IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (18th - 24th JULY 1922)
This week's many stories include the fighting women of Thatto Heath, Parr and Peasley Cross, the unveiling of the Eccleston Lane Ends war memorial, the betting craze in Sutton Manor, an update on the Victoria Square war memorial and the result of the St Helens fund to relieve victims of the terrible Russian famine.
We begin on the 20th when more street betting cases were heard in St Helens Police Court. The St Helens Reporter referred to the recent spate of prosecutions as a "betting craze" and Superintendent Dunn told the magistrates that there was a great prevalence of gambling in the town. Many women, he claimed, were complaining that their husbands were spending their wages on betting and thus wasting money that was badly needed in the home.
As most working class men then handed their pay packets over to their wives and received pocket money back in return, that claim is a little surprising. But perhaps the men after receiving their wages were making a beeline for the bookies and not immediately going home. That's why on payday, many wives would wait at their husband's works for them to come out. They would then take their wage packets off them and stop the cash from being blown on drinking and gambling.
In court accused of loitering for the purpose of betting in Jubits Lane, Sutton Manor, was newsagent Bertrand Yates. A police officer in plain clothes had watched Mr Yates receive three betting slips and the defendant told the Bench that it had been his first offence and it would be his last. That was often stated in court but, perhaps, he meant it. Although Yates' fine at £10 was high, the bookie that he worked for would likely have paid it.
When female neighbours fell out it was common for allegations of impropriety to be spread about the other. Such gossip would allege unfaithfulness, bearing an illegitimate child or living with a man without being married – claims that were often made up simply to embarrass. This week Catherine Harrison from Bramwell Street in Parr appeared in St Helens Police Court charged with committing a breach of the peace.
Her neighbour, Sarah Grady, accused the woman of having made a "disgraceful charge" against her while passing her house and the accusation had led to a disturbance. Exactly what was claimed was not reported but Mrs Grady declared to the court: "I have had three years of married life and I have a good, decent husband."
Despite the testimony of a number of witnesses, the defendant Catherine Harrison said it had been a "made-up affair". She was returning home from the pictures and when passing Mrs Grady's home had simply been talking to a woman friend. Then she contradicted herself by saying she had not said a word and Mrs Grady had simply gone for a policeman for no reason. Mrs Harrison was bound over to keep the peace for six months.
The dispute between Sabina Deacle and a Mrs Woollard had gone past the insults stage. The next-door neighbours in Elephant Lane in Thatto Heath were now using weapons against each other instead of words. The incident that had led to court summonses being issued was triggered when Mrs Woollard's sister had an altercation with Mrs Deacle's little boy in a shared yard. One thing led to another and Mrs Woollard called Mrs Deacle a Sinn Feiner, which she denied. Upon entering Mrs Deacle's home, Mrs Woollard hit her neighbour in the face with a bucket and her sister bashed her over the head with a sweeping brush!
That was Mrs Deacle's story of what had occurred and, as usual in such cases, it was a one-sided account in which anything unflattering of her own behaviour was omitted. When the Woollard sisters gave their side of the row they claimed that not only had the woman thrown a brick at them but had also chucked a hot cup of tea and a quart bottle. There were as usual loads of witnesses telling their own tales and Mrs Deacle claimed it was all a "put-up job".
In the end the magistrates decided the latter should be bound over and her cross-summons against Mrs Woollard was dismissed. You do wonder how such neighbours got on with each other after their court appearances, particularly as the housing shortage meant finding alternative accommodation would not have been easy. Sequels to court cases did occur as in the next case, in which Margaret Stringfellow was charged with using abusive language to Mary Edwards in Peasley Cross.
A fortnight earlier the latter had given court evidence against Mrs Stringfellow and when the pair subsequently bumped into each other in the street, the woman's fury knew no bounds. Mrs Edwards said she had called her the "most awful names". The dispute was between neighbours of Appleton Street and a woman called Harriet Gill gave evidence in support of Mrs Edwards. Mrs Stringfellow angrily accused her of telling a pack of lies but was bound over for six months.
The Appleton Street wars also extended to Martha Swift and John Chadwick. The latter was accused of using abusive language towards the former who Chadwick accused in court of being a liar. He made the same claim against another witness but was also bound over.
