IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (8th - 14th JUNE 1920)
This week's stories include the boy watch repairer from Higher Parr Street who got himself into a pickle, the jealous Stanhope Street lodger, the war memorial at Sutton National School, a Sinn Fein rally is held in St Helens and the Gerards Bridge man that fled from the police with handcuffs dangling from his wrist.
We begin on the 8th in St Helens County Police Court with an application from Greenall Whitley. Licensees of public houses were required to live on their premises and the brewery sought permission for the landlord of the Seven Stars to temporarily reside elsewhere. Reconstruction of the Eccleston pub was about to take place and the licensee needed to vacate while the work was carried out. Permission was granted.
During the evening of the 8th the Moss Bank Prize Band performed in Sutton Park, which had opened fourteen years earlier.
On the 11th the St Helens Reporter wrote that Frank Plews had been gathering photographs of old boys of Sutton National School who had been killed in the war. Ninety-two former pupils had lost their lives but the headmaster had been unable to obtain 28 of their pictures. This was at a time when few people owned cameras and photographs were usually only taken on special occasions. Mr Plews planned to create a memorial to the fallen that would be given "a place of honour" on the walls of the school. A separate roll of honour to the 800 former pupils who had served in the conflict would also be installed at "Sutton Nash".
Taking in lodgers was very common but could be troublesome. In the Police Court on the 11th William Dagnall from Stanhope Street near Victoria Park faced a charge of assaulting his landlady. Annie Jones was a young widow and Dagnall had developed an affection for her. However she planned to marry another man and six months earlier had asked the coal miner to leave her house. The housing shortage meant that finding lodgings was not easy but he eventually obtained a room in Rainford but seemingly couldn't move in for a few days.
Upon returning to Stanhope Street, Dagnall went to bed and when he woke up found his rival was in the house. This infuriated the man and he ended up having a blazing row with Annie Jones outside the house. Without modern-day distractions like TV and radio, people would quickly pour out of their homes whenever there was a whiff of trouble. When PC Halsall arrived on the scene after hearing a row from a distance, he found a large crowd watching Annie Jones and William Dagnall going at each other hammer and tongs.
The officer asked the pair to go back inside the house, which they did. However Mrs Jones soon returned to the street bleeding after Dagnall had struck her. This was after she had apparently accused him of being jealous of her. Dagnall was charged with assault and breach of the peace – as was Mrs Jones. However the Bench decided it had been a "household quarrel" and was unlikely to recur. So all charges were dismissed upon condition that the man paid the court costs of two guineas.
During the evening of the 11th, a roll of honour was unveiled to those workers of the London and North Western Railway's Sheeting Sheds & General Stores who had served in the war. Their works was in Penlake Lane in Sutton but the ceremony took place in the pavilion of their Recreation Club at St Helens Junction, near the station. The Sheeting Sheds made and repaired tarpaulin sheets for railway wagons and street carts.
The superintendent who unveiled the memorial said the plaque would: "Hang up there for all time, to be a continual reminder of those who had served and those that had given their lives for their country's cause." I wonder what happened to it? A total of 106 of their men (mainly from Sutton) had served in the war with 16 losing their lives and 33 wounded.
On the 12th Fred Gough from Stanley Street in Gerards Bridge was charged in the Police Court with breach of the peace and assaulting the police. In fact the man had knocked an officer unconscious and fled the scene with handcuffs dangling from his wrist. PC White gave evidence of being in Oldfield Street late on Friday night when he saw Gough shouting and threatening other men. Upon being told to go home the man became violent and so the officer went to fetch assistance.
Upon returning with PC Alsop, Gough struck PC White on the chest and the two constables then attempted to take their prisoner to the Police Station at the Town Hall. That could be a tricky trip at night when drunks were out on the street and in Victoria Street, Gough became very violent, egged on by a hostile crowd. There was a struggle with their prisoner who was – as PC White put it – "kicking out right and left".
The man's wife then appeared on the scene and attempted to free her husband and in the scuffle that ensued Gough escaped and the constable was knocked out. Gough had been wearing two sets of handcuffs and almost two hours later was recaptured, although minus one set of handcuffs which had been filed off. The man denied that he had been violent and said he had a crippled arm.
Gough then had the cheek to say that if he got away from two policemen wearing two sets of handcuffs there was something wrong in the way they did their duty! His wife denied that her husband had been shouting and that she was present when he escaped from the police. Of course the magistrates were always going to believe the police's account and Fred Gough was bound over for 12 months and fined £3.
