IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 17 - 23 FEBRRUARY 1925
This week's many stories include the Sutton boy playing football who went through a shop window, the plans to widen two bridges in St Helens, the motorbike accident in Dentons Green, the Pilkington boys who denied fighting in Church Street and the rejected application for a music licence for a fair in Thatto Heath.
We begin during the evening of the 17th when the London secretary of the Women's Guild of Empire addressed a meeting in the Congregational Schools in Ormskirk Street. The audience was told that the WGE had been founded after the war to foster a spirit of patriotism in the country and had been undertaking practical work in educating women politically on non-party lines.
The inquest into the death of Charles Smith was held this week at St Helens Town Hall. The 68-year-old from Helena Road in Sutton worked at Burtonwood Brewery and had been found dead in a reservoir at Ashtons Green Colliery. Although an open verdict of found drowned was recorded, Mr Smith appeared to have committed suicide through being a chronic sufferer of rheumatism, with pain relief in the 1920s not being what it is today.
Road and rail travellers journeying south from St Helens towards Parr, Peasley Cross and Sutton (and vice-versa) had for many years to cross swing bridges over the St Helens / Sankey Canal that would rise up when needed in order to allow the passage of boats. The most notable was the bridge at the top of Church Street which existed until 1937 and was adjacent to the appropriately named Ship Inn (pictured above).
When St Helens Council had discussed the bridge in 1920 there was a call for it to be closed, as the number of boats passing through had greatly declined over the years. But Alderman Bishop explained to the meeting that they had considered infilling that section of the canal, however the traffic on the water had recently increased and so they had postponed making any decision. The main problem was that the bridge was narrow having not being constructed with motor traffic in mind.
The railway company – who also had ownership of the canal network – were responsible for the bridge and at this week's meeting of the Highways Committee on the 18th, it was revealed that they'd refused the council's request to widen it. That was on the ground that the railway had no responsibility for how the bridge was being utilised by road traffic. The Borough Engineer informed the committee that the decking of the bridge was constantly in need of renewal and it was not fit for traffic for any length of time.
After some discussion the committee decided to apply for a grant to the Ministry of Transport to get the work done. The widening of Windle Bridge in Kiln Lane was also on their agenda. The Borough Engineer reported that Lancashire County Council had indicated that they were prepared to accede to that scheme, which they would jointly fund with St Helens Corporation.
Rowland Lowe from New Road in Rainhill was in St Helens Police Court this week charged with driving his car backwards in Church Street for nearly 100 yards. PC Robinson had been on point duty at the top of Bridge Street and at 6:30pm on one evening he had watched the car reversing in order that Lowe could pick up two lady friends. He was fined £1.
Boys were often brought to court charged with playing football in the street. That was if the local bobby could catch them, of course, as at the sight of a blue uniform, the lads would scatter like the wind! With the increasing amount of motor traffic, playing football was a somewhat dangerous pastime, although the main danger was to the surrounding windows. But that usually came from misdirected balls – not from the players themselves!
But this week in Cecil Street in Sutton, a 16-year-old youth called William Maudsley – who lived in Weymouth Street – was playing football with his mates when he slipped while chasing a ball and ended up going through the window of Glover's shop. He suffered a severe cut to his throat and neck and was immediately taken to a doctor for treatment and was said to be progressing well at home.
It was speech day at Cowley Boys School on the 19th. What was described as a crowded gathering of pupils, teachers, parents and friends watched a Liverpool professor present certificates and trophies to successful students.
Concert parties were all the rage in the 1920s, offering a wide variety of entertainment – not all of it, seemingly, very good. Not to be confused with the professional music hall acts that performed regularly at the Hippodrome, the concert parties mainly comprised amateurs or semi-professionals who didn’t travel too far afield and often performed for charity.
On the 19th the Scarlets Concert Party from Liverpool performed at the Volunteer Hall in St Helens in aid of funds for the Sutton Manor Mission. The Reporter gave the troupe a very positive review saying they had managed to grip their audience for a full two hours.
