IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 8 - 14 APRIL 1924
This week's many stories include the old man's suicide at the workhouse, a robot called Radiana appears at the Hippodrome, Rivington Road school have a wireless set installed, the death of the toddler son of a Saints star, the unusual council election in Rainford and the paralysed man from Gerards Bridge wrongly accused of playing pitch and toss.
The St Helens police often went to a lot of trouble in detecting minor crimes only for the culprits to be let off in court. Friends William Kendall and John Speed had taken beds at Grimshaw's lodging house in Salisbury Street. At 4am Kendall discovered that Speed had gone missing from the room that they shared and had taken his shirt.
So he alerted the police and constables were dispatched in different directions to hunt for the young man with PC McHale pedalling his bicycle on Eccleston Hill. At 4:15am the officer apprehended Speed and when asked to account for his mate's shirt being in his possession he replied, "Well, Kendall has got mine". The magistrates in St Helens Police Court on the 8th were unimpressed with the evidence and dismissed the case.
Also on the 8th an inquest was held into the death of the 13-month-old son of Saints star Walter Groves from Boundary Road. It was another tragedy in the home in which boiling water had briefly been left in a bowl that a toddler was able to reach. Mrs Groves told the inquest that she had been washing clothes and had gone into their yard to check on the fire in the boiler.
Briefly left unattended had been a bowl containing boiling water and starch that was standing on a slab two feet off the ground. She heard her son Walter Jnr crying and upon dashing back to the kitchen found him leaning against the slab with the bowl tipped over. Only some of the hot starch had got onto Walter's chest but two days later the little boy perished in Providence Hospital.
Many elderly people felt they had little to live for and the last straw for Alexander Sparks appears to have been when he was put into Whiston Workhouse. Things were not quite as grim there as they had been – indeed the place had even been re-branded as the Whiston Institution. But there was still a stigma that apparently the 70-year-old from Tontine Street could not bear and on the 8th Alexander's inquest took place.
The night attendant at the institution said two days before at 5:15am he had been called into the room where Sparks slept. He told the Coroner that he had found the old man with a one-inch-long wound to his throat and a penknife lying on the bed smeared with blood. Alexander soon died and the Coroner returned a verdict of suicide whilst of unsound mind and said he attached no blame to anyone connected with the institution.
This week a robot called Radiana appeared at the Hippodrome Theatre in St Helens. It was billed as the "latest and greatest electrical invention" and was presented by Professor John Popjie. The Reporter advert said the Anglo / Dutch "savant" was offering £1,000 to any person that could explain how it was "electrically possible to work this miracle as demonstrated".
The grotesque-looking robot or "automaton" could undertake tasks such as shaving volunteers. However, it has since been revealed that Popjie was simply a magician and there was a small person inside his robot undertaking tasks, although electricity was apparently also involved to some extent. The title "Professor" was probably just added to his name to give the impression of authority – it was a common handle used by ventriloquists and magicians.
Also on the bill were: Lilliana Ladies ("Gymnastic acrobatics"); Coral Dark ("Comedienne and expert dancer"); Freddie Frome & Lady ("In comedy, songs, duets and patter"); Will Handby & Ida Celeine ("In song, dance, patter and skating") and D’Amselle & Boy (“Novel speciality").
Although libraries in St Helens close on Sundays today, there is an enormous amount of other activities that people can pursue. But in 1924 there was very little that could be done on the Sabbath, although visiting the library to read newspapers and books was permitted – but only during the winter. Why they closed during the summer I'm not quite sure but it was probably a combination of saving money and fewer people visiting during the warmer days of the year.
At the council's Libraries Committee meeting on the 9th its members decided to shut Central Library in the Gamble Institute for five months this summer, instead of four as in previous years. The only objection to the decision came from Councillor Dodd, who said on Sundays many people in St Helens were at a loose end with nowhere to go for an hour or two. However, he received no support from the other members.
