IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (7th - 13th NOVEMBER 1922)
This week's stories include the child wearing a highly flammable petticoat that burned to death, the violent gin scene in the Nag's Head, the commemoration of Remembrance Day in St Helens and the man with 13 children who told the magistrates "I think I ought to know whether I am married or not".
Yet another war memorial was put on public display in St Helens this week. Richard Ellison, the Mayor of St Helens, unveiled the latest monument to fallen soldiers at the Park Road Baptist Chapel. There was a large congregation and the band of the 5th South Lancs Regiment accompanied the singing of hymns.
Appearing at the St Helens Hippodrome throughout this week were Scott Sanders ("The popular Scottish comedian"); The Ingemanns ("Danish clowns with the musical band-saw"); O’Brien & Lady ("Novelty comedy acrobatic act"); Selig and Hart ("The “so-different” comedians in a new comedy act"); Lily Denville ("Dainty comedienne and expert wooden shoe dancer") and Harry Karr and Walter Kooney ("In a vocal comedy act").
County Coroner Samuel Brighouse presided over inquests in St Helens for 55 years and used to refer to winter as the "burning season" for children. That was because of the countless deaths of youngsters from poorly guarded house fires that set their flammable clothing alight. The Reporter on the 10th described how little Martha Griffin of Mount Street (near Liverpool Road and pictured above) had been this week's victim. The widowed mother of the six-year-old explained to the coroner how she rented two rooms and on the previous wet Sunday afternoon had lit a fire in her bedroom.
Mrs Griffin described how her two children had entered the room to play but after only a few minutes, her nine year-old daughter had run out saying her sister was burning. The woman found Martha at the top of the stairs in flames and attempted unsuccessfully to put the fire out. A young man who lived in another part of the house took off his coat and extinguished the flames by wrapping it round the girl.
Martha was taken to Providence Hospital but died from her burns within about 12 hours. Not only was the child wearing a flannelette petticoat – a warm but highly flammable fabric – but there had also been no fireguard in the room. To add to Mrs Griffin's worries, it was possible that she would now face prosecution for negligence.
The new Church Street department store called the Palatine Arcade that described itself as a "market within a shop" and "the store St. Helens has waited for" was advertising a one-week fur sale this week. Lots of real animal fur were on offer, including fox, beaver, wolf, mole and, surprisingly, skunk.
And Oxleys store on the corner of Claughton Street and Barrow Street said in their advert that they had been in contact with Santa: "The boys and girls of St. Helens will be delighted to hear that Santa Claus is looking forward to seeing them all once more. He has promised to meet them at Babyland soon after the opening of Oxleys wonderful Toyland – Underground now being prepared."
The poverty in the town was giving rise to many prosecutions for illegally obtaining benefits, as a result of claimants putting inaccurate information on application forms. Deliberately cheating was a risky business, as there was a clampdown on benefit fraud and those found guilty often received a prison sentence. The deception was rarely a case of claimants receiving unemployment benefit while working. But their claim covered their whole family and often it was some aspect of their household income that was in question.
The latest to appear in court was Thomas Toole from Bold Street in St Helens who had stated on his form that his wife was entirely dependent upon him. However, the authorities had learned that for two years she had received some income from others. In his defence Toole denied that he had made any false representation, as the Reporter wrote: "He told the clerk [to the court] he was a married man, “and having thirteen children I think I ought to know whether I am married or not,” he remarked excitedly.
"As far as he knew he had always given truthful information, but being hard of hearing he might not have heard the questions properly, and given wrong answers. But if he had done that he was quite willing to refund the money he had received." Mr Toole was 67 and the Chairman of the Bench, Thomas Edmondson, stated that in view of his age, the defendant would be dealt with very leniently, adding: "This kind of offence is becoming very prevalent, and the magistrates will do our best to put a stop to it." Mr Woods was only fined 40 shillings and could consider himself fortunate.
During the evening of the 10th, Edward Wooll infuriated the owners of St Helens' cinemas. The Conservative candidate for the town in next week's general election claimed that the local picture houses had screened a notice to their cinemagoers saying "Don't Vote for Wooll". That had supposedly been in response to him not supporting their call for the abolition of entertainment tax. That led to Robert Benson of Church Street in St Helens, chairman of the local Cinemagraph Exhibitors Association, writing to the Liverpool Daily Post denying the charge and calling Wooll's comments "scurrilous and low down remarks".
