IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (19th - 25th APRIL 1921)
This week's stories include an update on the national coal strike, the perished women who chose the wrong house in Dentons Green to seek shelter, St Helens Ladies make history in Birmingham, the Rainhill man who refereed the FA Cup Final and the violent row in Atherton Street that led to lots of summonses flying about!
We begin with the national coal strike that had commenced at the start of the month and was now beginning to really hurt consumers – especially during the evening. The weather a century ago was not dissimilar to how it has been in St Helens over the past week or two. The Liverpool Echo called it "flooding sunshine and biting cold" and then bizarrely reminisced back to the good old days when our ancestors had tails and fur!
"In many homes the family circle is a cheerless little community in the evenings and “early to bed with a hot bottle” is becoming a popular maxim.
"Matters would be simplified if humans could emulate the lemurs at the Zoo, and sit up close in cosy bunches with heads to the middle and tails wrapped warmly round the outside. Alas, our fur and tails can never be recalled. Fuel hunters are to be seen in many of our streets before the dustmen come round and bins are eagerly rummaged for items fit for the private incinerator."
Wood clearly burns well and the Echo also reported that the old Sutton Glassworks site in Lancots Lane in St Helens – that had been used for munitions purposes during the war – still had old ammunition boxes for disposal, which could be bought for 10 shillings a ton. The country was very much a coal burning society 100 years ago. The smoky stuff was used in homes and industry and required to power trains. From this week railway services nationwide were being curtailed by a further 10% as coal stocks dwindled.
Also on the 19th the Birmingham Daily Gazette reported great interest in the forthcoming visit by St Helens Ladies football team to the city. They would be playing Stoke Ladies on the following day at the St Andrew's ground in Birmingham to raise funds for Father Hudson's Homes. The local charity provided care for what was described as "homeless and friendless" Catholic children. The Gazette added that it was the first time that a ladies' football match had taken place in Birmingham and thought it would prove a "big attraction".
Out of the 28 women's football teams in Britain, St Helens was stated as the second best behind the Preston side Dick Kerr's. Some local celebrity would always kick off these games and Lady Agnes de Trafford began the match and a popular film actress called Ena Beaumont kicked off the second half. The game was drawn 2 - 2 in front of a crowd of 30,000. It seems that male players celebrating after scoring goals had yet to become a commonplace event. So watching women players hugging and kissing was a novelty!
After the match the Gazette wrote: "The players were smart to recognise the goalgetters. As soon as the ball was placed in the net the scorer was hugged and kissed in real feminine fashion, and the crowd witnessed this performance four times, which alone was worth the price of admission." Another newspaper report from this week said St Helens Ladies had raised £20,000 for charity – that is almost £1 million in today's money.
I've often written about husbands prosecuted for failing to maintain their wife. This usually occurred when the man had walked out on his family, leaving them dependent upon the Poor Law Guardians. These were the folk who administered the local workhouse and gave a small amount of financial support (usually in the form of food) to the destitute at home. It was a man's job to provide for his family not the Guardians and so those who sacrificed their responsibilities were brought to book.
Many of these runaway husbands would tell the magistrates that they'd left home in order to find work. That was often a fiction but it appears to have been genuine in the case of Joseph Carr – who had settled in St Helens after leaving Yorkshire. The Hull Daily Mail on April 21st reported how his case had had a happy ending:
"Joseph Carr, French polisher, who had been arrested on warrant at St. Helens, was charged at Beverley on Wednesday at the instance of the Poor Law Guardians with neglecting to maintain his wife and children. Defendant, who was formerly in the employ of Messrs Hasslewood, Taylor and Son, Beverley, said he was now working at his trade at St. Helens, where he was earning £4 10s a week.
"If his wife would return to him he would send £2 10s. a week by cheque through his firm to the Chief Constable to maintain her and the children and wipe off arrears of maintenance until he could find a house to remove them. The Chief Constable said the man's employers had agreed to this course and would send the money direct. The magistrates accepted the offer, £2 to be paid to the wife and 10s. towards paying off the arrears due to the Guardians. At the conclusion of the case the defendant and his wife affectionately embraced each other in court."
