IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (15th - 21st AUGUST 1922)
This week's stories include the harsh treatment of benefit cheats, the expansion of Grange Park Golf Club, why the bad August weather in St Helens was saving young lives, Gentle Annie returns to court charged with lodging out and the paperboys on bikes racing to get their Echos on the streets of St Helens.
Although the term "benefit cheat" did not yet exist, those who abused the system of relieving hardship in even a minor way could be harshly treated. Peter Price had been claiming what was often called "parish relief" that the Prescot Guardians administered under the Poor Law. The miner from College Street in St Helens with five children had first applied in October 1921 stating that he was on short time at the pit.
That statement was true but he failed to tell the authorities that his wife undertook some part-time work and brought in a few bob a week into the household. The amount varied but it was somewhere in the region of 5 to 10 shillings a week. That was not very much when the average man's wage was £3 - £4 but it meant Mr Price had no entitlement to make a claim. In total £5 8 shillings had been received and when Mr Price appeared before the magistrates at St Helens Town Hall this week, they deemed it a serious case and sent him to prison for 28 days with hard labour.
In a separate case, Albert Norman from Watery Lane in Sutton was also sent to gaol for a month with the Chairman of the Bench saying: "The ratepayers cannot afford to be robbed in the way they are being robbed." I do wonder how many of these cases were as a result of applicants not fully understanding the forms that they filled in and also not appreciating that a slip of their pen could lead to prison. A century ago, people were not as experienced at form filling as we are today and not as educated.
Mr Norman’s mistake was writing "Nil" in answer to the question on the form enquiring whether he was in receipt of any income. In fact he was working two days a week as a coal miner and when first applying for relief, had informed the clerk dealing with his claim that he was in part-time employment. The clerk in question admitted to the court that that had been so – but the verbal statement carried little weight, as what mattered was what was written down on the form. As a result of the "Nil" answer, Albert Norman received £5 1s, which would not otherwise have been paid to him, and a month in prison.
During the war half of the course at Grange Park Golf Club had been ploughed up in order to boost home grown food production. On the 18th the St Helens Reporter updated its golfing readers with news on when an 18-hole course would once again be available. The simple answer was next summer, as land has been acquired in front of the Grange Park Hotel in order to extend the course. That land had also been ploughed for corn but had since been sown with grass seeds. The rain during the winter had boosted the grass growth and work involved in the formation of new greens was now in an advanced state.
The newsboys or paperboys of St Helens had traditionally come from very poor stock. Some were on the streets until late at night, badly attired and often without shoes, as they attempted to offload their stock of papers. But now they had bikes and were zipping along the streets after collecting their Echos from the railway station! One of them (a former soldier and so a rather old paperboy) with dodgy brakes on his bike had almost skittled a policeman and so ended up in court, as the Reporter described:
"Pushing young newsboys will in future have to temper their zeal with caution. Complaints have been made concerning the boys' reckless career from the station, and at the St. Helens Police Court on Monday, Charles Forrest, an ex-soldier, of 63, Peter-street, was charged with riding a bicycle to the public danger. An officer stated that at 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday, 8th August, he was on point duty at the junction of Hall-street and Church-street when he saw the defendant coming out of George street on a bicycle.
"He was travelling about 12 miles an hour and was peddling as hard as he could go. Approaching witness [the policeman] he appeared to be trying to apply the brake, but apparently it would not act, and witness had to jump out of the way to avoid being run over. It was a very common practice with the paper boys; and it seemed a general race as to who could get their papers into circulation first without any heed to the public. The Bench dismissed the case on payment of costs and warned the defendant to be more careful in future."
I cover the career of character Annie Murphy in the first volume of my book 'The Hidden History of St Helens' (Vol. 2 out soon!) Nicknamed "Gentle Annie", she had at least 94 convictions to her name for all sorts of offences, although mainly for "lodging out" or sleeping rough as we would call it. Sometimes Annie was arrested for simply sitting on a bench in Victoria Square in the early hours of the morning when doing no one any harm.