The Russian famine of 1921 - 1922 is estimated to have killed 5 million and last February a meeting of what were described as prominent townspeople was held in St Helens Town Hall. The purpose of the assembly was to discuss ways of raising funds to provide relief to alleviate "the horrors" of the famine and a committee was formed. Cllr. Evelyn Pilkington told the meeting that although there was a great deal of distress locally, they had a duty to the Russians as allies in the war. "We cannot pass on one side and say we cannot help at all", Cllr. Pilkington added.
This week in the Reporter the organising committee published this letter: "The committee fully recognised that the fund was inaugurated at a time when there were many calls on behalf of our own indigent at home. Yet we felt convinced that even the poorest in this town could not stand by and listen unmoved to the true accounts of the death of thousands of women and children through starvation and pestilence.
"This faith of the committee in the large heartedness of the St. Helens folk has been amply justified; and sixteen hundred pounds sterling and over two hundred and sixty-five pounds worth of food and clothing have been dispatched from St. Helens to the famine areas through the agency of the Society of Friends. The committee feel that where all have given of their best, it is impossible to single out one organisation or individual for special mention. The churches, the schools (elementary and secondary), the traders, the men of substance, and the little boys and girls have all given money."
The Reporter also described how the Blackbrook Gala and Sports run by St Mary's Church had been held last weekend in a field at Parr Hall. The weather had been ideal and dancing had taken place in the evening to the music of the Haydock Colliery Band. There was an advert for a new brand of cigarette in the Reporter on the 21st. Called Golden Chairman, the cigarettes were priced at 11½d for 20 or 6d for 10.
There did not seem any end to the large number of war memorials that were being unveiled in St Helens. These were mainly plaques in churches, schools and clubs but the memorial at Eccleston Lane Ends was on a much grander scale. The Bishop of Liverpool unveiled the striking statue (which still exists today) on the 23rd. Paid for by Alderman Frederick Dixon-Nuttall, the St Helens Reporter described the memorial on the junction of Burrows Lane and St Helens Road as unique.
That was because it did not simply focus on the soldier – who is depicted on a slab with a pair of binoculars in one hand and a gun in the other – but also on the mother. The designer wanted the women – who were left behind in England during the war and dreading the arrival of a telegram bearing bad news – to be included.
The location of the memorial was not far away from the Knowsley camp where thousands of Lancastrian soldiers were trained prior to embarking for France. And so the statue was dedicated to "all those from the West Derby Hundred of the County Palatine of Lancaster" – essentially, all soldiers and their mothers from West Lancashire. The Bishop in dedicating and unveiling the statue said the dead were heroes and would not be forgotten as long as the monument stood.
And plans for the war memorial in Victoria Square outside of St Helens Town Hall were finally moving at pace. The St Helens Reporter published an illustration of the design that the memorial committee had recently selected. This had been submitted by a firm called Stott and Prescott of Ormskirk Street and took the form of a "tall Celtic cross of graceful proportions". The 36-ft high structure does not quite match the memorial that stands today in Victoria Square. But the St Helens' tribute to the fallen would not be unveiled for four more years, allowing plenty of time for the tweaking of its design.
Next week's stories will include the churchyard desecration at Sutton, the anti-war demonstration down Bridge Street, the Langtree Street benefit cheat, a dirt-throwing court separation case and a death at Lea Green Colliery.
We begin on the 20th when more street betting cases were heard in St Helens Police Court. The St Helens Reporter referred to the recent spate of prosecutions as a "betting craze" and Superintendent Dunn told the magistrates that there was a great prevalence of gambling in the town. Many women, he claimed, were complaining that their husbands were spending their wages on betting and thus wasting money that was badly needed in the home.
As most working class men then handed their pay packets over to their wives and received pocket money back in return, that claim is a little surprising. But perhaps the men after receiving their wages were making a beeline for the bookies and not immediately going home. That's why on payday, many wives would wait at their husband's works for them to come out. They would then take their wage packets off them and stop the cash from being blown on drinking and gambling.