A meeting of the council's Health Committee was also held on the 9th in which the St Helens Medical Officer of Health, Dr Frank Hauxwell, presented his returns for the five-week period ending March 29th. The rate of infantile mortality in St Helens was still very high at 148 per thousand, with the average for the country being 118.
Influenza had claimed seven deaths during March and 110 cases of measles had been notified to Dr Hauxwell, which was more than double the number for February. During this same period in 1923, the town had been almost free of measles but this year the disease had forced several infant schools to close. Pneumonia connected to the flu outbreak had also been problematic.
A meeting of the Education Committee also took place this week in which a member criticised the practice of pupils losing their attendance marks in class when going to the clinic. That could lead to their parents receiving a visit from the school attendance officer wanting to know why their child had missed lessons. Alderman Waring explained that the procedure was according to the regulations but committee member Mrs Bates was not satisfied with his answer, saying it was "absolutely absurd".
The Reporter revealed on the 11th that Rivington Road had become the first elementary school in St Helens to have a wireless set installed. A master called Penrose had provided a 4-valve set at his own expense and fitted it in one of the classrooms with a loudspeaker in the hall. At dinnertime the lads would listen to a concert from Manchester and the paper added: "…already many of the boys are enthusiastically engaged attempting to construct crystal sets of their own."
The Reporter also described the council election that had taken place in Rainford this week. It had been unusual on two fronts. First of all turnout had been close on 80%, which was credited to extra polling stations having being made available at Crank and in Bushey Lane. And of the eight candidates chasing five council seats all of them polled well with only 64 votes separating the candidate that won from the one that came last.
It was common for those prosecuted for gambling offences – who had taken to their heels when the police conducted a raid – to claim mistaken identity in court. They were rarely believed but the Reporter described how magistrates had accepted Owen Kearns' use of such a defence. He was accused of playing pitch and toss on wasteland near Victoria Street in Gerards Bridge.
In the Police Court hearing Kearns separately asked PC Gatley and PC Jolley which hand they had supposedly seen him toss coins with. Both declared that it had been his left hand but Owen then lifted his left arm up with his right hand to reveal that it was paralysed. He then said to the Bench: "It is hardly likely that I would be tossing coins with an arm for which I have been receiving 27s. weekly pension for the last seven years. My arm is quite helpless." As a result the magistrates dismissed the charge.
"He is a terrible fellow, and one the most violent and hardened cases I know". That was what a policeman told a court in St Helens on the 11th when Thomas Kelly was bound over by the magistrates for threatening his sister.
A century ago the building we know as the Citadel in Waterloo Street in St Helens was the headquarters of the Salvation Army, who have often named their building citadels. On Sunday afternoon the hall was well filled for what the Reporter called a "bright and interesting musical service". Amongst other items popular local elocutionist Wilson Nicholson recited "very dramatically" the story of the fight between David and Goliath and the Salvation Army band played some selections.
And finally on the 14th, William Roberts from Kings Bridge Nursery in Crank was in court charged with driving a motorcycle along Greenfield Road in St Helens with an inefficient silencer and he was fined 10 shillings. The Reporter headlined their brief report "The Bang-Bang Nuisance".
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include a concert in aid of the Sutton Manor basilica, the Nutgrove Road undertaker accused of being a drunkard, the gambling raid in Devon Street and the inconvenience caused by the relaying of tramlines in Croppers Hill.
The St Helens police often went to a lot of trouble in detecting minor crimes only for the culprits to be let off in court. Friends William Kendall and John Speed had taken beds at Grimshaw's lodging house in Salisbury Street. At 4am Kendall discovered that Speed had gone missing from the room that they shared and had taken his shirt.
So he alerted the police and constables were dispatched in different directions to hunt for the young man with PC McHale pedalling his bicycle on Eccleston Hill. At 4:15am the officer apprehended Speed and when asked to account for his mate's shirt being in his possession he replied, "Well, Kendall has got mine". The magistrates in St Helens Police Court on the 8th were unimpressed with the evidence and dismissed the case.
