IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (8th - 14th July 1919)
This week's stories include the Liverpool Road brute that savagely attacked his wife, the Blackbrook woman who was prosecuted for neglect after her little boy burned to death, the Glover Street benefit fraud, a tragic suicide linked to the housing crisis, a violent scene in the Police Court and why the Bold pitch and toss man should be ashamed of himself.
We begin on the 8th in St Helens County Police Court when Edward Appleton was fined for stealing a black Pomeranian dog belonging to Jonathan Shepley, the landlord of the Griffin Inn in Bold Heath. Appleton from Vincent Street was a member of a charabanc party that had been on an outing into the country.
Upon their return the party stopped off at the Griffin for refreshments and as they left Appleton picked up the dog and put it on the charabanc. The Pomeranian was returned a day or two later, seemingly because Appleton knew the police were making enquiries. The man told an officer that he did not know what had made him take the animal.
Also in the County Police Court 23-year-old William Clegg and five others – mostly youths – were charged with gaming at Bold. PC Stringfellow gave evidence that he and two other officers had watched the group playing pitch and toss with copper coins in Old Union Lane for about ten minutes. The police then revealed themselves and gave chase, capturing five of the gamblers and arresting the one that got away a bit later.
Inspector Lewis told the Bench that there was a great deal of this kind of thing going on and he was surprised that a man like Clegg should be acting in this way with lads of fourteen to sixteen, for which he should be ashamed. The Chairman, Alderman Henry Martin, said this gambling had to be stopped and he fined Clegg £2 and the others £1 each.
The inquest on William Cooper from Havelock Street – which used to be in the Croppers Hill area – was held on the 9th in St Helens Town Hall. The 64-year-old had drowned himself in the Leg of Mutton dam, near Taylor Park. This is pictured above at the top right of the image, which is dominated by the park lake. His body had been discovered by John Wright, the licensee of the Volunteer Arms in Duke Street, while working on his allotment.
William and his wife had been forced to live in rooms because of the housing crisis and were having no luck in trying to find somewhere better to live. On the day before her husband's death Mrs Cooper had told a neighbour that they were "putting me in my grave". As she walked away William said: "They will not put me in my grave. I will put myself in." The long-standing Pilkington's worker was also experiencing health issues but the accommodation problem appears to have been at the very least a contributory factor in the man's suicide.
The Council's Health Committee met in the Town Hall on the 9th and was shocked to learn the cost of wooden huts. They needed a portable building to isolate smallpox sufferers, a second hut to serve as a police recreation centre and a block of four huts for the Corporation's Old Whint Maternity Home in Haydock.
The Mayor – who was the committee's chairman – had enquired of the price of ex-army huts while he had recently been in London and was told they would cost £250 each. Enquiries had then been made in St Helens about the cost of building new wooden huts and Alderman Bates was given estimates 2 - 3 times higher than the army's price. The Corporation was also planning a housebuilding scheme and the Mayor said: "If wooden huts are costing this, what are houses going to cost?"
The St Helens Reporter on the 11th told a shocking tale of abuse that a wife had endured at the hands of her brute of a husband. David Jones had returned to his home in Back Liverpool Road at 10:30pm under the influence of drink and started arguing with his wife before beginning a violent assault. The attack included kicking her on the head and body and an attempt at strangulation. A cup was also used to strike his wife, created a wound on her head 1¼-inch long and ¼ inch deep.
Six days after the attack Mrs Jones was still suffering, with the Reporter stating that when she appeared in court she was in a "very weak state, and was evidently in great pain". Giving evidence Mrs Jones said her husband threatened to "wash me in my own blood, and that he had done one six months for me and would do another." That was true. Jones had already served six months in prison for a previous attack on his wife.
His defence was that his wife aggravated him, used bad language to him when he chastised her and didn't always have a meal ready for him. The man had already said he would do six months in prison for the pleasure of savagely beating his wife and so the magistrates decided to oblige him. However this time Jones would serve his sentence with hard labour – although it probably wasn't hard enough!
The inquest was held on the 11th of a boy called John Corrigan from Critchley Street in Parr who had drowned near his home. After having his tea the 6-year-old had gone out to play on the fields at the back of Park Road by the canal where he another lad threw stones at a boat called a mud barge. In attempting to throw a large stone, John slipped and fell into the water and couldn't get out. His companion was apparently so frightened by what had happened that he simply went home and told no one of it. John's older brother eventually recovered his body late at night after seeing his cap floating in the canal.
In St Helens Police Court on the 11th Mary Thompson from Glover Street was accused of a benefit fraud by obtaining money by false pretences from the West Lancashire Territorial Association and her husband was charged with aiding and abetting. During the war a separation allowance was paid to the wives of soldiers and sailors to provide them with an income while their breadwinner husbands were away. John Thompson had signed two sets of separation allowance forms and as a result his wife claimed £211 19s that she was not entitled to.