This week Annie returned to St Helens Police Court to answer another charge of "lodging out without any visible means of subsistence". PC Williams told the court he had found Annie just after midnight in a passage at the rear of Prescot Road in St Helens, after she had walked to the town from Liverpool. The Reporter described the dialogue between Annie and Joseph Else on the Bench:
"Adopting a wheedling tone, Annie asked to be allowed to go and she would never come back. The Chairman (Mr. J. E. C. Else): We can't let you go in face of this list [of convictions]. The Bench have tried all sorts of things with you, letting you off… Annie: If you will let me go, I'll not come back, I'll swear. The Chairman: You don't need to swear. Annie: (in subdued tones): Only by God. The Bench ordered prisoner to go to prison for one month. Prisoner (quietly): All right."
Last month the Reporter had published an illustration of the proposed new war memorial for Victoria Square designed by a firm called Stott and Prescott of Ormskirk Street. I wrote at the time that what was described as a "tall Celtic cross of graceful proportions" did not quite match the memorial unveiled in 1926.
That was because the committee behind the memorial had since chosen an alternative design by architects Biram and Fletcher of George Street in St Helens. This week’s paper contained an illustration of the new design that would be built using Portland stone and which matches well the memorial that exists today in the Square (as pictured above).
They say every cloud has a silver lining. And under the headline "A Good Word For Bad Weather", the Reporter explained how the poor August in St Helens, with lots of rain and below normal temperatures, was having a positive aspect – a drop in the rates of infant mortality.
These rose during summer months as outbreaks of infantile diarrhoea in the town increased – caused, it was believed, by food contamination by flies. An unnamed local doctor told the paper that he had never known a season marked by fewer flies which was positively impacting on child mortality rates.
On the 20th the influential Labour MP Jimmy Thomas gave an address at Earlestown in which he said miners were suffering as never before: "They are working under economic conditions that are not only bad but are a scandal, conditions that did not enable them to maintain a fair and decent standard of life."
Jimmy Thomas would get himself embroiled in his own scandal in 1936, which led to him giving up a ministerial post and quitting politics. Upon being entertained by stock exchange speculators at a golf club, he leaked tax changes planned for a forthcoming budget. This he had done by dropping heavy hints. For example, while playing golf he had shouted "Tee up!", to indicate that the duties on tea were set to rise!
And finally at the Rainford Council meeting on the 21st, St Helens Corporation's Fire Brigade received rare praise for their speedy turn out when Fosters Buildings on Lords Fold got on fire. Only twenty minutes had elapsed from the blaze's outbreak to when the brigade arrived on the scene. That was considered fast for the 1920s, aided by the firemen now being able to travel in motor vehicles.
It was decided that a letter of congratulations be sent to St Helens Council's Watch Committee, which oversaw the brigade. Such committees always liked to take the credit when things went well, and, of course, when they didn't, they'd blame the workers! As Rainford was outside of the borough of St Helens, Rainford Council had to pay for the services of the town fire brigade, although they were insured against making such payments.
Next week's stories will include the gay young sparks of Church Street, the chestnut mare that was nothing but a bag of bones, the Co-op's bakery is destroyed by fire and the wild animal illusionist called The Great Carmo performs at the Hippodrome.
Although the term "benefit cheat" did not yet exist, those who abused the system of relieving hardship in even a minor way could be harshly treated. Peter Price had been claiming what was often called "parish relief" that the Prescot Guardians administered under the Poor Law. The miner from College Street in St Helens with five children had first applied in October 1921 stating that he was on short time at the pit.
That statement was true but he failed to tell the authorities that his wife undertook some part-time work and brought in a few bob a week into the household. The amount varied but it was somewhere in the region of 5 to 10 shillings a week. That was not very much when the average man's wage was £3 - £4 but it meant Mr Price had no entitlement to make a claim. In total £5 8 shillings had been received and when Mr Price appeared before the magistrates at St Helens Town Hall this week, they deemed it a serious case and sent him to prison for 28 days with hard labour.
