IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (13th - 19th APRIL 1920)
This week's stories include the City Road woman who got a divorce from her abusive husband, the depravity of a Fleet Lane miner, chaos as Rainford Council chooses a new Chairman, a fracas between two supporters at a Saints match and the sad suicide of an ex-soldier in Rainhill Asylum.
We begin on the 13th when Margaret Dillon from Liverpool Street (pictured above) appeared in the Police Court charged with being drunk and disorderly. PC Tinsley gave evidence that at 11pm on the previous night he had found the woman in a drunken condition in the street, shouting and using obscene language. Mrs Dillon refused to go home quietly and so had to be taken into custody. However she also refused to walk with the police and so had to be conveyed to the station in a handcart! The constable added that the woman continued to shout throughout the journey, using the filthiest language. Margaret Dillon was fined £1.
It was the St Helens and District Canine Society Dog Show on the 15th. It was staged at the Fleece Hotel and there were over 100 entries. This was not the same Fleece that many can still remember, as the old Church Street hotel was demolished in 1931 and a new one built.
The St Helens Reporter wrote this on the 16th about Watery Lane in Moss Nook (pictured above): "The recent spell of wet weather has given rise to a resurgence of the old evil of flooding at Moss Nook [in Sutton], and the usual outcry is heard as to the necessity of measures being adopted by the authorities to obviate the evil in the future."
I expect some men accused of breaching the peace persuaded their wives to go to court and completely deny that there had been any trouble. After all a fine would affect the woman as much as the husband. Not only did the wife of Joseph Bramble swear in court on the 16th that her hubby had been as good as gold but she called several witnesses in support.
However a constable begged to differ, telling the Bench that he had been on his beat in Peter Street when he heard a lot of shouting coming from Havelock Street. Upon his arrival he found Joseph Bramble shouting and challenging people to a fight. The magistrates rarely sided against the police and so bound the man over to be of good behaviour for six months.
A fracas at a Saints match against Warrington on Easter Monday led to two supporters appearing in the courtroom. However it wasn't rival fans but two St Helens' businessmen who had engaged in fisticuffs, with both issuing summonses against each other alleging assault. Alfred Critchley was a fish dealer from Spurgeon Street (which used to be off Park Road) and Oliver Pedley dealt in tripe from premises in Westfield Street. The latter gave evidence that he'd seen Critchley standing with some friends on an embankment inside the Knowsley Road ground with a bottle of whisky in his hand and had simply said:
"Hello, Alf, how are you, old sport. Anything in the bottle"? Pedley claimed Critchley replied: "Have you got a bottle on you?", to which Pedley said: "I don't think so, Alf". He then said Critchley started using foul language and made some references to tripe. Pedley told the fish dealer to cut it out and in response he claimed Critchley gave him a "huge clout" in the mouth, which knocked him to the ground. The matter was reported to the police who decided not to take any action despite Pedley's mouth supposedly being cut and his lips swollen. The tripe man said: "I looked a sight".
However the fish dealer told a different tale, claiming that Pedley had shoved him twice (once down some stairs) and offered him whisky but then said he had none, which had annoyed him. Critchley also claimed to have only struck Pedley with the back of his hand, with the blow not knocking him to the ground and later the pair had shaken hands. And he had three witnesses to corroborate his account, although Pedley denied all their statements.
Asked whether he had been drinking before the match, Critchley admitted having had several drinks but said he was not "elevated". However he claimed that Pedley was not sober, having been "half gone and a bit larky". The magistrates were unimpressed with the conflicting evidence and decided to dismiss both summonses.
A concert and dance was held in Rainford Village Hall during the evening of the 16th to raise funds for a memorial tablet to fallen Rainford soldiers. It was intended that this would be installed in the church school in Cross Pit Lane.
George Fillingham appears to have been another victim of the war. On the 18th the 40-year-old broke open a window in Rainhill Asylum and then flung himself 18 feet to the ground. The former miner fractured his skull and died within a few hours without recovering consciousness. He had been admitted in December 1918 after undertaking military service overseas in the Labour Corps.
Fillingham's father told the inquest that his son had been affected by the loss of his brother on active service and soon after being demobilised had developed "mental weakness". Thomas Fillingham complained his son should have been kept in a locked room and not been able to have killed himself. However despite only living in Prescot, the 63-year-old had only visited his son twice in the seventeen months he'd been an inmate.
