IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (8th - 14th MARCH 1921)
The many stories in this week's 5th anniversary edition include the shell-shocked ex-soldier who stole from a St Helens grocery boss, the Canal Vaults licensee who was in a very queer state, the St Helens newsagents carrying too many fireworks and the fruit man in the market who told police he wanted to be "all my darling" with them.
We begin during the evening of the 8th at St Helens Town Hall, when the Mayor and Mayoress gave a children's fancy dress ball. The event was described as having "excited the greatest interest" amongst the more than 20,000 schoolchildren in the town. As the number of guests was limited to 500, those taking part were selected by the votes of their fellow scholars.
On the 9th Daniel Ford of Liverpool Road made his second appearance in St Helens Police Court charged with stealing £190 from grocer Frank Lennon whose busy main outlet was in the Market Hall. It was revealed that the young employee had been wounded in the head during the war and suffered from shell shock. There was pressure on employers to hire unemployed ex-servicemen and it was to Frank Lennon's credit that he had taken Ford on as a commercial traveller. However Daniel had only been on trial and having not proved suitable was being let go – which may well have been the spur for the theft.
Ford had absconded with the cash but two days later had handed himself into Liverpool police. He said he was extremely sorry for what he had done and could not provide any explanation for why he had done it. Ford's solicitor told the magistrates that virtually the whole of the cash had now been returned and there was no doubt that his client was not in a normal condition. The Bench decided to take a lenient view and imposed a fine of £5 with 30 shillings costs.
Last week I reported how 21-year-old William Berry from Haydock Lane had died down Newton Pit in Haydock. That was after the tail of his shirt had got caught in a coal-cutting machine, which had dragged him into it. On the 10th John Webster – described as an elderly man – was also caught by machinery down Bold Colliery and killed.
On the same day Edward Edwards lost his life down the Pilkington-owned St Helens Collieries. Peter Holker of Anne Street in Clock Face also died this week – leaving a wife and five children to mourn their loss – after an underground roof collapse down Sutton Manor Colliery.
At the St Helens licensing sessions on the 10th the police objected to the renewal of John Greer's licence to run the Canal Vaults in Canal Street (pictured above). This was based on the 38-year-old's alleged excessive drinking which had caused him to get into a "very queer state". That was the opinion of Inspector Bowden and Dr Green of the Whiston Institution (hospital) told the magistrates that Greer had been admitted last December suffering from temporary insanity through drinking to excess.
The Canadian-born landlord refuted the allegations saying his wife had been taken ill with dropsy, which had affected her mind. He said he then became ill through flu and the worry over his wife – but denied most emphatically that he was addicted to secret or excessive drinking. The Bench refused his application but he was allowed to stay in the pub until after an appeal had been heard in April.
Parasitic mange in horses does sound rather nasty – although I believe in reality most cases are mild. However the condition could potentially be serious and in an era when horses were still used extensively as working animals, it was vital that contagious diseases be quickly contained. The police often appeared to be more knowledgeable of the condition than those who worked the horses.
Ignorance was the common excuse given by defendants when prosecuted for failing to notify parasitic mange to the authorities. On the 11th Ernest Ainsworth from Ladies Lane in Hindley was fined £6 and costs in St Helens Police Court for failing to report a case of mange and exposing a horse to suffering. He was a potato salesman and while in a yard attending a sale it seems a policeman identified the poor condition of his nag.
At the same hearing two St Helens newsagents were charged with having more fireworks on their premises than the law allowed. This appeared to be based purely on weight and not by quantity or type. Peter Orrell had 224 lbs of fireworks and blamed the fortnight-long coal strike just before Guy Fawkes Night for not selling them. The stoppage meant that many miners' families would not have had the cash to spend on such luxuries as fireworks.
Gilbert Bond had 300 lbs worth piled up in his shop and told the magistrates that he was not aware how much he was permitted to store. The Chairman of the Bench said: "It is up to you to know the law". To that Bond caused laughter in court by replying: "Yes, but there is no one in England who really knows the law". Both men were fined 20 shillings. In fact Gil Bond knew quite a lot about the law having often been brought to court for illegal betting.
