IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (12th - 18th August 1919)
This week's stories include the youths that slept down Clock Face Colliery, the novelty of flying over St Helens, the Liverpool Road woman who tried to hit her husband with a flat iron, the Gorsey Lane apple thieves, the Clock Face bookie and a Rainford couple's dirty washing is washed in public.
We begin on the 12th when Forster and Sons at the Atlas Glass Works were advertising shares in their company that made glass bottles, jars and food containers. The firm was run by John Hill Forster and was originally the Union Plate Glass Company and would in 1968 become Rockware Glass. St Helens College's Technology Campus now occupies part of the site.
It's surprising how many mineworkers felt that sleeping down the pit was a good idea. On the 12th two Sutton youths appeared in court charged with being asleep while below ground. William Grimes and Phillip Garvis worked at Clock Face Colliery (shown above) and they had been in the land of nod for almost an hour before being roused. One was sleeping in an underground roadway and any coal tub that was sent down would probably have killed him.
The other was lying with his feet against the rails on which the tubs were propelled and could have had them cut off if struck by a tub. It was stated by the prosecution that sleeping had become a common problem and warnings had been made but were not being heeded. Both were given hefty £5 fines or if in default, 28 days in prison.
William Webster lived at Abbotsfield House in Gorsey Lane in Bold and being a solicitor he prosecuted his own case in St Helens County Police Court on the 12th. Joseph Knapper, John Unsworth, John Dean and John Harding were summoned for stealing growing apples from an orchard that belonged to Webster. They were all lads that were employed at Sutton Manor Colliery and on their way to and from work they would nip into Webster's garden and help themselves to his fruit.
However it wasn't just one or two apples that they and their mates took. They were being stolen on an industrial scale and last year Webster had lost almost his entire crop. At 5am on the previous morning PC Stringfellow apprehended Knapper and Harding coming away from the orchard carrying 6lb of apples and then Unsworth and Dean arrived and took some more. They were fined 20 shillings each or fourteen days in prison and told to pay 5 shillings damages.
I suppose riding a horse without holding the reins is like riding a bike without holding the handlebars – something I see a lot these days from youngsters (and even adults) who think they are being clever. In the past the bobbies on the beat would report those driving horses who weren't grasping the reins and Isaac Smith was fined ten shillings in the County Police Court after committing that offence.
PC Benson had observed the carter driving two horses through Rainford that were attached to a lurry (or lorry as we would spell it). The man could provide no explanation as to why he was not holding the reins but laziness was probably the reason.
In the same court William Flannery was charged with "frequenting a street for the purpose of betting". Superintendent Garvey told the court that for a considerable time the police "had been at a loss" to know how the man had been earning his living since being discharged from the army. The 49-year-old had not returned to his job as a collier and recently two officers had been watching Flannery and saw him take slips from various people on the street.
Upon being arrested he was found to be in possession of betting slips, two ready reckoners, a sporting paper and more than £9 in cash. In his defence Flannery claimed he had not been able to follow his normal employment since his army service and he was handed a stiff fine of £10 or two months in prison.
There was another example of a couple's dirty washing being washed in public when Thomas Birchall's wife summoned him to the County Police Court to agree a maintenance order. The man was a miner from Rainford who in July 1918 had married a widow with four children from Ormskirk Road. Susan Birchall's first husband had been killed in the war and her widow's pension was only 19 shillings a week.
As Thomas was earning £3 10 shillings a week it might be said that she was fortunate to find a man prepared to take on her family. However the couple soon began quarrelling about the children and the spending money that Thomas Birchall wanted. It was usual for working men to hand over their wages to their wives and be handed pocket money in return. However as a single man Thomas Birchall would have had far more cash in his pocket and must have found adjusting to the economics of married life difficult.
There was also the issue of his wife's former lodger called Charlie Glover that Birchall was jealous of – although his wife insisted that nothing improper had ever taken place. The upshot was that Birchall had walked out on his wife on several occasions in July and the couple were now living apart. Susan Birchall wanted the court to impose a maintenance order but said she was still willing to take her husband back and even accept as little as £1 from him for housekeeping.
There was a further discussion in the public hearing about Charlie Glover's role in the break up, at which the Chairman of the Bench interrupted and asked whether the couple could not come to an amicable agreement. Private consultations were then held and upon their return to court it was stated that the couple had "come to terms".
The husband would return to the marital home, which would be put in his name. In addition Susan Birchall would promise never to see Charlie Glover again, although the woman repeated that there had been nothing between them. All this could have been agreed in private but instead it occurred in a public court with all the details published in the papers for the public to salivate over. And poor old Charlie Glover had his name used in vain and was completely unable to defend himself against suggestions of improper behaviour.
On the 14th John Parry of Tickle Street in Parr was fined twenty shillings for being in possession of a pipe at Sherdley Colliery (tally and rescue team shown above). All smoking materials were banned and workers were searched before going down the mine. Parry told the court that it was a pure accident due to him changing into another coat.