Also on the 8th an inquest was held into the death of the 13-month-old son of Saints star Walter Groves from Boundary Road. It was another tragedy in the home in which boiling water had briefly been left in a bowl that a toddler was able to reach. Mrs Groves told the inquest that she had been washing clothes and had gone into their yard to check on the fire in the boiler.
Briefly left unattended had been a bowl containing boiling water and starch that was standing on a slab two feet off the ground. She heard her son Walter Jnr crying and upon dashing back to the kitchen found him leaning against the slab with the bowl tipped over. Only some of the hot starch had got onto Walter's chest but two days later the little boy perished in Providence Hospital.
Many elderly people felt they had little to live for and the last straw for Alexander Sparks appears to have been when he was put into Whiston Workhouse. Things were not quite as grim there as they had been – indeed the place had even been re-branded as the Whiston Institution. But there was still a stigma that apparently the 70-year-old from Tontine Street could not bear and on the 8th Alexander's inquest took place.
The night attendant at the institution said two days before at 5:15am he had been called into the room where Sparks slept. He told the Coroner that he had found the old man with a one-inch-long wound to his throat and a penknife lying on the bed smeared with blood. Alexander soon died and the Coroner returned a verdict of suicide whilst of unsound mind and said he attached no blame to anyone connected with the institution.
This week a robot called Radiana appeared at the Hippodrome Theatre in St Helens. It was billed as the "latest and greatest electrical invention" and was presented by Professor John Popjie. The Reporter advert said the Anglo / Dutch "savant" was offering £1,000 to any person that could explain how it was "electrically possible to work this miracle as demonstrated".
The grotesque-looking robot or "automaton" could undertake tasks such as shaving volunteers. However, it has since been revealed that Popjie was simply a magician and there was a small person inside his robot undertaking tasks, although electricity was apparently also involved to some extent. The title "Professor" was probably just added to his name to give the impression of authority – it was a common handle used by ventriloquists and magicians.
Also on the bill were: Lilliana Ladies ("Gymnastic acrobatics"); Coral Dark ("Comedienne and expert dancer"); Freddie Frome & Lady ("In comedy, songs, duets and patter"); Will Handby & Ida Celeine ("In song, dance, patter and skating") and D’Amselle & Boy (“Novel speciality").
Although libraries in St Helens close on Sundays today, there is an enormous amount of other activities that people can pursue. But in 1924 there was very little that could be done on the Sabbath, although visiting the library to read newspapers and books was permitted – but only during the winter. Why they closed during the summer I'm not quite sure but it was probably a combination of saving money and fewer people visiting during the warmer days of the year.
At the council's Libraries Committee meeting on the 9th its members decided to shut Central Library in the Gamble Institute for five months this summer, instead of four as in previous years. The only objection to the decision came from Councillor Dodd, who said on Sundays many people in St Helens were at a loose end with nowhere to go for an hour or two. However, he received no support from the other members.
A meeting of the council's Health Committee was also held on the 9th in which the St Helens Medical Officer of Health, Dr Frank Hauxwell, presented his returns for the five-week period ending March 29th. The rate of infantile mortality in St Helens was still very high at 148 per thousand, with the average for the country being 118.
Influenza had claimed seven deaths during March and 110 cases of measles had been notified to Dr Hauxwell, which was more than double the number for February. During this same period in 1923, the town had been almost free of measles but this year the disease had forced several infant schools to close. Pneumonia connected to the flu outbreak had also been problematic.
A meeting of the Education Committee also took place this week in which a member criticised the practice of pupils losing their attendance marks in class when going to the clinic. That could lead to their parents receiving a visit from the school attendance officer wanting to know why their child had missed lessons. Alderman Waring explained that the procedure was according to the regulations but committee member Mrs Bates was not satisfied with his answer, saying it was "absolutely absurd".
The Reporter revealed on the 11th that Rivington Road had become the first elementary school in St Helens to have a wireless set installed. A master called Penrose had provided a 4-valve set at his own expense and fitted it in one of the classrooms with a loudspeaker in the hall. At dinnertime the lads would listen to a concert from Manchester and the paper added: "…already many of the boys are enthusiastically engaged attempting to construct crystal sets of their own."