If someone involved in a court case was Jewish, the newspapers liked to point that out – even though it usually had no relevance to the proceedings. And a female Jew could be described as a Jewess, which is how the Reporter referred to Hannah Sarfary under the headline "Jewess' Life Story – Told At Prescot". The 17-year-old appeared in Prescot Police Court on the 11th charged with stealing a blanket and a ladies straw hat.
The head of Prescot Police, Supt. Garvey, told the magistrates that Miss Sarfary had been born in London but after getting into trouble had been sent to an industrial school. After some time the girl was allowed to go home but according to the superintendent, "Her people found they could not do anything with her, and she was sent back to the school." In fact a letter from her father had said his daughter had been "carrying on" for ten years. Then in May of last year, Hannah was sent to the Park Side Reformatory at Huyton but had absconded eight times to various places. On the last occasion in October, Hannah had escaped to Manchester and stolen a couple of items.
She had been considered for a place in a Borstal institution but the Home Office had now been in touch with Prescot police and said Borstal would not be appropriate for the girl. Supt. Garvey explained that the Home Office had instead suggested that a short, sharp sentence would have a good effect on Hannah because she would be taught discipline and learn to do what she was told. Well, that was their theory and so the girl was sent to prison for a month with the magistrates saying they hoped it would serve as a warning to her.
The 11th was Remembrance Day and only the second commemoration in which poppies were worn. They were sold in Britain to raise money for the Earl Haig Fund in support of ex-servicemen and the families of those that had died in the war. The St Helens war memorial would not be unveiled in Victoria Square until 1926 but a temporary cenotaph was in place.
The Reporter described how on the day a "considerable throng" had gathered in the square, adding, "the poppy, symbolic of Flanders fields, with its buried rows of solemn crosses over unnumbered tombs of fallen heroes, has taken root as the flower sacred to that day." The drums and bugles of the 5th South Lancs band sounded the Reveille and the Last Post with a two-minute silence in between.
And finally, a curious court case on several counts took place in St Helens on the 13th. First of all, instead of turning up to the hearing himself, the defendant sent his mother. John Cruise of Elliott Street was charged with causing over £7 worth of damage at the Nags Head in Eccleston Street by an unusual happening. The man had ordered a pint of mild and bitter in a bottle. The price was 8½d but Cruise only had 7d. In frustration at not getting his drink, Cruise threw a water jug on the counter across the bar and that happened to strike a keg, spilling its contents of 1½ gallons of gin onto the floor.
The absent defendant was fined £1 and ordered to pay the full amount of the damage that he had caused, as well as a solicitor's fee and witness expenses. Cruise's mother instead of apologising for her son's behaviour became stroppy herself in court. Upon the Bench telling the woman: "Your son will have to pay all that for his temper", she replied: "Will he? We shall see." Then upon being warned that if the fine, damages and expenses were not paid, the alternative for her boy would be 28 days in prison, Mrs Cruise replied: "Only twenty-eight days, he can do that on his head."
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the General Election in St Helens, the drunken ex-soldiers that went on the razzle in Prescot, Oxleys Christmas grotto opens for business and how a missing Sutton Manor hammer led to a punch in the head.
Yet another war memorial was put on public display in St Helens this week. Richard Ellison, the Mayor of St Helens, unveiled the latest monument to fallen soldiers at the Park Road Baptist Chapel. There was a large congregation and the band of the 5th South Lancs Regiment accompanied the singing of hymns.
Appearing at the St Helens Hippodrome throughout this week were Scott Sanders ("The popular Scottish comedian"); The Ingemanns ("Danish clowns with the musical band-saw"); O’Brien & Lady ("Novelty comedy acrobatic act"); Selig and Hart ("The “so-different” comedians in a new comedy act"); Lily Denville ("Dainty comedienne and expert wooden shoe dancer") and Harry Karr and Walter Kooney ("In a vocal comedy act").