In a separate case, Albert Norman from Watery Lane in Sutton was also sent to gaol for a month with the Chairman of the Bench saying: "The ratepayers cannot afford to be robbed in the way they are being robbed." I do wonder how many of these cases were as a result of applicants not fully understanding the forms that they filled in and also not appreciating that a slip of their pen could lead to prison. A century ago, people were not as experienced at form filling as we are today and not as educated.
Mr Norman’s mistake was writing "Nil" in answer to the question on the form enquiring whether he was in receipt of any income. In fact he was working two days a week as a coal miner and when first applying for relief, had informed the clerk dealing with his claim that he was in part-time employment. The clerk in question admitted to the court that that had been so – but the verbal statement carried little weight, as what mattered was what was written down on the form. As a result of the "Nil" answer, Albert Norman received £5 1s, which would not otherwise have been paid to him, and a month in prison.
During the war half of the course at Grange Park Golf Club had been ploughed up in order to boost home grown food production. On the 18th the St Helens Reporter updated its golfing readers with news on when an 18-hole course would once again be available. The simple answer was next summer, as land has been acquired in front of the Grange Park Hotel in order to extend the course. That land had also been ploughed for corn but had since been sown with grass seeds. The rain during the winter had boosted the grass growth and work involved in the formation of new greens was now in an advanced state.
The newsboys or paperboys of St Helens had traditionally come from very poor stock. Some were on the streets until late at night, badly attired and often without shoes, as they attempted to offload their stock of papers. But now they had bikes and were zipping along the streets after collecting their Echos from the railway station! One of them (a former soldier and so a rather old paperboy) with dodgy brakes on his bike had almost skittled a policeman and so ended up in court, as the Reporter described:
"Pushing young newsboys will in future have to temper their zeal with caution. Complaints have been made concerning the boys' reckless career from the station, and at the St. Helens Police Court on Monday, Charles Forrest, an ex-soldier, of 63, Peter-street, was charged with riding a bicycle to the public danger. An officer stated that at 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday, 8th August, he was on point duty at the junction of Hall-street and Church-street when he saw the defendant coming out of George street on a bicycle.
"He was travelling about 12 miles an hour and was peddling as hard as he could go. Approaching witness [the policeman] he appeared to be trying to apply the brake, but apparently it would not act, and witness had to jump out of the way to avoid being run over. It was a very common practice with the paper boys; and it seemed a general race as to who could get their papers into circulation first without any heed to the public. The Bench dismissed the case on payment of costs and warned the defendant to be more careful in future."
I cover the career of character Annie Murphy in the first volume of my book 'The Hidden History of St Helens' (Vol. 2 out soon!) Nicknamed "Gentle Annie", she had at least 94 convictions to her name for all sorts of offences, although mainly for "lodging out" or sleeping rough as we would call it. Sometimes Annie was arrested for simply sitting on a bench in Victoria Square in the early hours of the morning when doing no one any harm.
This week Annie returned to St Helens Police Court to answer another charge of "lodging out without any visible means of subsistence". PC Williams told the court he had found Annie just after midnight in a passage at the rear of Prescot Road in St Helens, after she had walked to the town from Liverpool. The Reporter described the dialogue between Annie and Joseph Else on the Bench:
"Adopting a wheedling tone, Annie asked to be allowed to go and she would never come back. The Chairman (Mr. J. E. C. Else): We can't let you go in face of this list [of convictions]. The Bench have tried all sorts of things with you, letting you off… Annie: If you will let me go, I'll not come back, I'll swear. The Chairman: You don't need to swear. Annie: (in subdued tones): Only by God. The Bench ordered prisoner to go to prison for one month. Prisoner (quietly): All right."
Last month the Reporter had published an illustration of the proposed new war memorial for Victoria Square designed by a firm called Stott and Prescott of Ormskirk Street. I wrote at the time that what was described as a "tall Celtic cross of graceful proportions" did not quite match the memorial unveiled in 1926.