Although divorce was far from being commonplace, an increasing number of women were no long prepared to endure abuse from their husbands – as their mothers might well have done. On the 19th Esther Bromley of City Road applied for a divorce on the grounds of the cruelty and misconduct of her husband William. The couple had married in 1912 at St Mark's Church in North Road and Esther said she'd been mistreated from the start.
On one occasion William had thrown her over a chair when she was pregnant which had caused a miscarriage. Esther complained of constantly being assaulted by her husband who at one point had threatened to buy a revolver and shoot her and their child. And recently what was described as a young girl in St Helens had given birth to William Bromley's child and a maintenance order had been issued against him. After hearing Esther's sad story, Justice Horridge in the Divorce Division court granted her a decree nisi.
For three days this week there was another sale of surplus furniture, work clothing and equipment at the former Sutton Bond munitions works in Lancots Lane. J. B. & B. Leach was the auctioneer and there was a good attendance.
At 2:40pm on the 19th Sutton Police forced open a rear window of a house in Fleet Lane and entered the property via the kitchen. They were searching for John Swift after his wife had told them that her husband had tried to indecently assault her daughter. Sergeant Bate and PC McHale went upstairs and discovered the 50-year-old coal miner lying on a bed unconscious after seemingly taking poison. Swift was conveyed to Providence Hospital but died within a few hours.
At the man's inquest Rebecca Swift revealed that her husband had not gone to his job at Ashton Green Colliery for three weeks prior to his death. At times he had been strange in his manner and had threatened to take her life and their daughter's. Mary Swift told the Coroner that on the same day her father took poison he had made improper suggestions to her in the kitchen. The 17-year-old described how she had struggled and screamed and he then struck her twice in the face.
On the previous day he had attempted something similar and had threatened to poison her if she told anyone. The Coroner ruled that John Swift had killed himself through poisoning. However he was unable to say whether his suicide was through mental deficiency or because of what he had attempted to do to his daughter. The St Helens Reporter described the "depravity" of Swift's conduct and said there had been evidence of an unhinged mind.
Surely if you planned to nominate somebody for an important job, you'd check with them first to see if they wanted it? A lack of common sense at the Rainford Council meeting on the 19th led to a discussion that the Reporter said "engrossed and perhaps harassed the members for some forty minutes." Rainford Urban District Council was now building its own houses, to add to its other responsibilities, and being its Chairman was a key role.
Farmer John Boardman had done the job for the past twelve months and the councillors' main task at the meeting was to choose his successor. Cllr. Hesketh proposed Colonel Norman Pilkington of Rainford Hall in Crank and his proposal was seconded and then carried unanimously with much applause. There was only one snag. Nobody had bothered to ask the 42-year-old glass executive if he wanted the job. The embarrassed Colonel Pilkington declined the offer, saying he simply didn't have the time and admitting that his attendance at council meetings in the past had been very bad.
So the councillors turned to another army man, Colonel John Hopgood from Church Road, who declined the offer for the same reason – perhaps also not appreciating being second choice. Councillor Joseph Appleton certainly didn't appear to like being third choice, as the farmer refused the offer without giving a proper reason. So after much discussion, John Boardman was persuaded to undertake the role of Chairman for another year.
Next week's stories will include the Langtree Street woman who had "the life of a dog" with her husband, the lodger that refused to quit his Stanhope Street home, St Helens Police receive praise from a prisoner, deadlock with the Windlehurst council house scheme and the Thatto Heath newsagent prosecuted for running a lottery.
It was the St Helens and District Canine Society Dog Show on the 15th. It was staged at the Fleece Hotel and there were over 100 entries. This was not the same Fleece that many can still remember, as the old Church Street hotel was demolished in 1931 and a new one built.
I expect some men accused of breaching the peace persuaded their wives to go to court and completely deny that there had been any trouble. After all a fine would affect the woman as much as the husband. Not only did the wife of Joseph Bramble swear in court on the 16th that her hubby had been as good as gold but she called several witnesses in support.
However a constable begged to differ, telling the Bench that he had been on his beat in Peter Street when he heard a lot of shouting coming from Havelock Street. Upon his arrival he found Joseph Bramble shouting and challenging people to a fight. The magistrates rarely sided against the police and so bound the man over to be of good behaviour for six months.
