IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 11 - 17 AUGUST 1925
This week's many stories include the supposedly weak man who indecently assaulted a 13-year-old Sutton Manor girl, the cabbage stealing at Portico, the drunk arrested in Liverpool Road who accused the police of rough treatment, the man deemed a shabbily-dressed cripple who caused trouble at the White Hart, the grave offence that was committed against a daughter and the Earlestown charabanc driver who played road games with a newspaper boss.
We begin on the 11th in the County Police Court in St Helens where two middle-aged men called Edward Railton and Joseph Rylance were charged with stealing seven cabbages worth 18d. PC Brying told the Bench that he had been on duty in what was described as a lonely lane near Portico in the early hours of the morning when he saw two men coming towards him looking very bulky with their pockets bulging.
As soon as Railton and Rylance saw him, he said they took seven large cabbages from their clothing and hastily pitched them over a hedge. Joseph Rylance from Prescot told the Bench: "It was my birthday on Sunday, and I had been keeping it up, and got a drop o’ drink too much." The Bench said they would be lenient and only fined the men five shillings each. The County Police Court was responsible for dealing with cases in the rural areas outside the St Helens borough boundary.
The regular St Helens Police Court also met on that day and George Smith from Arthur Street was charged with committing a breach of the peace. PC Taylor told the court that at 11:10 pm on the previous evening he had heard shouting and seen a large crowd gathered near the post office in Liverpool Road (pictured above). Two of his colleagues were warning George Smith about his conduct and later PC Taylor said the man also abused him. The constable said Smith refused to go home and so had to be taken into custody. "He had had just enough drink to make him troublesome and he wanted to pick a row with everybody he met," added the officer.
But George Smith had a complaint of his own as he claimed the constable had pushed him into Crook Street while he was going home along Liverpool Road and roughly taken him into custody. Directly addressing PC Taylor in the courtroom, he said: "You held me by the neck and started to grind your teeth, and there are marks on me where you had your fingernails stuck in…You kept pushing me and trying to trip me up." The constable denied the allegations and Smith was bound over for six months.
A man described as a "burly miner of elderly appearance" called Thomas Lowe appeared in court charged with committing a "grave offence against his fourteen-year-old daughter." That would not have been the wording on the charge sheet but the Reporter felt unable to state the true crime, which court records describe as incest. They also state that the man of elderly appearance was aged 48 – a combination of coal mining and hard drinking could certainly take its toll.
The Chief Constable told the Bench that the mother and daughter had gone to the police station at the Town Hall and made a serious complaint against the father. The police surgeon had examined the girl and as a result Lowe from Smithfield Street in Parr had been arrested. Chief Constable Ellerington said that in such cases it was necessary to communicate with the Attorney General and he requested a remand of eight days, which was granted. In November, Lowe would be convicted and sentenced to 18 months hard labour.
The wife of Joseph McQuillan summoned her husband to court for payment arrears under a separation order but he insisted to the Bench that he could not pay through being out of work. "I have tried everywhere to get work, even begged for it, and can't get a job", he claimed. McQuillan said he was an analytical chemist and stated that the only job advertised in a trade paper this week in his particular field was one where the employer required a £1,000 deposit from the applicant.
"A day or two ago I offered my services free to a motor firm so that I could learn driving, but they hadn't a vacancy". As a result of Mr McQuillan's pleas, the Chairman said the case would be adjourned for one month to give him more time to find work.
William Shacklady from Jubits Lane in Sutton Manor appeared in the County Police Court this week charged with indecently assaulting a 13-year-old Sutton Manor girl. The incident had occurred at about 6:30 on the previous Thursday evening when the girl and her 11-year-old sister had left home to take a basket of washing to their aunt in Clock Face. The court was told they had walked down the footpath towards Clock Face and as they were getting over the second style the pair saw Shacklady in a ditch.
Exactly what the man then did was not reported but the children were described as having been alarmed by his conduct and had tried to run away. But some of the clothes that they were carrying fell out of their basket onto the ground. As they stopped to pick them up, Shacklady caught up with the girls and took hold of the older one. She struggled to get away and her sister screamed, which led to another man appearing on the scene and Shacklady running away. However, the daywageman at Sutton Manor Colliery was later arrested and did not deny the charge against him.
