IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (10th - 16th June 1919)
This week's stories include the Rainhill bigamist who wrongly predicted his prison sentence, the Parr bowling green wastrel, the homecoming of the St Helens Pals, the Whit Parish Church Festival, the reformed St Helens Glee Club, the Punch and Judy professors and the Queen's Park Carnival in aid of the Heroes Fund.
We begin on the 10th when eighty-six members of the St Nicholas Young People's Guild went "for a day's pleasure in the open air to Frodsham", as the Reporter put it. They also stated that the offertory collections for Whit on the previous Sunday at the Sutton church amounted to £20 – well over £1,000 in today's money.
A century ago St Helens had far more ponds, pits and reservoirs than today and these – along with the deep St Helens Canal – often led to tragedy during the warmer months. On the 11th Thomas Harrison from Clock Face Road drowned in what was described as the dam at Marshalls Cross – probably Sutton Mill Dam. The 15-year-old got into difficulty while swimming and a young man named John Finney unsuccessfully attempted a rescue and nearly drowned in the attempt.
At the Health Committee meeting at the Town Hall on the 11th it was revealed that 100 council houses were planned for Sutton Manor. These would go a small way to alleviate the housing crisis in the town – although it was estimated that over 1,000 homes were needed.
The committee also heard that Pilkington's had offered to build a new TB sanatorium for the town if the existing building at Eccleston Hall would be given to them. Not that there was much in the way of treatment for the infectious disease in the days before antibiotics and vaccines, with fresh air considered the best means of treating TB.
In the St Helens Police Court on the 11th David Mitchell from Fishpond Cottage in Rainhill was accused of committing bigamy. The 24-year-old was originally from Edinburgh and had met Emma Platt from Dunedin Street in Thatto Heath while a patient at Whiston Hospital. Mitchell claimed to be single and on September 30th 1918 the couple went through a form of marriage at Ravenhead Church.
A few days prior to the court hearing St Helens Police had been asked by their colleagues in Scotland to arrest Mitchell on a charge of wife desertion and upon doing so discovered the bigamous marriage. When he was arrested and charged, Mitchell said: "I know all about it; it will only mean about six months for me."
He was wrong. At Liverpool Assizes on July 2nd David Mitchell was sent to prison for twelve months. In fact more than a third of the cases heard at the Assizes concerned bigamy, with Judge Salter saying it was "shockingly prevalent" and a "very cruel crime" to women.
In St Helens Police Court on the 13th three lads from Parr were charged with gambling with cards in a passage at the rear of Orrell Street. Arthur Lomax from Ashcroft Street and Walter Saxon and James Bratt – both from Orrell Street – told the police that there was nothing for them to do on Sundays apart from gamble to pass the time away. That must have been very true and it's hard to imagine how boring life must have been on the Sabbath for young people then. No sport or cinema was allowed and, of course, no radio / TV etc. The boys were aged around 15 to 16 and were each fined £1.
The St Helens Reporter on the 13th quoted from an article in The Builder magazine on the proposed new Parish Church that also included an architect's illustration. The present 18th century building had partly burned down in 1916 through an electrical fault and Sunday services were being held in the Town Hall's assembly room. The Builder said:
"The Church of St. Mary, to be erected at St. Helens, promises to be a notable addition to our modern church architecture. Its commanding, dignified tower, and great nave roof, will form a prominent and distinctive group in the town. The whole design shows an intimate knowledge and study of Gothic detail."
The Reporter also stated that "unprecedented success" had marked the revival of the Parish Church Festival on Whit Monday in "beautifully fine" weather. A large field near the vicarage in Rainford Road had been obtained for the occasion and a colourful procession headed by the Parr St Peter's Brass Band wended its way from Church Street through Duke Street and Dentons Green. The Reporter wrote:
"On arrival at the field, the children were assembled in groups for their tea, after which they were free to romp about at their will, enjoying the sports, the entertainments provided by the St. Helens Pierotes, and Professor le Mere with his ever-popular Punch and Judy show, and games of their own devising."
