 Leonard Swindley, known simply as 'Mr Swindley' to most people, was a lay preacher for the Glad Tidings Mission Hall, a local missionary church on Coronation Street, and chairman of the committee.Swindley came from a family of drapers, and had inherited his shop 'Swindley's Emporium' from his father.The clothes store, situated on Victoria Street (now home to Roy's Rolls), originally employed Emily Nugent.