IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (5th - 11th JULY 1921)
This week's stories include the visit to St Helens by the Prince of Wales, a serious trailer accident takes place in Corporation Street, Billinge miners are stopped from working at Sutton Manor Colliery and the sad case of the Herbert Street triplets.
An industrial town like St Helens needed a lot of water for cooling purposes and general use. Although some works had their own small reservoirs, most didn't and so had to rely on the Corporation for their supply. On the 5th a public inquiry was held at St Helens Town Hall to enquire into an application to borrow £16,500 to improve the town's waterworks. That was the usual procedure if local authorities needed a loan to invest in some improvement scheme.
The inspector was told that Liverpool Corporation had an agreement enshrined in law to provide St Helens with 1 million gallons of water per day from Lake Vyrnwy. That was their reservoir in Powys that had been built in the 1880s to supply Liverpool with fresh water. If St Helens paid for a second pipeline to be laid, Liverpool Corporation had agreed to supply another million gallons of water to the town. The hearing was told that if the loan was approved and the works completed, the daily cost would be 7d per one thousand gallons for the first million gallons and 6d per 1,000 for the second million.
The highlight of the week has to be the visit to St Helens of the Prince of Wales, who is remembered today as King Edward VIII – the monarch who abdicated his throne in 1936 for the love of a divorced woman. Prince Edward was touring Lancashire and on the 6th his entourage entered the town at Blackbrook. Outside the Town Hall a red baize-covered platform had been installed so that a number of dignitaries could greet the prince. Edward arrived with Lord Derby at 6:15pm to cheers from a "huge crowd".
He was 45 minutes late, which meant that a planned visit to Pilkington's top works at Cowley Hill had to be called off. The St Helens Reporter wrote: "From the moment he stepped out of his car at the Town Hall the Prince of Wales captured the heart of the multitude. His free and affable demeanour evoked genial admiration, and the short stay he made at the first halting place in the Borough, was fraught with intense interest and loyal esteem."
The Reporter dubbed Edward a "real Prince of the People", as they described how his procession had driven next to St Helens Recs football ground. The St Helens Newspaper in its description said every bedroom window in City Road had been crowded with people and the "rows of houses were gay with flags and bunting". The purpose of the visit was for the Prince to meet discharged and disabled soldiers and sailors and the Reporter described his sympathetic treatment of the town's war heroes:
"The Prince among men is a different Prince from the one we saw only five minutes ago shyly acknowledging the welcome, principally feminine, which greeted him from the crowded stand. For several minutes H.R.H. interrogated the two St. Helens V.C's asking them when they won their distinctions, the divisions and battalions they served in, and smiling reminiscently when some name or some sweet or bitter memory was recalled to him. A lively cheer went up when a private in regimentals marched up and saluted with a full-flavoured military swagger. It was delicious. The Prince laughed unrestrainedly, and the crowd laughed, and cheered in turn."
As pictured above, Edward shook hands with over 100 men and when asked to say a few words, thanked them for giving him the opportunity of meeting them and apologised for being late. Then raising his hat repeatedly in acknowledgement of what was described as "rapturous cheering", the Prince of Wales got into his car and was driven away. Edward's next and final stop in St Helens was Victoria Park, where "all was animation and gaiety", according to the Reporter. The park was packed with schoolchildren who were arranged in eight groups and totalled almost 8,000. What the Reporter described as a "pathetic sight" and the St Helens Newspaper called "poor little mites" were the 130 "crippled children".
The disabled kids were grouped together in invalid chairs near the Cowley Hill gates "under the sympathetic care of their nurses". The Reporter described how the future monarch's "wonderful smile" had captured the youngsters' hearts during his five-minute drive round the park in which the Prince continuously waved his hat from a standing position in his open-top car. The Royal vehicle then exited via the Bishop Road gates, which was packed with people on both sides of the road cheering loudly. The St Helens Newspaper's headline to their report on the Royal visit was "The Smiling Prince – A Glowing Welcome To St Helens".
And now for the rest of this week's stories. It seems that it was common for motor lorries to have trailers connected – which was causing concern to local coroner Samuel Brighouse. He had recently said: "Drivers are boxed up in front of the motor-lorry, and when a trailer is attached anything can happen, and no one on the lorry knows anything about it."