You have to applaud Pilkingtons for what they did for troubled lads. There were around 150 boys working at the glass firm who came to St Helens from all over the country. Many were orphans who had arrived from reformatories or industrial schools and lived in what sounds like a really nice hostel in Ravenhead. The amenities that the firm provided for the boys included a gym, baths and recreational rooms with adults on hand to supervise them and provide support. They even had their own brass band.
But getting a court conviction was risky for such lads as they could lose their jobs and home. On the 20th Edward Barratt and Charles Golding from the Ravenhead hostel appeared in court charged with fighting in Church Street after a constable on point duty near the White Hart Hotel had seen them exchange blows.
In fear of a conviction the pair denied fighting and told a story of leaving a shop and Golding accidentally tripping over Barratt's knee after a disagreement over a wallet. It was an unlikely tale but the magistrates gave the boys the benefit of the doubt and dismissed the case.
Alderman Henry Peet was a retired butcher who lived on the corner of Bishop Road and Dentons Green Lane. In January 1919 with a coal shortage leading to reduced public lighting in St Helens, Ald. Peet told a council meeting that Greenfield Road was so dark that residents could not find their way on dark nights. He said some locals were forced to grope their way home by feeling against the wall.
On the 20th the St Helens Reporter described how the alderman's own garden wall had been demolished as a result of an accident. A motorbike driven by Michael Flood of Raglan Street, with a young lady on the back riding pillion, had been proceeding down Windleshaw Road while a Ford van was motoring down Greenfield Road.
The two vehicles reached the Bishop Road corner at the same time and the motorcycle had to swerve to the left to avoid a collision and it crashed into the garden wall. It was completely demolished with the large stone coping and railings hurled into Ald. Peet's garden. The Reporter said the wall looked as though a heavy car had struck it, with ten feet razed to the ground.
Luckily Mr Flood and his passenger only received minor injuries, although the bike was badly twisted. It is unlikely that Ald Peet would have been reimbursed for the damage to his wall. Motor insurance was not compulsory until 1930 and did not automatically cover property damage until 1988.
There was a lengthy article in the Reporter about proposed new wireless legislation. One of the clauses that was causing the writer concern was a greater right for Post Office staff to enter premises to search for what was often known as "pirate" radio operators. These were not so-called "hams" but ordinary listeners who had not paid their licence fee.
The BBC was then a private company and the writer called for the service to be nationalised and the licence fee swept away. "It will have to come", they said. Well, the former did in 1927 when the BBC became a corporation but not the licence fee, of course.
By the 1920s many people were getting sick of the racket from fairgrounds and so-called hurdy-gurdy men playing their organ music late at night. The council was getting stricter about granting licences and so this week when Richard Jepson from Sutton Oak applied for a 14-day music licence for a fair and roundabouts in Thatto Heath, he was turned down.
The proposed venue had been waste land near Parliament Street with the fair planned to end at 9:30 on weeknights and 10 pm on Saturdays. Supt Dunn informed the magistrates that similar applications had in the past been denied for reasons of noise and rowdyism and men in the neighbourhood who worked night turns were particularly critical of such fairs.
Since Boxing Day the Theatre Royal in St Helens had been in panto mode with weekly performances of Red Riding Hood, Robinson Crusoe, Dick Whittington and then Cinderella. After taking a break from panto over the last few weeks, the Corporation Street theatre reverted to the genre on the 23rd for a week's performance of Jack and the Beanstalk, which included a "Grand fairy ballet".
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the floods at Peasley Cross Bridge that led to two prosecutions, the aliens in trouble in St Helens, two mineworkers are killed at Sherdley Colliery and the Cooper Street courting and card playing.
We begin during the evening of the 17th when the London secretary of the Women's Guild of Empire addressed a meeting in the Congregational Schools in Ormskirk Street. The audience was told that the WGE had been founded after the war to foster a spirit of patriotism in the country and had been undertaking practical work in educating women politically on non-party lines.
The inquest into the death of Charles Smith was held this week at St Helens Town Hall. The 68-year-old from Helena Road in Sutton worked at Burtonwood Brewery and had been found dead in a reservoir at Ashtons Green Colliery. Although an open verdict of found drowned was recorded, Mr Smith appeared to have committed suicide through being a chronic sufferer of rheumatism, with pain relief in the 1920s not being what it is today.