They say every cloud has a silver lining. And under the headline "A Good Word For Bad Weather", the Reporter explained how the poor August in St Helens, with lots of rain and below normal temperatures, was having a positive aspect – a drop in the rates of infant mortality.
These rose during summer months as outbreaks of infantile diarrhoea in the town increased – caused, it was believed, by food contamination by flies. An unnamed local doctor told the paper that he had never known a season marked by fewer flies which was positively impacting on child mortality rates.
On the 20th the influential Labour MP Jimmy Thomas gave an address at Earlestown in which he said miners were suffering as never before: "They are working under economic conditions that are not only bad but are a scandal, conditions that did not enable them to maintain a fair and decent standard of life."
Jimmy Thomas would get himself embroiled in his own scandal in 1936, which led to him giving up a ministerial post and quitting politics. Upon being entertained by stock exchange speculators at a golf club, he leaked tax changes planned for a forthcoming budget. This he had done by dropping heavy hints. For example, while playing golf he had shouted "Tee up!", to indicate that the duties on tea were set to rise!
And finally at the Rainford Council meeting on the 21st, St Helens Corporation's Fire Brigade received rare praise for their speedy turn out when Fosters Buildings on Lords Fold got on fire. Only twenty minutes had elapsed from the blaze's outbreak to when the brigade arrived on the scene. That was considered fast for the 1920s, aided by the firemen now being able to travel in motor vehicles.
It was decided that a letter of congratulations be sent to St Helens Council's Watch Committee, which oversaw the brigade. Such committees always liked to take the credit when things went well, and, of course, when they didn't, they'd blame the workers! As Rainford was outside of the borough of St Helens, Rainford Council had to pay for the services of the town fire brigade, although they were insured against making such payments.
Next week's stories will include the gay young sparks of Church Street, the chestnut mare that was nothing but a bag of bones, the Co-op's bakery is destroyed by fire and the wild animal illusionist called The Great Carmo performs at the Hippodrome.
This week's stories include the harsh treatment of benefit cheats, the expansion of Grange Park Golf Club, why the bad August weather in St Helens was saving young lives, Gentle Annie returns to court charged with lodging out and the paperboys on bikes racing to get their Echos on the streets of St Helens.
Although the term "benefit cheat" did not yet exist, those who abused the system of relieving hardship in even a minor way could be harshly treated.
Peter Price had been claiming what was often called "parish relief" that the Prescot Guardians administered under the Poor Law.
The miner from College Street in St Helens with five children had first applied in October 1921 stating that he was on short time at the pit.
That statement was true but he failed to tell the authorities that his wife undertook some part-time work and brought in a few bob a week into the household.
The amount varied but it was somewhere in the region of 5 to 10 shillings a week.
That was not very much when the average man's wage was £3 - £4 but it meant Mr Price had no entitlement to make a claim.
In total £5 8 shillings had been received and when Mr Price appeared before the magistrates at St Helens Town Hall this week, they deemed it a serious case and sent him to prison for 28 days with hard labour.
In a separate case, Albert Norman from Watery Lane in Sutton was also sent to gaol for a month with the Chairman of the Bench saying:
"The ratepayers cannot afford to be robbed in the way they are being robbed."
I do wonder how many of these cases were as a result of applicants not fully understanding the forms that they filled in and also not appreciating that a slip of their pen could lead to prison.
A century ago, people were not as experienced at form filling as we are today and not as educated.
Mr Norman’s mistake was writing "Nil" in answer to the question on the form enquiring whether he was in receipt of any income.
In fact he was working two days a week as a coal miner and when first applying for relief, had informed the clerk dealing with his claim that he was in part-time employment.
The clerk in question admitted to the court that that had been so – but the verbal statement carried little weight, as what mattered was what was written down on the form.
As a result of the "Nil" answer, Albert Norman received £5 1s, which would not otherwise have been paid to him, and a month in prison.
During the war half of the course at Grange Park Golf Club had been ploughed up in order to boost home grown food production.
On the 18th the St Helens Reporter updated its golfing readers with news on when an 18-hole course would once again be available.