His newsagents / confectioner’s shop was situated next door to the Parrvilion / Parrdog picture house on the corner of Jackson Street and Traverse Street. The premises served as cover for his extensive illegal bookmaking business, which he continued to operate until betting became legal in 1961. Gil had a very good reputation as a bookie and as well as being a bodybuilder supported many charitable causes.
As for Peter Orrell his newsagents was also in Fingerpost and some readers may recall his son Keith Orrell who ran it from 1947 to 1970. Keith's grandfather Ted Cawley – who also ran the Wellington Hotel in the Market Square for a time – had been the founder of the business. During the flu pandemic of 1918/19, Ted argued that drinking port would stop you getting influenza and ran a large advert in the St Helens Reporter saying: "To avoid the 'flu and never rue, Ted Cawley's port wine is the goods for you"!
There were more details announced on the 11th of King George V and Queen Mary’s forthcoming visit to Knowsley Hall. The Royal party would be staying with Lord Derby in order to attend the Grand National at Aintree and Georges Carpentier had agreed to stage a boxing exhibition for them. He was an action-man of the ‘20s – a famous French boxer and actor and formerly a World War I pilot.
I mentioned him in January when a drunken glassmaker named Marsh had been causing a scene in Prescot Road by dancing down the street and pretending to be Carpentier. The Liverpool Echo described his court appearance, under the headline "St. Helens Man's War Dance On The Roadway". It was also reported that Aristide Briand, the prime minister of France, might also be in attendance at Knowsley.
St Helens Ladies (pictured above) were no doubt the second best women's team in the country and as long as they didn't play their superior rivals – Dick Kerr's of Preston – always performed well as they toured the country raising cash for charity. On the 12th the St Helens women played Chorley Ladies at Shrewsbury in front of a decent crowd of over 8,000 with proceeds of £500 going to the Royal Salop Infirmary.
Thomas Berry was a very well known fruit merchant in St Helens who kept a large stall in St Helens Market. On the 14th the businessman appeared in Liverpool City Police Court charged with receiving 36 barrels of stolen apples. It was alleged that a carter called Francis Healey had brazenly stolen the fruit from the King's Docks in Liverpool after they'd been unloaded from a ship.
Berry was also accused of attempting to bribe two police officers after having said to them: "This is a terrible thing for me. I would give a few hundred to be finished and all my darling again." The curious expression "all my darling" meant to be "all square" again. Both men were committed to the Liverpool Assizes in April for trial and I'll report on what happened in three weeks.
And finally this week the Liverpool Echo made an extraordinary attack on the right of women to undertake jobs other than domestic service. During the war women had discovered that there were better opportunities than working in low paid jobs as resident domestic servants with very little time off. There were now six times as many domestic service jobs available to those prepared to undertake them.
The women had paid their national insurance during the war years and were now entitled to the dole – at least for a limited period. However the Echo was appalled at women receiving unemployment pay when work was available, writing: "If women workers are resolved to pick and choose in this way, then they must do it at their own expense, and not at the expense of the taxpayer. If women refuse work for no valid reason, then their unemployment pay should be stopped."
Next Week's stories will include the King and Queen at Knowsley Hall, a controversial new St Helens Transport Bill is considered in Parliament, a Rainhill referee gets a surprise appointment and the mother brought to book for hitting a headmaster.
We begin during the evening of the 8th at St Helens Town Hall, when the Mayor and Mayoress gave a children's fancy dress ball. The event was described as having "excited the greatest interest" amongst the more than 20,000 schoolchildren in the town. As the number of guests was limited to 500, those taking part were selected by the votes of their fellow scholars.
On the 9th Daniel Ford of Liverpool Road made his second appearance in St Helens Police Court charged with stealing £190 from grocer Frank Lennon whose busy main outlet was in the Market Hall. It was revealed that the young employee had been wounded in the head during the war and suffered from shell shock. There was pressure on employers to hire unemployed ex-servicemen and it was to Frank Lennon's credit that he had taken Ford on as a commercial traveller. However Daniel had only been on trial and having not proved suitable was being let go – which may well have been the spur for the theft.