Mrs Griffin described how her two children had entered the room to play but after only a few minutes, her nine year-old daughter had run out saying her sister was burning. The woman found Martha at the top of the stairs in flames and attempted unsuccessfully to put the fire out. A young man who lived in another part of the house took off his coat and extinguished the flames by wrapping it round the girl.
Martha was taken to Providence Hospital but died from her burns within about 12 hours. Not only was the child wearing a flannelette petticoat – a warm but highly flammable fabric – but there had also been no fireguard in the room. To add to Mrs Griffin's worries, it was possible that she would now face prosecution for negligence.
The new Church Street department store called the Palatine Arcade that described itself as a "market within a shop" and "the store St. Helens has waited for" was advertising a one-week fur sale this week. Lots of real animal fur were on offer, including fox, beaver, wolf, mole and, surprisingly, skunk.
And Oxleys store on the corner of Claughton Street and Barrow Street said in their advert that they had been in contact with Santa: "The boys and girls of St. Helens will be delighted to hear that Santa Claus is looking forward to seeing them all once more. He has promised to meet them at Babyland soon after the opening of Oxleys wonderful Toyland – Underground now being prepared."
The poverty in the town was giving rise to many prosecutions for illegally obtaining benefits, as a result of claimants putting inaccurate information on application forms. Deliberately cheating was a risky business, as there was a clampdown on benefit fraud and those found guilty often received a prison sentence. The deception was rarely a case of claimants receiving unemployment benefit while working. But their claim covered their whole family and often it was some aspect of their household income that was in question.
The latest to appear in court was Thomas Toole from Bold Street in St Helens who had stated on his form that his wife was entirely dependent upon him. However, the authorities had learned that for two years she had received some income from others. In his defence Toole denied that he had made any false representation, as the Reporter wrote: "He told the clerk [to the court] he was a married man, “and having thirteen children I think I ought to know whether I am married or not,” he remarked excitedly.
"As far as he knew he had always given truthful information, but being hard of hearing he might not have heard the questions properly, and given wrong answers. But if he had done that he was quite willing to refund the money he had received." Mr Toole was 67 and the Chairman of the Bench, Thomas Edmondson, stated that in view of his age, the defendant would be dealt with very leniently, adding: "This kind of offence is becoming very prevalent, and the magistrates will do our best to put a stop to it." Mr Woods was only fined 40 shillings and could consider himself fortunate.
During the evening of the 10th, Edward Wooll infuriated the owners of St Helens' cinemas. The Conservative candidate for the town in next week's general election claimed that the local picture houses had screened a notice to their cinemagoers saying "Don't Vote for Wooll". That had supposedly been in response to him not supporting their call for the abolition of entertainment tax. That led to Robert Benson of Church Street in St Helens, chairman of the local Cinemagraph Exhibitors Association, writing to the Liverpool Daily Post denying the charge and calling Wooll's comments "scurrilous and low down remarks".
If someone involved in a court case was Jewish, the newspapers liked to point that out – even though it usually had no relevance to the proceedings. And a female Jew could be described as a Jewess, which is how the Reporter referred to Hannah Sarfary under the headline "Jewess' Life Story – Told At Prescot". The 17-year-old appeared in Prescot Police Court on the 11th charged with stealing a blanket and a ladies straw hat.
The head of Prescot Police, Supt. Garvey, told the magistrates that Miss Sarfary had been born in London but after getting into trouble had been sent to an industrial school. After some time the girl was allowed to go home but according to the superintendent, "Her people found they could not do anything with her, and she was sent back to the school." In fact a letter from her father had said his daughter had been "carrying on" for ten years. Then in May of last year, Hannah was sent to the Park Side Reformatory at Huyton but had absconded eight times to various places. On the last occasion in October, Hannah had escaped to Manchester and stolen a couple of items.
She had been considered for a place in a Borstal institution but the Home Office had now been in touch with Prescot police and said Borstal would not be appropriate for the girl. Supt. Garvey explained that the Home Office had instead suggested that a short, sharp sentence would have a good effect on Hannah because she would be taught discipline and learn to do what she was told. Well, that was their theory and so the girl was sent to prison for a month with the magistrates saying they hoped it would serve as a warning to her.