William Shacklady's brother pleaded for leniency saying that it was the first time that anything had happened to bring any of his family into disgrace. Despite working down a coal mine, the brother claimed William was a very weak person who often fainted while in shops and his life had been despaired of when a child. The Chairman of the Bench said they would take the most lenient view possible and sentenced William Shacklady to 28 days hard labour.
John Traynor from Dudley Street was described by the St Helens Reporter as a "shabbily-dressed cripple with a wooden leg" when he appeared in court on the 12th accused of breaching the peace. PC Craine gave evidence of hearing sounds of shouting and brawling coming from outside the White Hart Hotel in Church Street. Upon going to the scene he said he saw John Traynor taking off his coat and cap and after throwing them down on the footpath had shouted "I will fight the blinking lot of you". He refused the policeman's advice to pick up his clothing and leave and continued brawling and so was locked up.
William Taylor was the licensee of the White Hart and said Traynor had entered his house and started begging coppers off customers. He said he had previously warned him about the practice and told him to leave his pub but Traynor instead became very abusive and said he defied anybody to put him out. After being told that the police would be called, the man allegedly replied, "That is just what I want. I need a night's shelter."
Traynor accused the landlord of kicking him while ejecting him from his pub but Taylor denied it, saying: "I fell in the struggle in the vestibule and Traynor struck a blow at me; but I warded it off. He rushed at me again, and I pushed him away. I got a customer to help me. Then Traynor pulled his coat off and the constable came on the scene. I never kicked him. I have far too much pity for him on account of his handicap. In fact, I was sorry to have to eject him, but I have spoken to him about the practice several times before."
Chief Inspector Roe told the Bench that the police had experienced considerable trouble with Traynor. He said they had done everything possible to help him out of a feeling of pity. Told by the Chairman that he would be bound over for 12 months and have to find sureties and pay a doctor's fee, Traynor said: "Where is the money to come from?" To that Chief Inspector Roe replied: "Drink less beer". Traynor was described as having left the defendant's box muttering and still protesting.
Charabanc driver Harold Hodcroft of Fairclough Street in Earlestown picked on the wrong motorist to play road games. He appeared in the Ormskirk Sessions this week accused of driving to the danger of the public and obstructing the highway. The incident had taken place at Scarth Hill in Bickerstaffe when Hedcroft had, for some time, refused to let a car overtake him. When he relented, it was said that he began racing the other vehicle and had crowded it onto the kerb.
Passengers on the charabanc were said to have stood up and laughed at the driver who did not think the incident at all funny. He turned out to be Frederick Dromgoole, the editor and co-owner of the St Helens Newspaper and who was also a magistrate on the St Helens Bench. He had been making his way back to his home in Rainford Road in St Helens and reported the matter to the police.
The driver Hodcroft denied everything; claiming he had never heard Mr Dromgoole sound his horn and the people on his motor coach were not laughing but quarrelling among themselves. The driver was fined £2 and the magistrates said they were much obliged to Mr Dromgoole. They explained that there were many cases of obstruction on the roads but motorists tended not to bring such cases forward and help the police.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Parr father that severely thrashed his son for staying out late, the Berry's Lane tragedy, the shindy in Pudding Bag and the wandering horse that strolled towards the Nag's Head.
We begin on the 11th in the County Police Court in St Helens where two middle-aged men called Edward Railton and Joseph Rylance were charged with stealing seven cabbages worth 18d. PC Brying told the Bench that he had been on duty in what was described as a lonely lane near Portico in the early hours of the morning when he saw two men coming towards him looking very bulky with their pockets bulging.
As soon as Railton and Rylance saw him, he said they took seven large cabbages from their clothing and hastily pitched them over a hedge. Joseph Rylance from Prescot told the Bench: "It was my birthday on Sunday, and I had been keeping it up, and got a drop o’ drink too much." The Bench said they would be lenient and only fined the men five shillings each. The County Police Court was responsible for dealing with cases in the rural areas outside the St Helens borough boundary.