In St Helens Police Court on the 14th a story was told of a young watch repairer who'd got into a right pickle with timepieces. The father of Arthur Green kept a little shop in Higher Parr Street fixing watches but after suffering shell shock in France during the war he had gone into Rainhill Asylum. So his 18-year-old son left his job with his uncle to run his Dad's business for him. An admirable thing to have done but there was one problem – he didn't know how to mend watches!
Or, more accurately, as the lad told the magistrates, he had only "a bit" of knowledge. Arthur did all right for a short while but then found he was out of his depth and to fob his customers off would lend them other people's watches that he had been able to fix. The prosecutor in the case told the Bench: "He lent watches to people who brought their watches for repair without keeping a proper account of the people to whom he lent them."
Eventually when his mother was in hospital and people were hounding him for their watches, Arthur decided to do a runner. The prosecutor again: "He had pulled the watches to pieces and, not being able to put them together again, he had got the wind up and absconded." Det. Sgt. Curran found him living in Liverpool Road in Pewfall, near Haydock, and arrested him. Although he was charged with stealing watches, the prosecutor accepted that there had been no fraudulent intent on Arthur's part and so he was treated leniently.
The Chairman of the Bench told him: "You are old enough to have sense not to destroy people's property. The Bench think you have not taken these watches with intent to steal them, but you have done a very foolish and wrong thing in taking people's watches in which you know you could not repair them. We are going to dismiss the charge of stealing the watches on payment of £1 costs. Don't do this sort of thing again."
Also in the Police Court was Michael McDonald from Crook Street, near Liverpool Road, who was charged with attempting to avoid payment of his tram fare. Since the Corporation had taken over the operation of the tramways last year, ticket evasion had been on the increase. The prosecuting solicitor told the Bench that there appeared to be a "prevalent idea in St. Helens to travel free on the tramways."
McDonald had been caught by an inspector at Eccleston Hill without a ticket and immediately dashed off the tram. He claimed an oversight but was fined 20 shillings and costs by the Bench. The Chairman – who was a member of the Tramways Committee – said: "We want this to be a lesson to you and other men who are travelling to see that you pay your fare when you get on."
During the evening of the 14th a Sinn Fein rally took place in St Helens Town Hall (pictured above in 1925). It was well attended and included many women and some priests. The St Helens Reporter said the speeches were characterised by much "strong feeling and bitter partisanship, breathing hatred of England, which was held up as an alien enemy, and the outrages in Ireland were condoned."
This resolution was adopted: "That this meeting of St. Helens Irishmen and women pledges the hearty support to the elected representatives of the Irish nation. It demands the withdrawal of the Army of Occupation from Ireland, the release of Irish political prisoners, the re-establishment of the freedom of the Press, and the recognition of the Irish Republic."
And finally the acts appearing at the Hippodrome Theatre from the 14th included: Howard and Wyndham ("Presenting songs and novel dances"); Bert Maddison ("Burlesque comedian"); Josephine Langley ("The incomparable lady ventriloquist"); Dudley and Walker ("The peculiar pair singing their own compositions"); Signor and Madame Borelli ("The jolly Anglo-Italian couple presenting their famous cat duet") and Chris O’Brien ("Britain’s greatest descriptive vocalist").
Next week's stories will include the laying of the foundation stone for the new Parish Church, the Pilkington Garden Village bombshell in Eccleston, the boy from Fingerpost who stole from his father and the married couple who came to blows in Exchange Street.
We begin on the 8th in St Helens County Police Court with an application from Greenall Whitley. Licensees of public houses were required to live on their premises and the brewery sought permission for the landlord of the Seven Stars to temporarily reside elsewhere. Reconstruction of the Eccleston pub was about to take place and the licensee needed to vacate while the work was carried out. Permission was granted.
During the evening of the 8th the Moss Bank Prize Band performed in Sutton Park, which had opened fourteen years earlier.
On the 11th the St Helens Reporter wrote that Frank Plews had been gathering photographs of old boys of Sutton National School who had been killed in the war. Ninety-two former pupils had lost their lives but the headmaster had been unable to obtain 28 of their pictures. This was at a time when few people owned cameras and photographs were usually only taken on special occasions. Mr Plews planned to create a memorial to the fallen that would be given "a place of honour" on the walls of the school. A separate roll of honour to the 800 former pupils who had served in the conflict would also be installed at "Sutton Nash".