However the man claimed that he and his section had all been instructed to sign the second form and the Territorial Association had sent his wife a letter telling her to claim the cash at the Liverpool Road Post Office. The Chief Constable told the Bench that Mrs Thompson had in 1917 been in court for concealing her absentee brother who was trying to evade conscription:
"He was a postman, and was kept hidden under the bed, and when the police discovered him he had a beard like Robinson Crusoe." The Bench said they were of the opinion that Mrs Thompson knew that she ought not to have two allowances, although her husband had done some service to the country. So they had decided not to send the couple to prison but instead fine Mary Thompson £10 and her husband £5.
Also in court was Rachael Ratcliffe of Blackbrook Road who was described as a young married woman and who pleaded guilty to this long-winded charge: "That she, being a person who had the custody of John Ratcliffe, two years and eight months old, allowed the child to be in a room containing an open fire-grate not sufficiently protected to guard against the risk of being burnt, and without having taken reasonable precaution against the risk, by means whereof the child was killed."
Rachael had left the house for an hour leaving her son sat on a chair in the kitchen with another young child upstairs. The boy was dressed in a flannelette nightgown – a warm but highly flammable fabric – and upon Rachael's return she found the kitchen full of smoke and John in flames. After extinguishing the fire she took the boy to Providence Hospital where he died a few hours later.
At the child's inquest the Coroner said it was such a bad case that he wanted the full facts brought before the magistrates. He was particularly concerned at the lack of a fireguard, although the woman had told the police that she could not afford one. There had been some trouble between Rachael and her husband and he was now working in Walsall and didn't attend the inquest or his little boy's funeral. "Quite a callous sort of chap", remarked the Chief Constable in court.
It appears that the prosecution was more about publicity than punishment, as losing her child and knowing she was to blame was punishment enough for Rachael. So the Bench bound her over "to come up for judgement when called upon". In other words the offence would be taken into account if she were ever in court again.
On the following day a violent scene took place in the Police Court when John Kay – described as a "well-dressed, sturdily-built young miner – was charged with begging. When a sentence of 28 days imprisonment was announced, Kay exclaimed: "Give me a chance. I only came out of gaol yesterday."
The St Helens Reporter said the man then "threw himself into a violent rage, and turning to the Chief Constable fumed at him incoherently, meanwhile seizing hold of his necktie and making a desperate attempt to strangle himself." Three constables seized him and there was a violent struggle in the dock before Kay could be removed from the court. However the Reporter said that after the courtroom door had closed an "uproar" could be heard coming from an adjoining room.
Next week's stories will include the first regular aeroplane flights from Southport to St Helens, a new bank for Sutton, the huge St Helens Peace Day parade, the ban on Sunday music in the town's parks, the Park Road woman who said her hair was pulled out like feathers and the biggest ever fair in St Helens.
We begin on the 8th in St Helens County Police Court when Edward Appleton was fined for stealing a black Pomeranian dog belonging to Jonathan Shepley, the landlord of the Griffin Inn in Bold Heath. Appleton from Vincent Street was a member of a charabanc party that had been on an outing into the country.
Upon their return the party stopped off at the Griffin for refreshments and as they left Appleton picked up the dog and put it on the charabanc. The Pomeranian was returned a day or two later, seemingly because Appleton knew the police were making enquiries. The man told an officer that he did not know what had made him take the animal.
Also in the County Police Court 23-year-old William Clegg and five others – mostly youths – were charged with gaming at Bold. PC Stringfellow gave evidence that he and two other officers had watched the group playing pitch and toss with copper coins in Old Union Lane for about ten minutes. The police then revealed themselves and gave chase, capturing five of the gamblers and arresting the one that got away a bit later.
Inspector Lewis told the Bench that there was a great deal of this kind of thing going on and he was surprised that a man like Clegg should be acting in this way with lads of fourteen to sixteen, for which he should be ashamed. The Chairman, Alderman Henry Martin, said this gambling had to be stopped and he fined Clegg £2 and the others £1 each.
William and his wife had been forced to live in rooms because of the housing crisis and were having no luck in trying to find somewhere better to live. On the day before her husband's death Mrs Cooper had told a neighbour that they were "putting me in my grave". As she walked away William said: "They will not put me in my grave. I will put myself in." The long-standing Pilkington's worker was also experiencing health issues but the accommodation problem appears to have been at the very least a contributory factor in the man's suicide.
The Council's Health Committee met in the Town Hall on the 9th and was shocked to learn the cost of wooden huts. They needed a portable building to isolate smallpox sufferers, a second hut to serve as a police recreation centre and a block of four huts for the Corporation's Old Whint Maternity Home in Haydock.
The Mayor – who was the committee's chairman – had enquired of the price of ex-army huts while he had recently been in London and was told they would cost £250 each. Enquiries had then been made in St Helens about the cost of building new wooden huts and Alderman Bates was given estimates 2 - 3 times higher than the army's price. The Corporation was also planning a housebuilding scheme and the Mayor said: "If wooden huts are costing this, what are houses going to cost?"