But George Smith had a complaint of his own as he claimed the constable had pushed him into Crook Street while he was going home along Liverpool Road and roughly taken him into custody. Directly addressing PC Taylor in the courtroom, he said: "You held me by the neck and started to grind your teeth, and there are marks on me where you had your fingernails stuck in…You kept pushing me and trying to trip me up." The constable denied the allegations and Smith was bound over for six months.
A man described as a "burly miner of elderly appearance" called Thomas Lowe appeared in court charged with committing a "grave offence against his fourteen-year-old daughter." That would not have been the wording on the charge sheet but the Reporter felt unable to state the true crime, which court records describe as incest. They also state that the man of elderly appearance was aged 48 – a combination of coal mining and hard drinking could certainly take its toll.
The Chief Constable told the Bench that the mother and daughter had gone to the police station at the Town Hall and made a serious complaint against the father. The police surgeon had examined the girl and as a result Lowe from Smithfield Street in Parr had been arrested. Chief Constable Ellerington said that in such cases it was necessary to communicate with the Attorney General and he requested a remand of eight days, which was granted. In November, Lowe would be convicted and sentenced to 18 months hard labour.
The wife of Joseph McQuillan summoned her husband to court for payment arrears under a separation order but he insisted to the Bench that he could not pay through being out of work. "I have tried everywhere to get work, even begged for it, and can't get a job", he claimed. McQuillan said he was an analytical chemist and stated that the only job advertised in a trade paper this week in his particular field was one where the employer required a £1,000 deposit from the applicant.
"A day or two ago I offered my services free to a motor firm so that I could learn driving, but they hadn't a vacancy". As a result of Mr McQuillan's pleas, the Chairman said the case would be adjourned for one month to give him more time to find work.
William Shacklady from Jubits Lane in Sutton Manor appeared in the County Police Court this week charged with indecently assaulting a 13-year-old Sutton Manor girl. The incident had occurred at about 6:30 on the previous Thursday evening when the girl and her 11-year-old sister had left home to take a basket of washing to their aunt in Clock Face. The court was told they had walked down the footpath towards Clock Face and as they were getting over the second style the pair saw Shacklady in a ditch.
Exactly what the man then did was not reported but the children were described as having been alarmed by his conduct and had tried to run away. But some of the clothes that they were carrying fell out of their basket onto the ground. As they stopped to pick them up, Shacklady caught up with the girls and took hold of the older one. She struggled to get away and her sister screamed, which led to another man appearing on the scene and Shacklady running away. However, the daywageman at Sutton Manor Colliery was later arrested and did not deny the charge against him.
William Shacklady's brother pleaded for leniency saying that it was the first time that anything had happened to bring any of his family into disgrace. Despite working down a coal mine, the brother claimed William was a very weak person who often fainted while in shops and his life had been despaired of when a child. The Chairman of the Bench said they would take the most lenient view possible and sentenced William Shacklady to 28 days hard labour.
John Traynor from Dudley Street was described by the St Helens Reporter as a "shabbily-dressed cripple with a wooden leg" when he appeared in court on the 12th accused of breaching the peace. PC Craine gave evidence of hearing sounds of shouting and brawling coming from outside the White Hart Hotel in Church Street. Upon going to the scene he said he saw John Traynor taking off his coat and cap and after throwing them down on the footpath had shouted "I will fight the blinking lot of you". He refused the policeman's advice to pick up his clothing and leave and continued brawling and so was locked up.
William Taylor was the licensee of the White Hart and said Traynor had entered his house and started begging coppers off customers. He said he had previously warned him about the practice and told him to leave his pub but Traynor instead became very abusive and said he defied anybody to put him out. After being told that the police would be called, the man allegedly replied, "That is just what I want. I need a night's shelter."
Traynor accused the landlord of kicking him while ejecting him from his pub but Taylor denied it, saying: "I fell in the struggle in the vestibule and Traynor struck a blow at me; but I warded it off. He rushed at me again, and I pushed him away. I got a customer to help me. Then Traynor pulled his coat off and the constable came on the scene. I never kicked him. I have far too much pity for him on account of his handicap. In fact, I was sorry to have to eject him, but I have spoken to him about the practice several times before."