A boy called Arthur Hamilton from Talbot Street was fined 2/6 in the St Helens Police Court on the 14th for throwing stones in nearby Clyde Street. In another case two boys aged about thirteen from Doulton Street in Eccleston called William Rawlinson and Richard Worth were charged with gaming with coins at the rear of Gladstone Street. They insisted they were only playing a game called jinks and were not playing for money but were fined 10s and 7s 6d, respectively.
The St Helens Reporter stated on the 15th that two local male voice choirs had participated at the recent Welsh National Eisteddfod. They were the St Helens Glee Club and the Excelsior Male Voice Choir from Sutton who performed in front of more than 12,000 people. A surgeon called Dr Stanley Siddall from Prescot Road ran the glee club but they did not do very well in Wales. They were first on stage and the audience had not settled down after giving an exuberant welcome to David Lloyd George's wife. However the Excelsior choir did better.
The newspaper also featured an interview with James Ashcroft from Traverse Street who had recently been on an aeroplane flight from Southport to St Helens. Last month County Carriers of Boundary Road began entering the names of passengers booked on their motor charabanc trips into a raffle with the winners awarded two free seats on small Sopwith planes.
These flew every week to St Helens and Mr Ashcroft said the 30-minute flight had been delightful and he had flown over the Town Hall and had a "capital birds-eye view" of Traverse Street. No suitable landing place had yet been obtained in St Helens and so after flying over the town for eight minutes, the plane returned to Southport. It must have also been quite a novelty for people on the ground to have witnessed a plane in the sky and I expect a lot of waving took place.
In the Police Court on the 18th John and Elizabeth Thompson of Sandfield Crescent (off Liverpool Road) were charged with committing a breach of the peace. PC Houghton said at 11pm on the previous Wednesday night he had been on duty in Liverpool Road and heard "shouting and quarrelling" going on. He dashed to the spot and saw Elizabeth Thompson attempting to hit her husband with a flat iron and they both then "got to grips" and fell to the ground.
The police took them both to a lock up where the woman managed to grab hold of the iron and again tried to strike her husband with it. After the iron had been taken off her, she took a key out of her pocket and threw it at John. Mrs Thompson clearly did not think much of the intervention by the police either. When PC Houghton delivered the court summons to the couple's home, she threw it on the fire. Both Elizabeth and John were bound over to keep the peace.
The music hall attractions at the Hippodrome in Corporation Street for the week commencing the 18th were: The Twelvetrees Trio ("In their charming musical scene, including the celebrated cellist Mr. Clyde Twelvetrees"); Hall and Menzies ("The man and the talkative woman"); Yetta ("The dancing girl on the wire"); The Elfin Trio ("Singing & dancing act"); Jack Stocks ("Comedian"); Scott Sanders ("The kiltie comedian") and Miss Teddie Le Roy ("In perfect male character studies").
Next week's stories will include the midnight bullyragging in Allanson Street, the father from Silkstone Street who was addicted to meths, juvenile depravity at a Prescot picture house, the man from Oldfield Street who led a double life with a Sutton girl and the card playing mischief of the Ravenhead boys.
We begin on the 12th when Forster and Sons at the Atlas Glass Works were advertising shares in their company that made glass bottles, jars and food containers. The firm was run by John Hill Forster and was originally the Union Plate Glass Company and would in 1968 become Rockware Glass. St Helens College's Technology Campus now occupies part of the site.
The other was lying with his feet against the rails on which the tubs were propelled and could have had them cut off if struck by a tub. It was stated by the prosecution that sleeping had become a common problem and warnings had been made but were not being heeded. Both were given hefty £5 fines or if in default, 28 days in prison.
William Webster lived at Abbotsfield House in Gorsey Lane in Bold and being a solicitor he prosecuted his own case in St Helens County Police Court on the 12th. Joseph Knapper, John Unsworth, John Dean and John Harding were summoned for stealing growing apples from an orchard that belonged to Webster. They were all lads that were employed at Sutton Manor Colliery and on their way to and from work they would nip into Webster's garden and help themselves to his fruit.
However it wasn't just one or two apples that they and their mates took. They were being stolen on an industrial scale and last year Webster had lost almost his entire crop. At 5am on the previous morning PC Stringfellow apprehended Knapper and Harding coming away from the orchard carrying 6lb of apples and then Unsworth and Dean arrived and took some more. They were fined 20 shillings each or fourteen days in prison and told to pay 5 shillings damages.
I suppose riding a horse without holding the reins is like riding a bike without holding the handlebars – something I see a lot these days from youngsters (and even adults) who think they are being clever. In the past the bobbies on the beat would report those driving horses who weren't grasping the reins and Isaac Smith was fined ten shillings in the County Police Court after committing that offence.
PC Benson had observed the carter driving two horses through Rainford that were attached to a lurry (or lorry as we would spell it). The man could provide no explanation as to why he was not holding the reins but laziness was probably the reason.
In the same court William Flannery was charged with "frequenting a street for the purpose of betting". Superintendent Garvey told the court that for a considerable time the police "had been at a loss" to know how the man had been earning his living since being discharged from the army. The 49-year-old had not returned to his job as a collier and recently two officers had been watching Flannery and saw him take slips from various people on the street.