In court accused of loitering for the purpose of betting in Jubits Lane, Sutton Manor, was newsagent Bertrand Yates. A police officer in plain clothes had watched Mr Yates receive three betting slips and the defendant told the Bench that it had been his first offence and it would be his last. That was often stated in court but, perhaps, he meant it. Although Yates' fine at £10 was high, the bookie that he worked for would likely have paid it.
When female neighbours fell out it was common for allegations of impropriety to be spread about the other. Such gossip would allege unfaithfulness, bearing an illegitimate child or living with a man without being married – claims that were often made up simply to embarrass. This week Catherine Harrison from Bramwell Street in Parr appeared in St Helens Police Court charged with committing a breach of the peace.
Her neighbour, Sarah Grady, accused the woman of having made a "disgraceful charge" against her while passing her house and the accusation had led to a disturbance. Exactly what was claimed was not reported but Mrs Grady declared to the court: "I have had three years of married life and I have a good, decent husband."
Despite the testimony of a number of witnesses, the defendant Catherine Harrison said it had been a "made-up affair". She was returning home from the pictures and when passing Mrs Grady's home had simply been talking to a woman friend. Then she contradicted herself by saying she had not said a word and Mrs Grady had simply gone for a policeman for no reason. Mrs Harrison was bound over to keep the peace for six months.
The dispute between Sabina Deacle and a Mrs Woollard had gone past the insults stage. The next-door neighbours in Elephant Lane in Thatto Heath were now using weapons against each other instead of words. The incident that had led to court summonses being issued was triggered when Mrs Woollard's sister had an altercation with Mrs Deacle's little boy in a shared yard. One thing led to another and Mrs Woollard called Mrs Deacle a Sinn Feiner, which she denied. Upon entering Mrs Deacle's home, Mrs Woollard hit her neighbour in the face with a bucket and her sister bashed her over the head with a sweeping brush!
That was Mrs Deacle's story of what had occurred and, as usual in such cases, it was a one-sided account in which anything unflattering of her own behaviour was omitted. When the Woollard sisters gave their side of the row they claimed that not only had the woman thrown a brick at them but had also chucked a hot cup of tea and a quart bottle. There were as usual loads of witnesses telling their own tales and Mrs Deacle claimed it was all a "put-up job".
In the end the magistrates decided the latter should be bound over and her cross-summons against Mrs Woollard was dismissed. You do wonder how such neighbours got on with each other after their court appearances, particularly as the housing shortage meant finding alternative accommodation would not have been easy. Sequels to court cases did occur as in the next case, in which Margaret Stringfellow was charged with using abusive language to Mary Edwards in Peasley Cross.
A fortnight earlier the latter had given court evidence against Mrs Stringfellow and when the pair subsequently bumped into each other in the street, the woman's fury knew no bounds. Mrs Edwards said she had called her the "most awful names". The dispute was between neighbours of Appleton Street and a woman called Harriet Gill gave evidence in support of Mrs Edwards. Mrs Stringfellow angrily accused her of telling a pack of lies but was bound over for six months.
The Appleton Street wars also extended to Martha Swift and John Chadwick. The latter was accused of using abusive language towards the former who Chadwick accused in court of being a liar. He made the same claim against another witness but was also bound over.
The Russian famine of 1921 - 1922 is estimated to have killed 5 million and last February a meeting of what were described as prominent townspeople was held in St Helens Town Hall. The purpose of the assembly was to discuss ways of raising funds to provide relief to alleviate "the horrors" of the famine and a committee was formed. Cllr. Evelyn Pilkington told the meeting that although there was a great deal of distress locally, they had a duty to the Russians as allies in the war. "We cannot pass on one side and say we cannot help at all", Cllr. Pilkington added.
This week in the Reporter the organising committee published this letter: "The committee fully recognised that the fund was inaugurated at a time when there were many calls on behalf of our own indigent at home. Yet we felt convinced that even the poorest in this town could not stand by and listen unmoved to the true accounts of the death of thousands of women and children through starvation and pestilence.
"This faith of the committee in the large heartedness of the St. Helens folk has been amply justified; and sixteen hundred pounds sterling and over two hundred and sixty-five pounds worth of food and clothing have been dispatched from St. Helens to the famine areas through the agency of the Society of Friends. The committee feel that where all have given of their best, it is impossible to single out one organisation or individual for special mention. The churches, the schools (elementary and secondary), the traders, the men of substance, and the little boys and girls have all given money."