When St Helens Council had discussed the bridge in 1920 there was a call for it to be closed, as the number of boats passing through had greatly declined over the years. But Alderman Bishop explained to the meeting that they had considered infilling that section of the canal, however the traffic on the water had recently increased and so they had postponed making any decision. The main problem was that the bridge was narrow having not being constructed with motor traffic in mind.
The railway company – who also had ownership of the canal network – were responsible for the bridge and at this week's meeting of the Highways Committee on the 18th, it was revealed that they'd refused the council's request to widen it. That was on the ground that the railway had no responsibility for how the bridge was being utilised by road traffic. The Borough Engineer informed the committee that the decking of the bridge was constantly in need of renewal and it was not fit for traffic for any length of time.
After some discussion the committee decided to apply for a grant to the Ministry of Transport to get the work done. The widening of Windle Bridge in Kiln Lane was also on their agenda. The Borough Engineer reported that Lancashire County Council had indicated that they were prepared to accede to that scheme, which they would jointly fund with St Helens Corporation.
Boys were often brought to court charged with playing football in the street. That was if the local bobby could catch them, of course, as at the sight of a blue uniform, the lads would scatter like the wind! With the increasing amount of motor traffic, playing football was a somewhat dangerous pastime, although the main danger was to the surrounding windows. But that usually came from misdirected balls – not from the players themselves!
But this week in Cecil Street in Sutton, a 16-year-old youth called William Maudsley – who lived in Weymouth Street – was playing football with his mates when he slipped while chasing a ball and ended up going through the window of Glover's shop. He suffered a severe cut to his throat and neck and was immediately taken to a doctor for treatment and was said to be progressing well at home.
It was speech day at Cowley Boys School on the 19th. What was described as a crowded gathering of pupils, teachers, parents and friends watched a Liverpool professor present certificates and trophies to successful students.
Concert parties were all the rage in the 1920s, offering a wide variety of entertainment – not all of it, seemingly, very good. Not to be confused with the professional music hall acts that performed regularly at the Hippodrome, the concert parties mainly comprised amateurs or semi-professionals who didn’t travel too far afield and often performed for charity.
On the 19th the Scarlets Concert Party from Liverpool performed at the Volunteer Hall in St Helens in aid of funds for the Sutton Manor Mission. The Reporter gave the troupe a very positive review saying they had managed to grip their audience for a full two hours.
You have to applaud Pilkingtons for what they did for troubled lads. There were around 150 boys working at the glass firm who came to St Helens from all over the country. Many were orphans who had arrived from reformatories or industrial schools and lived in what sounds like a really nice hostel in Ravenhead. The amenities that the firm provided for the boys included a gym, baths and recreational rooms with adults on hand to supervise them and provide support. They even had their own brass band.
But getting a court conviction was risky for such lads as they could lose their jobs and home. On the 20th Edward Barratt and Charles Golding from the Ravenhead hostel appeared in court charged with fighting in Church Street after a constable on point duty near the White Hart Hotel had seen them exchange blows.
In fear of a conviction the pair denied fighting and told a story of leaving a shop and Golding accidentally tripping over Barratt's knee after a disagreement over a wallet. It was an unlikely tale but the magistrates gave the boys the benefit of the doubt and dismissed the case.
Alderman Henry Peet was a retired butcher who lived on the corner of Bishop Road and Dentons Green Lane. In January 1919 with a coal shortage leading to reduced public lighting in St Helens, Ald. Peet told a council meeting that Greenfield Road was so dark that residents could not find their way on dark nights. He said some locals were forced to grope their way home by feeling against the wall.
On the 20th the St Helens Reporter described how the alderman's own garden wall had been demolished as a result of an accident. A motorbike driven by Michael Flood of Raglan Street, with a young lady on the back riding pillion, had been proceeding down Windleshaw Road while a Ford van was motoring down Greenfield Road.
The two vehicles reached the Bishop Road corner at the same time and the motorcycle had to swerve to the left to avoid a collision and it crashed into the garden wall. It was completely demolished with the large stone coping and railings hurled into Ald. Peet's garden. The Reporter said the wall looked as though a heavy car had struck it, with ten feet razed to the ground.