Taking in lodgers was very common but could be troublesome. In the Police Court on the 11th William Dagnall from Stanhope Street near Victoria Park faced a charge of assaulting his landlady. Annie Jones was a young widow and Dagnall had developed an affection for her. However she planned to marry another man and six months earlier had asked the coal miner to leave her house. The housing shortage meant that finding lodgings was not easy but he eventually obtained a room in Rainford but seemingly couldn't move in for a few days.
Upon returning to Stanhope Street, Dagnall went to bed and when he woke up found his rival was in the house. This infuriated the man and he ended up having a blazing row with Annie Jones outside the house. Without modern-day distractions like TV and radio, people would quickly pour out of their homes whenever there was a whiff of trouble. When PC Halsall arrived on the scene after hearing a row from a distance, he found a large crowd watching Annie Jones and William Dagnall going at each other hammer and tongs.
The officer asked the pair to go back inside the house, which they did. However Mrs Jones soon returned to the street bleeding after Dagnall had struck her. This was after she had apparently accused him of being jealous of her. Dagnall was charged with assault and breach of the peace – as was Mrs Jones. However the Bench decided it had been a "household quarrel" and was unlikely to recur. So all charges were dismissed upon condition that the man paid the court costs of two guineas.
During the evening of the 11th, a roll of honour was unveiled to those workers of the London and North Western Railway's Sheeting Sheds & General Stores who had served in the war. Their works was in Penlake Lane in Sutton but the ceremony took place in the pavilion of their Recreation Club at St Helens Junction, near the station. The Sheeting Sheds made and repaired tarpaulin sheets for railway wagons and street carts.
The superintendent who unveiled the memorial said the plaque would: "Hang up there for all time, to be a continual reminder of those who had served and those that had given their lives for their country's cause." I wonder what happened to it? A total of 106 of their men (mainly from Sutton) had served in the war with 16 losing their lives and 33 wounded.
On the 12th Fred Gough from Stanley Street in Gerards Bridge was charged in the Police Court with breach of the peace and assaulting the police. In fact the man had knocked an officer unconscious and fled the scene with handcuffs dangling from his wrist. PC White gave evidence of being in Oldfield Street late on Friday night when he saw Gough shouting and threatening other men. Upon being told to go home the man became violent and so the officer went to fetch assistance.
Upon returning with PC Alsop, Gough struck PC White on the chest and the two constables then attempted to take their prisoner to the Police Station at the Town Hall. That could be a tricky trip at night when drunks were out on the street and in Victoria Street, Gough became very violent, egged on by a hostile crowd. There was a struggle with their prisoner who was – as PC White put it – "kicking out right and left".
The man's wife then appeared on the scene and attempted to free her husband and in the scuffle that ensued Gough escaped and the constable was knocked out. Gough had been wearing two sets of handcuffs and almost two hours later was recaptured, although minus one set of handcuffs which had been filed off. The man denied that he had been violent and said he had a crippled arm.
Gough then had the cheek to say that if he got away from two policemen wearing two sets of handcuffs there was something wrong in the way they did their duty! His wife denied that her husband had been shouting and that she was present when he escaped from the police. Of course the magistrates were always going to believe the police's account and Fred Gough was bound over for 12 months and fined £3.
Higher Parr Street in St Helens - note the Co-operative Stores branch pictured centre right
Higher Parr Street in St Helens - note the Co-operative Stores
Higher Parr Street in St Helens
Or, more accurately, as the lad told the magistrates, he had only "a bit" of knowledge. Arthur did all right for a short while but then found he was out of his depth and to fob his customers off would lend them other people's watches that he had been able to fix. The prosecutor in the case told the Bench: "He lent watches to people who brought their watches for repair without keeping a proper account of the people to whom he lent them."
Eventually when his mother was in hospital and people were hounding him for their watches, Arthur decided to do a runner. The prosecutor again: "He had pulled the watches to pieces and, not being able to put them together again, he had got the wind up and absconded." Det. Sgt. Curran found him living in Liverpool Road in Pewfall, near Haydock, and arrested him. Although he was charged with stealing watches, the prosecutor accepted that there had been no fraudulent intent on Arthur's part and so he was treated leniently.