The Reporter also described how the Blackbrook Gala and Sports run by St Mary's Church had been held last weekend in a field at Parr Hall. The weather had been ideal and dancing had taken place in the evening to the music of the Haydock Colliery Band. There was an advert for a new brand of cigarette in the Reporter on the 21st. Called Golden Chairman, the cigarettes were priced at 11½d for 20 or 6d for 10.
That was because it did not simply focus on the soldier – who is depicted on a slab with a pair of binoculars in one hand and a gun in the other – but also on the mother. The designer wanted the women – who were left behind in England during the war and dreading the arrival of a telegram bearing bad news – to be included.
The location of the memorial was not far away from the Knowsley camp where thousands of Lancastrian soldiers were trained prior to embarking for France. And so the statue was dedicated to "all those from the West Derby Hundred of the County Palatine of Lancaster" – essentially, all soldiers and their mothers from West Lancashire. The Bishop in dedicating and unveiling the statue said the dead were heroes and would not be forgotten as long as the monument stood.
And plans for the war memorial in Victoria Square outside of St Helens Town Hall were finally moving at pace. The St Helens Reporter published an illustration of the design that the memorial committee had recently selected. This had been submitted by a firm called Stott and Prescott of Ormskirk Street and took the form of a "tall Celtic cross of graceful proportions". The 36-ft high structure does not quite match the memorial that stands today in Victoria Square. But the St Helens' tribute to the fallen would not be unveiled for four more years, allowing plenty of time for the tweaking of its design.
Next week's stories will include the churchyard desecration at Sutton, the anti-war demonstration down Bridge Street, the Langtree Street benefit cheat, a dirt-throwing court separation case and a death at Lea Green Colliery.
This week's many stories include the fighting women of Thatto Heath, Parr and Peasley Cross, the unveiling of the Eccleston Lane Ends war memorial, the betting craze in Sutton Manor, an update on the Victoria Square war memorial and the result of the St Helens fund to relieve victims of the terrible Russian famine.
We begin on the 20th when more street betting cases were heard in St Helens Police Court.
The St Helens Reporter referred to the recent spate of prosecutions as a "betting craze" and Superintendent Dunn told the magistrates that there was a great prevalence of gambling in the town.
Many women, he claimed, were complaining that their husbands were spending their wages on betting and thus wasting money that was badly needed in the home.
As most working class men then handed their pay packets over to their wives and received pocket money back in return, that claim is a little surprising.
But perhaps the men after receiving their wages were making a beeline for the bookies and not immediately going home.
That's why on payday, many wives would wait at their husband's works for them to come out.
They would then take their wage packets off them and stop the cash from being blown on drinking and gambling.
In court accused of loitering for the purpose of betting in Jubits Lane, Sutton Manor, was newsagent Bertrand Yates.
A police officer in plain clothes had watched Mr Yates receive three betting slips and the defendant told the Bench that it had been his first offence and it would be his last.
That was often stated in court but, perhaps, he meant it. Although Yates' fine at £10 was high, the bookie that he worked for would likely have paid it.
When female neighbours fell out it was common for allegations of impropriety to be spread about the other.
Such gossip would allege unfaithfulness, bearing an illegitimate child or living with a man without being married – claims that were often made up simply to embarrass.
This week Catherine Harrison from Bramwell Street in Parr appeared in St Helens Police Court charged with committing a breach of the peace.
Her neighbour, Sarah Grady, accused the woman of having made a "disgraceful charge" against her while passing her house and the accusation had led to a disturbance.
Exactly what was claimed was not reported but Mrs Grady declared to the court:
"I have had three years of married life and I have a good, decent husband."
Despite the testimony of a number of witnesses, the defendant Catherine Harrison said it had been a "made-up affair".
She was returning home from the pictures and when passing Mrs Grady's home had simply been talking to a woman friend.
Then she contradicted herself by saying she had not said a word and Mrs Grady had simply gone for a policeman for no reason. Mrs Harrison was bound over to keep the peace for six months.
The dispute between Sabina Deacle and a Mrs Woollard had gone past the insults stage.