The 11th was Remembrance Day and only the second commemoration in which poppies were worn. They were sold in Britain to raise money for the Earl Haig Fund in support of ex-servicemen and the families of those that had died in the war. The St Helens war memorial would not be unveiled in Victoria Square until 1926 but a temporary cenotaph was in place.
The Reporter described how on the day a "considerable throng" had gathered in the square, adding, "the poppy, symbolic of Flanders fields, with its buried rows of solemn crosses over unnumbered tombs of fallen heroes, has taken root as the flower sacred to that day." The drums and bugles of the 5th South Lancs band sounded the Reveille and the Last Post with a two-minute silence in between.
And finally, a curious court case on several counts took place in St Helens on the 13th. First of all, instead of turning up to the hearing himself, the defendant sent his mother. John Cruise of Elliott Street was charged with causing over £7 worth of damage at the Nags Head in Eccleston Street by an unusual happening. The man had ordered a pint of mild and bitter in a bottle. The price was 8½d but Cruise only had 7d. In frustration at not getting his drink, Cruise threw a water jug on the counter across the bar and that happened to strike a keg, spilling its contents of 1½ gallons of gin onto the floor.
The absent defendant was fined £1 and ordered to pay the full amount of the damage that he had caused, as well as a solicitor's fee and witness expenses. Cruise's mother instead of apologising for her son's behaviour became stroppy herself in court. Upon the Bench telling the woman: "Your son will have to pay all that for his temper", she replied: "Will he? We shall see." Then upon being warned that if the fine, damages and expenses were not paid, the alternative for her boy would be 28 days in prison, Mrs Cruise replied: "Only twenty-eight days, he can do that on his head."
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the General Election in St Helens, the drunken ex-soldiers that went on the razzle in Prescot, Oxleys Christmas grotto opens for business and how a missing Sutton Manor hammer led to a punch in the head.
This week's stories include the child wearing a highly flammable petticoat that burned to death, the violent gin scene in the Nag's Head, the commemoration of Remembrance Day in St Helens and the man with 13 children who told the magistrates "I think I ought to know whether I am married or not".
Yet another war memorial was put on public display in St Helens this week. Richard Ellison, the Mayor of St Helens, unveiled the latest monument to fallen soldiers at the Park Road Baptist Chapel.
There was a large congregation and the band of the 5th South Lancs Regiment accompanied the singing of hymns.
Appearing at the St Helens Hippodrome throughout this week were Scott Sanders ("The popular Scottish comedian"); The Ingemanns ("Danish clowns with the musical band-saw"); O’Brien & Lady ("Novelty comedy acrobatic act"); Selig and Hart ("The “so-different” comedians in a new comedy act"); Lily Denville ("Dainty comedienne and expert wooden shoe dancer") and Harry Karr and Walter Kooney ("In a vocal comedy act").
County Coroner Samuel Brighouse presided over inquests in St Helens for 55 years and used to refer to winter as the "burning season" for children.
That was because of the countless deaths of youngsters from poorly guarded house fires that set their flammable clothing alight.
The Reporter on the 10th described how little Martha Griffin of Mount Street (near Liverpool Road and pictured above) had been this week's victim.
The widowed mother of the six-year-old explained to the coroner how she rented two rooms and on the previous wet Sunday afternoon had lit a fire in her bedroom.
Mrs Griffin described how her two children had entered the room to play but after only a few minutes, her nine year-old daughter had run out saying her sister was burning.
The woman found Martha at the top of the stairs in flames and attempted unsuccessfully to put the fire out.
A young man who lived in another part of the house took off his coat and extinguished the flames by wrapping it round the girl.
Martha was taken to Providence Hospital but died from her burns within about 12 hours.
Not only was the child wearing a flannelette petticoat – a warm but highly flammable fabric – but there had also been no fireguard in the room.
To add to Mrs Griffin's worries, it was possible that she would now face prosecution for negligence.
The new Church Street department store called the Palatine Arcade that described itself as a "market within a shop" and "the store St. Helens has waited for" was advertising a one-week fur sale this week.
Lots of real animal fur were on offer, including fox, beaver, wolf, mole and, surprisingly, skunk.