Ford had absconded with the cash but two days later had handed himself into Liverpool police. He said he was extremely sorry for what he had done and could not provide any explanation for why he had done it. Ford's solicitor told the magistrates that virtually the whole of the cash had now been returned and there was no doubt that his client was not in a normal condition. The Bench decided to take a lenient view and imposed a fine of £5 with 30 shillings costs.
Last week I reported how 21-year-old William Berry from Haydock Lane had died down Newton Pit in Haydock. That was after the tail of his shirt had got caught in a coal-cutting machine, which had dragged him into it. On the 10th John Webster – described as an elderly man – was also caught by machinery down Bold Colliery and killed.
On the same day Edward Edwards lost his life down the Pilkington-owned St Helens Collieries. Peter Holker of Anne Street in Clock Face also died this week – leaving a wife and five children to mourn their loss – after an underground roof collapse down Sutton Manor Colliery.
The Canadian-born landlord refuted the allegations saying his wife had been taken ill with dropsy, which had affected her mind. He said he then became ill through flu and the worry over his wife – but denied most emphatically that he was addicted to secret or excessive drinking. The Bench refused his application but he was allowed to stay in the pub until after an appeal had been heard in April.
Parasitic mange in horses does sound rather nasty – although I believe in reality most cases are mild. However the condition could potentially be serious and in an era when horses were still used extensively as working animals, it was vital that contagious diseases be quickly contained. The police often appeared to be more knowledgeable of the condition than those who worked the horses.
Ignorance was the common excuse given by defendants when prosecuted for failing to notify parasitic mange to the authorities. On the 11th Ernest Ainsworth from Ladies Lane in Hindley was fined £6 and costs in St Helens Police Court for failing to report a case of mange and exposing a horse to suffering. He was a potato salesman and while in a yard attending a sale it seems a policeman identified the poor condition of his nag.
At the same hearing two St Helens newsagents were charged with having more fireworks on their premises than the law allowed. This appeared to be based purely on weight and not by quantity or type. Peter Orrell had 224 lbs of fireworks and blamed the fortnight-long coal strike just before Guy Fawkes Night for not selling them. The stoppage meant that many miners' families would not have had the cash to spend on such luxuries as fireworks.
Gilbert Bond had 300 lbs worth piled up in his shop and told the magistrates that he was not aware how much he was permitted to store. The Chairman of the Bench said: "It is up to you to know the law". To that Bond caused laughter in court by replying: "Yes, but there is no one in England who really knows the law". Both men were fined 20 shillings. In fact Gil Bond knew quite a lot about the law having often been brought to court for illegal betting.
His newsagents / confectioner’s shop was situated next door to the Parrvilion / Parrdog picture house on the corner of Jackson Street and Traverse Street. The premises served as cover for his extensive illegal bookmaking business, which he continued to operate until betting became legal in 1961. Gil had a very good reputation as a bookie and as well as being a bodybuilder supported many charitable causes.
As for Peter Orrell his newsagents was also in Fingerpost and some readers may recall his son Keith Orrell who ran it from 1947 to 1970. Keith's grandfather Ted Cawley – who also ran the Wellington Hotel in the Market Square for a time – had been the founder of the business. During the flu pandemic of 1918/19, Ted argued that drinking port would stop you getting influenza and ran a large advert in the St Helens Reporter saying: "To avoid the 'flu and never rue, Ted Cawley's port wine is the goods for you"!
There were more details announced on the 11th of King George V and Queen Mary’s forthcoming visit to Knowsley Hall. The Royal party would be staying with Lord Derby in order to attend the Grand National at Aintree and Georges Carpentier had agreed to stage a boxing exhibition for them. He was an action-man of the ‘20s – a famous French boxer and actor and formerly a World War I pilot.