Punch and Judy men calling themselves professors appears to have been quite common. Some of the others I've come across in Lancashire include Professor Godwin of Liverpool, Professor Green in Blackpool, Professor Winterbottom from Rochdale and Professor Cross from Chorley.
The Reporter also wrote: "Very little has been heard of our premier musical organisation, the St. Helens Glee Club, during the past five years – two-thirds of its members having been too busy for singing – in putting the kibosh on the Kaiser – in fact." However the 14-year-old male voice choir had recently reformed and 31 members had sung in a competition in Wales and performed creditably.
Sarah Naylor from Langtree Street was charged in the Police Court on the 13th with riding her bicycle on the footpath in Marshalls Cross Road. PC Reynolds told the court that the footpath was 300 yards long and they are "making a racing track of it".
Alderman Phythian on the Bench said the woman must have ridden on the footpath because the road is in a bad condition. However the officer said it was in a good condition where she had been riding. "I am surprised to hear that", replied the alderman, with many roads in the town in a bad way, having received little maintenance during the war years. Sarah was fined 2s 6d.
On the 16th four men from Park Road were fined £1 each for playing pitch and toss with ten others on the previous Sunday. The Chairman of the Bench, Ald. Martin, said: "This betting must be put a stop to, and the Bench are going to deal with these cases in future in a severe fashion."
John Kay was also in court charged with stealing a jacket belonging to James Eden from the bowling green on Parr Recreation Ground. The man – who was living in a Church Street lodging house – sold the jacket for just five shillings, telling the police he was desperate and needed the money for food having had nothing to eat for two days.
The discharged soldier said he was unable to work and was living on a war pension of 27s 6d and had a crippled mother to keep. However the Chief Constable told the court that John Kay had made the same statement about his mother in 1913 when he was charged with stealing a watch.
He said his claim was untrue as the man's family would have nothing to do with him and he had been before the court three times as an army absentee. This, Chief Constable Ellerington declared, showed he was the "wastrel" that his relations said he was. "I don't want to hear that", protested Kay, "It has nothing to do with it."
Ellerington added that his brother had said he hoped he would get six years for the theft. "He wants shooting", responded John Kay, not helping his case very much and he was sent to prison for a month with hard labour.
On the 14th the St Helens Pals returned to the town to what was described as a large and enthusiastic welcome with a reception held in their honour at the Town Hall. Of course the men of the 11th South Lancs who returned from war service were the remnants of the Pals regiment that went to France. Many discharged members had long been home, with some nursing injuries.
Over an hour before the soldiers' train was due to arrive, crowds began assembling in Victoria Square and by the gates to the railway station. The Reporter wrote: "Small flags, carried by hand, were everywhere in evidence, and the immense crowd soon began to enter into the spirit of the event. The approaches to the station were specially congested, thousands of people having assembled there to witness the exit of the soldiers."
In his speech of welcome outside the Town Hall, the Mayor of St Helens, Alderman Bates, told the men that: "Words cannot express to you the gratitude we owe you. We will always remember those who have gone never to return. By their sacrifices they have secured for us freedom and justice, and in their name I ask you to go forward to make this country a happier and a brighter place for heroes to live in."
A meeting of the Licensing Justices was held in the Town Hall on the 16th in which an application was made for a music licence for Queen's Recreation Ground. A carnival was to be held on July 19th in what we know as Queen's Park to raise funds for the Mayor's Heroes Fund. William Mitchell planned to have a fair at the event "the equal of which had never been seen in St. Helens."
Mr Haslam Fox represented the applicant at the hearing and as it was a special occasion, he requested permission for two organs to be allowed to play, saying: "There is no town in England or the world, as I understand, where the playing of organs is made so limited. The takings at the fair by two organs being played would be increased by over 25 per cent." The justices voted to grant the music licence for the carnival but would only permit one organ to be played at a time.