Hopefully everything worked out for the couple, who at the time of the court case, had three of their youngsters living in a children's home. Things had not been working out quite so well for Margaret Smith and Annie Mather. The Runcorn Weekly News described on the 22nd how the two had been tramping to Prescot when in Dentons Green they chose the wrong place to take shelter from the cold:
"Two women on their way from Widnes to Prescot at the week-end, strayed into the summer house of the Chief Constable of St. Helens. They were arrested and brought before the St. Helens magistrates on Saturday morning. One of the two prisoners, Margaret Smith, a widow, said to have no fixed abode, laconically told the magistrates that they did not know it was a policeman's house or they would not have gone in. “I would have walked about until I had dropped dead,” she added.
"In a further statement she said that she had 4s. 5½d. in her possession, but she and her companion, Annie Mather, also a widow, who gave an address in Highfield place, Prescot, had been unable to get lodgings. They were on their way from Widnes to Prescot, and had to stay at St. Helens. She had been unable to get work owing to the [coal] strike, whilst her companion was a fern-seller. They had gone into the building for a rest, as they were “perished with the cold.” They were allowed to go on promising that they would leave the town."
The paper also described a series of cases at the St Helens Police Court after neighbours in Atherton Street in Dentons Green (pictured above in later years) had fallen out. It was often the case that after a violent disagreement disputes would roll on in court. One aggrieved party would take out a summons to teach the other party a lesson. The defendant would feel that they were the victim and issue their own cross summons. If many people had been involved in the row then a lot of summonses could end up flying about!
Obtaining one did not cost very much and giving poorer people easy access to the courts was clearly a good thing – but it had its limits! The Runcorn Weekly News described how the Atherton Street debacle had led to summonses being issued alleging assault, damage to false teeth and even an application for eviction from what appeared to be a shared house. "Cannot it be arranged that we need not have the washing of dirty linen in public?", said the exasperated Chairman of the Bench.
So the solicitors began discussions to see whether a settlement could be reached between the warring parties. One of the solicitors expressed the view that in the unusual circumstances of the case it would prove difficult to obtain an agreement. However a settlement was eventually reached in private. The reaching of sanity meant that the summonses issued by each side were withdrawn and everyone agreed to pay their own costs. But what a waste of time and money!
This week the surprise announcement was made that the rates in St Helens were being frozen for six months. The ratepayers of the town had got used to big rises over the last few years in part through a big increase in the cost of living. Recently the Ministry of Labour had stated that prices in the shops were now on average 133% higher than they had been in 1914. Such levels of inflation were unprecedented and with no great experience of price hikes, many people assumed that prices would go back down again in time.
Surprisingly this appears to have been the official view in St Helens – as in announcing the rate freeze, the Chairman of the council's Finance Committee added: "The committee feels that the time is not far distant when great changes are likely to take place in the present abnormal conditions, and that the prices of materials, wages, food and salaries will fall."
The FA Cup Final was played at Stamford Bridge on the 23rd with Tottenham Hotspur beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 - 0. There was a huge crowd of 72,805, with King George V in attendance and Job Davies of Rainhill refereeing. "Jock" – as he was apparently known – was then employed at the Helsby Electrical Works but became a licensee at the Coach and Horses in Rainhill in 1923 and gave up refereeing. Jock had a short career as a top referee but was highly respected and praised regularly in the newspapers for the way he handled matches.
And this week's "and finally" item is one of the funniest stories I've heard in some time – despite the fact that one poor soul died. The article was published in the Liverpool Echo this week and describes events in Vilnius under the headline "Dead Man Jumps from a Coffin":
"An inmate of the local asylum died, and the coffined body was taken into the chapel. Another lunatic, who had seen the body of his comrade carried away, stole into the chapel, took the body from the coffin, and put it in the cupboard used to keep the church furniture. This done, he lay down in the coffin, covered himself with a shroud, and fell asleep. A few hours later a priest arrived and conducted a requiem service. When it was finished bearers lifted the coffin to take it away for the burial. The motion woke the madman, who jumped out, struck one of the bearers a blow on the head, and ran away.
"The bearer collapsed and died from fright, while the priest and the others fled panic stricken. Their cries brought a crowd to the chapel entrance. Eventually some of the bravest ventured inside to ascertain what had happened. They found an empty coffin and a dead man on the floor, and naturally put the corpse into the coffin. They then began to search for the shroud, which the madman had taken away with him.