The simple answer was next summer, as land has been acquired in front of the Grange Park Hotel in order to extend the course.
That land had also been ploughed for corn but had since been sown with grass seeds.
The rain during the winter had boosted the grass growth and work involved in the formation of new greens was now in an advanced state.
The newsboys or paperboys of St Helens had traditionally come from very poor stock.
Some were on the streets until late at night, badly attired and often without shoes, as they attempted to offload their stock of papers.
But now they had bikes and were zipping along the streets after collecting their Echos from the railway station!
One of them (a former soldier and so a rather old paperboy) with dodgy brakes on his bike had almost skittled a policeman and so ended up in court, as the Reporter described:
"Pushing young newsboys will in future have to temper their zeal with caution.
"Complaints have been made concerning the boys' reckless career from the station, and at the St. Helens Police Court on Monday, Charles Forrest, an ex-soldier, of 63, Peter-street, was charged with riding a bicycle to the public danger.
"An officer stated that at 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday, 8th August, he was on point duty at the junction of Hall-street and Church-street when he saw the defendant coming out of George street on a bicycle.
"He was travelling about 12 miles an hour and was peddling as hard as he could go. Approaching witness [the policeman] he appeared to be trying to apply the brake, but apparently it would not act, and witness had to jump out of the way to avoid being run over.
"It was a very common practice with the paper boys; and it seemed a general race as to who could get their papers into circulation first without any heed to the public.
"The Bench dismissed the case on payment of costs and warned the defendant to be more careful in future."
I cover the career of character Annie Murphy in the first volume of my book 'The Hidden History of St Helens' (Vol. 2 out soon!)
Nicknamed "Gentle Annie", she had at least 94 convictions to her name for all sorts of offences, although mainly for "lodging out" or sleeping rough as we would call it.
Sometimes Annie was arrested for simply sitting on a bench in Victoria Square in the early hours of the morning when doing no one any harm.
This week Annie returned to St Helens Police Court to answer another charge of "lodging out without any visible means of subsistence".
PC Williams told the court he had found Annie just after midnight in a passage at the rear of Prescot Road in St Helens, after she had walked to the town from Liverpool.
The Reporter described the dialogue between Annie and Joseph Else on the Bench:
"Adopting a wheedling tone, Annie asked to be allowed to go and she would never come back.
"The Chairman (Mr. J. E. C. Else): We can't let you go in face of this list [of convictions]. The Bench have tried all sorts of things with you, letting you off…
"Annie: If you will let me go, I'll not come back, I'll swear.
"The Chairman: You don't need to swear.
"Annie: (in subdued tones): Only by God.
"The Bench ordered prisoner to go to prison for one month.
"Prisoner (quietly): All right."
Last month the Reporter had published an illustration of the proposed new war memorial for Victoria Square designed by a firm called Stott and Prescott of Ormskirk Street.
I wrote at the time that what was described as a "tall Celtic cross of graceful proportions" did not quite match the memorial unveiled in 1926.
That was because the committee behind the memorial had since chosen an alternative design by architects Biram and Fletcher of George Street in St Helens.
This week’s paper contained an illustration of the new design that would be built using Portland stone and which matches well the memorial that exists today in the Square (as pictured above).
They say every cloud has a silver lining. And under the headline "A Good Word For Bad Weather", the Reporter explained how the poor August in St Helens, with lots of rain and below normal temperatures, was having a positive aspect – a drop in the rates of infant mortality.
These rose during summer months as outbreaks of infantile diarrhoea in the town increased – caused, it was believed, by food contamination by flies.
An unnamed local doctor told the paper that he had never known a season marked by fewer flies which was positively impacting on child mortality rates.
On the 20th the influential Labour MP Jimmy Thomas gave an address at Earlestown in which he said miners were suffering as never before:
"They are working under economic conditions that are not only bad but are a scandal, conditions that did not enable them to maintain a fair and decent standard of life."
Jimmy Thomas would get himself embroiled in his own scandal in 1936, which led to him giving up a ministerial post and quitting politics.