Two hours after the Prince of Wales had travelled along Corporation Street, a trailer broke away from a Liverpool lorry. It then ran onto the pavement and partly demolished the front of a house. James Woodward from Ashcroft Street and William Brown of Rigby Street were the unlucky pedestrians who took the full force of the trailer, which was carrying a four-ton weight. Both men were taken to Providence Hospital in a serious condition and 32-year-old James Woodward died later in the evening.
This week the miners' returned to work after an agreement to end the 3-month-long coal strike had been reached. In most other industries workers would be able to go back to their jobs together – but coal mining was very different. Sometimes during disputes striking coal miners would permit a small number of men to undertake safety work down the mines in order to prevent flooding, gas build-up etc. Keeping the pit in good nick would allow miners a quick return to their jobs once the strike was over. As only a limited amount of safety work had been undertaken in St Helens pits during the recent dispute, it would take some time before all the miners could go back.
That led to trouble this week at Sutton Manor, as due to a shortage of housing in the village, the colliery (pictured above) had for some time laid on motor buses to bring in workers from places like Widnes and Billinge. Local miners thought they should be employed before outsiders and on the 6th fifty men led by Samuel Nuttall stopped a bus in Clock Face Road carrying 31 Billinge miners and made it turn back. Nuttall from Mill Lane was said to have shouted at them:
"You men am not going to the Sutton Manor Colliery, to-night. We are British and loyal subjects, and we cannot get work, and it is not right for you to come here doing Sutton Manor men out of their jobs. I have been to the colliery and told the manager there would be no Billingers coming here to-night." Facing charges of breach of the peace and intimidation, Nuttall appeared in court on the 8th where he was bound over for six months in the sum of £20 and ordered to pay costs of four guineas.
Last September I reported that the St Helens Medical Officer of Health had revealed that the infant death rate of 58 per 1000 births in the town during the previous nine weeks had been the lowest on record. It was a moment for some satisfaction but of, course, from our perspective that is still a dreadfully high figure. A century ago giving birth to a single child carried a significant risk for both mother and offspring – and that risk increased if multiple births occurred. And so it was perhaps no great surprise that when Mrs Moore from Herbert Street in Sutton gave birth to triplets this week, only one of the children survived.
It was announced on the 9th that a new league would begin in the autumn called the St Helens & District Football Combination. In reality it was a name change as the St Helens & District Junior League had been created in 1917 but its moniker gave the impression that it was only for boys.
And finally the non-St Helens item that attraction my attention in the Echo this week continues the theme of football, with Liverpool having a centre forward that was causing them such trouble that they had complained about him to the FA: "The clubs associated with the Lancashire Combination are actively making preparations for another season's campaign. There has been a number of changes amongst the playing staffs of the respective organisations, but there have been few big transfers. Some dispute has arisen between Pilkington, who joined Liverpool from Eccles United at the beginning of the present year.
"The Anfield club wish to retain him, and they have offered him the maximum wage of £6 per week, but the player does not want to assist them, and has refused to sign. It is stated that Pilkington is anxious to continue his profession as a draughtsman at Trafford Park, and to play for a club nearer home. He is the sole support of his parents who are over 70 years of age, and is desirous of living with them at Eccles. The matter has been brought to the notice of the Football Association." I expect Mo Salah earns a bit more than £6 a week these days!
Next week's stories will include the extraordinary Tennyson Street coincidence, the baby's body discovered at Parr floating in the St Helens Canal and why honesty was not the best policy for a Clock Face miner.
An industrial town like St Helens needed a lot of water for cooling purposes and general use. Although some works had their own small reservoirs, most didn't and so had to rely on the Corporation for their supply. On the 5th a public inquiry was held at St Helens Town Hall to enquire into an application to borrow £16,500 to improve the town's waterworks. That was the usual procedure if local authorities needed a loan to invest in some improvement scheme.
The inspector was told that Liverpool Corporation had an agreement enshrined in law to provide St Helens with 1 million gallons of water per day from Lake Vyrnwy. That was their reservoir in Powys that had been built in the 1880s to supply Liverpool with fresh water. If St Helens paid for a second pipeline to be laid, Liverpool Corporation had agreed to supply another million gallons of water to the town. The hearing was told that if the loan was approved and the works completed, the daily cost would be 7d per one thousand gallons for the first million gallons and 6d per 1,000 for the second million.