The Chairman of the Bench told him: "You are old enough to have sense not to destroy people's property. The Bench think you have not taken these watches with intent to steal them, but you have done a very foolish and wrong thing in taking people's watches in which you know you could not repair them. We are going to dismiss the charge of stealing the watches on payment of £1 costs. Don't do this sort of thing again."
Also in the Police Court was Michael McDonald from Crook Street, near Liverpool Road, who was charged with attempting to avoid payment of his tram fare. Since the Corporation had taken over the operation of the tramways last year, ticket evasion had been on the increase. The prosecuting solicitor told the Bench that there appeared to be a "prevalent idea in St. Helens to travel free on the tramways."
McDonald had been caught by an inspector at Eccleston Hill without a ticket and immediately dashed off the tram. He claimed an oversight but was fined 20 shillings and costs by the Bench. The Chairman – who was a member of the Tramways Committee – said: "We want this to be a lesson to you and other men who are travelling to see that you pay your fare when you get on."
This resolution was adopted: "That this meeting of St. Helens Irishmen and women pledges the hearty support to the elected representatives of the Irish nation. It demands the withdrawal of the Army of Occupation from Ireland, the release of Irish political prisoners, the re-establishment of the freedom of the Press, and the recognition of the Irish Republic."
And finally the acts appearing at the Hippodrome Theatre from the 14th included: Howard and Wyndham ("Presenting songs and novel dances"); Bert Maddison ("Burlesque comedian"); Josephine Langley ("The incomparable lady ventriloquist"); Dudley and Walker ("The peculiar pair singing their own compositions"); Signor and Madame Borelli ("The jolly Anglo-Italian couple presenting their famous cat duet") and Chris O’Brien ("Britain’s greatest descriptive vocalist").
Next week's stories will include the laying of the foundation stone for the new Parish Church, the Pilkington Garden Village bombshell in Eccleston, the boy from Fingerpost who stole from his father and the married couple who came to blows in Exchange Street.
This week's stories include the boy watch repairer from Higher Parr Street who got himself into a pickle, the jealous Stanhope Street lodger, the war memorial at Sutton National School, a Sinn Fein rally is held in St Helens and the Gerards Bridge man that fled from the police with handcuffs dangling from his wrist.
We begin on the 8th in St Helens County Police Court with an application from Greenall Whitley.
Licensees of public houses were required to live on their premises and the brewery sought permission for the landlord of the Seven Stars to temporarily reside elsewhere.
Reconstruction of the Eccleston pub was about to take place and the licensee needed to vacate while the work was carried out. Permission was granted.
During the evening of the 8th the Moss Bank Prize Band performed in Sutton Park, which had opened fourteen years earlier.
On the 11th the St Helens Reporter wrote that Frank Plews had been gathering photographs of old boys of Sutton National School who had been killed in the war.
Ninety-two former pupils had lost their lives but the headmaster had been unable to obtain 28 of their pictures.
This was at a time when few people owned cameras and photographs were usually only taken on special occasions.
Mr Plews planned to create a memorial to the fallen that would be given "a place of honour" on the walls of the school.
A separate roll of honour to the 800 former pupils who had served in the conflict would also be installed at "Sutton Nash".
Taking in lodgers was very common but could be troublesome. In the Police Court on the 11th William Dagnall from Stanhope Street near Victoria Park faced a charge of assaulting his landlady.
Annie Jones was a young widow and Dagnall had developed an affection for her.
However she planned to marry another man and six months earlier had asked the coal miner to leave her house.
The housing shortage meant that finding lodgings was not easy but he eventually obtained a room in Rainford but seemingly couldn't move in for a few days.
Upon returning to Stanhope Street, Dagnall went to bed and when he woke up found his rival was in the house.
This infuriated the man and he ended up having a blazing row with Annie Jones outside the house.
Without modern-day distractions like TV and radio, people would quickly pour out of their homes whenever there was a whiff of trouble.
When PC Halsall arrived on the scene after hearing a row from a distance, he found a large crowd watching Annie Jones and William Dagnall going at each other hammer and tongs.
The officer asked the pair to go back inside the house, which they did. However Mrs Jones soon returned to the street bleeding after Dagnall had struck her.
This was after she had apparently accused him of being jealous of her. Dagnall was charged with assault and breach of the peace – as was Mrs Jones.
However the Bench decided it had been a "household quarrel" and was unlikely to recur.
So all charges were dismissed upon condition that the man paid the court costs of two guineas.