Chief Inspector Roe told the Bench that the police had experienced considerable trouble with Traynor. He said they had done everything possible to help him out of a feeling of pity. Told by the Chairman that he would be bound over for 12 months and have to find sureties and pay a doctor's fee, Traynor said: "Where is the money to come from?" To that Chief Inspector Roe replied: "Drink less beer". Traynor was described as having left the defendant's box muttering and still protesting.
Charabanc driver Harold Hodcroft of Fairclough Street in Earlestown picked on the wrong motorist to play road games. He appeared in the Ormskirk Sessions this week accused of driving to the danger of the public and obstructing the highway. The incident had taken place at Scarth Hill in Bickerstaffe when Hedcroft had, for some time, refused to let a car overtake him. When he relented, it was said that he began racing the other vehicle and had crowded it onto the kerb.
Passengers on the charabanc were said to have stood up and laughed at the driver who did not think the incident at all funny. He turned out to be Frederick Dromgoole, the editor and co-owner of the St Helens Newspaper and who was also a magistrate on the St Helens Bench. He had been making his way back to his home in Rainford Road in St Helens and reported the matter to the police.
The driver Hodcroft denied everything; claiming he had never heard Mr Dromgoole sound his horn and the people on his motor coach were not laughing but quarrelling among themselves. The driver was fined £2 and the magistrates said they were much obliged to Mr Dromgoole. They explained that there were many cases of obstruction on the roads but motorists tended not to bring such cases forward and help the police.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Parr father that severely thrashed his son for staying out late, the Berry's Lane tragedy, the shindy in Pudding Bag and the wandering horse that strolled towards the Nag's Head.
This week's many stories include the supposedly weak man who indecently assaulted a 13-year-old Sutton Manor girl, the cabbage stealing at Portico, the drunk arrested in Liverpool Road who accused the police of rough treatment, the man deemed a shabbily-dressed cripple who caused trouble at the White Hart, the grave offence that was committed against a daughter and the Earlestown charabanc driver who played road games with a newspaper boss.
We begin on the 11th in the County Police Court in St Helens where two middle-aged men called Edward Railton and Joseph Rylance were charged with stealing seven cabbages worth 18d.
PC Brying told the Bench that he had been on duty in what was described as a lonely lane near Portico in the early hours of the morning when he saw two men coming towards him looking very bulky with their pockets bulging.
As soon as Railton and Rylance saw him, he said they took seven large cabbages from their clothing and hastily pitched them over a hedge.
Joseph Rylance from Prescot told the Bench: "It was my birthday on Sunday, and I had been keeping it up, and got a drop o’ drink too much."
The Bench said they would be lenient and only fined the men five shillings each.
The County Police Court was responsible for dealing with cases in the rural areas outside the St Helens borough boundary.
The regular St Helens Police Court also met on that day and George Smith from Arthur Street was charged with committing a breach of the peace.
PC Taylor told the court that at 11:10 pm on the previous evening he had heard shouting and seen a large crowd gathered near the post office in Liverpool Road (pictured above).
Two of his colleagues were warning George Smith about his conduct and later PC Taylor said the man also abused him. The constable said Smith refused to go home and so had to be taken into custody.
"He had had just enough drink to make him troublesome and he wanted to pick a row with everybody he met," added the officer.
But George Smith had a complaint of his own as he claimed the constable had pushed him into Crook Street while he was going home along Liverpool Road and roughly taken him into custody. Directly addressing PC Taylor in the courtroom, he said:
"You held me by the neck and started to grind your teeth, and there are marks on me where you had your fingernails stuck in…You kept pushing me and trying to trip me up."
The constable denied the allegations and Smith was bound over for six months.
A man described as a "burly miner of elderly appearance" called Thomas Lowe appeared in court charged with committing a "grave offence against his fourteen-year-old daughter."
That would not have been the wording on the charge sheet but the Reporter felt unable to state the true crime, which court records describe as incest.