Next week's stories will include the two Parr miners who attacked the police in Church Street, the bookie's runner in Pocket Nook, the St Helens Engineers return home from the war, the beggar who asked the police in Canal Street for money, the Exeter Street eviction and the Rainford Village School Treat.
We begin on the 10th when eighty-six members of the St Nicholas Young People's Guild went "for a day's pleasure in the open air to Frodsham", as the Reporter put it. They also stated that the offertory collections for Whit on the previous Sunday at the Sutton church amounted to £20 – well over £1,000 in today's money.
A century ago St Helens had far more ponds, pits and reservoirs than today and these – along with the deep St Helens Canal – often led to tragedy during the warmer months. On the 11th Thomas Harrison from Clock Face Road drowned in what was described as the dam at Marshalls Cross – probably Sutton Mill Dam. The 15-year-old got into difficulty while swimming and a young man named John Finney unsuccessfully attempted a rescue and nearly drowned in the attempt.
At the Health Committee meeting at the Town Hall on the 11th it was revealed that 100 council houses were planned for Sutton Manor. These would go a small way to alleviate the housing crisis in the town – although it was estimated that over 1,000 homes were needed.
The committee also heard that Pilkington's had offered to build a new TB sanatorium for the town if the existing building at Eccleston Hall would be given to them. Not that there was much in the way of treatment for the infectious disease in the days before antibiotics and vaccines, with fresh air considered the best means of treating TB.
In the St Helens Police Court on the 11th David Mitchell from Fishpond Cottage in Rainhill was accused of committing bigamy. The 24-year-old was originally from Edinburgh and had met Emma Platt from Dunedin Street in Thatto Heath while a patient at Whiston Hospital. Mitchell claimed to be single and on September 30th 1918 the couple went through a form of marriage at Ravenhead Church.
A few days prior to the court hearing St Helens Police had been asked by their colleagues in Scotland to arrest Mitchell on a charge of wife desertion and upon doing so discovered the bigamous marriage. When he was arrested and charged, Mitchell said: "I know all about it; it will only mean about six months for me."
He was wrong. At Liverpool Assizes on July 2nd David Mitchell was sent to prison for twelve months. In fact more than a third of the cases heard at the Assizes concerned bigamy, with Judge Salter saying it was "shockingly prevalent" and a "very cruel crime" to women.
In St Helens Police Court on the 13th three lads from Parr were charged with gambling with cards in a passage at the rear of Orrell Street. Arthur Lomax from Ashcroft Street and Walter Saxon and James Bratt – both from Orrell Street – told the police that there was nothing for them to do on Sundays apart from gamble to pass the time away. That must have been very true and it's hard to imagine how boring life must have been on the Sabbath for young people then. No sport or cinema was allowed and, of course, no radio / TV etc. The boys were aged around 15 to 16 and were each fined £1.
The St Helens Reporter on the 13th quoted from an article in The Builder magazine on the proposed new Parish Church that also included an architect's illustration. The present 18th century building had partly burned down in 1916 through an electrical fault and Sunday services were being held in the Town Hall's assembly room. The Builder said:
"The Church of St. Mary, to be erected at St. Helens, promises to be a notable addition to our modern church architecture. Its commanding, dignified tower, and great nave roof, will form a prominent and distinctive group in the town. The whole design shows an intimate knowledge and study of Gothic detail."
The Reporter also stated that "unprecedented success" had marked the revival of the Parish Church Festival on Whit Monday in "beautifully fine" weather. A large field near the vicarage in Rainford Road had been obtained for the occasion and a colourful procession headed by the Parr St Peter's Brass Band wended its way from Church Street through Duke Street and Dentons Green. The Reporter wrote:
"On arrival at the field, the children were assembled in groups for their tea, after which they were free to romp about at their will, enjoying the sports, the entertainments provided by the St. Helens Pierotes, and Professor le Mere with his ever-popular Punch and Judy show, and games of their own devising."