Luckily Mr Flood and his passenger only received minor injuries, although the bike was badly twisted. It is unlikely that Ald Peet would have been reimbursed for the damage to his wall. Motor insurance was not compulsory until 1930 and did not automatically cover property damage until 1988.
There was a lengthy article in the Reporter about proposed new wireless legislation. One of the clauses that was causing the writer concern was a greater right for Post Office staff to enter premises to search for what was often known as "pirate" radio operators. These were not so-called "hams" but ordinary listeners who had not paid their licence fee.
The BBC was then a private company and the writer called for the service to be nationalised and the licence fee swept away. "It will have to come", they said. Well, the former did in 1927 when the BBC became a corporation but not the licence fee, of course.
By the 1920s many people were getting sick of the racket from fairgrounds and so-called hurdy-gurdy men playing their organ music late at night. The council was getting stricter about granting licences and so this week when Richard Jepson from Sutton Oak applied for a 14-day music licence for a fair and roundabouts in Thatto Heath, he was turned down.
The proposed venue had been waste land near Parliament Street with the fair planned to end at 9:30 on weeknights and 10 pm on Saturdays. Supt Dunn informed the magistrates that similar applications had in the past been denied for reasons of noise and rowdyism and men in the neighbourhood who worked night turns were particularly critical of such fairs.
Since Boxing Day the Theatre Royal in St Helens had been in panto mode with weekly performances of Red Riding Hood, Robinson Crusoe, Dick Whittington and then Cinderella. After taking a break from panto over the last few weeks, the Corporation Street theatre reverted to the genre on the 23rd for a week's performance of Jack and the Beanstalk, which included a "Grand fairy ballet".
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the floods at Peasley Cross Bridge that led to two prosecutions, the aliens in trouble in St Helens, two mineworkers are killed at Sherdley Colliery and the Cooper Street courting and card playing.
This week's many stories include the Sutton boy playing football who went through a shop window, the plans to widen two bridges in St Helens, the motorbike accident in Dentons Green, the Pilkington boys who denied fighting in Church Street and the rejected application for a music licence for a fair in Thatto Heath.
We begin during the evening of the 17th when the London secretary of the Women's Guild of Empire addressed a meeting in the Congregational Schools in Ormskirk Street.
The audience was told that the WGE had been founded after the war to foster a spirit of patriotism in the country and had been undertaking practical work in educating women politically on non-party lines.
The inquest into the death of Charles Smith was held this week at St Helens Town Hall. The 68-year-old from Helena Road in Sutton worked at Burtonwood Brewery and had been found dead in a reservoir at Ashtons Green Colliery.
Although an open verdict of found drowned was recorded, Mr Smith appeared to have committed suicide through being a chronic sufferer of rheumatism, with pain relief in the 1920s not being what it is today.
Road and rail travellers journeying south from St Helens towards Parr, Peasley Cross and Sutton (and vice-versa) had for many years to cross swing bridges over the St Helens / Sankey Canal that would rise up when needed in order to allow the passage of boats.
The most notable was the bridge at the top of Church Street which existed until 1937 and was adjacent to the appropriately named Ship Inn (pictured above).
When St Helens Council had discussed the bridge in 1920 there was a call for it to be closed, as the number of boats passing through had greatly declined over the years.
But Alderman Bishop explained to the meeting that they had considered infilling that section of the canal, however the traffic on the water had recently increased and so they had postponed making any decision.
The main problem was that the bridge was narrow having not being constructed with motor traffic in mind.
The railway company – who also had ownership of the canal network – were responsible for the bridge and at this week's meeting of the Highways Committee on the 18th it was revealed that they'd refused the council's request to widen it.
That was on the ground that the railway had no responsibility for how the bridge was being utilised by road traffic.
The Borough Engineer informed the committee that the decking of the bridge was constantly in need of renewal and it was not fit for traffic for any length of time.
After some discussion the committee decided to apply for a grant to the Ministry of Transport to get the work done.
The widening of Windle Bridge in Kiln Lane was also on their agenda.
The Borough Engineer reported that Lancashire County Council had indicated that they were prepared to accede to that scheme, which they would jointly fund with St Helens Corporation.