The highlight of the week has to be the visit to St Helens of the Prince of Wales, who is remembered today as King Edward VIII – the monarch who abdicated his throne in 1936 for the love of a divorced woman. Prince Edward was touring Lancashire and on the 6th his entourage entered the town at Blackbrook. Outside the Town Hall a red baize-covered platform had been installed so that a number of dignitaries could greet the prince. Edward arrived with Lord Derby at 6:15pm to cheers from a "huge crowd".
He was 45 minutes late, which meant that a planned visit to Pilkington's top works at Cowley Hill had to be called off. The St Helens Reporter wrote: "From the moment he stepped out of his car at the Town Hall the Prince of Wales captured the heart of the multitude. His free and affable demeanour evoked genial admiration, and the short stay he made at the first halting place in the Borough, was fraught with intense interest and loyal esteem."
The Reporter dubbed Edward a "real Prince of the People", as they described how his procession had driven next to St Helens Recs football ground. The St Helens Newspaper in its description said every bedroom window in City Road had been crowded with people and the "rows of houses were gay with flags and bunting". The purpose of the visit was for the Prince to meet discharged and disabled soldiers and sailors and the Reporter described his sympathetic treatment of the town's war heroes:
"The Prince among men is a different Prince from the one we saw only five minutes ago shyly acknowledging the welcome, principally feminine, which greeted him from the crowded stand. For several minutes H.R.H. interrogated the two St. Helens V.C's asking them when they won their distinctions, the divisions and battalions they served in, and smiling reminiscently when some name or some sweet or bitter memory was recalled to him. A lively cheer went up when a private in regimentals marched up and saluted with a full-flavoured military swagger. It was delicious. The Prince laughed unrestrainedly, and the crowd laughed, and cheered in turn."
The disabled kids were grouped together in invalid chairs near the Cowley Hill gates "under the sympathetic care of their nurses". The Reporter described how the future monarch's "wonderful smile" had captured the youngsters' hearts during his five-minute drive round the park in which the Prince continuously waved his hat from a standing position in his open-top car. The Royal vehicle then exited via the Bishop Road gates, which was packed with people on both sides of the road cheering loudly. The St Helens Newspaper's headline to their report on the Royal visit was "The Smiling Prince – A Glowing Welcome To St Helens".
And now for the rest of this week's stories. It seems that it was common for motor lorries to have trailers connected – which was causing concern to local coroner Samuel Brighouse. He had recently said: "Drivers are boxed up in front of the motor-lorry, and when a trailer is attached anything can happen, and no one on the lorry knows anything about it."
Two hours after the Prince of Wales had travelled along Corporation Street, a trailer broke away from a Liverpool lorry. It then ran onto the pavement and partly demolished the front of a house. James Woodward from Ashcroft Street and William Brown of Rigby Street were the unlucky pedestrians who took the full force of the trailer, which was carrying a four-ton weight. Both men were taken to Providence Hospital in a serious condition and 32-year-old James Woodward died later in the evening.
This week the miners' returned to work after an agreement to end the 3-month-long coal strike had been reached. In most other industries workers would be able to go back to their jobs together – but coal mining was very different. Sometimes during disputes striking coal miners would permit a small number of men to undertake safety work down the mines in order to prevent flooding, gas build-up etc. Keeping the pit in good nick would allow miners a quick return to their jobs once the strike was over. As only a limited amount of safety work had been undertaken in St Helens pits during the recent dispute, it would take some time before all the miners could go back.
"You men am not going to the Sutton Manor Colliery, to-night. We are British and loyal subjects, and we cannot get work, and it is not right for you to come here doing Sutton Manor men out of their jobs. I have been to the colliery and told the manager there would be no Billingers coming here to-night." Facing charges of breach of the peace and intimidation, Nuttall appeared in court on the 8th where he was bound over for six months in the sum of £20 and ordered to pay costs of four guineas.