The St Helens Reporter on the 11th told a shocking tale of abuse that a wife had endured at the hands of her brute of a husband. David Jones had returned to his home in Back Liverpool Road at 10:30pm under the influence of drink and started arguing with his wife before beginning a violent assault. The attack included kicking her on the head and body and an attempt at strangulation. A cup was also used to strike his wife, created a wound on her head 1¼-inch long and ¼ inch deep.
Six days after the attack Mrs Jones was still suffering, with the Reporter stating that when she appeared in court she was in a "very weak state, and was evidently in great pain". Giving evidence Mrs Jones said her husband threatened to "wash me in my own blood, and that he had done one six months for me and would do another." That was true. Jones had already served six months in prison for a previous attack on his wife.
His defence was that his wife aggravated him, used bad language to him when he chastised her and didn't always have a meal ready for him. The man had already said he would do six months in prison for the pleasure of savagely beating his wife and so the magistrates decided to oblige him. However this time Jones would serve his sentence with hard labour – although it probably wasn't hard enough!
The inquest was held on the 11th of a boy called John Corrigan from Critchley Street in Parr who had drowned near his home. After having his tea the 6-year-old had gone out to play on the fields at the back of Park Road by the canal where he another lad threw stones at a boat called a mud barge. In attempting to throw a large stone, John slipped and fell into the water and couldn't get out. His companion was apparently so frightened by what had happened that he simply went home and told no one of it. John's older brother eventually recovered his body late at night after seeing his cap floating in the canal.
In St Helens Police Court on the 11th Mary Thompson from Glover Street was accused of a benefit fraud by obtaining money by false pretences from the West Lancashire Territorial Association and her husband was charged with aiding and abetting. During the war a separation allowance was paid to the wives of soldiers and sailors to provide them with an income while their breadwinner husbands were away. John Thompson had signed two sets of separation allowance forms and as a result his wife claimed £211 19s that she was not entitled to.
However the man claimed that he and his section had all been instructed to sign the second form and the Territorial Association had sent his wife a letter telling her to claim the cash at the Liverpool Road Post Office. The Chief Constable told the Bench that Mrs Thompson had in 1917 been in court for concealing her absentee brother who was trying to evade conscription:
"He was a postman, and was kept hidden under the bed, and when the police discovered him he had a beard like Robinson Crusoe." The Bench said they were of the opinion that Mrs Thompson knew that she ought not to have two allowances, although her husband had done some service to the country. So they had decided not to send the couple to prison but instead fine Mary Thompson £10 and her husband £5.
Also in court was Rachael Ratcliffe of Blackbrook Road who was described as a young married woman and who pleaded guilty to this long-winded charge: "That she, being a person who had the custody of John Ratcliffe, two years and eight months old, allowed the child to be in a room containing an open fire-grate not sufficiently protected to guard against the risk of being burnt, and without having taken reasonable precaution against the risk, by means whereof the child was killed."
Rachael had left the house for an hour leaving her son sat on a chair in the kitchen with another young child upstairs. The boy was dressed in a flannelette nightgown – a warm but highly flammable fabric – and upon Rachael's return she found the kitchen full of smoke and John in flames. After extinguishing the fire she took the boy to Providence Hospital where he died a few hours later.
At the child's inquest the Coroner said it was such a bad case that he wanted the full facts brought before the magistrates. He was particularly concerned at the lack of a fireguard, although the woman had told the police that she could not afford one. There had been some trouble between Rachael and her husband and he was now working in Walsall and didn't attend the inquest or his little boy's funeral. "Quite a callous sort of chap", remarked the Chief Constable in court.
It appears that the prosecution was more about publicity than punishment, as losing her child and knowing she was to blame was punishment enough for Rachael. So the Bench bound her over "to come up for judgement when called upon". In other words the offence would be taken into account if she were ever in court again.
On the following day a violent scene took place in the Police Court when John Kay – described as a "well-dressed, sturdily-built young miner – was charged with begging. When a sentence of 28 days imprisonment was announced, Kay exclaimed: "Give me a chance. I only came out of gaol yesterday."
The St Helens Reporter said the man then "threw himself into a violent rage, and turning to the Chief Constable fumed at him incoherently, meanwhile seizing hold of his necktie and making a desperate attempt to strangle himself." Three constables seized him and there was a violent struggle in the dock before Kay could be removed from the court. However the Reporter said that after the courtroom door had closed an "uproar" could be heard coming from an adjoining room.
Next week's stories will include the first regular aeroplane flights from Southport to St Helens, a new bank for Sutton, the huge St Helens Peace Day parade, the ban on Sunday music in the town's parks, the Park Road woman who said her hair was pulled out like feathers and the biggest ever fair in St Helens.