The next-door neighbours in Elephant Lane in Thatto Heath were now using weapons against each other instead of words.
The incident that had led to court summonses being issued was triggered when Mrs Woollard's sister had an altercation with Mrs Deacle's little boy in a shared yard.
One thing led to another and Mrs Woollard called Mrs Deacle a Sinn Feiner, which she denied.
Upon entering Mrs Deacle's home, Mrs Woollard hit her neighbour in the face with a bucket and her sister bashed her over the head with a sweeping brush!
That was Mrs Deacle's story of what had occurred and, as usual in such cases, it was a one-sided account in which anything unflattering of her own behaviour was omitted.
When the Woollard sisters gave their side of the row they claimed that not only had the woman thrown a brick at them but had also chucked a hot cup of tea and a quart bottle.
There were as usual loads of witnesses telling their own tales and Mrs Deacle claimed it was all a "put-up job".
In the end the magistrates decided the latter should be bound over and her cross-summons against Mrs Woollard was dismissed.
You do wonder how such neighbours got on with each other after their court appearances, particularly as the housing shortage meant finding alternative accommodation would not have been easy.
Sequels to court cases did occur as in the next case, in which Margaret Stringfellow was charged with using abusive language to Mary Edwards in Peasley Cross.
A fortnight earlier the latter had given court evidence against Mrs Stringfellow and when the pair subsequently bumped into each other in the street, the woman's fury knew no bounds.
Mrs Edwards said she had called her the "most awful names".
The dispute was between neighbours of Appleton Street and a woman called Harriet Gill gave evidence in support of Mrs Edwards.
Mrs Stringfellow angrily accused her of telling a pack of lies but was bound over for six months.
The Appleton Street wars also extended to Martha Swift and John Chadwick.
The latter was accused of using abusive language towards the former who Chadwick accused in court of being a liar. He made the same claim against another witness but was also bound over.
The Russian famine of 1921 - 1922 is estimated to have killed 5 million and last February a meeting of what were described as prominent townspeople was held in St Helens Town Hall.
The purpose of the assembly was to discuss ways of raising funds to provide relief to alleviate "the horrors" of the famine and a committee was formed.
Cllr. Evelyn Pilkington told the meeting that although there was a great deal of distress locally, they had a duty to the Russians as allies in the war. "We cannot pass on one side and say we cannot help at all", Cllr. Pilkington added.
This week in the Reporter the organising committee published this letter:
"The committee fully recognised that the fund was inaugurated at a time when there were many calls on behalf of our own indigent at home.
"Yet we felt convinced that even the poorest in this town could not stand by and listen unmoved to the true accounts of the death of thousands of women and children through starvation and pestilence.
"This faith of the committee in the large heartedness of the St. Helens folk has been amply justified; and sixteen hundred pounds sterling and over two hundred and sixty-five pounds worth of food and clothing have been dispatched from St. Helens to the famine areas through the agency of the Society of Friends.
"The committee feel that where all have given of their best, it is impossible to single out one organisation or individual for special mention.
"The churches, the schools (elementary and secondary), the traders, the men of substance, and the little boys and girls have all given money."
The Reporter also described how the Blackbrook Gala and Sports run by St Mary's Church had been held last weekend in a field at Parr Hall.
The weather had been ideal and dancing had taken place in the evening to the music of the Haydock Colliery Band.
There was an advert for a new brand of cigarette in the Reporter on the 21st. Called Golden Chairman, the cigarettes were priced at 11½d for 20 or 6d for 10.
There did not seem any end to the large number of war memorials that were being unveiled in St Helens.
These were mainly plaques in churches, schools and clubs but the memorial at Eccleston Lane Ends was on a much grander scale.
The Bishop of Liverpool unveiled the striking statue (which still exists today) on the 23rd.
Paid for by Alderman Frederick Dixon-Nuttall, the St Helens Reporter described the memorial on the junction of Burrows Lane and St Helens Road as unique.
That was because it did not simply focus on the soldier – who is depicted on a slab with a pair of binoculars in one hand and a gun in the other – but also on the mother.
The designer wanted the women – who were left behind in England during the war and dreading the arrival of a telegram bearing bad news – to be included.