One of the searchers opened the cupboard in the hope of finding something to cover the body. Directly he did so the hidden dead man fell on him head first and knocked him down. The live man fainted from fright, and panic again filled the chapel the crowd rushing out and scattering through the city. It was only after several hours' work by the police that the matter was cleared up."
Next week's stories will include the many prosecutions arising from the coal strike, a St Helens boy's claim for compensation for an injured finger and the Parr miner who impersonated an Irishman in order to get strike pay.
We begin with the national coal strike that had commenced at the start of the month and was now beginning to really hurt consumers – especially during the evening. The weather a century ago was not dissimilar to how it has been in St Helens over the past week or two. The Liverpool Echo called it "flooding sunshine and biting cold" and then bizarrely reminisced back to the good old days when our ancestors had tails and fur!
"In many homes the family circle is a cheerless little community in the evenings and “early to bed with a hot bottle” is becoming a popular maxim.
"Matters would be simplified if humans could emulate the lemurs at the Zoo, and sit up close in cosy bunches with heads to the middle and tails wrapped warmly round the outside. Alas, our fur and tails can never be recalled. Fuel hunters are to be seen in many of our streets before the dustmen come round and bins are eagerly rummaged for items fit for the private incinerator."
Wood clearly burns well and the Echo also reported that the old Sutton Glassworks site in Lancots Lane in St Helens – that had been used for munitions purposes during the war – still had old ammunition boxes for disposal, which could be bought for 10 shillings a ton. The country was very much a coal burning society 100 years ago. The smoky stuff was used in homes and industry and required to power trains. From this week railway services nationwide were being curtailed by a further 10% as coal stocks dwindled.
Also on the 19th the Birmingham Daily Gazette reported great interest in the forthcoming visit by St Helens Ladies football team to the city. They would be playing Stoke Ladies on the following day at the St Andrew's ground in Birmingham to raise funds for Father Hudson's Homes. The local charity provided care for what was described as "homeless and friendless" Catholic children. The Gazette added that it was the first time that a ladies' football match had taken place in Birmingham and thought it would prove a "big attraction".
Out of the 28 women's football teams in Britain, St Helens was stated as the second best behind the Preston side Dick Kerr's. Some local celebrity would always kick off these games and Lady Agnes de Trafford began the match and a popular film actress called Ena Beaumont kicked off the second half. The game was drawn 2 - 2 in front of a crowd of 30,000. It seems that male players celebrating after scoring goals had yet to become a commonplace event. So watching women players hugging and kissing was a novelty!
After the match the Gazette wrote: "The players were smart to recognise the goalgetters. As soon as the ball was placed in the net the scorer was hugged and kissed in real feminine fashion, and the crowd witnessed this performance four times, which alone was worth the price of admission." Another newspaper report from this week said St Helens Ladies had raised £20,000 for charity – that is almost £1 million in today's money.
I've often written about husbands prosecuted for failing to maintain their wife. This usually occurred when the man had walked out on his family, leaving them dependent upon the Poor Law Guardians. These were the folk who administered the local workhouse and gave a small amount of financial support (usually in the form of food) to the destitute at home. It was a man's job to provide for his family not the Guardians and so those who sacrificed their responsibilities were brought to book.
Many of these runaway husbands would tell the magistrates that they'd left home in order to find work. That was often a fiction but it appears to have been genuine in the case of Joseph Carr – who had settled in St Helens after leaving Yorkshire. The Hull Daily Mail on April 21st reported how his case had had a happy ending:
"Joseph Carr, French polisher, who had been arrested on warrant at St. Helens, was charged at Beverley on Wednesday at the instance of the Poor Law Guardians with neglecting to maintain his wife and children. Defendant, who was formerly in the employ of Messrs Hasslewood, Taylor and Son, Beverley, said he was now working at his trade at St. Helens, where he was earning £4 10s a week.
"If his wife would return to him he would send £2 10s. a week by cheque through his firm to the Chief Constable to maintain her and the children and wipe off arrears of maintenance until he could find a house to remove them. The Chief Constable said the man's employers had agreed to this course and would send the money direct. The magistrates accepted the offer, £2 to be paid to the wife and 10s. towards paying off the arrears due to the Guardians. At the conclusion of the case the defendant and his wife affectionately embraced each other in court."
