IOO YEARS AGOIOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (18th - 24th February 1919)
This week's stories include the man who behaved "like a lunatic" in College Street, the Thatto Heath burglar who blamed his behaviour on the flu, a tram and a horse-driven coal wagon crash in Duke Street, a toddler drowns in Grafton Street, Lowe House Church plan a war memorial and there's a special presentation to VC winner Jack Davies.
However we begin with a meeting of the Highways Committee on the 19th in which the councillors considered plans to stop the regular flooding of College Street. It would involve making difficult and expensive changes to the level of the nearby Hardshaw Brook but after a discussion the scheme was given the go-ahead by the committee.
They also considered estimates to improve large swathes of roads in the borough. Many of these streets were in a bad way, having received little maintenance during the war years. These included College Street (as far as Oldfield Street), Broad Oak Road, Ashcroft Street, Marshalls Cross Road and Clock Face Road.
The Education Committee also met on the 19th and took the decision to again close all the elementary schools in the town, as well as Cowley Girls School. This was through a desire to limit the spread of the deadly flu that had already taken many lives in St Helens and was resurgent yet again.
The devastating pandemic lasted around two years and affected a quarter of the British population, killing 220,000 people. A letter in the St Helens Reporter two days later wondered why the lads at Cowley Boys School were considered to be immune from the disease, labelling the decision to keep it open "absurd".
Sherdley Colliery was on the western side of Marshalls Cross Road, off Broadgate Avenue, where a miner called Thomas Marsh was fatally injured on the 20th. The 54-year-old from Peasley Cross Lane had completed his night shift and was about to enter the pit cage to return to the surface. Somehow he became trapped between the bottom of the shaft and the middle partition of the cage and was dead on arrival at St Helens Hospital.
On the same day three batches of boys appeared in the Police Court having been caught by the police playing pitch and toss on the previous Sunday. The groups of lads had been playing the gambling game in or near Park Road, Liverpool Street and Traverse Street and on each occasion had run off when they saw the police.
However the bobbies had longer legs than them and managed to make six arrests. In court the boys received fines of 7/6 or ten shillings. The Chairman of the Bench said the gaming would have to be "put down", adding that the lads "got so much money they did not know what to do with it".
The St Helens Reporter described on the 21st how Lowe House Church (pictured above) was planning to create a memorial to the 173 members of its congregation that had died in the war. A special chapel was to be created in the present church containing the names of all those that had perished.
This would then be incorporated into the new Lowe House, although that would not be finished until 1930. A two-month fundraising campaign for the 'Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Chapel' was being launched and special envelopes had been sent round the parish.
An inquest was held at the Town Hall on the 21st on Horace Newby. The 21-month-old son of railway shunter Albert Newby had been left playing in the backyard of his Grafton Street home. As it was washing day, a tub of water had been left standing in the yard and after a few minutes the boy was found lying immersed inside the tub. A doctor was summoned but there was nothing he could do.
Last May John 'Jack' Davies of the St Helens Pals had been awarded the Victoria Cross for "most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty under heavy rifle and machine-gun fire". Jack had performed a rearguard action with his Lewis gun to allow his company to retreat.
St Helens loved to honour its heroes and many locals had contributed to a special fund that the Reporter said was "in recognition of his bravery and the honour he had brought on the town of his birth." Actually that was Rock Ferry near Tranmere, not St Helens! As a boy Jack had moved from the Wirral to Sutton Heath Road after his father had got a job at the Cannington Shaw bottleworks.
During the evening of the 21st a special presentation was held in the Town Hall where Jack received £650 of war bonds as a "thank you" from the people of St Helens. That was a huge amount and equivalent to about four years' wages at the Ravenhead Brick and Pipe Works, where the VC winner was employed.
I've written much over the last few months about the flu pandemic and its effects on the people of the town. However there was a twist in the Police Court on the 24th when a youth used the flu as an excuse for his criminal behaviour. John Arnold pleaded guilty to breaking into Henry Plumley's home in Whittle Street and taking some money, a mouth organ and a key but added, "not with the intention of stealing them".
Arnold from Duke Street said he had not known what he was doing as he had been suffering from influenza. The cash he took was in a moneybox belonging to Plumley's children, although there was a dispute over the amount. The burglar said there had been less than a shilling in the box, although Mrs Plumley reckoned on four shillings.
The boy's father told the court that he had searched his son upon his return home but found no money. When he was asked why he had searched him, he replied it was to see if his son had any cigarettes, as he didn't allow John to smoke.
The Chief Constable said the lad's parents were "very respectable" and he had no previous convictions. So the magistrates decided to dismiss the case upon payment of court costs. However John would be placed under the supervision of the Police Court probation officer for twelve months.
Also in court was William Burns from College Street who was accused of threatening to assault his neighbours. In fact the magistrates were told that the former navy man had behaved "like a lunatic" and had turned the house of Peter Highcock "into a Bedlam". The trouble had occurred three days earlier at 11:20pm when Highcock was preparing to leave home to begin a nightshift. Also in the house was his wife and widowed daughter.