Upon being entertained by stock exchange speculators at a golf club, he leaked tax changes planned for a forthcoming budget.
This he had done by dropping heavy hints. For example, while playing golf he had shouted "Tee up!", to indicate that the duties on tea were set to rise!
And finally at the Rainford Council meeting on the 21st, St Helens Corporation's Fire Brigade received rare praise for their speedy turn out when Fosters Buildings on Lords Fold got on fire.
Only twenty minutes had elapsed from the blaze's outbreak to when the brigade arrived on the scene.
That was considered fast for the 1920s, aided by the firemen now being able to travel in motor vehicles.
It was decided that a letter of congratulations be sent to St Helens Council's Watch Committee, which oversaw the brigade.
Such committees always liked to take the credit when things went well, and, of course, when they didn't, they'd blame the workers!
As Rainford was outside of the borough of St Helens, Rainford Council had to pay for the services of the town fire brigade, although they were insured against making such payments.
Next week's stories will include the gay young sparks of Church Street, the chestnut mare that was nothing but a bag of bones, the Co-op's bakery is destroyed by fire and the wild animal illusionist called The Great Carmo performs at the Hippodrome.
Although the term "benefit cheat" did not yet exist, those who abused the system of relieving hardship in even a minor way could be harshly treated.
Peter Price had been claiming what was often called "parish relief" that the Prescot Guardians administered under the Poor Law.
The miner from College Street in St Helens with five children had first applied in October 1921 stating that he was on short time at the pit.
That statement was true but he failed to tell the authorities that his wife undertook some part-time work and brought in a few bob a week into the household.
The amount varied but it was somewhere in the region of 5 to 10 shillings a week.
That was not very much when the average man's wage was £3 - £4 but it meant Mr Price had no entitlement to make a claim.
In total £5 8 shillings had been received and when Mr Price appeared before the magistrates at St Helens Town Hall this week, they deemed it a serious case and sent him to prison for 28 days with hard labour.
In a separate case, Albert Norman from Watery Lane in Sutton was also sent to gaol for a month with the Chairman of the Bench saying:
"The ratepayers cannot afford to be robbed in the way they are being robbed."
I do wonder how many of these cases were as a result of applicants not fully understanding the forms that they filled in and also not appreciating that a slip of their pen could lead to prison.
A century ago, people were not as experienced at form filling as we are today and not as educated.
Mr Norman’s mistake was writing "Nil" in answer to the question on the form enquiring whether he was in receipt of any income.
In fact he was working two days a week as a coal miner and when first applying for relief, had informed the clerk dealing with his claim that he was in part-time employment.
The clerk in question admitted to the court that that had been so – but the verbal statement carried little weight, as what mattered was what was written down on the form.
As a result of the "Nil" answer, Albert Norman received £5 1s, which would not otherwise have been paid to him, and a month in prison.
During the war half of the course at Grange Park Golf Club had been ploughed up in order to boost home grown food production.
On the 18th the St Helens Reporter updated its golfing readers with news on when an 18-hole course would once again be available.
The simple answer was next summer, as land has been acquired in front of the Grange Park Hotel in order to extend the course.
That land had also been ploughed for corn but had since been sown with grass seeds.
The rain during the winter had boosted the grass growth and work involved in the formation of new greens was now in an advanced state.
The newsboys or paperboys of St Helens had traditionally come from very poor stock.
Some were on the streets until late at night, badly attired and often without shoes, as they attempted to offload their stock of papers.
But now they had bikes and were zipping along the streets after collecting their Echos from the railway station!
One of them (a former soldier and so a rather old paperboy) with dodgy brakes on his bike had almost skittled a policeman and so ended up in court, as the Reporter described:
"Pushing young newsboys will in future have to temper their zeal with caution.
"Complaints have been made concerning the boys' reckless career from the station, and at the St. Helens Police Court on Monday, Charles Forrest, an ex-soldier, of 63, Peter-street, was charged with riding a bicycle to the public danger.
"An officer stated that at 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday, 8th August, he was on point duty at the junction of Hall-street and Church-street when he saw the defendant coming out of George street on a bicycle.