The Reporter also described the council election that had taken place in Rainford this week. It had been unusual on two fronts. First of all turnout had been close on 80%, which was credited to extra polling stations having being made available at Crank and in Bushey Lane. And of the eight candidates chasing five council seats all of them polled well with only 64 votes separating the candidate that won from the one that came last.
It was common for those prosecuted for gambling offences – who had taken to their heels when the police conducted a raid – to claim mistaken identity in court. They were rarely believed but the Reporter described how magistrates had accepted Owen Kearns' use of such a defence. He was accused of playing pitch and toss on wasteland near Victoria Street in Gerards Bridge.
In the Police Court hearing Kearns separately asked PC Gatley and PC Jolley which hand they had supposedly seen him toss coins with. Both declared that it had been his left hand but Owen then lifted his left arm up with his right hand to reveal that it was paralysed. He then said to the Bench: "It is hardly likely that I would be tossing coins with an arm for which I have been receiving 27s. weekly pension for the last seven years. My arm is quite helpless." As a result the magistrates dismissed the charge.
"He is a terrible fellow, and one the most violent and hardened cases I know". That was what a policeman told a court in St Helens on the 11th when Thomas Kelly was bound over by the magistrates for threatening his sister.
And finally on the 14th, William Roberts from Kings Bridge Nursery in Crank was in court charged with driving a motorcycle along Greenfield Road in St Helens with an inefficient silencer and he was fined 10 shillings. The Reporter headlined their brief report "The Bang-Bang Nuisance".
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include a concert in aid of the Sutton Manor basilica, the Nutgrove Road undertaker accused of being a drunkard, the gambling raid in Devon Street and the inconvenience caused by the relaying of tramlines in Croppers Hill.
This week's many stories include the old man's suicide in the workhouse, a robot called Radiana appears at the Hippodrome, Rivington Road school have a wireless set installed, the death of the toddler son of a Saints star, the unusual council election in Rainford and the paralysed man from Gerards Bridge wrongly accused of playing pitch and toss.
The St Helens police often went to a lot of trouble in detecting minor crimes only for the culprits to be let off in court.
Friends William Kendall and John Speed had taken beds at Grimshaw's lodging house in Salisbury Street.
At 4am Kendall discovered that Speed had gone missing from the room that they shared and had taken his shirt.
So he alerted the police and constables were dispatched in different directions to hunt for the young man with PC McHale pedalling his bicycle on Eccleston Hill.
At 4:15am the officer apprehended Speed and when asked to account for his mate's shirt being in his possession he replied, "Well, Kendall has got mine".
The magistrates in St Helens Police Court on the 8th were unimpressed with the evidence and dismissed the case.
Also on the 8th an inquest was held into the death of the 13-month-old son of Saints star Walter Groves from Boundary Road.
It was another tragedy in the home in which boiling water had briefly been left in a bowl that a toddler was able to reach.
Mrs Groves told the inquest that she had been washing clothes and had gone into their yard to check on the fire in the boiler.
Briefly left unattended had been a bowl containing boiling water and starch that was standing on a slab two feet off the ground.
She heard her son Walter Jnr crying and upon dashing back to the kitchen found him leaning against the slab with the bowl tipped over.
Only some of the hot starch had got onto Walter's chest but two days later the little boy perished in Providence Hospital.
Many elderly people felt they had little to live for and the last straw for Alexander Sparks appears to have been when he was put into Whiston Workhouse.
Things were not quite as grim there as they had been – indeed the place had even been re-branded as the Whiston Institution.
But there was still a stigma that apparently the 70-year-old from Tontine Street could not bear and on the 8th Alexander's inquest took place.
The night attendant at the institution said two days before at 5:15am he had been called into the room where Sparks slept.
He told the Coroner that he had found the old man with a one-inch-long wound to his throat and a penknife lying on the bed smeared with blood.