Last September I reported that the St Helens Medical Officer of Health had revealed that the infant death rate of 58 per 1000 births in the town during the previous nine weeks had been the lowest on record. It was a moment for some satisfaction but of, course, from our perspective that is still a dreadfully high figure. A century ago giving birth to a single child carried a significant risk for both mother and offspring – and that risk increased if multiple births occurred. And so it was perhaps no great surprise that when Mrs Moore from Herbert Street in Sutton gave birth to triplets this week, only one of the children survived.
It was announced on the 9th that a new league would begin in the autumn called the St Helens & District Football Combination. In reality it was a name change as the St Helens & District Junior League had been created in 1917 but its moniker gave the impression that it was only for boys.
And finally the non-St Helens item that attraction my attention in the Echo this week continues the theme of football, with Liverpool having a centre forward that was causing them such trouble that they had complained about him to the FA: "The clubs associated with the Lancashire Combination are actively making preparations for another season's campaign. There has been a number of changes amongst the playing staffs of the respective organisations, but there have been few big transfers. Some dispute has arisen between Pilkington, who joined Liverpool from Eccles United at the beginning of the present year.
"The Anfield club wish to retain him, and they have offered him the maximum wage of £6 per week, but the player does not want to assist them, and has refused to sign. It is stated that Pilkington is anxious to continue his profession as a draughtsman at Trafford Park, and to play for a club nearer home. He is the sole support of his parents who are over 70 years of age, and is desirous of living with them at Eccles. The matter has been brought to the notice of the Football Association." I expect Mo Salah earns a bit more than £6 a week these days!
Next week's stories will include the extraordinary Tennyson Street coincidence, the baby's body discovered at Parr floating in the St Helens Canal and why honesty was not the best policy for a Clock Face miner.
This week's stories include the visit to St Helens by the Prince of Wales, a serious trailer accident takes place in Corporation Street, Billinge miners are stopped from working at Sutton Manor Colliery and the sad case of the Herbert Street triplets.
An industrial town like St Helens needed a lot of water for cooling purposes and general use.
Although some works had their own small reservoirs, most didn't and so had to rely on the Corporation for their supply.
On the 5th a public inquiry was held at St Helens Town Hall to enquire into an application to borrow £16,500 to improve the town's waterworks.
That was the usual procedure if local authorities needed a loan to invest in some improvement scheme.
The inspector was told that Liverpool Corporation had an agreement enshrined in law to provide St Helens with 1 million gallons of water per day from Lake Vyrnwy.
That was their reservoir in Powys that had been built in the 1880s to supply Liverpool with fresh water.
If St Helens paid for a second pipeline to be laid, Liverpool Corporation had agreed to supply another million gallons of water to the town.
The hearing was told that if the loan was approved and the works completed, the daily cost would be 7d per one thousand gallons for the first million gallons and 6d per 1,000 for the second million.
The highlight of the week has to be the visit to St Helens of the Prince of Wales, who is remembered today as King Edward VIII – the monarch who abdicated his throne in 1936 for the love of a divorced woman.
Prince Edward was touring Lancashire and on the 6th his entourage entered the town at Blackbrook.
Outside the Town Hall a red baize-covered platform had been installed so that a number of dignitaries could greet the prince. Edward arrived with Lord Derby at 6:15pm to cheers from a "huge crowd".
He was 45 minutes late, which meant that a planned visit to Pilkington's top works at Cowley Hill had to be called off. The St Helens Reporter wrote:
"From the moment he stepped out of his car at the Town Hall the Prince of Wales captured the heart of the multitude. His free and affable demeanour evoked genial admiration, and the short stay he made at the first halting place in the Borough, was fraught with intense interest and loyal esteem."
The Reporter dubbed Edward a "real Prince of the People", as they described how his procession had driven next to St Helens Recs football ground.
The St Helens Newspaper in its description said every bedroom window in City Road had been crowded with people and the "rows of houses were gay with flags and bunting".
The purpose of the visit was for the Prince to meet discharged and disabled soldiers and sailors and the Reporter described his sympathetic treatment of the town's war heroes:
"The Prince among men is a different Prince from the one we saw only five minutes ago shyly acknowledging the welcome, principally feminine, which greeted him from the crowded stand.