The location of the memorial was not far away from the Knowsley camp where thousands of Lancastrian soldiers were trained prior to embarking for France.
And so the statue was dedicated to "all those from the West Derby Hundred of the County Palatine of Lancaster" – essentially, all soldiers and their mothers from West Lancashire.
The Bishop in dedicating and unveiling the statue said the dead were heroes and would not be forgotten as long as the monument stood.
And plans for the war memorial in Victoria Square outside of St Helens Town Hall were finally moving at pace.
The St Helens Reporter published an illustration of the design that the memorial committee had recently selected.
This had been submitted by a firm called Stott and Prescott of Ormskirk Street and took the form of a "tall Celtic cross of graceful proportions".
The 36-ft high structure does not quite match the memorial that stands today in Victoria Square.
But the St Helens' tribute to the fallen would not be unveiled for four more years, allowing plenty of time for the tweaking of its design.
Next week's stories will include the churchyard desecration at Sutton, the anti-war demonstration down Bridge Street, the Langtree Street benefit cheat, a dirt-throwing court separation case and a death at Lea Green Colliery.
We begin on the 20th when more street betting cases were heard in St Helens Police Court.
The St Helens Reporter referred to the recent spate of prosecutions as a "betting craze" and Superintendent Dunn told the magistrates that there was a great prevalence of gambling in the town.
Many women, he claimed, were complaining that their husbands were spending their wages on betting and thus wasting money that was badly needed in the home.
As most working class men then handed their pay packets over to their wives and received pocket money back in return, that claim is a little surprising.
But perhaps the men after receiving their wages were making a beeline for the bookies and not immediately going home.
That's why on payday, many wives would wait at their husband's works for them to come out.
They would then take their wage packets off them and stop the cash from being blown on drinking and gambling.
In court accused of loitering for the purpose of betting in Jubits Lane, Sutton Manor, was newsagent Bertrand Yates.
A police officer in plain clothes had watched Mr Yates receive three betting slips and the defendant told the Bench that it had been his first offence and it would be his last.
That was often stated in court but, perhaps, he meant it. Although Yates' fine at £10 was high, the bookie that he worked for would likely have paid it.
When female neighbours fell out it was common for allegations of impropriety to be spread about the other.
Such gossip would allege unfaithfulness, bearing an illegitimate child or living with a man without being married – claims that were often made up simply to embarrass.
This week Catherine Harrison from Bramwell Street in Parr appeared in St Helens Police Court charged with committing a breach of the peace.
Her neighbour, Sarah Grady, accused the woman of having made a "disgraceful charge" against her while passing her house and the accusation had led to a disturbance.
Exactly what was claimed was not reported but Mrs Grady declared to the court:
"I have had three years of married life and I have a good, decent husband."
Despite the testimony of a number of witnesses, the defendant Catherine Harrison said it had been a "made-up affair".
She was returning home from the pictures and when passing Mrs Grady's home had simply been talking to a woman friend.
Then she contradicted herself by saying she had not said a word and Mrs Grady had simply gone for a policeman for no reason. Mrs Harrison was bound over to keep the peace for six months.
The dispute between Sabina Deacle and a Mrs Woollard had gone past the insults stage.
The next-door neighbours in Elephant Lane in Thatto Heath were now using weapons against each other instead of words.
The incident that had led to court summonses being issued was triggered when Mrs Woollard's sister had an altercation with Mrs Deacle's little boy in a shared yard.
One thing led to another and Mrs Woollard called Mrs Deacle a Sinn Feiner, which she denied.
Upon entering Mrs Deacle's home, Mrs Woollard hit her neighbour in the face with a bucket and her sister bashed her over the head with a sweeping brush!
That was Mrs Deacle's story of what had occurred and, as usual in such cases, it was a one-sided account in which anything unflattering of her own behaviour was omitted.
When the Woollard sisters gave their side of the row they claimed that not only had the woman thrown a brick at them but had also chucked a hot cup of tea and a quart bottle.
There were as usual loads of witnesses telling their own tales and Mrs Deacle claimed it was all a "put-up job".
In the end the magistrates decided the latter should be bound over and her cross-summons against Mrs Woollard was dismissed.