During the evening of the 11th, a roll of honour was unveiled to those workers of the London and North Western Railway's Sheeting Sheds & General Stores who had served in the war.
Their works was in Penlake Lane in Sutton but the ceremony took place in the pavilion of their Recreation Club at St Helens Junction, near the station.
The Sheeting Sheds made and repaired tarpaulin sheets for railway wagons and street carts.
The superintendent who unveiled the memorial said the plaque would: "Hang up there for all time, to be a continual reminder of those who had served and those that had given their lives for their country's cause."
I wonder what happened to it? A total of 106 of their men (mainly from Sutton) had served in the war with 16 losing their lives and 33 wounded.
On the 12th Fred Gough from Stanley Street in Gerards Bridge was charged in the Police Court with breach of the peace and assaulting the police.
In fact the man had knocked an officer unconscious and fled the scene with handcuffs dangling from his wrist.
PC White gave evidence of being in Oldfield Street late on Friday night when he saw Gough shouting and threatening other men.
Upon being told to go home the man became violent and so the officer went to fetch assistance.
Upon returning with PC Alsop, Gough struck PC White on the chest and the two constables then attempted to take their prisoner to the Police Station at the Town Hall.
That could be a tricky trip at night when drunks were out on the street and in Victoria Street, Gough became very violent, egged on by a hostile crowd.
There was a struggle with their prisoner who was – as PC White put it – "kicking out right and left".
The man's wife then appeared on the scene and attempted to free her husband and in the scuffle that ensued Gough escaped and the constable was knocked out.
Gough had been wearing two sets of handcuffs and almost two hours later was recaptured, although minus one set of handcuffs which had been filed off.
The man denied that he had been violent and said he had a crippled arm.
Gough then had the cheek to say that if he got away from two policemen wearing two sets of handcuffs there was something wrong in the way they did their duty!
His wife denied that her husband had been shouting and that she was present when he escaped from the police.
Of course the magistrates were always going to believe the police's account and Fred Gough was bound over for 12 months and fined £3.
In St Helens Police Court on the 14th a story was told of a young watch repairer who'd got into a right pickle with timepieces.
The father of Arthur Green kept a little shop in Higher Parr Street fixing watches but after suffering shell shock in France during the war he had gone into Rainhill Asylum.
So his 18-year-old son left his job with his uncle to run his Dad's business for him.
An admirable thing to have done but there was one problem – he didn't know how to mend watches!
Or, more accurately, as the lad told the magistrates, he had only "a bit" of knowledge.
Arthur did all right for a short while but then found he was out of his depth and to fob his customers off would lend them other people's watches that he had been able to fix.
The prosecutor in the case told the Bench: "He lent watches to people who brought their watches for repair without keeping a proper account of the people to whom he lent them."
Eventually when his mother was in hospital and people were hounding him for their watches, Arthur decided to do a runner.
The prosecutor again: "He had pulled the watches to pieces and, not being able to put them together again, he had got the wind up and absconded."
Det. Sgt. Curran found him living in Liverpool Road in Pewfall, near Haydock, and arrested him.
Although he was charged with stealing watches, the prosecutor accepted that there had been no fraudulent intent on Arthur's part and so he was treated leniently. The Chairman of the Bench told him:
"You are old enough to have sense not to destroy people's property. The Bench think you have not taken these watches with intent to steal them, but you have done a very foolish and wrong thing in taking people's watches in which you know you could not repair them. We are going to dismiss the charge of stealing the watches on payment of £1 costs. Don't do this sort of thing again."
Also in the Police Court was Michael McDonald from Crook Street, near Liverpool Road, who was charged with attempting to avoid payment of his tram fare.
Since the Corporation had taken over the operation of the tramways last year, ticket evasion had been on the increase.
The prosecuting solicitor told the Bench that there appeared to be a "prevalent idea in St. Helens to travel free on the tramways."
McDonald had been caught by an inspector at Eccleston Hill without a ticket and immediately dashed off the tram.
He claimed an oversight but was fined twenty shillings and costs by the Bench.
The Chairman – who was a member of the Tramways Committee – said: "We want this to be a lesson to you and other men who are travelling to see that you pay your fare when you get on."
During the evening of the 14th a Sinn Fein rally took place in St Helens Town Hall (pictured in 1925). It was well attended and included many women and some priests.