They also state that the man of elderly appearance was aged 48 – a combination of coal mining and hard drinking could certainly take its toll.
The Chief Constable told the Bench that the mother and daughter had gone to the police station at the Town Hall and made a serious complaint against the father.
The police surgeon had examined the girl and as a result Lowe from Smithfield Street in Parr had been arrested.
Chief Constable Ellerington said that in such cases it was necessary to communicate with the Attorney General and he requested a remand of eight days, which was granted.
In November, Lowe would be convicted and sentenced to 18 months hard labour.
The wife of Joseph McQuillan summoned her husband to court for payment arrears under a separation order but he insisted to the Bench that he could not pay through being out of work.
"I have tried everywhere to get work, even begged for it, and can't get a job", he claimed.
McQuillan said he was an analytical chemist and stated that the only job advertised in a trade paper this week in his particular field was one where the employer required a £1,000 deposit from the applicant.
"A day or two ago I offered my services free to a motor firm so that I could learn driving, but they hadn't a vacancy".
As a result of Mr McQuillan's pleas, the Chairman said the case would be adjourned for one month to give him more time to find work.
William Shacklady from Jubits Lane in Sutton Manor appeared in the County Police Court this week charged with indecently assaulting a 13-year-old Sutton Manor girl.
The incident had occurred at about 6:30 on the previous Thursday evening when the girl and her 11-year-old sister had left home to take a basket of washing to their aunt in Clock Face.
The court was told they had walked down the footpath towards Clock Face and as they were getting over the second style the pair saw Shacklady in a ditch.
Exactly what the man then did was not reported but the children were described as having been alarmed by his conduct and had tried to run away.
But some of the clothes that they were carrying fell out of their basket onto the ground.
As they stopped to pick them up, Shacklady caught up with the girls and took hold of the older one.
She struggled to get away and her sister screamed, which led to another man appearing on the scene and Shacklady running away.
However, the daywageman at Sutton Manor Colliery was later arrested and did not deny the charge against him.
William Shacklady's brother pleaded for leniency saying that it was the first time that anything had happened to bring any of his family into disgrace.
Despite working down a coal mine, the brother claimed William was a very weak person who often fainted while in shops and his life had been despaired of when a child.
The Chairman of the Bench said they would take the most lenient view possible and sentenced William Shacklady to 28 days hard labour.
John Traynor from Dudley Street was described by the St Helens Reporter as a "shabbily-dressed cripple with a wooden leg" when he appeared in court on the 12th accused of breaching the peace.
PC Craine gave evidence of hearing sounds of shouting and brawling coming from outside the White Hart Hotel in Church Street.
Upon going to the scene he said he saw John Traynor taking off his coat and cap and after throwing them down on the footpath had shouted "I will fight the blinking lot of you".
He refused the policeman's advice to pick up his clothing and leave and continued brawling and so was locked up.
William Taylor was the licensee of the White Hart and said Traynor had entered his house and started begging coppers off customers.
He said he had previously warned him about the practice and told him to leave his pub but Traynor instead became very abusive and said he defied anybody to put him out.
After being told that the police would be called, the man allegedly replied, "That is just what I want. I need a night's shelter."
Traynor accused the landlord of kicking him while ejecting him from his pub but Taylor denied it, saying:
"I fell in the struggle in the vestibule and Traynor struck a blow at me; but I warded it off. He rushed at me again, and I pushed him away. I got a customer to help me.
"Then Traynor pulled his coat off and the constable came on the scene. I never kicked him. I have far too much pity for him on account of his handicap.
"In fact, I was sorry to have to eject him, but I have spoken to him about the practice several times before."
Chief Inspector Roe told the Bench that the police had experienced considerable trouble with Traynor. He said they had done everything possible to help him out of a feeling of pity.
Told by the Chairman that he would be bound over for 12 months and have to find sureties and pay a doctor's fee, Traynor said: "Where is the money to come from?"
To that Chief Inspector Roe replied: "Drink less beer". Traynor was described as having left the defendant's box muttering and still protesting.
Charabanc driver Harold Hodcroft of Fairclough Street in Earlestown picked on the wrong motorist to play road games.