"For several minutes H.R.H. interrogated the two St. Helens V.C's asking them when they won their distinctions, the divisions and battalions they served in, and smiling reminiscently when some name or some sweet or bitter memory was recalled to him.
"A lively cheer went up when a private in regimentals marched up and saluted with a full-flavoured military swagger. It was delicious. The Prince laughed unrestrainedly, and the crowd laughed, and cheered in turn."
As shown above, Edward shook hands with over 100 men and when asked to say a few words, thanked them for giving him the opportunity of meeting them and apologised for being late.
Then raising his hat repeatedly in acknowledgement of what was described as "rapturous cheering", the Prince of Wales got into his car and was driven away.
Edward's next and final stop in St Helens was Victoria Park, where "all was animation and gaiety", according to the Reporter.
The park was packed with schoolchildren who were arranged in eight groups and totalled almost 8,000.
What the Reporter described as a "pathetic sight" and the St Helens Newspaper called "poor little mites" were the 130 "crippled children".
The disabled kids were grouped together in invalid chairs near the Cowley Hill gates "under the sympathetic care of their nurses".
The Reporter described how the future monarch's "wonderful smile" had captured the youngsters' hearts during his five-minute drive round the park in which the Prince continuously waved his hat from a standing position in his open-top car.
The Royal vehicle then exited via the Bishop Road gates, which was packed with people on both sides of the road cheering loudly.
The St Helens Newspaper's headline to their report on the Royal visit was "The Smiling Prince – A Glowing Welcome To St Helens".
And now for the rest of this week's stories. It seems that it was common for motor lorries to have trailers connected – which was causing concern to local coroner Samuel Brighouse. He had recently said:
"Drivers are boxed up in front of the motor-lorry, and when a trailer is attached anything can happen, and no one on the lorry knows anything about it."
Two hours after the Prince of Wales had travelled along Corporation Street, a trailer broke away from a Liverpool lorry. It then ran onto the pavement and partly demolished the front of a house.
James Woodward from Ashcroft Street and William Brown of Rigby Street were the unlucky pedestrians who took the full force of the trailer, which was carrying a four-ton weight.
Both men were taken to Providence Hospital in a serious condition and 32-year-old James Woodward died later in the evening.
This week the miners' returned to work after an agreement to end the 3-month-long coal strike had been reached.
In most other industries workers would be able to go back to their jobs together – but coal mining was very different.
Sometimes during disputes striking coal miners would permit a small number of men to undertake safety work down the mines in order to prevent flooding, gas build-up etc.
Keeping the pit in good nick would allow miners a quick return to their jobs once the strike was over.
As only a limited amount of safety work had been undertaken in St Helens pits during the recent dispute, it would take some time before all the miners could go back.
That led to trouble this week in Sutton Manor, as due to a shortage of housing in the village, the colliery (shown above) had for some time laid on motor buses to bring in workers from places like Widnes and Billinge.
Local miners thought they should be employed before outsiders and on the 6th fifty men led by Samuel Nuttall stopped a bus in Clock Face Road carrying 31 Billinge miners and made it turn back.
Nuttall from Mill Lane was said to have shouted at them:
"You men am not going to the Sutton Manor Colliery, to-night. We are British and loyal subjects, and we cannot get work, and it is not right for you to come here doing Sutton Manor men out of their jobs.
"I have been to the colliery and told the manager there would be no Billingers coming here to-night."
Facing charges of breach of the peace and intimidation, Nuttall appeared in court on the 8th where he was bound over for six months in the sum of £20 and ordered to pay costs of four guineas.
Last September I reported that the St Helens Medical Officer of Health had revealed that the infant death rate of 58 per 1000 births in the town during the previous nine weeks had been the lowest on record.
It was a moment for some satisfaction but of, course, from our perspective that is still a dreadfully high figure.
A century ago giving birth to a single child carried a significant risk for both mother and offspring – and that risk increased if multiple births occurred.
And so it was perhaps no great surprise that when Mrs Moore from Herbert Street in Sutton gave birth to triplets this week, only one of the children survived.
It was announced on the 9th that a new league would begin in the autumn called the St Helens & District Football Combination.
In reality it was a name change as the St Helens & District Junior League had been created in 1917 but its moniker gave the impression that it was only for boys.