Hopefully everything worked out for the couple, who at the time of the court case, had three of their youngsters living in a children's home. Things had not been working out quite so well for Margaret Smith and Annie Mather. The Runcorn Weekly News described on the 22nd how the two had been tramping to Prescot when in Dentons Green they chose the wrong place to take shelter from the cold:
"Two women on their way from Widnes to Prescot at the week-end, strayed into the summer house of the Chief Constable of St. Helens. They were arrested and brought before the St. Helens magistrates on Saturday morning. One of the two prisoners, Margaret Smith, a widow, said to have no fixed abode, laconically told the magistrates that they did not know it was a policeman's house or they would not have gone in. “I would have walked about until I had dropped dead,” she added.
"In a further statement she said that she had 4s. 5½d. in her possession, but she and her companion, Annie Mather, also a widow, who gave an address in Highfield place, Prescot, had been unable to get lodgings. They were on their way from Widnes to Prescot, and had to stay at St. Helens. She had been unable to get work owing to the [coal] strike, whilst her companion was a fern-seller. They had gone into the building for a rest, as they were “perished with the cold.” They were allowed to go on promising that they would leave the town."
Obtaining one did not cost very much and giving poorer people easy access to the courts was clearly a good thing – but it had its limits! The Runcorn Weekly News described how the Atherton Street debacle had led to summonses being issued alleging assault, damage to false teeth and even an application for eviction from what appeared to be a shared house. "Cannot it be arranged that we need not have the washing of dirty linen in public?", said the exasperated Chairman of the Bench.
So the solicitors began discussions to see whether a settlement could be reached between the warring parties. One of the solicitors expressed the view that in the unusual circumstances of the case it would prove difficult to obtain an agreement. However a settlement was eventually reached in private. The reaching of sanity meant that the summonses issued by each side were withdrawn and everyone agreed to pay their own costs. But what a waste of time and money!
This week the surprise announcement was made that the rates in St Helens were being frozen for six months. The ratepayers of the town had got used to big rises over the last few years in part through a big increase in the cost of living. Recently the Ministry of Labour had stated that prices in the shops were now on average 133% higher than they had been in 1914. Such levels of inflation were unprecedented and with no great experience of price hikes, many people assumed that prices would go back down again in time.
Surprisingly this appears to have been the official view in St Helens – as in announcing the rate freeze, the Chairman of the council's Finance Committee added: "The committee feels that the time is not far distant when great changes are likely to take place in the present abnormal conditions, and that the prices of materials, wages, food and salaries will fall."
The FA Cup Final was played at Stamford Bridge on the 23rd with Tottenham Hotspur beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 - 0. There was a huge crowd of 72,805, with King George V in attendance and Job Davies of Rainhill refereeing. "Jock" – as he was apparently known – was then employed at the Helsby Electrical Works but became a licensee at the Coach and Horses in Rainhill in 1923 and gave up refereeing. Jock had a short career as a top referee but was highly respected and praised regularly in the newspapers for the way he handled matches.
And this week's "and finally" item is one of the funniest stories I've heard in some time – despite the fact that one poor soul died. The article was published in the Liverpool Echo this week and describes events in Vilnius under the headline "Dead Man Jumps from a Coffin":
"An inmate of the local asylum died, and the coffined body was taken into the chapel. Another lunatic, who had seen the body of his comrade carried away, stole into the chapel, took the body from the coffin, and put it in the cupboard used to keep the church furniture. This done, he lay down in the coffin, covered himself with a shroud, and fell asleep. A few hours later a priest arrived and conducted a requiem service. When it was finished bearers lifted the coffin to take it away for the burial. The motion woke the madman, who jumped out, struck one of the bearers a blow on the head, and ran away.
"The bearer collapsed and died from fright, while the priest and the others fled panic stricken. Their cries brought a crowd to the chapel entrance. Eventually some of the bravest ventured inside to ascertain what had happened. They found an empty coffin and a dead man on the floor, and naturally put the corpse into the coffin. They then began to search for the shroud, which the madman had taken away with him.
One of the searchers opened the cupboard in the hope of finding something to cover the body. Directly he did so the hidden dead man fell on him head first and knocked him down. The live man fainted from fright, and panic again filled the chapel the crowd rushing out and scattering through the city. It was only after several hours' work by the police that the matter was cleared up."
Next week's stories will include the many prosecutions arising from the coal strike, a St Helens boy's claim for compensation for an injured finger and the Parr miner who impersonated an Irishman in order to get strike pay.