Rowland Lowe from New Road in Rainhill was in St Helens Police Court this week charged with driving his car backwards in Church Street for nearly 100 yards.
PC Robinson had been on point duty at the top of Bridge Street and at 6:30pm on one evening he had watched the car reversing in order that Lowe could pick up two lady friends. He was fined £1.
Boys were often brought to court charged with playing football in the street.
That was if the local bobby could catch them, of course, as at the sight of a blue uniform, the lads would scatter like the wind!
With the increasing amount of motor traffic, playing football was a somewhat dangerous pastime, although the main danger was to the surrounding windows.
But that usually came from misdirected balls – not from the players themselves!
But this week in Cecil Street in Sutton, a 16-year-old youth called William Maudsley – who lived in Weymouth Street – was playing football with his mates when he slipped while chasing a ball and ended up going through the window of Glover's shop.
He suffered a severe cut to his throat and neck and was immediately taken to a doctor for treatment and was said to be progressing well at home.
It was speech day at Cowley Boys School on the 19th. What was described as a crowded gathering of pupils, teachers, parents and friends watched a Liverpool professor present certificates and trophies to successful students.
Concert parties were all the rage in the 1920s, offering a wide variety of entertainment – not all of it, seemingly, very good.
Not to be confused with the professional music hall acts that performed regularly at the Hippodrome, the concert parties mainly comprised amateurs or semi-professionals who didn’t travel too far afield and often performed for charity.
On the 19th the Scarlets Concert Party from Liverpool performed at the Volunteer Hall in St Helens in aid of funds for the Sutton Manor Mission.
The Reporter gave the troupe a very positive review saying they had managed to grip their audience for a full two hours.
You have to applaud Pilkingtons for what they did for troubled lads. There were around 150 boys working at the glass firm who came to St Helens from all over the country.
Many were orphans who had arrived from reformatories or industrial schools and lived in what sounds like a really nice hostel in Ravenhead.
The amenities that the firm provided for the boys included a gym, baths and recreational rooms with adults on hand to supervise them and provide support. They even had their own brass band.
But getting a court conviction was risky for such lads as they could lose their jobs and home.
On the 20th Edward Barratt and Charles Golding from the Ravenhead hostel appeared in court charged with fighting in Church Street after a constable on point duty near the White Hart Hotel had seen them exchange blows.
In fear of a conviction the pair denied fighting and told a story of leaving a shop and Golding accidentally tripping over Barratt's knee after a disagreement over a wallet.
It was an unlikely tale but the magistrates gave the boys the benefit of the doubt and dismissed the case.
Alderman Henry Peet was a retired butcher who lived on the corner of Bishop Road and Dentons Green Lane.
In January 1919 with a coal shortage leading to reduced public lighting in St Helens, Ald. Peet told a council meeting that Greenfield Road was so dark that residents could not find their way on dark nights.
He said some locals were forced to grope their way home by feeling against the wall.
On the 20th the St Helens Reporter described how the alderman's own garden wall had been demolished as a result of an accident.
A motorbike driven by Michael Flood of Raglan Street, with a young lady on the back riding pillion, had been proceeding down Windleshaw Road while a Ford van was motoring down Greenfield Road.
The two vehicles reached the Bishop Road corner at the same time and the motorcycle had to swerve to the left to avoid a collision and it crashed into the garden wall.
It was completely demolished with the large stone coping and railings hurled into Ald. Peet's garden.
The Reporter said the wall looked as though a heavy car had struck it, with ten feet razed to the ground.
Luckily Mr Flood and his passenger only received minor injuries, although the bike was badly twisted.
It is unlikely that Ald Peet would have been reimbursed for the damage to his wall. Motor insurance was not compulsory until 1930 and did not automatically cover property damage until 1988.
There was a lengthy article in the Reporter about proposed new wireless legislation.
One of the clauses that was causing the writer concern was a greater right for Post Office staff to enter premises to search for what was often known as "pirate" radio operators.
These were not so-called "hams" but ordinary listeners who had not paid their licence fee.
The BBC was then a private company and the writer called for the service to be nationalised and the licence fee swept away. "It will have to come", they said.
Well, the former did in 1927 when the BBC became a corporation but not the licence fee, of course.