And finally the non-St Helens item that attraction my attention in the Echo this week continues the theme of football, with Liverpool having a centre forward that was causing them such trouble that they had complained about him to the FA:
"The clubs associated with the Lancashire Combination are actively making preparations for another season's campaign.
"There has been a number of changes amongst the playing staffs of the respective organisations, but there have been few big transfers.
"Some dispute has arisen between Pilkington, who joined Liverpool from Eccles United at the beginning of the present year.
"The Anfield club wish to retain him, and they have offered him the maximum wage of £6 per week, but the player does not want to assist them, and has refused to sign.
"It is stated that Pilkington is anxious to continue his profession as a draughtsman at Trafford Park, and to play for a club nearer home.
"He is the sole support of his parents who are over 70 years of age, and is desirous of living with them at Eccles. The matter has been brought to the notice of the Football Association."
I expect Mo Salah earns a bit more than £6 a week these days!
Next week's stories will include the extraordinary Tennyson Street coincidence, the baby's body discovered at Parr floating in the St Helens Canal and why honesty was not the best policy for a Clock Face miner.
An industrial town like St Helens needed a lot of water for cooling purposes and general use.
Although some works had their own small reservoirs, most didn't and so had to rely on the Corporation for their supply.
On the 5th a public inquiry was held at St Helens Town Hall to enquire into an application to borrow £16,500 to improve the town's waterworks.
That was the usual procedure if local authorities needed a loan to invest in some improvement scheme.
The inspector was told that Liverpool Corporation had an agreement enshrined in law to provide St Helens with 1 million gallons of water per day from Lake Vyrnwy.
That was their reservoir in Powys that had been built in the 1880s to supply Liverpool with fresh water.
If St Helens paid for a second pipeline to be laid, Liverpool Corporation had agreed to supply another million gallons of water to the town.
The hearing was told that if the loan was approved and the works completed, the daily cost would be 7d per one thousand gallons for the first million gallons and 6d per 1,000 for the second million.
The highlight of the week has to be the visit to St Helens of the Prince of Wales, who is remembered today as King Edward VIII – the monarch who abdicated his throne in 1936 for the love of a divorced woman.
Prince Edward was touring Lancashire and on the 6th his entourage entered the town at Blackbrook.
Outside the Town Hall a red baize-covered platform had been installed so that a number of dignitaries could greet the prince. Edward arrived with Lord Derby at 6:15pm to cheers from a "huge crowd".
He was 45 minutes late, which meant that a planned visit to Pilkington's top works at Cowley Hill had to be called off. The St Helens Reporter wrote:
"From the moment he stepped out of his car at the Town Hall the Prince of Wales captured the heart of the multitude. His free and affable demeanour evoked genial admiration, and the short stay he made at the first halting place in the Borough, was fraught with intense interest and loyal esteem."
The Reporter dubbed Edward a "real Prince of the People", as they described how his procession had driven next to St Helens Recs football ground.
The St Helens Newspaper in its description said every bedroom window in City Road had been crowded with people and the "rows of houses were gay with flags and bunting".
The purpose of the visit was for the Prince to meet discharged and disabled soldiers and sailors and the Reporter described his sympathetic treatment of the town's war heroes:
"The Prince among men is a different Prince from the one we saw only five minutes ago shyly acknowledging the welcome, principally feminine, which greeted him from the crowded stand.
"For several minutes H.R.H. interrogated the two St. Helens V.C's asking them when they won their distinctions, the divisions and battalions they served in, and smiling reminiscently when some name or some sweet or bitter memory was recalled to him.
"A lively cheer went up when a private in regimentals marched up and saluted with a full-flavoured military swagger. It was delicious. The Prince laughed unrestrainedly, and the crowd laughed, and cheered in turn."
Then raising his hat repeatedly in acknowledgement of what was described as "rapturous cheering", the Prince of Wales got into his car and was driven away.
Edward's next and final stop in St Helens was Victoria Park, where "all was animation and gaiety", according to the Reporter.
The park was packed with schoolchildren who were arranged in eight groups and totalled almost 8,000.
What the Reporter described as a "pathetic sight" and the St Helens Newspaper called "poor little mites" were the 130 "crippled children".
