Man Buried Alive for 3 Days in Oldham

Harold Partington, 1907-2006

Harold was the second eldest of a family of five, born at 269 Manchester Road, Hollinwood (Oldham) in July 1907.

During bombing raids on Manchester, nearby Oldham with its many mills and factories also suffered many strikes. In 1941, a stray German bomb fractured a nearby gas main and demolished the Partington terraced family home.

Harold and his mother were at home and were catapulted into the cellar as the upper floors of the house collapsed. For three days volunteers searched the remains of the house for survivors. The searchers were about to give up when one of them noticed a faint tapping sound. It was traced to the pipes projecting from the rubble-filled cellar, where they found Harold, hungry and exhausted, and the body of his mother.

They dug Harold out, and he went on to resume playing rugby for Oldham RFC, marry and forge a long, successful career as an accountant.