William Burns suddenly burst through the front door and seizing a large bread knife threatened to kill all the family. With the knife raised he rushed at Peter Highcock and threatened to stab him. There were many options that Highcock had at that moment. These included tackling the crazed man, going outside to get help and taking his family upstairs and barricading a door.
However going for a wash was the option that he chose. Yes, while his partly clad daughter was screaming, Peter Highcock decided to walk into his kitchen and continue his preparations for work! This astonished the magistrates with the Chairman saying: "If you and your wife and daughter were in such danger, why did you go into the kitchen to wash?" The answer Highcock gave was that the kitchen was nearby, which didn't explain anything.
William Burns blamed drink for what had happened. He told the hearing that he had never drunk before and so did not know the effect it would have on him. That was despite having spent four years in the Royal Navy during the war! He and his sister also claimed that Mrs Highcock had stuck him first with a flat iron and only then did he pick up the knife. The confused magistrates decided to bound the man over to keep the peace and make him pay the court costs.
Four boys aged between 14 and 17 were charged with breaking into the St Helens Bowling Club and stealing cigarettes. The lads were believed to have been responsible for a string of burglaries and all but one of the boys were remanded in custody for a week. The bowling club had been established in 1880 at the end of Regents Road in the fashionable St Ann's / Queen's Park district and still exists.
During the same hearing the Chairman of the Bench praised John Downing, telling the soldier that his behaviour between 1908 and 1914 had been very good. The praise was somewhat faint, however, as during that period the man from Manor Street in Peasley Cross had simply not been arrested!
During 1908 Downing had been before the magistrates four times for being drunk and disorderly and committing a breach of the peace. Then in 1914 he was twice more in court charged with similar offences. In 1915 he joined the army and two days earlier had been arrested in George Street while creating a disturbance in front of a crowd.
Downing gave going to a chip shop as his explanation for being in trouble yet again. The magistrates don't appear to have enquired as to what connection that had with the case and simply gave the soldier a ten shillings fine.
And finally there was a bad accident in Duke Street at 4 o’clock on the 24th when a tram travelling into St Helens collided with a horse-driven coal lorry owned by William Aspinall. The tramcar was considerably damaged by the impact, as was the wagon. The horse was thrown to the ground and although not seriously injured was lame in one foot.
Next week's stories will include a sad Parr suicide that could have been caused by post-natal depression, teenage "pandemonium" in Church Street, a father complains of his dead son's treatment in St Helens Hospital, the Park Road tram terror, Lennon's bold claim on the prices of food and the blue man from Chester Lane who was asked in court if he knew there'd been a war on.
However we begin with a meeting of the Highways Committee on the 19th in which the councillors considered plans to stop the regular flooding of College Street. It would involve making difficult and expensive changes to the level of the nearby Hardshaw Brook but after a discussion the scheme was given the go-ahead by the committee.
They also considered estimates to improve large swathes of roads in the borough. Many of these streets were in a bad way, having received little maintenance during the war years. These included College Street (as far as Oldfield Street), Broad Oak Road, Ashcroft Street, Marshalls Cross Road and Clock Face Road.
The Education Committee also met on the 19th and took the decision to again close all the elementary schools in the town, as well as Cowley Girls School. This was through a desire to limit the spread of the deadly flu that had already taken many lives in St Helens and was resurgent yet again.
The devastating pandemic lasted around two years and affected a quarter of the British population, killing 220,000 people. A letter in the St Helens Reporter two days later wondered why the lads at Cowley Boys School were considered to be immune from the disease, labelling the decision to keep it open "absurd".
Sherdley Colliery was on the western side of Marshalls Cross Road, off Broadgate Avenue, where a miner called Thomas Marsh was fatally injured on the 20th. The 54-year-old from Peasley Cross Lane had completed his night shift and was about to enter the pit cage to return to the surface. Somehow he became trapped between the bottom of the shaft and the middle partition of the cage and was dead on arrival at St Helens Hospital.
On the same day three batches of boys appeared in the Police Court having been caught by the police playing pitch and toss on the previous Sunday. The groups of lads had been playing the gambling game in or near Park Road, Liverpool Street and Traverse Street and on each occasion had run off when they saw the police.
However the bobbies had longer legs than them and managed to make six arrests. In court the boys received fines of 7/6 or ten shillings. The Chairman of the Bench said the gaming would have to be "put down", adding that the lads "got so much money they did not know what to do with it".
This would then be incorporated into the new Lowe House, although that would not be finished until 1930. A two-month fundraising campaign for the 'Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Chapel' was being launched and special envelopes had been sent round the parish.