Alexander soon died and the Coroner returned a verdict of suicide whilst of unsound mind and said he attached no blame to anyone connected with the institution.
This week a robot called Radiana appeared at the Hippodrome Theatre in St Helens. It was billed as the "latest and greatest electrical invention" and was presented by Professor John Popjie.
The Reporter advert said the Anglo / Dutch "savant" was offering £1,000 to any person that could explain how it was "electrically possible to work this miracle as demonstrated".
The grotesque-looking robot or "automaton" could undertake tasks such as shaving volunteers.
However, it has since been revealed that Popjie was simply a magician and there was a small person inside his robot undertaking tasks, although electricity was apparently also involved to some extent.
The title "Professor" was probably just added to his name to give the impression of authority – it was a common handle used by ventriloquists and magicians.
Also on the bill were: Lilliana Ladies ("Gymnastic acrobatics"); Coral Dark ("Comedienne and expert dancer"); Freddie Frome & Lady ("In comedy, songs, duets and patter"); Will Handby & Ida Celeine ("In song, dance, patter and skating") and D’Amselle & Boy (“Novel speciality").
Although libraries in St Helens close on Sundays today, there is an enormous amount of other activities that people can pursue.
But in 1924 there was very little that could be done on the Sabbath, although visiting the library to read newspapers and books was permitted – but only during the winter.
Why they closed during the summer I'm not quite sure but it was probably a combination of saving money and fewer people visiting during the warmer days of the year.
At the council's Libraries Committee meeting on the 9th its members decided to shut Central Library in the Gamble Institute for five months this summer, instead of four as in previous years.
The only objection to the decision came from Councillor Dodd, who said on Sundays many people in St Helens were at a loose end with nowhere to go for an hour or two. However, he received no support from the other members.
A meeting of the council's Health Committee was also held on the 9th in which the St Helens Medical Officer of Health, Dr Frank Hauxwell, presented his returns for the five-week period ending March 29th.
The rate of infantile mortality in St Helens was still very high at 148 per thousand, with the average for the country being 118.
Influenza had claimed seven deaths during March and 110 cases of measles had been notified to Dr Hauxwell, which was more than double the number for February.
During this same period in 1923, the town had been almost free of measles but this year the disease had forced several infant schools to close. Pneumonia connected to the flu outbreak had also been problematic.
A meeting of the Education Committee also took place this week in which a member criticised the practice of pupils losing their attendance marks in class when going to the clinic.
That could lead to their parents receiving a visit from the school attendance officer wanting to know why their child had missed lessons.
Alderman Waring explained that the procedure was according to the regulations but committee member Mrs Bates was not satisfied with his answer, saying it was "absolutely absurd".
The Reporter revealed on the 11th that Rivington Road had become the first elementary school in St Helens to have a wireless set installed.
A master called Penrose had provided a 4-valve set at his own expense and fitted it in one of the classrooms with a loudspeaker in the hall.
At dinnertime the lads would listen to a concert from Manchester and the paper added:
"…already many of the boys are enthusiastically engaged attempting to construct crystal sets of their own."
The Reporter also described the council election that had taken place in Rainford this week.
It had been unusual on two fronts. First of all turnout had been close on 80%, which was credited to extra polling stations having being made available at Crank and in Bushey Lane.
And of the eight candidates chasing five council seats all of them polled well with only 64 votes separating the candidate that won from the one that came last.
It was common for those prosecuted for gambling offences – who had taken to their heels when the police conducted a raid – to claim mistaken identity in court.
They were rarely believed but the Reporter described how magistrates had accepted Owen Kearns' use of such a defence.
He was accused of playing pitch and toss on wasteland near Victoria Street in Gerards Bridge.
In the Police Court hearing Kearns separately asked PC Gatley and PC Jolley which hand they had supposedly seen him toss coins with.
Both declared that it had been his left hand but Owen then lifted his left arm up with his right hand to reveal that it was paralysed. He then said to the Bench:
"It is hardly likely that I would be tossing coins with an arm for which I have been receiving 27s. weekly pension for the last seven years. My arm is quite helpless." As a result the magistrates dismissed the charge.