Punch and Judy men calling themselves professors appears to have been quite common. Some of the others I've come across in Lancashire include Professor Godwin of Liverpool, Professor Green in Blackpool, Professor Winterbottom from Rochdale and Professor Cross from Chorley.
The Reporter also wrote: "Very little has been heard of our premier musical organisation, the St. Helens Glee Club, during the past five years – two-thirds of its members having been too busy for singing – in putting the kibosh on the Kaiser – in fact." However the 14-year-old male voice choir had recently reformed and 31 members had sung in a competition in Wales and performed creditably.
Sarah Naylor from Langtree Street was charged in the Police Court on the 13th with riding her bicycle on the footpath in Marshalls Cross Road. PC Reynolds told the court that the footpath was 300 yards long and they are "making a racing track of it".
Alderman Phythian on the Bench said the woman must have ridden on the footpath because the road is in a bad condition. However the officer said it was in a good condition where she had been riding. "I am surprised to hear that", replied the alderman, with many roads in the town in a bad way, having received little maintenance during the war years. Sarah was fined 2s 6d.
On the 16th four men from Park Road were fined £1 each for playing pitch and toss with ten others on the previous Sunday. The Chairman of the Bench, Ald. Martin, said: "This betting must be put a stop to, and the Bench are going to deal with these cases in future in a severe fashion."
John Kay was also in court charged with stealing a jacket belonging to James Eden from the bowling green on Parr Recreation Ground. The man – who was living in a Church Street lodging house – sold the jacket for just five shillings, telling the police he was desperate and needed the money for food having had nothing to eat for two days.
The discharged soldier said he was unable to work and was living on a war pension of 27s 6d and had a crippled mother to keep. However the Chief Constable told the court that John Kay had made the same statement about his mother in 1913 when he was charged with stealing a watch.
He said his claim was untrue as the man's family would have nothing to do with him and he had been before the court three times as an army absentee. This, Chief Constable Ellerington declared, showed he was the "wastrel" that his relations said he was. "I don't want to hear that", protested Kay, "It has nothing to do with it."
Ellerington added that his brother had said he hoped he would get six years for the theft. "He wants shooting", responded John Kay, not helping his case very much and he was sent to prison for a month with hard labour.
Over an hour before the soldiers' train was due to arrive, crowds began assembling in Victoria Square and by the gates to the railway station. The Reporter wrote: "Small flags, carried by hand, were everywhere in evidence, and the immense crowd soon began to enter into the spirit of the event. The approaches to the station were specially congested, thousands of people having assembled there to witness the exit of the soldiers."
In his speech of welcome outside the Town Hall, the Mayor of St Helens, Alderman Bates, told the men that: "Words cannot express to you the gratitude we owe you. We will always remember those who have gone never to return. By their sacrifices they have secured for us freedom and justice, and in their name I ask you to go forward to make this country a happier and a brighter place for heroes to live in."
A meeting of the Licensing Justices was held in the Town Hall on the 16th in which an application was made for a music licence for Queen's Recreation Ground. A carnival was to be held on July 19th in what we know as Queen's Park to raise funds for the Mayor's Heroes Fund. William Mitchell planned to have a fair at the event "the equal of which had never been seen in St. Helens."
Mr Haslam Fox represented the applicant at the hearing and as it was a special occasion, he requested permission for two organs to be allowed to play, saying: "There is no town in England or the world, as I understand, where the playing of organs is made so limited. The takings at the fair by two organs being played would be increased by over 25 per cent." The justices voted to grant the music licence for the carnival but would only permit one organ to be played at a time.
Next week's stories will include the two Parr miners who attacked the police in Church Street, the bookie's runner in Pocket Nook, the St Helens Engineers return home from the war, the beggar who asked the police in Canal Street for money, the Exeter Street eviction and the Rainford Village School Treat.