A fracas at a Saints match against Warrington on Easter Monday led to two supporters appearing in the courtroom. However it wasn't rival fans but two St Helens' businessmen who had engaged in fisticuffs, with both issuing summonses against each other alleging assault. Alfred Critchley was a fish dealer from Spurgeon Street (which used to be off Park Road) and Oliver Pedley dealt in tripe from premises in Westfield Street. The latter gave evidence that he'd seen Critchley standing with some friends on an embankment inside the Knowsley Road ground with a bottle of whisky in his hand and had simply said:
"Hello, Alf, how are you, old sport. Anything in the bottle"? Pedley claimed Critchley replied: "Have you got a bottle on you?", to which Pedley said: "I don't think so, Alf". He then said Critchley started using foul language and made some references to tripe. Pedley told the fish dealer to cut it out and in response he claimed Critchley gave him a "huge clout" in the mouth, which knocked him to the ground. The matter was reported to the police who decided not to take any action despite Pedley's mouth supposedly being cut and his lips swollen. The tripe man said: "I looked a sight".
However the fish dealer told a different tale, claiming that Pedley had shoved him twice (once down some stairs) and offered him whisky but then said he had none, which had annoyed him. Critchley also claimed to have only struck Pedley with the back of his hand, with the blow not knocking him to the ground and later the pair had shaken hands. And he had three witnesses to corroborate his account, although Pedley denied all their statements.
Asked whether he had been drinking before the match, Critchley admitted having had several drinks but said he was not "elevated". However he claimed that Pedley was not sober, having been "half gone and a bit larky". The magistrates were unimpressed with the conflicting evidence and decided to dismiss both summonses.
A concert and dance was held in Rainford Village Hall during the evening of the 16th to raise funds for a memorial tablet to fallen Rainford soldiers. It was intended that this would be installed in the church school in Cross Pit Lane.
George Fillingham appears to have been another victim of the war. On the 18th the 40-year-old broke open a window in Rainhill Asylum and then flung himself 18 feet to the ground. The former miner fractured his skull and died within a few hours without recovering consciousness. He had been admitted in December 1918 after undertaking military service overseas in the Labour Corps.
Fillingham's father told the inquest that his son had been affected by the loss of his brother on active service and soon after being demobilised had developed "mental weakness". Thomas Fillingham complained his son should have been kept in a locked room and not been able to have killed himself. However despite only living in Prescot, the 63-year-old had only visited his son twice in the seventeen months he'd been an inmate.
Although divorce was far from being commonplace, an increasing number of women were no long prepared to endure abuse from their husbands – as their mothers might well have done. On the 19th Esther Bromley of City Road applied for a divorce on the grounds of the cruelty and misconduct of her husband William. The couple had married in 1912 at St Mark's Church in North Road and Esther said she'd been mistreated from the start.
On one occasion William had thrown her over a chair when she was pregnant which had caused a miscarriage. Esther complained of constantly being assaulted by her husband who at one point had threatened to buy a revolver and shoot her and their child. And recently what was described as a young girl in St Helens had given birth to William Bromley's child and a maintenance order had been issued against him. After hearing Esther's sad story, Justice Horridge in the Divorce Division court granted her a decree nisi.
For three days this week there was another sale of surplus furniture, work clothing and equipment at the former Sutton Bond munitions works in Lancots Lane. J. B. & B. Leach was the auctioneer and there was a good attendance.
At 2:40pm on the 19th Sutton Police forced open a rear window of a house in Fleet Lane and entered the property via the kitchen. They were searching for John Swift after his wife had told them that her husband had tried to indecently assault her daughter. Sergeant Bate and PC McHale went upstairs and discovered the 50-year-old coal miner lying on a bed unconscious after seemingly taking poison. Swift was conveyed to Providence Hospital but died within a few hours.
At the man's inquest Rebecca Swift revealed that her husband had not gone to his job at Ashton Green Colliery for three weeks prior to his death. At times he had been strange in his manner and had threatened to take her life and their daughter's. Mary Swift told the Coroner that on the same day her father took poison he had made improper suggestions to her in the kitchen. The 17-year-old described how she had struggled and screamed and he then struck her twice in the face.