He appeared in the Ormskirk Sessions this week accused of driving to the danger of the public and obstructing the highway.
The incident had taken place at Scarth Hill in Bickerstaffe when Hedcroft had, for some time, refused to let a car overtake him.
When he relented, it was said that he began racing the other vehicle and had crowded it onto the kerb.
Passengers on the charabanc were said to have stood up and laughed at the driver who did not think the incident at all funny.
He turned out to be Frederick Dromgoole, the editor and co-owner of the St Helens Newspaper and who was also a magistrate on the St Helens Bench.
He had been making his way back to his home in Rainford Road in St Helens and reported the matter to the police.
The driver Hodcroft denied everything; claiming he had never heard Mr Dromgoole sound his horn and the people on his motor coach were not laughing but quarrelling among themselves.
The driver was fined £2 and the magistrates said they were much obliged to Mr Dromgoole.
They explained that there were many cases of obstruction on the roads but motorists tended not to bring such cases forward and help the police.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Parr father that severely thrashed his son for staying out late, the Berry's Lane tragedy, the shindy in Pudding Bag and the wandering horse that strolled towards the Nag's Head.
We begin on the 11th in the County Police Court in St Helens where two middle-aged men called Edward Railton and Joseph Rylance were charged with stealing seven cabbages worth 18d.
PC Brying told the Bench that he had been on duty in what was described as a lonely lane near Portico in the early hours of the morning when he saw two men coming towards him looking very bulky with their pockets bulging.
As soon as Railton and Rylance saw him, he said they took seven large cabbages from their clothing and hastily pitched them over a hedge.
Joseph Rylance from Prescot told the Bench: "It was my birthday on Sunday, and I had been keeping it up, and got a drop o’ drink too much."
The Bench said they would be lenient and only fined the men five shillings each.
The County Police Court was responsible for dealing with cases in the rural areas outside the St Helens borough boundary.
The regular St Helens Police Court also met on that day and George Smith from Arthur Street was charged with committing a breach of the peace.
Two of his colleagues were warning George Smith about his conduct and later PC Taylor said the man also abused him. The constable said Smith refused to go home and so had to be taken into custody.
"He had had just enough drink to make him troublesome and he wanted to pick a row with everybody he met," added the officer.
But George Smith had a complaint of his own as he claimed the constable had pushed him into Crook Street while he was going home along Liverpool Road and roughly taken him into custody. Directly addressing PC Taylor in the courtroom, he said:
"You held me by the neck and started to grind your teeth, and there are marks on me where you had your fingernails stuck in…You kept pushing me and trying to trip me up."
The constable denied the allegations and Smith was bound over for six months.
A man described as a "burly miner of elderly appearance" called Thomas Lowe appeared in court charged with committing a "grave offence against his fourteen-year-old daughter."
That would not have been the wording on the charge sheet but the Reporter felt unable to state the true crime, which court records describe as incest.
They also state that the man of elderly appearance was aged 48 – a combination of coal mining and hard drinking could certainly take its toll.
The Chief Constable told the Bench that the mother and daughter had gone to the police station at the Town Hall and made a serious complaint against the father.
The police surgeon had examined the girl and as a result Lowe from Smithfield Street in Parr had been arrested.
Chief Constable Ellerington said that in such cases it was necessary to communicate with the Attorney General and he requested a remand of eight days, which was granted.
In November, Lowe would be convicted and sentenced to 18 months hard labour.
The wife of Joseph McQuillan summoned her husband to court for payment arrears under a separation order but he insisted to the Bench that he could not pay through being out of work.
"I have tried everywhere to get work, even begged for it, and can't get a job", he claimed.
McQuillan said he was an analytical chemist and stated that the only job advertised in a trade paper this week in his particular field was one where the employer required a £1,000 deposit from the applicant.
"A day or two ago I offered my services free to a motor firm so that I could learn driving, but they hadn't a vacancy".
As a result of Mr McQuillan's pleas, the Chairman said the case would be adjourned for one month to give him more time to find work.