By the 1920s many people were getting sick of the racket from fairgrounds and so-called hurdy-gurdy men playing their organ music late at night.
The council was getting stricter about granting licences and so this week when Richard Jepson from Sutton Oak applied for a 14-day music licence for a fair and roundabouts in Thatto Heath, he was turned down.
The proposed venue had been waste land near Parliament Street with the fair planned to end at 9:30 on weeknights and 10 pm on Saturdays.
Supt Dunn informed the magistrates that similar applications had in the past been denied for reasons of noise and rowdyism and men in the neighbourhood who worked night turns were particularly critical of such fairs.
Since Boxing Day the Theatre Royal in St Helens had been in panto mode with weekly performances of Red Riding Hood, Robinson Crusoe, Dick Whittington and then Cinderella.
After taking a break from panto over the last few weeks, the Corporation Street theatre reverted to the genre on the 23rd for a week's performance of Jack and the Beanstalk, which included a "Grand fairy ballet".
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the floods at Peasley Cross Bridge that led to two prosecutions, the aliens in trouble in St Helens, two mineworkers are killed at Sherdley Colliery and the Cooper Street courting and card playing.
We begin during the evening of the 17th when the London secretary of the Women's Guild of Empire addressed a meeting in the Congregational Schools in Ormskirk Street.
The audience was told that the WGE had been founded after the war to foster a spirit of patriotism in the country and had been undertaking practical work in educating women politically on non-party lines.
The inquest into the death of Charles Smith was held this week at St Helens Town Hall. The 68-year-old from Helena Road in Sutton worked at Burtonwood Brewery and had been found dead in a reservoir at Ashtons Green Colliery.
Although an open verdict of found drowned was recorded, Mr Smith appeared to have committed suicide through being a chronic sufferer of rheumatism, with pain relief in the 1920s not being what it is today.
Road and rail travellers journeying south from St Helens towards Parr, Peasley Cross and Sutton (and vice-versa) had for many years to cross swing bridges over the St Helens / Sankey Canal that would rise up when needed in order to allow the passage of boats.
When St Helens Council had discussed the bridge in 1920 there was a call for it to be closed, as the number of boats passing through had greatly declined over the years.
But Alderman Bishop explained to the meeting that they had considered infilling that section of the canal, however the traffic on the water had recently increased and so they had postponed making any decision.
The main problem was that the bridge was narrow having not being constructed with motor traffic in mind.
The railway company – who also had ownership of the canal network – were responsible for the bridge and at this week's meeting of the Highways Committee on the 18th it was revealed that they'd refused the council's request to widen it.
That was on the ground that the railway had no responsibility for how the bridge was being utilised by road traffic.
The Borough Engineer informed the committee that the decking of the bridge was constantly in need of renewal and it was not fit for traffic for any length of time.
After some discussion the committee decided to apply for a grant to the Ministry of Transport to get the work done.
The widening of Windle Bridge in Kiln Lane was also on their agenda.
The Borough Engineer reported that Lancashire County Council had indicated that they were prepared to accede to that scheme, which they would jointly fund with St Helens Corporation.
PC Robinson had been on point duty at the top of Bridge Street and at 6:30pm on one evening he had watched the car reversing in order that Lowe could pick up two lady friends. He was fined £1.
Boys were often brought to court charged with playing football in the street.
That was if the local bobby could catch them, of course, as at the sight of a blue uniform, the lads would scatter like the wind!
With the increasing amount of motor traffic, playing football was a somewhat dangerous pastime, although the main danger was to the surrounding windows.
But that usually came from misdirected balls – not from the players themselves!
But this week in Cecil Street in Sutton, a 16-year-old youth called William Maudsley – who lived in Weymouth Street – was playing football with his mates when he slipped while chasing a ball and ended up going through the window of Glover's shop.
He suffered a severe cut to his throat and neck and was immediately taken to a doctor for treatment and was said to be progressing well at home.
It was speech day at Cowley Boys School on the 19th. What was described as a crowded gathering of pupils, teachers, parents and friends watched a Liverpool professor present certificates and trophies to successful students.
Concert parties were all the rage in the 1920s, offering a wide variety of entertainment – not all of it, seemingly, very good.