On the previous day he had attempted something similar and had threatened to poison her if she told anyone. The Coroner ruled that John Swift had killed himself through poisoning. However he was unable to say whether his suicide was through mental deficiency or because of what he had attempted to do to his daughter. The St Helens Reporter described the "depravity" of Swift's conduct and said there had been evidence of an unhinged mind.
Surely if you planned to nominate somebody for an important job, you'd check with them first to see if they wanted it? A lack of common sense at the Rainford Council meeting on the 19th led to a discussion that the Reporter said "engrossed and perhaps harassed the members for some forty minutes." Rainford Urban District Council was now building its own houses, to add to its other responsibilities, and being its Chairman was a key role.
Farmer John Boardman had done the job for the past twelve months and the councillors' main task at the meeting was to choose his successor. Cllr. Hesketh proposed Colonel Norman Pilkington of Rainford Hall in Crank and his proposal was seconded and then carried unanimously with much applause. There was only one snag. Nobody had bothered to ask the 42-year-old glass executive if he wanted the job. The embarrassed Colonel Pilkington declined the offer, saying he simply didn't have the time and admitting that his attendance at council meetings in the past had been very bad.
So the councillors turned to another army man, Colonel John Hopgood from Church Road, who declined the offer for the same reason – perhaps also not appreciating being second choice. Councillor Joseph Appleton certainly didn't appear to like being third choice, as the farmer refused the offer without giving a proper reason. So after much discussion, John Boardman was persuaded to undertake the role of Chairman for another year.
Next week's stories will include the Langtree Street woman who had "the life of a dog" with her husband, the lodger that refused to quit his Stanhope Street home, St Helens Police receive praise from a prisoner, deadlock with the Windlehurst council house scheme and the Thatto Heath newsagent prosecuted for running a lottery.
This week's stories include the City Road woman who got a divorce from her abusive husband, the depravity of a Fleet Lane miner, chaos as Rainford Council chooses a new Chairman, a fracas between two supporters at a Saints match and the sad suicide of an ex-soldier in Rainhill Asylum.
We begin on the 13th when Margaret Dillon from Liverpool Street (pictured above) appeared in the Police Court charged with being drunk and disorderly.
PC Tinsley gave evidence that at 11pm on the previous night he had found the woman in a drunken condition in the street, shouting and using obscene language.
Mrs Dillon refused to go home quietly and so had to be taken into custody.
However she also refused to walk with the police and so had to be conveyed to the station in a handcart!
The constable added that the woman continued to shout throughout the journey, using the filthiest language. Margaret Dillon was fined £1.
It was the St Helens and District Canine Society Dog Show on the 15th. It was staged at the Fleece Hotel and there were over 100 entries.
This was not the same Fleece that many can still remember, as the old Church Street hotel was demolished in 1931 and a new one built.
The St Helens Reporter wrote this on the 16th about Watery Lane in Moss Nook (pictured above):
"The recent spell of wet weather has given rise to a resurgence of the old evil of flooding at Moss Nook [in Sutton], and the usual outcry is heard as to the necessity of measures being adopted by the authorities to obviate the evil in the future."
I expect some men accused of breaching the peace persuaded their wives to go to court and completely deny that there had been any trouble.
After all a fine would affect the woman as much as the husband.
Not only did the wife of Joseph Bramble swear in court on the 16th that her hubby had been as good as gold but she called several witnesses in support.
However a constable begged to differ, telling the Bench that he had been on his beat in Peter Street when he heard a lot of shouting coming from Havelock Street.
Upon his arrival he found Joseph Bramble shouting and challenging people to a fight.
The magistrates rarely sided against the police and so bound the man over to be of good behaviour for six months.
A fracas at a Saints match against Warrington on Easter Monday led to two supporters appearing in the courtroom.
However it wasn't rival fans but two St Helens' businessmen who had engaged in fisticuffs, with both issuing summonses against each other alleging assault.
Alfred Critchley was a fish dealer from Spurgeon Street (which used to be off Park Road) and Oliver Pedley dealt in tripe from premises in Westfield Street.
The latter gave evidence that he'd seen Critchley standing with some friends on an embankment inside the Knowsley Road ground with a bottle of whisky in his hand and had simply said:
"Hello, Alf, how are you, old sport. Anything in the bottle"? Pedley claimed Critchley replied: "Have you got a bottle on you?", to which Pedley said: "I don't think so, Alf".