An inquest was held at the Town Hall on the 21st on Horace Newby. The 21-month-old son of railway shunter Albert Newby had been left playing in the backyard of his Grafton Street home. As it was washing day, a tub of water had been left standing in the yard and after a few minutes the boy was found lying immersed inside the tub. A doctor was summoned but there was nothing he could do.
Last May John 'Jack' Davies of the St Helens Pals had been awarded the Victoria Cross for "most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty under heavy rifle and machine-gun fire". Jack had performed a rearguard action with his Lewis gun to allow his company to retreat.
St Helens loved to honour its heroes and many locals had contributed to a special fund that the Reporter said was "in recognition of his bravery and the honour he had brought on the town of his birth." Actually that was Rock Ferry near Tranmere, not St Helens! As a boy Jack had moved from the Wirral to Sutton Heath Road after his father had got a job at the Cannington Shaw bottleworks.
Left: John Davies standing behind John Molyneux in 1921 waiting to speak to the Prince of Wales; Right: A portrait of John
John Davies stands behind John Molyneux with the Prince of Wales
John Davies winner of the VC
I've written much over the last few months about the flu pandemic and its effects on the people of the town. However there was a twist in the Police Court on the 24th when a youth used the flu as an excuse for his criminal behaviour. John Arnold pleaded guilty to breaking into Henry Plumley's home in Whittle Street and taking some money, a mouth organ and a key but added, "not with the intention of stealing them".
Arnold from Duke Street said he had not known what he was doing as he had been suffering from influenza. The cash he took was in a moneybox belonging to Plumley's children, although there was a dispute over the amount. The burglar said there had been less than a shilling in the box, although Mrs Plumley reckoned on four shillings.
The boy's father told the court that he had searched his son upon his return home but found no money. When he was asked why he had searched him, he replied it was to see if his son had any cigarettes, as he didn't allow John to smoke.
The Chief Constable said the lad's parents were "very respectable" and he had no previous convictions. So the magistrates decided to dismiss the case upon payment of court costs. However John would be placed under the supervision of the Police Court probation officer for twelve months.
Also in court was William Burns from College Street who was accused of threatening to assault his neighbours. In fact the magistrates were told that the former navy man had behaved "like a lunatic" and had turned the house of Peter Highcock "into a Bedlam". The trouble had occurred three days earlier at 11:20pm when Highcock was preparing to leave home to begin a nightshift. Also in the house was his wife and widowed daughter.
William Burns suddenly burst through the front door and seizing a large bread knife threatened to kill all the family. With the knife raised he rushed at Peter Highcock and threatened to stab him. There were many options that Highcock had at that moment. These included tackling the crazed man, going outside to get help and taking his family upstairs and barricading a door.
However going for a wash was the option that he chose. Yes, while his partly clad daughter was screaming, Peter Highcock decided to walk into his kitchen and continue his preparations for work! This astonished the magistrates with the Chairman saying: "If you and your wife and daughter were in such danger, why did you go into the kitchen to wash?" The answer Highcock gave was that the kitchen was nearby, which didn't explain anything.
William Burns blamed drink for what had happened. He told the hearing that he had never drunk before and so did not know the effect it would have on him. That was despite having spent four years in the Royal Navy during the war! He and his sister also claimed that Mrs Highcock had stuck him first with a flat iron and only then did he pick up the knife. The confused magistrates decided to bound the man over to keep the peace and make him pay the court costs.
Four boys aged between 14 and 17 were charged with breaking into the St Helens Bowling Club and stealing cigarettes. The lads were believed to have been responsible for a string of burglaries and all but one of the boys were remanded in custody for a week. The bowling club had been established in 1880 at the end of Regents Road in the fashionable St Ann's / Queen's Park district and still exists.
During the same hearing the Chairman of the Bench praised John Downing, telling the soldier that his behaviour between 1908 and 1914 had been very good. The praise was somewhat faint, however, as during that period the man from Manor Street in Peasley Cross had simply not been arrested!
During 1908 Downing had been before the magistrates four times for being drunk and disorderly and committing a breach of the peace. Then in 1914 he was twice more in court charged with similar offences. In 1915 he joined the army and two days earlier had been arrested in George Street while creating a disturbance in front of a crowd.
Downing gave going to a chip shop as his explanation for being in trouble yet again. The magistrates don't appear to have enquired as to what connection that had with the case and simply gave the soldier a ten shillings fine.
And finally there was a bad accident in Duke Street at 4 o’clock on the 24th when a tram travelling into St Helens collided with a horse-driven coal lorry owned by William Aspinall. The tramcar was considerably damaged by the impact, as was the wagon. The horse was thrown to the ground and although not seriously injured was lame in one foot.
Next week's stories will include a sad Parr suicide that could have been caused by post-natal depression, teenage "pandemonium" in Church Street, a father complains of his dead son's treatment in St Helens Hospital, the Park Road tram terror, Lennon's bold claim on the prices of food and the blue man from Chester Lane who was asked in court if he knew there'd been a war on.