Upon being arrested he was found to be in possession of betting slips, two ready reckoners, a sporting paper and more than £9 in cash. In his defence Flannery claimed he had not been able to follow his normal employment since his army service and he was handed a stiff fine of £10 or two months in prison.
There was another example of a couple's dirty washing being washed in public when Thomas Birchall's wife summoned him to the County Police Court to agree a maintenance order. The man was a miner from Rainford who in July 1918 had married a widow with four children from Ormskirk Road. Susan Birchall's first husband had been killed in the war and her widow's pension was only 19 shillings a week.
As Thomas was earning £3 10 shillings a week it might be said that she was fortunate to find a man prepared to take on her family. However the couple soon began quarrelling about the children and the spending money that Thomas Birchall wanted. It was usual for working men to hand over their wages to their wives and be handed pocket money in return. However as a single man Thomas Birchall would have had far more cash in his pocket and must have found adjusting to the economics of married life difficult.
There was also the issue of his wife's former lodger called Charlie Glover that Birchall was jealous of – although his wife insisted that nothing improper had ever taken place. The upshot was that Birchall had walked out on his wife on several occasions in July and the couple were now living apart. Susan Birchall wanted the court to impose a maintenance order but said she was still willing to take her husband back and even accept as little as £1 from him for housekeeping.
There was a further discussion in the public hearing about Charlie Glover's role in the break up, at which the Chairman of the Bench interrupted and asked whether the couple could not come to an amicable agreement. Private consultations were then held and upon their return to court it was stated that the couple had "come to terms".
The husband would return to the marital home, which would be put in his name. In addition Susan Birchall would promise never to see Charlie Glover again, although the woman repeated that there had been nothing between them. All this could have been agreed in private but instead it occurred in a public court with all the details published in the papers for the public to salivate over. And poor old Charlie Glover had his name used in vain and was completely unable to defend himself against suggestions of improper behaviour.
A boy called Arthur Hamilton from Talbot Street was fined 2/6 in the St Helens Police Court on the 14th for throwing stones in nearby Clyde Street. In another case two boys aged about thirteen from Doulton Street in Eccleston called William Rawlinson and Richard Worth were charged with gaming with coins at the rear of Gladstone Street. They insisted they were only playing a game called jinks and were not playing for money but were fined 10s and 7s 6d, respectively.
The St Helens Reporter stated on the 15th that two local male voice choirs had participated at the recent Welsh National Eisteddfod. They were the St Helens Glee Club and the Excelsior Male Voice Choir from Sutton who performed in front of more than 12,000 people. A surgeon called Dr Stanley Siddall from Prescot Road ran the glee club but they did not do very well in Wales. They were first on stage and the audience had not settled down after giving an exuberant welcome to David Lloyd George's wife. However the Excelsior choir did better.
The newspaper also featured an interview with James Ashcroft from Traverse Street who had recently been on an aeroplane flight from Southport to St Helens. Last month County Carriers of Boundary Road began entering the names of passengers booked on their motor charabanc trips into a raffle with the winners awarded two free seats on small Sopwith planes.
These flew every week to St Helens and Mr Ashcroft said the 30-minute flight had been delightful and he had flown over the Town Hall and had a "capital birds-eye view" of Traverse Street. No suitable landing place had yet been obtained in St Helens and so after flying over the town for eight minutes, the plane returned to Southport. It must have also been quite a novelty for people on the ground to have witnessed a plane in the sky and I expect a lot of waving took place.
In the Police Court on the 18th John and Elizabeth Thompson of Sandfield Crescent (off Liverpool Road) were charged with committing a breach of the peace. PC Houghton said at 11pm on the previous Wednesday night he had been on duty in Liverpool Road and heard "shouting and quarrelling" going on. He dashed to the spot and saw Elizabeth Thompson attempting to hit her husband with a flat iron and they both then "got to grips" and fell to the ground.
The police took them both to a lock up where the woman managed to grab hold of the iron and again tried to strike her husband with it. After the iron had been taken off her, she took a key out of her pocket and threw it at John. Mrs Thompson clearly did not think much of the intervention by the police either. When PC Houghton delivered the court summons to the couple's home, she threw it on the fire. Both Elizabeth and John were bound over to keep the peace.
The music hall attractions at the Hippodrome in Corporation Street for the week commencing the 18th were: The Twelvetrees Trio ("In their charming musical scene, including the celebrated cellist Mr. Clyde Twelvetrees"); Hall and Menzies ("The man and the talkative woman"); Yetta ("The dancing girl on the wire"); The Elfin Trio ("Singing & dancing act"); Jack Stocks ("Comedian"); Scott Sanders ("The kiltie comedian") and Miss Teddie Le Roy ("In perfect male character studies").
Next week's stories will include the midnight bullyragging in Allanson Street, the father from Silkstone Street who was addicted to meths, juvenile depravity at a Prescot picture house, the man from Oldfield Street who led a double life with a Sutton girl and the card playing mischief of the Ravenhead boys.