He then said Critchley started using foul language and made some references to tripe.
Pedley told the fish dealer to cut it out and in response he claimed Critchley gave him a "huge clout" in the mouth, which knocked him to the ground.
The matter was reported to the police who decided not to take any action despite Pedley's mouth supposedly being cut and his lips swollen. The tripe man said: "I looked a sight".
However the fish dealer told a different tale, claiming that Pedley had shoved him twice (once down some stairs) and offered him whisky but then said he had none, which had annoyed him.
Critchley also claimed to have only struck Pedley with the back of his hand, with the blow not knocking him to the ground and later the pair had shaken hands.
And he had three witnesses to corroborate his account, although Pedley denied all their statements.
Asked whether he had been drinking before the match, Critchley admitted having had several drinks but said he was not "elevated".
However he claimed that Pedley was not sober, having been "half gone and a bit larky".
The magistrates were unimpressed with the conflicting evidence and decided to dismiss both summonses.
A concert and dance was held in Rainford Village Hall during the evening of the 16th to raise funds for a memorial tablet to fallen Rainford soldiers.
It was intended that this would be installed in the church school in Cross Pit Lane.
George Fillingham appears to have been another victim of the war.
On the 18th the 40-year-old broke open a window in Rainhill Asylum and then flung himself 18 feet to the ground.
The former miner fractured his skull and died within a few hours without recovering consciousness.
He had been admitted in December 1918 after undertaking military service overseas in the Labour Corps.
Fillingham's father told the inquest that his son had been affected by the loss of his brother on active service and soon after being demobilised had developed "mental weakness".
Thomas Fillingham complained his son should have been kept in a locked room and not been able to have killed himself.
However despite only living in Prescot, the 63-year-old had only visited his son twice in the seventeen months he'd been an inmate.
Although divorce was far from being commonplace, an increasing number of women were no long prepared to endure abuse from their husbands – as their mothers might well have done.
On the 19th Esther Bromley of City Road applied for a divorce on the grounds of the cruelty and misconduct of her husband William.
The couple had married in 1912 at St Mark's Church in North Road and Esther said she'd been mistreated from the start.
On one occasion William had thrown her over a chair when she was pregnant which had caused a miscarriage.
Esther complained of constantly being assaulted by her husband who at one point had threatened to buy a revolver and shoot her and their child.
And recently what was described as a young girl in St Helens had given birth to William Bromley's child and a maintenance order had been issued against him.
After hearing Esther's sad story, Justice Horridge in the Divorce Division court granted her a decree nisi.
For three days this week there was another sale of surplus furniture, work clothing and equipment at the former Sutton Bond munitions works in Lancots Lane.
J. B. & B. Leach was the auctioneer and there was a good attendance.
At 2:40pm on the 19th Sutton Police forced open a rear window of a house in Fleet Lane and entered the property via the kitchen.
They were searching for John Swift after his wife had told them that her husband had tried to indecently assault her daughter.
Sergeant Bate and PC McHale went upstairs and discovered the 50-year-old coal miner lying on a bed unconscious after seemingly taking poison.
Swift was conveyed to Providence Hospital but died within a few hours.
At the man's inquest Rebecca Swift revealed that her husband had not gone to his job at Ashton Green Colliery for three weeks prior to his death.
At times he had been strange in his manner and had threatened to take her life and their daughter's.
Mary Swift told the Coroner that on the same day her father took poison he had made improper suggestions to her in the kitchen.
The 17-year-old described how she had struggled and screamed and he then struck her twice in the face.
On the previous day he had attempted something similar and had threatened to poison her if she told anyone.
The Coroner ruled that John Swift had killed himself through poisoning.
However he was unable to say whether his suicide was through mental deficiency or because of what he had attempted to do to his daughter.
The St Helens Reporter described the "depravity" of Swift's conduct and said there had been evidence of an unhinged mind.
Surely if you planned to nominate somebody for an important job, you'd check with them first to see if they wanted it?
A lack of common sense at the Rainford Council meeting on the 19th led to a discussion that the Reporter said "engrossed and perhaps harassed the members for some forty minutes."
Rainford Urban District Council was now building its own houses, to add to its other responsibilities, and being its Chairman was a key role.