William Shacklady from Jubits Lane in Sutton Manor appeared in the County Police Court this week charged with indecently assaulting a 13-year-old Sutton Manor girl.
The incident had occurred at about 6:30 on the previous Thursday evening when the girl and her 11-year-old sister had left home to take a basket of washing to their aunt in Clock Face.
The court was told they had walked down the footpath towards Clock Face and as they were getting over the second style the pair saw Shacklady in a ditch.
Exactly what the man then did was not reported but the children were described as having been alarmed by his conduct and had tried to run away.
But some of the clothes that they were carrying fell out of their basket onto the ground.
As they stopped to pick them up, Shacklady caught up with the girls and took hold of the older one.
She struggled to get away and her sister screamed, which led to another man appearing on the scene and Shacklady running away.
However, the daywageman at Sutton Manor Colliery was later arrested and did not deny the charge against him.
William Shacklady's brother pleaded for leniency saying that it was the first time that anything had happened to bring any of his family into disgrace.
Despite working down a coal mine, the brother claimed William was a very weak person who often fainted while in shops and his life had been despaired of when a child.
The Chairman of the Bench said they would take the most lenient view possible and sentenced William Shacklady to 28 days hard labour.
John Traynor from Dudley Street was described by the St Helens Reporter as a "shabbily-dressed cripple with a wooden leg" when he appeared in court on the 12th accused of breaching the peace.
PC Craine gave evidence of hearing sounds of shouting and brawling coming from outside the White Hart Hotel in Church Street.
Upon going to the scene he said he saw John Traynor taking off his coat and cap and after throwing them down on the footpath had shouted "I will fight the blinking lot of you".
He refused the policeman's advice to pick up his clothing and leave and continued brawling and so was locked up.
William Taylor was the licensee of the White Hart and said Traynor had entered his house and started begging coppers off customers.
He said he had previously warned him about the practice and told him to leave his pub but Traynor instead became very abusive and said he defied anybody to put him out.
After being told that the police would be called, the man allegedly replied, "That is just what I want. I need a night's shelter."
Traynor accused the landlord of kicking him while ejecting him from his pub but Taylor denied it, saying:
"I fell in the struggle in the vestibule and Traynor struck a blow at me; but I warded it off. He rushed at me again, and I pushed him away. I got a customer to help me.
"Then Traynor pulled his coat off and the constable came on the scene. I never kicked him. I have far too much pity for him on account of his handicap.
"In fact, I was sorry to have to eject him, but I have spoken to him about the practice several times before."
Chief Inspector Roe told the Bench that the police had experienced considerable trouble with Traynor. He said they had done everything possible to help him out of a feeling of pity.
Told by the Chairman that he would be bound over for 12 months and have to find sureties and pay a doctor's fee, Traynor said: "Where is the money to come from?"
To that Chief Inspector Roe replied: "Drink less beer". Traynor was described as having left the defendant's box muttering and still protesting.
Charabanc driver Harold Hodcroft of Fairclough Street in Earlestown picked on the wrong motorist to play road games.
He appeared in the Ormskirk Sessions this week accused of driving to the danger of the public and obstructing the highway.
The incident had taken place at Scarth Hill in Bickerstaffe when Hedcroft had, for some time, refused to let a car overtake him.
When he relented, it was said that he began racing the other vehicle and had crowded it onto the kerb.
Passengers on the charabanc were said to have stood up and laughed at the driver who did not think the incident at all funny.
He turned out to be Frederick Dromgoole, the editor and co-owner of the St Helens Newspaper and who was also a magistrate on the St Helens Bench.
He had been making his way back to his home in Rainford Road in St Helens and reported the matter to the police.
The driver Hodcroft denied everything; claiming he had never heard Mr Dromgoole sound his horn and the people on his motor coach were not laughing but quarrelling among themselves.
The driver was fined £2 and the magistrates said they were much obliged to Mr Dromgoole.
They explained that there were many cases of obstruction on the roads but motorists tended not to bring such cases forward and help the police.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Parr father that severely thrashed his son for staying out late, the Berry's Lane tragedy, the shindy in Pudding Bag and the wandering horse that strolled towards the Nag's Head.