And Oxleys store on the corner of Claughton Street and Barrow Street said in their advert that they had been in contact with Santa:
"The boys and girls of St. Helens will be delighted to hear that Santa Claus is looking forward to seeing them all once more. He has promised to meet them at Babyland soon after the opening of Oxleys wonderful Toyland – Underground now being prepared."
The poverty in the town was giving rise to many prosecutions for illegally obtaining benefits, as a result of claimants putting inaccurate information on application forms.
Deliberately cheating was a risky business, as there was a clampdown on benefit fraud and those found guilty often received a prison sentence.
The deception was rarely a case of claimants receiving unemployment benefit while working.
But their claim covered their whole family and often it was some aspect of their household income that was in question.
The latest to appear in court was Thomas Toole from Bold Street in St Helens who had stated on his form that his wife was entirely dependent upon him.
However, the authorities had learned that for two years she had received some income from others.
In his defence Toole denied that he had made any false representation, as the Reporter wrote:
"He told the clerk [to the court] he was a married man, “and having thirteen children I think I ought to know whether I am married or not,” he remarked excitedly.
"As far as he knew he had always given truthful information, but being hard of hearing he might not have heard the questions properly, and given wrong answers. But if he had done that he was quite willing to refund the money he had received."
Mr Toole was 67 and the Chairman of the Bench, Thomas Edmondson, stated that in view of his age, the defendant would be dealt with very leniently, adding:
"This kind of offence is becoming very prevalent, and the magistrates will do our best to put a stop to it." Mr Woods was only fined 40 shillings and could consider himself fortunate.
During the evening of the 10th, Edward Wooll infuriated the owners of St Helens' cinemas.
The Conservative candidate for the town in next week's general election claimed that the local picture houses had screened a notice to their cinemagoers saying "Don't Vote for Wooll".
That had supposedly been in response to him not supporting their call for the abolition of entertainment tax.
That led to Robert Benson of Church Street in St Helens, chairman of the local Cinemagraph Exhibitors Association, writing to the Liverpool Daily Post denying the charge and calling Wooll's comments "scurrilous and low down remarks".
If someone involved in a court case was Jewish, the newspapers liked to point that out – even though it usually had no relevance to the proceedings.
And a female Jew could be described as a Jewess, which is how the Reporter referred to Hannah Sarfary under the headline "Jewess' Life Story – Told At Prescot".
The 17-year-old appeared in Prescot Police Court on the 11th charged with stealing a blanket and a ladies straw hat.
The head of Prescot Police, Supt. Garvey, told the magistrates that Miss Sarfary had been born in London but after getting into trouble had been sent to an industrial school.
After some time the girl was allowed to go home but according to the superintendent, "Her people found they could not do anything with her, and she was sent back to the school."
In fact a letter from her father had said his daughter had been "carrying on" for ten years.
Then in May of last year, Hannah was sent to the Park Side Reformatory at Huyton but had absconded eight times to various places.
On the last occasion in October, Hannah had escaped to Manchester and stolen a couple of items.
She had been considered for a place in a Borstal institution but the Home Office had now been in touch with Prescot police and said Borstal would not be appropriate for the girl.
Supt. Garvey explained that the Home Office had instead suggested that a short, sharp sentence would have a good effect on Hannah because she would be taught discipline and learn to do what she was told.
Well, that was their theory and so the girl was sent to prison for a month with the magistrates saying they hoped it would serve as a warning to her.
The 11th was Remembrance Day and only the second commemoration in which poppies were worn.
They were sold in Britain to raise money for the Earl Haig Fund in support of ex-servicemen and the families of those that had died in the war.
The St Helens war memorial would not be unveiled in Victoria Square until 1926 but a temporary cenotaph was in place.
The Reporter described how on the day a "considerable throng" had gathered in the square, adding, "the poppy, symbolic of Flanders fields, with its buried rows of solemn crosses over unnumbered tombs of fallen heroes, has taken root as the flower sacred to that day."
The drums and bugles of the 5th South Lancs band sounded the Reveille and the Last Post with a two-minute silence in between.
And finally, a curious court case on several counts took place in St Helens on the 13th.
First of all, instead of turning up to the hearing himself, the defendant sent his mother.