"He is a terrible fellow, and one the most violent and hardened cases I know".
That was what a policeman told a court in St Helens on the 11th when Thomas Kelly was bound over by the magistrates for threatening his sister.
A century ago the building we know as the Citadel in Waterloo Street in St Helens was the headquarters of the Salvation Army, who have often named their building citadels.
On Sunday afternoon the hall was well filled for what the Reporter called a "bright and interesting musical service".
Amongst other items popular local elocutionist Wilson Nicholson recited "very dramatically" the story of the fight between David and Goliath and the Salvation Army band played some selections.
And finally on the 14th, William Roberts from Kings Bridge Nursery in Crank was in court charged with driving a motorcycle along Greenfield Road in St Helens with an inefficient silencer and he was fined 10 shillings.
The Reporter headlined their brief report "The Bang-Bang Nuisance".
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include a concert in aid of the Sutton Manor basilica, the Nutgrove Road undertaker accused of being a drunkard, the gambling raid in Devon Street and the inconvenience caused by the relaying of tramlines in Croppers Hill.
The St Helens police often went to a lot of trouble in detecting minor crimes only for the culprits to be let off in court.
Friends William Kendall and John Speed had taken beds at Grimshaw's lodging house in Salisbury Street.
At 4am Kendall discovered that Speed had gone missing from the room that they shared and had taken his shirt.
So he alerted the police and constables were dispatched in different directions to hunt for the young man with PC McHale pedalling his bicycle on Eccleston Hill.
At 4:15am the officer apprehended Speed and when asked to account for his mate's shirt being in his possession he replied, "Well, Kendall has got mine".
The magistrates in St Helens Police Court on the 8th were unimpressed with the evidence and dismissed the case.
Also on the 8th an inquest was held into the death of the 13-month-old son of Saints star Walter Groves from Boundary Road.
It was another tragedy in the home in which boiling water had briefly been left in a bowl that a toddler was able to reach.
Mrs Groves told the inquest that she had been washing clothes and had gone into their yard to check on the fire in the boiler.
Briefly left unattended had been a bowl containing boiling water and starch that was standing on a slab two feet off the ground.
She heard her son Walter Jnr crying and upon dashing back to the kitchen found him leaning against the slab with the bowl tipped over.
Only some of the hot starch had got onto Walter's chest but two days later the little boy perished in Providence Hospital.
Many elderly people felt they had little to live for and the last straw for Alexander Sparks appears to have been when he was put into Whiston Workhouse.
Things were not quite as grim there as they had been – indeed the place had even been re-branded as the Whiston Institution.
But there was still a stigma that apparently the 70-year-old from Tontine Street could not bear and on the 8th Alexander's inquest took place.
The night attendant at the institution said two days before at 5:15am he had been called into the room where Sparks slept.
He told the Coroner that he had found the old man with a one-inch-long wound to his throat and a penknife lying on the bed smeared with blood.
Alexander soon died and the Coroner returned a verdict of suicide whilst of unsound mind and said he attached no blame to anyone connected with the institution.
This week a robot called Radiana appeared at the Hippodrome Theatre in St Helens. It was billed as the "latest and greatest electrical invention" and was presented by Professor John Popjie.
The Reporter advert said the Anglo / Dutch "savant" was offering £1,000 to any person that could explain how it was "electrically possible to work this miracle as demonstrated".
The grotesque-looking robot or "automaton" could undertake tasks such as shaving volunteers.
However, it has since been revealed that Popjie was simply a magician and there was a small person inside his robot undertaking tasks, although electricity was apparently also involved to some extent.
The title "Professor" was probably just added to his name to give the impression of authority – it was a common handle used by ventriloquists and magicians.
Also on the bill were: Lilliana Ladies ("Gymnastic acrobatics"); Coral Dark ("Comedienne and expert dancer"); Freddie Frome & Lady ("In comedy, songs, duets and patter"); Will Handby & Ida Celeine ("In song, dance, patter and skating") and D’Amselle & Boy (“Novel speciality").
