Welcome to Morecambe's first virtual cache, and where better than to place it than at the statue of the town's most famous son.
John Eric Bartholomew was born in the beautiful seaside town of Morecambe on 14th May 1926, a plaque commemorates this outside his first home on Buxton Street. The family moved soon after to Christie Avenue where a further plaque can be seen on his childhood home. He attended Lancaster Road Primary School and later Euston Road Senior School, where he would later admit he didn't learn a great deal, however he soon found his place at local stage schools, including the Jubilee Club in Torrisholme where he made his first paid stage performance.
An invitation to join a revue in Nottingham called 'Youth Takes a Bow' led to a meeting with Ernest Wiseman, and a friendship - and soon entertainment double act - was formed. With Bartholomew not quite having the showbiz ring to it, Eric adopted the name of his home town, Ernie kept the shortened version of his surname (Eric Morecambe suggesting Morecambe and Leeds - being Eric's hometown - sounding like a return train ticket!), and Morecambe and Wise was born.
From their first television appearance in 1951, to their last at Christmas 1983, millions of viewers were entertained by one of the UK's most famous double acts. Morecambe sadly passed away in the early hours of 28th May 1984, having suffered his third heart attack in the stage wings after a show in Tewkesbury.
To log this virtual:
1. Upload to your log a photograph with you and Eric, I would love to see you recreating his famous pose, but appreciate this isn't always possible when solo caching, so something that identifies you such as a selfie or a photo of your caching name on a piece of paper with the statue is acceptable. This must be taken after the cache was published.
2. There is a number on the base Eric stands on, add this to the number of buttons on his waistcoat, don't forget to look behind the binoculars (these were included on the statue as he was an avid birdwatcher). Add these numbers together and send me them through my geocaching profile.
You don't need to wait for me to reply to log the find, but if you forget to complete the tasks, you may find your log disappears.
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.