You do wonder how such neighbours got on with each other after their court appearances, particularly as the housing shortage meant finding alternative accommodation would not have been easy.
Sequels to court cases did occur as in the next case, in which Margaret Stringfellow was charged with using abusive language to Mary Edwards in Peasley Cross.
A fortnight earlier the latter had given court evidence against Mrs Stringfellow and when the pair subsequently bumped into each other in the street, the woman's fury knew no bounds.
Mrs Edwards said she had called her the "most awful names".
The dispute was between neighbours of Appleton Street and a woman called Harriet Gill gave evidence in support of Mrs Edwards.
Mrs Stringfellow angrily accused her of telling a pack of lies but was bound over for six months.
The Appleton Street wars also extended to Martha Swift and John Chadwick.
The latter was accused of using abusive language towards the former who Chadwick accused in court of being a liar. He made the same claim against another witness but was also bound over.
The Russian famine of 1921 - 1922 is estimated to have killed 5 million and last February a meeting of what were described as prominent townspeople was held in St Helens Town Hall.
The purpose of the assembly was to discuss ways of raising funds to provide relief to alleviate "the horrors" of the famine and a committee was formed.
Cllr. Evelyn Pilkington told the meeting that although there was a great deal of distress locally, they had a duty to the Russians as allies in the war. "We cannot pass on one side and say we cannot help at all", Cllr. Pilkington added.
This week in the Reporter the organising committee published this letter:
"The committee fully recognised that the fund was inaugurated at a time when there were many calls on behalf of our own indigent at home.
"Yet we felt convinced that even the poorest in this town could not stand by and listen unmoved to the true accounts of the death of thousands of women and children through starvation and pestilence.
"This faith of the committee in the large heartedness of the St. Helens folk has been amply justified; and sixteen hundred pounds sterling and over two hundred and sixty-five pounds worth of food and clothing have been dispatched from St. Helens to the famine areas through the agency of the Society of Friends.
"The committee feel that where all have given of their best, it is impossible to single out one organisation or individual for special mention.
"The churches, the schools (elementary and secondary), the traders, the men of substance, and the little boys and girls have all given money."
The Reporter also described how the Blackbrook Gala and Sports run by St Mary's Church had been held last weekend in a field at Parr Hall.
The weather had been ideal and dancing had taken place in the evening to the music of the Haydock Colliery Band.
There was an advert for a new brand of cigarette in the Reporter on the 21st. Called Golden Chairman, the cigarettes were priced at 11½d for 20 or 6d for 10.
These were mainly plaques in churches, schools and clubs but the memorial at Eccleston Lane Ends was on a much grander scale.
The Bishop of Liverpool unveiled the striking statue (which still exists today) on the 23rd.
Paid for by Alderman Frederick Dixon-Nuttall, the St Helens Reporter described the memorial on the junction of Burrows Lane and St Helens Road as unique.
That was because it did not simply focus on the soldier – who is depicted on a slab with a pair of binoculars in one hand and a gun in the other – but also on the mother.
The designer wanted the women – who were left behind in England during the war and dreading the arrival of a telegram bearing bad news – to be included.
The location of the memorial was not far away from the Knowsley camp where thousands of Lancastrian soldiers were trained prior to embarking for France.
And so the statue was dedicated to "all those from the West Derby Hundred of the County Palatine of Lancaster" – essentially, all soldiers and their mothers from West Lancashire.
The Bishop in dedicating and unveiling the statue said the dead were heroes and would not be forgotten as long as the monument stood.
And plans for the war memorial in Victoria Square outside of St Helens Town Hall were finally moving at pace.
The St Helens Reporter published an illustration of the design that the memorial committee had recently selected.
This had been submitted by a firm called Stott and Prescott of Ormskirk Street and took the form of a "tall Celtic cross of graceful proportions".
The 36-ft high structure does not quite match the memorial that stands today in Victoria Square.
But the St Helens' tribute to the fallen would not be unveiled for four more years, allowing plenty of time for the tweaking of its design.
Next week's stories will include the churchyard desecration at Sutton, the anti-war demonstration down Bridge Street, the Langtree Street benefit cheat, a dirt-throwing court separation case and a death at Lea Green Colliery.