I mentioned him in January when a drunken glassmaker named Marsh had been causing a scene in Prescot Road by dancing down the street and pretending to be Carpentier. The Liverpool Echo described his court appearance, under the headline "St. Helens Man's War Dance On The Roadway". It was also reported that Aristide Briand, the prime minister of France, might also be in attendance at Knowsley.
Thomas Berry was a very well known fruit merchant in St Helens who kept a large stall in St Helens Market. On the 14th the businessman appeared in Liverpool City Police Court charged with receiving 36 barrels of stolen apples. It was alleged that a carter called Francis Healey had brazenly stolen the fruit from the King's Docks in Liverpool after they'd been unloaded from a ship.
Berry was also accused of attempting to bribe two police officers after having said to them: "This is a terrible thing for me. I would give a few hundred to be finished and all my darling again." The curious expression "all my darling" meant to be "all square" again. Both men were committed to the Liverpool Assizes in April for trial and I'll report on what happened in three weeks.
And finally this week the Liverpool Echo made an extraordinary attack on the right of women to undertake jobs other than domestic service. During the war women had discovered that there were better opportunities than working in low paid jobs as resident domestic servants with very little time off. There were now six times as many domestic service jobs available to those prepared to undertake them.
The women had paid their national insurance during the war years and were now entitled to the dole – at least for a limited period. However the Echo was appalled at women receiving unemployment pay when work was available, writing: "If women workers are resolved to pick and choose in this way, then they must do it at their own expense, and not at the expense of the taxpayer. If women refuse work for no valid reason, then their unemployment pay should be stopped."
Next Week's stories will include the King and Queen at Knowsley Hall, a controversial new St Helens Transport Bill is considered in Parliament, a Rainhill referee gets a surprise appointment and the mother brought to book for hitting a headmaster.
The many stories in this week's 5th anniversary edition include the shell-shocked ex-soldier who stole from a St Helens grocery boss, the Canal Vaults licensee who was in a very queer state, the St Helens newsagents carrying too many fireworks and the fruit man in the market who told police he wanted to be "all my darling" with them.
We begin during the evening of the 8th at St Helens Town Hall, when the Mayor and Mayoress gave a children's fancy dress ball.
The event was described as having "excited the greatest interest" amongst the more than 20,000 schoolchildren in the town.
As the number of guests was limited to 500, those taking part were selected by the votes of their fellow scholars.
On the 9th Daniel Ford of Liverpool Road made his second appearance in St Helens Police Court charged with stealing £190 from grocer Frank Lennon whose busy main outlet was in the Market Hall.
It was revealed that the young employee had been wounded in the head during the war and suffered from shell shock.
There was pressure on employers to hire unemployed ex-servicemen and it was to Frank Lennon's credit that he had taken Ford on as a commercial traveller.
However Daniel had only been on trial and having not proved suitable was being let go – which may well have been the spur for the theft.
Ford had absconded with the cash but two days later had handed himself into Liverpool police.
He said he was extremely sorry for what he had done and could not provide any explanation for why he had done it.
Ford's solicitor told the magistrates that virtually the whole of the cash had now been returned and there was no doubt that his client was not in a normal condition.
The Bench decided to take a lenient view and imposed a fine of £5 with 30 shillings costs.
Last week I reported how 21-year-old William Berry from Haydock Lane had died down Newton Pit in Haydock.
That was after the tail of his shirt had got caught in a coal-cutting machine, which had dragged him into it.
On the 10th John Webster – described as an elderly man – was also caught by machinery down Bold Colliery and killed.
On the same day Edward Edwards lost his life down the Pilkington-owned St Helens Collieries.
Peter Holker of Anne Street in Clock Face also died this week – leaving a wife and five children to mourn their loss – after an underground roof collapse down Sutton Manor Colliery.
At the St Helens licensing sessions on the 10th the police objected to the renewal of John Greer's licence to run the Canal Vaults in Canal Street (pictured above).
This was based on the 38-year-old's alleged excessive drinking which had caused him to get into a "very queer state".