Not to be confused with the professional music hall acts that performed regularly at the Hippodrome, the concert parties mainly comprised amateurs or semi-professionals who didn’t travel too far afield and often performed for charity.
On the 19th the Scarlets Concert Party from Liverpool performed at the Volunteer Hall in St Helens in aid of funds for the Sutton Manor Mission.
The Reporter gave the troupe a very positive review saying they had managed to grip their audience for a full two hours.
You have to applaud Pilkingtons for what they did for troubled lads. There were around 150 boys working at the glass firm who came to St Helens from all over the country.
Many were orphans who had arrived from reformatories or industrial schools and lived in what sounds like a really nice hostel in Ravenhead.
The amenities that the firm provided for the boys included a gym, baths and recreational rooms with adults on hand to supervise them and provide support. They even had their own brass band.
But getting a court conviction was risky for such lads as they could lose their jobs and home.
On the 20th Edward Barratt and Charles Golding from the Ravenhead hostel appeared in court charged with fighting in Church Street after a constable on point duty near the White Hart Hotel had seen them exchange blows.
In fear of a conviction the pair denied fighting and told a story of leaving a shop and Golding accidentally tripping over Barratt's knee after a disagreement over a wallet.
It was an unlikely tale but the magistrates gave the boys the benefit of the doubt and dismissed the case.
Alderman Henry Peet was a retired butcher who lived on the corner of Bishop Road and Dentons Green Lane.
In January 1919 with a coal shortage leading to reduced public lighting in St Helens, Ald. Peet told a council meeting that Greenfield Road was so dark that residents could not find their way on dark nights.
He said some locals were forced to grope their way home by feeling against the wall.
On the 20th the St Helens Reporter described how the alderman's own garden wall had been demolished as a result of an accident.
A motorbike driven by Michael Flood of Raglan Street, with a young lady on the back riding pillion, had been proceeding down Windleshaw Road while a Ford van was motoring down Greenfield Road.
The two vehicles reached the Bishop Road corner at the same time and the motorcycle had to swerve to the left to avoid a collision and it crashed into the garden wall.
It was completely demolished with the large stone coping and railings hurled into Ald. Peet's garden.
The Reporter said the wall looked as though a heavy car had struck it, with ten feet razed to the ground.
Luckily Mr Flood and his passenger only received minor injuries, although the bike was badly twisted.
It is unlikely that Ald Peet would have been reimbursed for the damage to his wall. Motor insurance was not compulsory until 1930 and did not automatically cover property damage until 1988.
There was a lengthy article in the Reporter about proposed new wireless legislation.
One of the clauses that was causing the writer concern was a greater right for Post Office staff to enter premises to search for what was often known as "pirate" radio operators.
These were not so-called "hams" but ordinary listeners who had not paid their licence fee.
The BBC was then a private company and the writer called for the service to be nationalised and the licence fee swept away. "It will have to come", they said.
Well, the former did in 1927 when the BBC became a corporation but not the licence fee, of course.
By the 1920s many people were getting sick of the racket from fairgrounds and so-called hurdy-gurdy men playing their organ music late at night.
The council was getting stricter about granting licences and so this week when Richard Jepson from Sutton Oak applied for a 14-day music licence for a fair and roundabouts in Thatto Heath, he was turned down.
The proposed venue had been waste land near Parliament Street with the fair planned to end at 9:30 on weeknights and 10 pm on Saturdays.
Supt Dunn informed the magistrates that similar applications had in the past been denied for reasons of noise and rowdyism and men in the neighbourhood who worked night turns were particularly critical of such fairs.
Since Boxing Day the Theatre Royal in St Helens had been in panto mode with weekly performances of Red Riding Hood, Robinson Crusoe, Dick Whittington and then Cinderella.
After taking a break from panto over the last few weeks, the Corporation Street theatre reverted to the genre on the 23rd for a week's performance of Jack and the Beanstalk, which included a "Grand fairy ballet".
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the floods at Peasley Cross Bridge that led to two prosecutions, the aliens in trouble in St Helens, two mineworkers are killed at Sherdley Colliery and the Cooper Street courting and card playing.