising the necessary funds and was proud to host the opening ceremony for the new building in August 2006.

A sales and marketing professional with major American and Japanese companies, he set up his own specialist sales recruitment business in 1996. After expanding nationally by the franchise route, he sold the rights to his business in 2002 and took time out to devote to other interests. One of those interests was local history - being instrumental in setting up Brindle Historical Society in June that year (it is now one of the most successful societies in the area with over 60 members).

His interest in World War One was rekindled when he started researching names on Brindle War Memorial (two men from the village were in the Chorley Pals). Several personal trips to The Western Front in 2002 and 2003 saw him organise and lead a six day coach trip for Historical Society members to the WW1 battlefields in France and Belgium in May 2004. This led him to organising a further coach trip for 40 people from Lancashire, to be in the trenches at Serre at 7.30 a.m. on the 1st July 2006 - exactly 90 years to the minute when the Chorley Pals went over the top. The trip was covered by North West Tonight, the BBC's local television news programme, and he assisted with the half hour long documentary for BBC Radio Lancashire.

Another personal trip, this time to the WW1 battlefield of Gallipoli in Turkey during September 2006, was again covered by the North West Tonight. He is currently writing a book about the 320 soldiers from Brindle and the neighbouring village of Hoghton who fought in WW1; it is due out in September 2008. He gives talks to local groups and societies across the County, as well as being a regular contributor to the 'Flashback' feature in the Chorley Guardian.

Recent research into his family history found a relative who was killed at Serre on the 1st July 1916 with the Bradford Pals, in the trenches next to the Chorley Pals. During his spare time he is working on a World War One project with the BBC. His next organised coach trip is to Mons and Ypres during the spring of 2009.