That was the opinion of Inspector Bowden and Dr Green of the Whiston Institution (hospital) told the magistrates that Greer had been admitted last December suffering from temporary insanity through drinking to excess.
The Canadian-born landlord refuted the allegations saying his wife had been taken ill with dropsy, which had affected her mind.
He said he then became ill through flu and the worry over his wife – but denied most emphatically that he was addicted to secret or excessive drinking.
The Bench refused his application but he was allowed to stay in the pub until after an appeal had been heard in April.
Parasitic mange in horses does sound rather nasty – although I believe in reality most cases are mild.
However the condition could potentially be serious and in an era when horses were still used extensively as working animals, it was vital that contagious diseases be quickly contained.
The police often appeared to be more knowledgeable of the condition than those who worked the horses.
Ignorance was the common excuse given by defendants when prosecuted for failing to notify parasitic mange to the authorities.
On the 11th Ernest Ainsworth from Ladies Lane in Hindley was fined £6 and costs in St Helens Police Court for failing to report a case of mange and exposing a horse to suffering.
He was a potato salesman and while in a yard attending a sale it seems a policeman identified the poor condition of his nag.
At the same hearing two St Helens newsagents were charged with having more fireworks on their premises than the law allowed.
This appeared to be based purely on weight and not by quantity or type.
Peter Orrell had 224 lbs of fireworks and blamed the fortnight-long coal strike just before Guy Fawkes Night for not selling them.
The stoppage meant that many miners' families would not have had the cash to spend on such luxuries as fireworks.
Gilbert Bond had 300 lbs worth piled up in his shop and told the magistrates that he was not aware how much he was permitted to store.
The Chairman of the Bench said: "It is up to you to know the law".
To that Bond caused laughter in court by replying: "Yes, but there is no one in England who really knows the law". Both men were fined 20 shillings.
In fact Gil Bond knew quite a lot about the law having often been brought to court for illegal betting.
His newsagents / confectioner’s shop was situated next door to the Parrvilion / Parrdog picture house on the corner of Jackson Street and Traverse Street.
The premises served as cover for his extensive illegal bookmaking business, which he continued to operate until betting became legal in 1961.
Gil had a very good reputation as a bookie and as well as being a bodybuilder supported many charitable causes.
As for Peter Orrell his newsagents was also in Fingerpost and some readers may recall his son Keith Orrell who ran it from 1947 to 1970.
Keith's grandfather Ted Cawley – who also ran the Wellington Hotel in the Market Square for a time – had been the founder of the business.
During the flu pandemic of 1918/19, Ted argued that drinking port would stop you getting influenza and ran a large advert in the St Helens Reporter saying: "To avoid the 'flu and never rue, Ted Cawley's port wine is the goods for you"!
There were more details announced on the 11th of King George V and Queen Mary’s forthcoming visit to Knowsley Hall.
The Royal party would be staying with Lord Derby in order to attend the Grand National at Aintree and Georges Carpentier had agreed to stage a boxing exhibition for them.
He was an action-man of the ‘20s – a famous French boxer and actor and formerly a World War I pilot.
I mentioned him in January when a drunken glassmaker named Marsh had been causing a scene in Prescot Road by dancing down the street and pretending to be Carpentier.
The Liverpool Echo described his court appearance, under the headline "St. Helens Man's War Dance On The Roadway".
It was also reported that Aristide Briand, the prime minister of France, might also be in attendance at Knowsley.
St Helens Ladies (pictured above) were no doubt the second best women's team in the country and as long as they didn't play their superior rivals – Dick Kerr's of Preston – always performed well as they toured the country raising cash for charity.
On the 12th the St Helens women played Chorley Ladies at Shrewsbury in front of a decent crowd of over 8,000 with proceeds of £500 going to the Royal Salop Infirmary.
Thomas Berry was a very well known fruit merchant in St Helens who kept a large stall in St Helens Market.
On the 14th the businessman appeared in Liverpool City Police Court charged with receiving 36 barrels of stolen apples.
It was alleged that a carter called Francis Healey had brazenly stolen the fruit from the King's Docks in Liverpool after they'd been unloaded from a ship.