Farmer John Boardman had done the job for the past twelve months and the councillors' main task at the meeting was to choose his successor.
Cllr. Hesketh proposed Colonel Norman Pilkington of Rainford Hall in Crank and his proposal was seconded and then carried unanimously with much applause.
There was only one snag. Nobody had bothered to ask the 42-year-old glass executive if he wanted the job.
The embarrassed Colonel Pilkington declined the offer, saying he simply didn't have the time and admitting that his attendance at council meetings in the past had been very bad.
So the councillors turned to another army man, Colonel John Hopgood from Church Road, who declined the offer for the same reason – perhaps also not appreciating being second choice.
Councillor Joseph Appleton certainly didn't appear to like being third choice, as the farmer refused the offer without giving a proper reason.
So after much discussion, John Boardman was persuaded to undertake the role of Chairman for another year.
Next week's stories will include the Langtree Street woman who had "the life of a dog" with her husband, the lodger that refused to quit his Stanhope Street home, St Helens Police receive praise from a prisoner, deadlock with the Windlehurst council house scheme and the Thatto Heath newsagent prosecuted for running a lottery.
PC Tinsley gave evidence that at 11pm on the previous night he had found the woman in a drunken condition in the street, shouting and using obscene language.
Mrs Dillon refused to go home quietly and so had to be taken into custody.
However she also refused to walk with the police and so had to be conveyed to the station in a handcart!
The constable added that the woman continued to shout throughout the journey, using the filthiest language. Margaret Dillon was fined £1.
It was the St Helens and District Canine Society Dog Show on the 15th. It was staged at the Fleece Hotel and there were over 100 entries.
This was not the same Fleece that many can still remember, as the old Church Street hotel was demolished in 1931 and a new one built.
"The recent spell of wet weather has given rise to a resurgence of the old evil of flooding at Moss Nook [in Sutton], and the usual outcry is heard as to the necessity of measures being adopted by the authorities to obviate the evil in the future."
I expect some men accused of breaching the peace persuaded their wives to go to court and completely deny that there had been any trouble.
After all a fine would affect the woman as much as the husband.
Not only did the wife of Joseph Bramble swear in court on the 16th that her hubby had been as good as gold but she called several witnesses in support.
However a constable begged to differ, telling the Bench that he had been on his beat in Peter Street when he heard a lot of shouting coming from Havelock Street.
Upon his arrival he found Joseph Bramble shouting and challenging people to a fight.
The magistrates rarely sided against the police and so bound the man over to be of good behaviour for six months.
A fracas at a Saints match against Warrington on Easter Monday led to two supporters appearing in the courtroom.
However it wasn't rival fans but two St Helens' businessmen who had engaged in fisticuffs, with both issuing summonses against each other alleging assault.
Alfred Critchley was a fish dealer from Spurgeon Street (which used to be off Park Road) and Oliver Pedley dealt in tripe from premises in Westfield Street.
The latter gave evidence that he'd seen Critchley standing with some friends on an embankment inside the Knowsley Road ground with a bottle of whisky in his hand and had simply said:
"Hello, Alf, how are you, old sport. Anything in the bottle"? Pedley claimed Critchley replied: "Have you got a bottle on you?", to which Pedley said: "I don't think so, Alf".
He then said Critchley started using foul language and made some references to tripe.
Pedley told the fish dealer to cut it out and in response he claimed Critchley gave him a "huge clout" in the mouth, which knocked him to the ground.
The matter was reported to the police who decided not to take any action despite Pedley's mouth supposedly being cut and his lips swollen. The tripe man said: "I looked a sight".
However the fish dealer told a different tale, claiming that Pedley had shoved him twice (once down some stairs) and offered him whisky but then said he had none, which had annoyed him.
Critchley also claimed to have only struck Pedley with the back of his hand, with the blow not knocking him to the ground and later the pair had shaken hands.
And he had three witnesses to corroborate his account, although Pedley denied all their statements.
Asked whether he had been drinking before the match, Critchley admitted having had several drinks but said he was not "elevated".
However he claimed that Pedley was not sober, having been "half gone and a bit larky".
The magistrates were unimpressed with the conflicting evidence and decided to dismiss both summonses.
A concert and dance was held in Rainford Village Hall during the evening of the 16th to raise funds for a memorial tablet to fallen Rainford soldiers.