The St Helens Reporter said the speeches were characterised by much "strong feeling and bitter partisanship, breathing hatred of England, which was held up as an alien enemy, and the outrages in Ireland were condoned." This resolution was adopted:
"That this meeting of St. Helens Irishmen and women pledges the hearty support to the elected representatives of the Irish nation. It demands the withdrawal of the Army of Occupation from Ireland, the release of Irish political prisoners, the re-establishment of the freedom of the Press, and the recognition of the Irish Republic."
And finally the acts appearing at the Hippodrome Theatre from the 14th included:
Howard and Wyndham ("Presenting songs and novel dances"); Bert Maddison ("Burlesque comedian"); Josephine Langley ("The incomparable lady ventriloquist") and Dudley and Walker ("The peculiar pair singing their own compositions”).
Also appearing were Signor and Madame Borelli ("The jolly Anglo-Italian couple presenting their famous cat duet") and Chris O’Brien ("Britain’s greatest descriptive vocalist").
Next week's stories will include the laying of the foundation stone for the new Parish Church, the Pilkington Garden Village bombshell in Eccleston, the boy from Fingerpost who stole from his father and the married couple who came to blows in Exchange Street.
We begin on the 8th in St Helens County Police Court with an application from Greenall Whitley.
Licensees of public houses were required to live on their premises and the brewery sought permission for the landlord of the Seven Stars to temporarily reside elsewhere.
Reconstruction of the Eccleston pub was about to take place and the licensee needed to vacate while the work was carried out. Permission was granted.
During the evening of the 8th the Moss Bank Prize Band performed in Sutton Park, which had opened fourteen years earlier.
On the 11th the St Helens Reporter wrote that Frank Plews had been gathering photographs of old boys of Sutton National School who had been killed in the war.
Ninety-two former pupils had lost their lives but the headmaster had been unable to obtain 28 of their pictures.
This was at a time when few people owned cameras and photographs were usually only taken on special occasions.
Mr Plews planned to create a memorial to the fallen that would be given "a place of honour" on the walls of the school.
A separate roll of honour to the 800 former pupils who had served in the conflict would also be installed at "Sutton Nash".
Taking in lodgers was very common but could be troublesome. In the Police Court on the 11th William Dagnall from Stanhope Street near Victoria Park faced a charge of assaulting his landlady.
Annie Jones was a young widow and Dagnall had developed an affection for her.
However she planned to marry another man and six months earlier had asked the coal miner to leave her house.
The housing shortage meant that finding lodgings was not easy but he eventually obtained a room in Rainford but seemingly couldn't move in for a few days.
Upon returning to Stanhope Street, Dagnall went to bed and when he woke up found his rival was in the house.
This infuriated the man and he ended up having a blazing row with Annie Jones outside the house.
Without modern-day distractions like TV and radio, people would quickly pour out of their homes whenever there was a whiff of trouble.
When PC Halsall arrived on the scene after hearing a row from a distance, he found a large crowd watching Annie Jones and William Dagnall going at each other hammer and tongs.
The officer asked the pair to go back inside the house, which they did. However Mrs Jones soon returned to the street bleeding after Dagnall had struck her.
This was after she had apparently accused him of being jealous of her. Dagnall was charged with assault and breach of the peace – as was Mrs Jones.
However the Bench decided it had been a "household quarrel" and was unlikely to recur.
So all charges were dismissed upon condition that the man paid the court costs of two guineas.
During the evening of the 11th, a roll of honour was unveiled to those workers of the London and North Western Railway's Sheeting Sheds & General Stores who had served in the war.
Their works was in Penlake Lane in Sutton but the ceremony took place in the pavilion of their Recreation Club at St Helens Junction, near the station.
The Sheeting Sheds made and repaired tarpaulin sheets for railway wagons and street carts.
The superintendent who unveiled the memorial said the plaque would: "Hang up there for all time, to be a continual reminder of those who had served and those that had given their lives for their country's cause."
I wonder what happened to it? A total of 106 of their men (mainly from Sutton) had served in the war with 16 losing their lives and 33 wounded.
On the 12th Fred Gough from Stanley Street in Gerards Bridge was charged in the Police Court with breach of the peace and assaulting the police.
In fact the man had knocked an officer unconscious and fled the scene with handcuffs dangling from his wrist.
PC White gave evidence of being in Oldfield Street late on Friday night when he saw Gough shouting and threatening other men.
Upon being told to go home the man became violent and so the officer went to fetch assistance.