The disabled kids were grouped together in invalid chairs near the Cowley Hill gates "under the sympathetic care of their nurses".
The Reporter described how the future monarch's "wonderful smile" had captured the youngsters' hearts during his five-minute drive round the park in which the Prince continuously waved his hat from a standing position in his open-top car.
The Royal vehicle then exited via the Bishop Road gates, which was packed with people on both sides of the road cheering loudly.
The St Helens Newspaper's headline to their report on the Royal visit was "The Smiling Prince – A Glowing Welcome To St Helens".
And now for the rest of this week's stories. It seems that it was common for motor lorries to have trailers connected – which was causing concern to local coroner Samuel Brighouse. He had recently said:
"Drivers are boxed up in front of the motor-lorry, and when a trailer is attached anything can happen, and no one on the lorry knows anything about it."
Two hours after the Prince of Wales had travelled along Corporation Street, a trailer broke away from a Liverpool lorry. It then ran onto the pavement and partly demolished the front of a house.
James Woodward from Ashcroft Street and William Brown of Rigby Street were the unlucky pedestrians who took the full force of the trailer, which was carrying a four-ton weight.
Both men were taken to Providence Hospital in a serious condition and 32-year-old James Woodward died later in the evening.
This week the miners' returned to work after an agreement to end the 3-month-long coal strike had been reached.
In most other industries workers would be able to go back to their jobs together – but coal mining was very different.
Sometimes during disputes striking coal miners would permit a small number of men to undertake safety work down the mines in order to prevent flooding, gas build-up etc.
Keeping the pit in good nick would allow miners a quick return to their jobs once the strike was over.
As only a limited amount of safety work had been undertaken in St Helens pits during the recent dispute, it would take some time before all the miners could go back.
Local miners thought they should be employed before outsiders and on the 6th fifty men led by Samuel Nuttall stopped a bus in Clock Face Road carrying 31 Billinge miners and made it turn back.
Nuttall from Mill Lane was said to have shouted at them:
"You men am not going to the Sutton Manor Colliery, to-night. We are British and loyal subjects, and we cannot get work, and it is not right for you to come here doing Sutton Manor men out of their jobs.
"I have been to the colliery and told the manager there would be no Billingers coming here to-night."
Facing charges of breach of the peace and intimidation, Nuttall appeared in court on the 8th where he was bound over for six months in the sum of £20 and ordered to pay costs of four guineas.
Last September I reported that the St Helens Medical Officer of Health had revealed that the infant death rate of 58 per 1000 births in the town during the previous nine weeks had been the lowest on record.
It was a moment for some satisfaction but of, course, from our perspective that is still a dreadfully high figure.
A century ago giving birth to a single child carried a significant risk for both mother and offspring – and that risk increased if multiple births occurred.
And so it was perhaps no great surprise that when Mrs Moore from Herbert Street in Sutton gave birth to triplets this week, only one of the children survived.
It was announced on the 9th that a new league would begin in the autumn called the St Helens & District Football Combination.
In reality it was a name change as the St Helens & District Junior League had been created in 1917 but its moniker gave the impression that it was only for boys.
And finally the non-St Helens item that attraction my attention in the Echo this week continues the theme of football, with Liverpool having a centre forward that was causing them such trouble that they had complained about him to the FA:
"The clubs associated with the Lancashire Combination are actively making preparations for another season's campaign.
"There has been a number of changes amongst the playing staffs of the respective organisations, but there have been few big transfers.
"Some dispute has arisen between Pilkington, who joined Liverpool from Eccles United at the beginning of the present year.
"The Anfield club wish to retain him, and they have offered him the maximum wage of £6 per week, but the player does not want to assist them, and has refused to sign.
"It is stated that Pilkington is anxious to continue his profession as a draughtsman at Trafford Park, and to play for a club nearer home.
"He is the sole support of his parents who are over 70 years of age, and is desirous of living with them at Eccles. The matter has been brought to the notice of the Football Association."
I expect Mo Salah earns a bit more than £6 a week these days!
Next week's stories will include the extraordinary Tennyson Street coincidence, the baby's body discovered at Parr floating in the St Helens Canal and why honesty was not the best policy for a Clock Face miner.