It was intended that this would be installed in the church school in Cross Pit Lane.
George Fillingham appears to have been another victim of the war.
On the 18th the 40-year-old broke open a window in Rainhill Asylum and then flung himself 18 feet to the ground.
The former miner fractured his skull and died within a few hours without recovering consciousness.
He had been admitted in December 1918 after undertaking military service overseas in the Labour Corps.
Fillingham's father told the inquest that his son had been affected by the loss of his brother on active service and soon after being demobilised had developed "mental weakness".
Thomas Fillingham complained his son should have been kept in a locked room and not been able to have killed himself.
However despite only living in Prescot, the 63-year-old had only visited his son twice in the seventeen months he'd been an inmate.
Although divorce was far from being commonplace, an increasing number of women were no long prepared to endure abuse from their husbands – as their mothers might well have done.
On the 19th Esther Bromley of City Road applied for a divorce on the grounds of the cruelty and misconduct of her husband William.
The couple had married in 1912 at St Mark's Church in North Road and Esther said she'd been mistreated from the start.
On one occasion William had thrown her over a chair when she was pregnant which had caused a miscarriage.
Esther complained of constantly being assaulted by her husband who at one point had threatened to buy a revolver and shoot her and their child.
And recently what was described as a young girl in St Helens had given birth to William Bromley's child and a maintenance order had been issued against him.
After hearing Esther's sad story, Justice Horridge in the Divorce Division court granted her a decree nisi.
For three days this week there was another sale of surplus furniture, work clothing and equipment at the former Sutton Bond munitions works in Lancots Lane.
J. B. & B. Leach was the auctioneer and there was a good attendance.
At 2:40pm on the 19th Sutton Police forced open a rear window of a house in Fleet Lane and entered the property via the kitchen.
They were searching for John Swift after his wife had told them that her husband had tried to indecently assault her daughter.
Sergeant Bate and PC McHale went upstairs and discovered the 50-year-old coal miner lying on a bed unconscious after seemingly taking poison.
Swift was conveyed to Providence Hospital but died within a few hours.
At the man's inquest Rebecca Swift revealed that her husband had not gone to his job at Ashton Green Colliery for three weeks prior to his death.
At times he had been strange in his manner and had threatened to take her life and their daughter's.
Mary Swift told the Coroner that on the same day her father took poison he had made improper suggestions to her in the kitchen.
The 17-year-old described how she had struggled and screamed and he then struck her twice in the face.
On the previous day he had attempted something similar and had threatened to poison her if she told anyone.
The Coroner ruled that John Swift had killed himself through poisoning.
However he was unable to say whether his suicide was through mental deficiency or because of what he had attempted to do to his daughter.
The St Helens Reporter described the "depravity" of Swift's conduct and said there had been evidence of an unhinged mind.
Surely if you planned to nominate somebody for an important job, you'd check with them first to see if they wanted it?
A lack of common sense at the Rainford Council meeting on the 19th led to a discussion that the Reporter said "engrossed and perhaps harassed the members for some forty minutes."
Rainford Urban District Council was now building its own houses, to add to its other responsibilities, and being its Chairman was a key role.
Farmer John Boardman had done the job for the past twelve months and the councillors' main task at the meeting was to choose his successor.
Cllr. Hesketh proposed Colonel Norman Pilkington of Rainford Hall in Crank and his proposal was seconded and then carried unanimously with much applause.
There was only one snag. Nobody had bothered to ask the 42-year-old glass executive if he wanted the job.
The embarrassed Colonel Pilkington declined the offer, saying he simply didn't have the time and admitting that his attendance at council meetings in the past had been very bad.
So the councillors turned to another army man, Colonel John Hopgood from Church Road, who declined the offer for the same reason – perhaps also not appreciating being second choice.
Councillor Joseph Appleton certainly didn't appear to like being third choice, as the farmer refused the offer without giving a proper reason.
So after much discussion, John Boardman was persuaded to undertake the role of Chairman for another year.
Next week's stories will include the Langtree Street woman who had "the life of a dog" with her husband, the lodger that refused to quit his Stanhope Street home, St Helens Police receive praise from a prisoner, deadlock with the Windlehurst council house scheme and the Thatto Heath newsagent prosecuted for running a lottery.