Upon returning with PC Alsop, Gough struck PC White on the chest and the two constables then attempted to take their prisoner to the Police Station at the Town Hall.
That could be a tricky trip at night when drunks were out on the street and in Victoria Street, Gough became very violent, egged on by a hostile crowd.
There was a struggle with their prisoner who was – as PC White put it – "kicking out right and left".
The man's wife then appeared on the scene and attempted to free her husband and in the scuffle that ensued Gough escaped and the constable was knocked out.
Gough had been wearing two sets of handcuffs and almost two hours later was recaptured, although minus one set of handcuffs which had been filed off.
The man denied that he had been violent and said he had a crippled arm.
Gough then had the cheek to say that if he got away from two policemen wearing two sets of handcuffs there was something wrong in the way they did their duty!
His wife denied that her husband had been shouting and that she was present when he escaped from the police.
Of course the magistrates were always going to believe the police's account and Fred Gough was bound over for 12 months and fined £3.
Higher Parr Street in St Helens - note the Co-operative Stores branch pictured centre right
Higher Parr Street in St Helens - note the Co-operative Stores
Higher Parr Street in St Helens
The father of Arthur Green kept a little shop in Higher Parr Street fixing watches but after suffering shell shock in France during the war he had gone into Rainhill Asylum.
So his 18-year-old son left his job with his uncle to run his Dad's business for him.
An admirable thing to have done but there was one problem – he didn't know how to mend watches!
Or, more accurately, as the lad told the magistrates, he had only "a bit" of knowledge.
Arthur did all right for a short while but then found he was out of his depth and to fob his customers off would lend them other people's watches that he had been able to fix.
The prosecutor in the case told the Bench: "He lent watches to people who brought their watches for repair without keeping a proper account of the people to whom he lent them."
Eventually when his mother was in hospital and people were hounding him for their watches, Arthur decided to do a runner.
The prosecutor again: "He had pulled the watches to pieces and, not being able to put them together again, he had got the wind up and absconded."
Det. Sgt. Curran found him living in Liverpool Road in Pewfall, near Haydock, and arrested him.
Although he was charged with stealing watches, the prosecutor accepted that there had been no fraudulent intent on Arthur's part and so he was treated leniently. The Chairman of the Bench told him:
"You are old enough to have sense not to destroy people's property. The Bench think you have not taken these watches with intent to steal them, but you have done a very foolish and wrong thing in taking people's watches in which you know you could not repair them. We are going to dismiss the charge of stealing the watches on payment of £1 costs. Don't do this sort of thing again."
Also in the Police Court was Michael McDonald from Crook Street, near Liverpool Road, who was charged with attempting to avoid payment of his tram fare.
Since the Corporation had taken over the operation of the tramways last year, ticket evasion had been on the increase.
The prosecuting solicitor told the Bench that there appeared to be a "prevalent idea in St. Helens to travel free on the tramways."
McDonald had been caught by an inspector at Eccleston Hill without a ticket and immediately dashed off the tram.
He claimed an oversight but was fined twenty shillings and costs by the Bench.
The Chairman – who was a member of the Tramways Committee – said: "We want this to be a lesson to you and other men who are travelling to see that you pay your fare when you get on."
The St Helens Reporter said the speeches were characterised by much "strong feeling and bitter partisanship, breathing hatred of England, which was held up as an alien enemy, and the outrages in Ireland were condoned." This resolution was adopted:
"That this meeting of St. Helens Irishmen and women pledges the hearty support to the elected representatives of the Irish nation. It demands the withdrawal of the Army of Occupation from Ireland, the release of Irish political prisoners, the re-establishment of the freedom of the Press, and the recognition of the Irish Republic."
And finally the acts appearing at the Hippodrome Theatre from the 14th included:
Howard and Wyndham ("Presenting songs and novel dances"); Bert Maddison ("Burlesque comedian"); Josephine Langley ("The incomparable lady ventriloquist") and Dudley and Walker ("The peculiar pair singing their own compositions”).
Also appearing were Signor and Madame Borelli ("The jolly Anglo-Italian couple presenting their famous cat duet") and Chris O’Brien ("Britain’s greatest descriptive vocalist").
Next week's stories will include the laying of the foundation stone for the new Parish Church, the Pilkington Garden Village bombshell in Eccleston, the boy from Fingerpost who stole from his father and the married couple who came to blows in Exchange Street.