Berry was also accused of attempting to bribe two police officers after having said to them:
"This is a terrible thing for me. I would give a few hundred to be finished and all my darling again."
The curious expression "all my darling" meant to be "all square" again.
Both men were committed to the Liverpool Assizes in April for trial and I'll report on what happened in three weeks.
And finally this week the Liverpool Echo made an extraordinary attack on the right of women to undertake jobs other than domestic service.
During the war women had discovered that there were better opportunities than working in low paid jobs as resident domestic servants with very little time off.
There were now six times as many domestic service jobs available to those prepared to undertake them.
The women had paid their national insurance during the war years and were now entitled to the dole – at least for a limited period.
However the Echo was appalled at women receiving unemployment pay when work was available, writing:
"If women workers are resolved to pick and choose in this way, then they must do it at their own expense, and not at the expense of the taxpayer.
"If women refuse work for no valid reason, then their unemployment pay should be stopped."
Next Week's stories will include the King and Queen at Knowsley Hall, a controversial new St Helens Transport Bill is considered in Parliament, a Rainhill referee gets a surprise appointment and the mother brought to book for hitting a headmaster.
We begin during the evening of the 8th at St Helens Town Hall, when the Mayor and Mayoress gave a children's fancy dress ball.
The event was described as having "excited the greatest interest" amongst the more than 20,000 schoolchildren in the town.
As the number of guests was limited to 500, those taking part were selected by the votes of their fellow scholars.
On the 9th Daniel Ford of Liverpool Road made his second appearance in St Helens Police Court charged with stealing £190 from grocer Frank Lennon whose busy main outlet was in the Market Hall.
It was revealed that the young employee had been wounded in the head during the war and suffered from shell shock.
There was pressure on employers to hire unemployed ex-servicemen and it was to Frank Lennon's credit that he had taken Ford on as a commercial traveller.
However Daniel had only been on trial and having not proved suitable was being let go – which may well have been the spur for the theft.
Ford had absconded with the cash but two days later had handed himself into Liverpool police.
He said he was extremely sorry for what he had done and could not provide any explanation for why he had done it.
Ford's solicitor told the magistrates that virtually the whole of the cash had now been returned and there was no doubt that his client was not in a normal condition.
The Bench decided to take a lenient view and imposed a fine of £5 with 30 shillings costs.
Last week I reported how 21-year-old William Berry from Haydock Lane had died down Newton Pit in Haydock.
That was after the tail of his shirt had got caught in a coal-cutting machine, which had dragged him into it.
On the 10th John Webster – described as an elderly man – was also caught by machinery down Bold Colliery and killed.
On the same day Edward Edwards lost his life down the Pilkington-owned St Helens Collieries.
Peter Holker of Anne Street in Clock Face also died this week – leaving a wife and five children to mourn their loss – after an underground roof collapse down Sutton Manor Colliery.
This was based on the 38-year-old's alleged excessive drinking which had caused him to get into a "very queer state".
That was the opinion of Inspector Bowden and Dr Green of the Whiston Institution (hospital) told the magistrates that Greer had been admitted last December suffering from temporary insanity through drinking to excess.
The Canadian-born landlord refuted the allegations saying his wife had been taken ill with dropsy, which had affected her mind.
He said he then became ill through flu and the worry over his wife – but denied most emphatically that he was addicted to secret or excessive drinking.
The Bench refused his application but he was allowed to stay in the pub until after an appeal had been heard in April.
Parasitic mange in horses does sound rather nasty – although I believe in reality most cases are mild.
However the condition could potentially be serious and in an era when horses were still used extensively as working animals, it was vital that contagious diseases be quickly contained.
The police often appeared to be more knowledgeable of the condition than those who worked the horses.
Ignorance was the common excuse given by defendants when prosecuted for failing to notify parasitic mange to the authorities.
On the 11th Ernest Ainsworth from Ladies Lane in Hindley was fined £6 and costs in St Helens Police Court for failing to report a case of mange and exposing a horse to suffering.