John Cruise of Elliott Street was charged with causing over £7 worth of damage at the Nags Head in Eccleston Street by an unusual happening.
The man had ordered a pint of mild and bitter in a bottle. The price was 8½d but Cruise only had 7d.
In frustration at not getting his drink, Cruise threw a water jug on the counter across the bar and that happened to strike a keg, spilling its contents of 1½ gallons of gin onto the floor.
The absent defendant was fined £1 and ordered to pay the full amount of the damage that he had caused, as well as a solicitor's fee and witness expenses.
Cruise's mother instead of apologising for her son's behaviour became stroppy herself in court.
Upon the Bench telling the woman: "Your son will have to pay all that for his temper", she replied: "Will he? We shall see."
Then upon being warned that if the fine, damages and expenses were not paid, the alternative for her boy would be 28 days in prison, Mrs Cruise replied: "Only twenty-eight days, he can do that on his head."
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the General Election in St Helens, the drunken ex-soldiers that went on the razzle in Prescot, Oxleys Christmas grotto opens for business and how a missing Sutton Manor hammer led to a punch in the head.
Yet another war memorial was put on public display in St Helens this week. Richard Ellison, the Mayor of St Helens, unveiled the latest monument to fallen soldiers at the Park Road Baptist Chapel.
There was a large congregation and the band of the 5th South Lancs Regiment accompanied the singing of hymns.
Appearing at the St Helens Hippodrome throughout this week were Scott Sanders ("The popular Scottish comedian"); The Ingemanns ("Danish clowns with the musical band-saw"); O’Brien & Lady ("Novelty comedy acrobatic act"); Selig and Hart ("The “so-different” comedians in a new comedy act"); Lily Denville ("Dainty comedienne and expert wooden shoe dancer") and Harry Karr and Walter Kooney ("In a vocal comedy act").
County Coroner Samuel Brighouse presided over inquests in St Helens for 55 years and used to refer to winter as the "burning season" for children.
That was because of the countless deaths of youngsters from poorly guarded house fires that set their flammable clothing alight.
The widowed mother of the six-year-old explained to the coroner how she rented two rooms and on the previous wet Sunday afternoon had lit a fire in her bedroom.
Mrs Griffin described how her two children had entered the room to play but after only a few minutes, her nine year-old daughter had run out saying her sister was burning.
The woman found Martha at the top of the stairs in flames and attempted unsuccessfully to put the fire out.
A young man who lived in another part of the house took off his coat and extinguished the flames by wrapping it round the girl.
Martha was taken to Providence Hospital but died from her burns within about 12 hours.
Not only was the child wearing a flannelette petticoat – a warm but highly flammable fabric – but there had also been no fireguard in the room.
To add to Mrs Griffin's worries, it was possible that she would now face prosecution for negligence.
The new Church Street department store called the Palatine Arcade that described itself as a "market within a shop" and "the store St. Helens has waited for" was advertising a one-week fur sale this week.
Lots of real animal fur were on offer, including fox, beaver, wolf, mole and, surprisingly, skunk.
And Oxleys store on the corner of Claughton Street and Barrow Street said in their advert that they had been in contact with Santa:
"The boys and girls of St. Helens will be delighted to hear that Santa Claus is looking forward to seeing them all once more. He has promised to meet them at Babyland soon after the opening of Oxleys wonderful Toyland – Underground now being prepared."
The poverty in the town was giving rise to many prosecutions for illegally obtaining benefits, as a result of claimants putting inaccurate information on application forms.
Deliberately cheating was a risky business, as there was a clampdown on benefit fraud and those found guilty often received a prison sentence.
The deception was rarely a case of claimants receiving unemployment benefit while working.
But their claim covered their whole family and often it was some aspect of their household income that was in question.
The latest to appear in court was Thomas Toole from Bold Street in St Helens who had stated on his form that his wife was entirely dependent upon him.
However, the authorities had learned that for two years she had received some income from others.
In his defence Toole denied that he had made any false representation, as the Reporter wrote:
"He told the clerk [to the court] he was a married man, “and having thirteen children I think I ought to know whether I am married or not,” he remarked excitedly.