"He was travelling about 12 miles an hour and was peddling as hard as he could go. Approaching witness [the policeman] he appeared to be trying to apply the brake, but apparently it would not act, and witness had to jump out of the way to avoid being run over.
"It was a very common practice with the paper boys; and it seemed a general race as to who could get their papers into circulation first without any heed to the public.
"The Bench dismissed the case on payment of costs and warned the defendant to be more careful in future."
I cover the career of character Annie Murphy in the first volume of my book 'The Hidden History of St Helens' (Vol. 2 out soon!)
Nicknamed "Gentle Annie", she had at least 94 convictions to her name for all sorts of offences, although mainly for "lodging out" or sleeping rough as we would call it.
Sometimes Annie was arrested for simply sitting on a bench in Victoria Square in the early hours of the morning when doing no one any harm.
This week Annie returned to St Helens Police Court to answer another charge of "lodging out without any visible means of subsistence".
PC Williams told the court he had found Annie just after midnight in a passage at the rear of Prescot Road in St Helens, after she had walked to the town from Liverpool.
The Reporter described the dialogue between Annie and Joseph Else on the Bench:
"Adopting a wheedling tone, Annie asked to be allowed to go and she would never come back.
"The Chairman (Mr. J. E. C. Else): We can't let you go in face of this list [of convictions]. The Bench have tried all sorts of things with you, letting you off…
"Annie: If you will let me go, I'll not come back, I'll swear.
"The Chairman: You don't need to swear.
"Annie: (in subdued tones): Only by God.
"The Bench ordered prisoner to go to prison for one month.
"Prisoner (quietly): All right."
I wrote at the time that what was described as a "tall Celtic cross of graceful proportions" did not quite match the memorial unveiled in 1926.
That was because the committee behind the memorial had since chosen an alternative design by architects Biram and Fletcher of George Street in St Helens.
This week’s paper contained an illustration of the new design that would be built using Portland stone and which matches well the memorial that exists today in the Square (as pictured above).
They say every cloud has a silver lining. And under the headline "A Good Word For Bad Weather", the Reporter explained how the poor August in St Helens, with lots of rain and below normal temperatures, was having a positive aspect – a drop in the rates of infant mortality.
These rose during summer months as outbreaks of infantile diarrhoea in the town increased – caused, it was believed, by food contamination by flies.
An unnamed local doctor told the paper that he had never known a season marked by fewer flies which was positively impacting on child mortality rates.
On the 20th the influential Labour MP Jimmy Thomas gave an address at Earlestown in which he said miners were suffering as never before:
"They are working under economic conditions that are not only bad but are a scandal, conditions that did not enable them to maintain a fair and decent standard of life."
Jimmy Thomas would get himself embroiled in his own scandal in 1936, which led to him giving up a ministerial post and quitting politics.
Upon being entertained by stock exchange speculators at a golf club, he leaked tax changes planned for a forthcoming budget.
This he had done by dropping heavy hints. For example, while playing golf he had shouted "Tee up!", to indicate that the duties on tea were set to rise!
And finally at the Rainford Council meeting on the 21st, St Helens Corporation's Fire Brigade received rare praise for their speedy turn out when Fosters Buildings on Lords Fold got on fire.
Only twenty minutes had elapsed from the blaze's outbreak to when the brigade arrived on the scene.
That was considered fast for the 1920s, aided by the firemen now being able to travel in motor vehicles.
It was decided that a letter of congratulations be sent to St Helens Council's Watch Committee, which oversaw the brigade.
Such committees always liked to take the credit when things went well, and, of course, when they didn't, they'd blame the workers!
As Rainford was outside of the borough of St Helens, Rainford Council had to pay for the services of the town fire brigade, although they were insured against making such payments.
Next week's stories will include the gay young sparks of Church Street, the chestnut mare that was nothing but a bag of bones, the Co-op's bakery is destroyed by fire and the wild animal illusionist called The Great Carmo performs at the Hippodrome.