He was a potato salesman and while in a yard attending a sale it seems a policeman identified the poor condition of his nag.
At the same hearing two St Helens newsagents were charged with having more fireworks on their premises than the law allowed.
This appeared to be based purely on weight and not by quantity or type.
Peter Orrell had 224 lbs of fireworks and blamed the fortnight-long coal strike just before Guy Fawkes Night for not selling them.
The stoppage meant that many miners' families would not have had the cash to spend on such luxuries as fireworks.
Gilbert Bond had 300 lbs worth piled up in his shop and told the magistrates that he was not aware how much he was permitted to store.
The Chairman of the Bench said: "It is up to you to know the law".
To that Bond caused laughter in court by replying: "Yes, but there is no one in England who really knows the law". Both men were fined 20 shillings.
In fact Gil Bond knew quite a lot about the law having often been brought to court for illegal betting.
His newsagents / confectioner’s shop was situated next door to the Parrvilion / Parrdog picture house on the corner of Jackson Street and Traverse Street.
The premises served as cover for his extensive illegal bookmaking business, which he continued to operate until betting became legal in 1961.
Gil had a very good reputation as a bookie and as well as being a bodybuilder supported many charitable causes.
As for Peter Orrell his newsagents was also in Fingerpost and some readers may recall his son Keith Orrell who ran it from 1947 to 1970.
Keith's grandfather Ted Cawley – who also ran the Wellington Hotel in the Market Square for a time – had been the founder of the business.
During the flu pandemic of 1918/19, Ted argued that drinking port would stop you getting influenza and ran a large advert in the St Helens Reporter saying: "To avoid the 'flu and never rue, Ted Cawley's port wine is the goods for you"!
There were more details announced on the 11th of King George V and Queen Mary’s forthcoming visit to Knowsley Hall.
The Royal party would be staying with Lord Derby in order to attend the Grand National at Aintree and Georges Carpentier had agreed to stage a boxing exhibition for them.
He was an action-man of the ‘20s – a famous French boxer and actor and formerly a World War I pilot.
I mentioned him in January when a drunken glassmaker named Marsh had been causing a scene in Prescot Road by dancing down the street and pretending to be Carpentier.
The Liverpool Echo described his court appearance, under the headline "St. Helens Man's War Dance On The Roadway".
It was also reported that Aristide Briand, the prime minister of France, might also be in attendance at Knowsley.
On the 12th the St Helens women played Chorley Ladies at Shrewsbury in front of a decent crowd of over 8,000 with proceeds of £500 going to the Royal Salop Infirmary.
Thomas Berry was a very well known fruit merchant in St Helens who kept a large stall in St Helens Market.
On the 14th the businessman appeared in Liverpool City Police Court charged with receiving 36 barrels of stolen apples.
It was alleged that a carter called Francis Healey had brazenly stolen the fruit from the King's Docks in Liverpool after they'd been unloaded from a ship.
Berry was also accused of attempting to bribe two police officers after having said to them:
"This is a terrible thing for me. I would give a few hundred to be finished and all my darling again."
The curious expression "all my darling" meant to be "all square" again.
Both men were committed to the Liverpool Assizes in April for trial and I'll report on what happened in three weeks.
And finally this week the Liverpool Echo made an extraordinary attack on the right of women to undertake jobs other than domestic service.
During the war women had discovered that there were better opportunities than working in low paid jobs as resident domestic servants with very little time off.
There were now six times as many domestic service jobs available to those prepared to undertake them.
The women had paid their national insurance during the war years and were now entitled to the dole – at least for a limited period.
However the Echo was appalled at women receiving unemployment pay when work was available, writing:
"If women workers are resolved to pick and choose in this way, then they must do it at their own expense, and not at the expense of the taxpayer.
"If women refuse work for no valid reason, then their unemployment pay should be stopped."
Next Week's stories will include the King and Queen at Knowsley Hall, a controversial new St Helens Transport Bill is considered in Parliament, a Rainhill referee gets a surprise appointment and the mother brought to book for hitting a headmaster.