Although libraries in St Helens close on Sundays today, there is an enormous amount of other activities that people can pursue.
But in 1924 there was very little that could be done on the Sabbath, although visiting the library to read newspapers and books was permitted – but only during the winter.
Why they closed during the summer I'm not quite sure but it was probably a combination of saving money and fewer people visiting during the warmer days of the year.
At the council's Libraries Committee meeting on the 9th its members decided to shut Central Library in the Gamble Institute for five months this summer, instead of four as in previous years.
The only objection to the decision came from Councillor Dodd, who said on Sundays many people in St Helens were at a loose end with nowhere to go for an hour or two. However, he received no support from the other members.
A meeting of the council's Health Committee was also held on the 9th in which the St Helens Medical Officer of Health, Dr Frank Hauxwell, presented his returns for the five-week period ending March 29th.
The rate of infantile mortality in St Helens was still very high at 148 per thousand, with the average for the country being 118.
Influenza had claimed seven deaths during March and 110 cases of measles had been notified to Dr Hauxwell, which was more than double the number for February.
During this same period in 1923, the town had been almost free of measles but this year the disease had forced several infant schools to close. Pneumonia connected to the flu outbreak had also been problematic.
A meeting of the Education Committee also took place this week in which a member criticised the practice of pupils losing their attendance marks in class when going to the clinic.
That could lead to their parents receiving a visit from the school attendance officer wanting to know why their child had missed lessons.
Alderman Waring explained that the procedure was according to the regulations but committee member Mrs Bates was not satisfied with his answer, saying it was "absolutely absurd".
The Reporter revealed on the 11th that Rivington Road had become the first elementary school in St Helens to have a wireless set installed.
A master called Penrose had provided a 4-valve set at his own expense and fitted it in one of the classrooms with a loudspeaker in the hall.
At dinnertime the lads would listen to a concert from Manchester and the paper added:
"…already many of the boys are enthusiastically engaged attempting to construct crystal sets of their own."
The Reporter also described the council election that had taken place in Rainford this week.
It had been unusual on two fronts. First of all turnout had been close on 80%, which was credited to extra polling stations having being made available at Crank and in Bushey Lane.
And of the eight candidates chasing five council seats all of them polled well with only 64 votes separating the candidate that won from the one that came last.
It was common for those prosecuted for gambling offences – who had taken to their heels when the police conducted a raid – to claim mistaken identity in court.
They were rarely believed but the Reporter described how magistrates had accepted Owen Kearns' use of such a defence.
He was accused of playing pitch and toss on wasteland near Victoria Street in Gerards Bridge.
In the Police Court hearing Kearns separately asked PC Gatley and PC Jolley which hand they had supposedly seen him toss coins with.
Both declared that it had been his left hand but Owen then lifted his left arm up with his right hand to reveal that it was paralysed. He then said to the Bench:
"It is hardly likely that I would be tossing coins with an arm for which I have been receiving 27s. weekly pension for the last seven years. My arm is quite helpless." As a result the magistrates dismissed the charge.
"He is a terrible fellow, and one the most violent and hardened cases I know".
That was what a policeman told a court in St Helens on the 11th when Thomas Kelly was bound over by the magistrates for threatening his sister.
On Sunday afternoon the hall was well filled for what the Reporter called a "bright and interesting musical service".
Amongst other items popular local elocutionist Wilson Nicholson recited "very dramatically" the story of the fight between David and Goliath and the Salvation Army band played some selections.
And finally on the 14th, William Roberts from Kings Bridge Nursery in Crank was in court charged with driving a motorcycle along Greenfield Road in St Helens with an inefficient silencer and he was fined 10 shillings.
The Reporter headlined their brief report "The Bang-Bang Nuisance".
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include a concert in aid of the Sutton Manor basilica, the Nutgrove Road undertaker accused of being a drunkard, the gambling raid in Devon Street and the inconvenience caused by the relaying of tramlines in Croppers Hill.