"As far as he knew he had always given truthful information, but being hard of hearing he might not have heard the questions properly, and given wrong answers. But if he had done that he was quite willing to refund the money he had received."
Mr Toole was 67 and the Chairman of the Bench, Thomas Edmondson, stated that in view of his age, the defendant would be dealt with very leniently, adding:
"This kind of offence is becoming very prevalent, and the magistrates will do our best to put a stop to it." Mr Woods was only fined 40 shillings and could consider himself fortunate.
During the evening of the 10th, Edward Wooll infuriated the owners of St Helens' cinemas.
The Conservative candidate for the town in next week's general election claimed that the local picture houses had screened a notice to their cinemagoers saying "Don't Vote for Wooll".
That had supposedly been in response to him not supporting their call for the abolition of entertainment tax.
That led to Robert Benson of Church Street in St Helens, chairman of the local Cinemagraph Exhibitors Association, writing to the Liverpool Daily Post denying the charge and calling Wooll's comments "scurrilous and low down remarks".
If someone involved in a court case was Jewish, the newspapers liked to point that out – even though it usually had no relevance to the proceedings.
And a female Jew could be described as a Jewess, which is how the Reporter referred to Hannah Sarfary under the headline "Jewess' Life Story – Told At Prescot".
The 17-year-old appeared in Prescot Police Court on the 11th charged with stealing a blanket and a ladies straw hat.
The head of Prescot Police, Supt. Garvey, told the magistrates that Miss Sarfary had been born in London but after getting into trouble had been sent to an industrial school.
After some time the girl was allowed to go home but according to the superintendent, "Her people found they could not do anything with her, and she was sent back to the school."
In fact a letter from her father had said his daughter had been "carrying on" for ten years.
Then in May of last year, Hannah was sent to the Park Side Reformatory at Huyton but had absconded eight times to various places.
On the last occasion in October, Hannah had escaped to Manchester and stolen a couple of items.
She had been considered for a place in a Borstal institution but the Home Office had now been in touch with Prescot police and said Borstal would not be appropriate for the girl.
Supt. Garvey explained that the Home Office had instead suggested that a short, sharp sentence would have a good effect on Hannah because she would be taught discipline and learn to do what she was told.
Well, that was their theory and so the girl was sent to prison for a month with the magistrates saying they hoped it would serve as a warning to her.
The 11th was Remembrance Day and only the second commemoration in which poppies were worn.
They were sold in Britain to raise money for the Earl Haig Fund in support of ex-servicemen and the families of those that had died in the war.
The St Helens war memorial would not be unveiled in Victoria Square until 1926 but a temporary cenotaph was in place.
The Reporter described how on the day a "considerable throng" had gathered in the square, adding, "the poppy, symbolic of Flanders fields, with its buried rows of solemn crosses over unnumbered tombs of fallen heroes, has taken root as the flower sacred to that day."
The drums and bugles of the 5th South Lancs band sounded the Reveille and the Last Post with a two-minute silence in between.
And finally, a curious court case on several counts took place in St Helens on the 13th.
First of all, instead of turning up to the hearing himself, the defendant sent his mother.
John Cruise of Elliott Street was charged with causing over £7 worth of damage at the Nags Head in Eccleston Street by an unusual happening.
The man had ordered a pint of mild and bitter in a bottle. The price was 8½d but Cruise only had 7d.
In frustration at not getting his drink, Cruise threw a water jug on the counter across the bar and that happened to strike a keg, spilling its contents of 1½ gallons of gin onto the floor.
The absent defendant was fined £1 and ordered to pay the full amount of the damage that he had caused, as well as a solicitor's fee and witness expenses.
Cruise's mother instead of apologising for her son's behaviour became stroppy herself in court.
Upon the Bench telling the woman: "Your son will have to pay all that for his temper", she replied: "Will he? We shall see."
Then upon being warned that if the fine, damages and expenses were not paid, the alternative for her boy would be 28 days in prison, Mrs Cruise replied: "Only twenty-eight days, he can do that on his head."
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the General Election in St Helens, the drunken ex-soldiers that went on the razzle in Prescot, Oxleys Christmas grotto opens for business and how a missing Sutton Manor hammer led to a punch in the head.