This week's stories include an update on the national coal strike, the perished women who chose the wrong house in Dentons Green to seek shelter, St Helens Ladies make history in Birmingham, the Rainhill man who refereed the FA Cup Final and the violent row in Atherton Street that led to lots of summonses flying about!
We begin with the national coal strike that had commenced at the start of the month and was now beginning to really hurt consumers – especially during the evening.
The weather a century ago was not dissimilar to how it has been in St Helens over the past week or two.
The Liverpool Echo called it "flooding sunshine and biting cold" and then bizarrely reminisced back to the good old days when our ancestors had tails and fur!
"In many homes the family circle is a cheerless little community in the evenings and “early to bed with a hot bottle” is becoming a popular maxim.
"Matters would be simplified if humans could emulate the lemurs at the Zoo, and sit up close in cosy bunches with heads to the middle and tails wrapped warmly round the outside. Alas, our fur and tails can never be recalled.
"Fuel hunters are to be seen in many of our streets before the dustmen come round and bins are eagerly rummaged for items fit for the private incinerator."
Wood clearly burns well and the Echo also reported that the old Sutton Glassworks site in Lancots Lane in St Helens – that had been used for munitions purposes during the war – still had old ammunition boxes for disposal, which could be bought for 10 shillings a ton.
The country was very much a coal burning society 100 years ago. The smoky stuff was used in homes and industry and required to power trains.
From this week railway services nationwide were being curtailed by a further 10% as coal stocks dwindled.
Also on the 19th the Birmingham Daily Gazette reported great interest in the forthcoming visit by St Helens Ladies football team to the city.
They would be playing Stoke Ladies on the following day at the St Andrew's ground in Birmingham to raise funds for Father Hudson's Homes.
The local charity provided care for what was described as "homeless and friendless" Catholic children.
The Gazette added that it was the first time that a ladies' football match had taken place in Birmingham and thought it would prove a "big attraction".
Out of the 28 women's football teams in Britain, St Helens was stated as the second best behind the Preston side Dick Kerr's.
Some local celebrity would always kick off these games and Lady Agnes de Trafford began the match and a popular film actress called Ena Beaumont kicked off the second half.
The game was drawn 2 - 2 in front of a crowd of 30,000.
It seems that male players celebrating after scoring goals had yet to become a commonplace event. So watching women players hugging and kissing was a novelty!
After the match the Gazette wrote: "The players were smart to recognise the goalgetters.
"As soon as the ball was placed in the net the scorer was hugged and kissed in real feminine fashion, and the crowd witnessed this performance four times, which alone was worth the price of admission."
Another newspaper report from this week said St Helens Ladies had raised £20,000 for charity – that is almost £1 million in today's money.
I've often written about husbands prosecuted for failing to maintain their wife.
This usually occurred when the man had walked out on his family, leaving them dependent upon the Poor Law Guardians.
These were the folk who administered the local workhouse and gave a small amount of financial support (usually in the form of food) to the destitute at home.
It was a man's job to provide for his family not the Guardians and so those who sacrificed their responsibilities were brought to book.
Many of these runaway husbands would tell the magistrates that they'd left home in order to find work.
That was often a fiction but it appears to have been genuine in the case of Joseph Carr – who had settled in St Helens after leaving Yorkshire.
The Hull Daily Mail on April 21st reported how his case had had a happy ending:
"Joseph Carr, French polisher, who had been arrested on warrant at St. Helens, was charged at Beverley on Wednesday at the instance of the Poor Law Guardians with neglecting to maintain his wife and children.
"Defendant, who was formerly in the employ of Messrs Hasslewood, Taylor and Son, Beverley, said he was now working at his trade at St. Helens, where he was earning £4 10s a week.
"If his wife would return to him he would send £2 10s. a week by cheque through his firm to the Chief Constable to maintain her and the children and wipe off arrears of maintenance until he could find a house to remove them.
"The Chief Constable said the man's employers had agreed to this course and would send the money direct.
"The magistrates accepted the offer, £2 to be paid to the wife and 10s. towards paying off the arrears due to the Guardians.
"At the conclusion of the case the defendant and his wife affectionately embraced each other in court."
Hopefully everything worked out for the couple, who at the time of the court case, had three of their youngsters living in a children's home.
Things had not been working out quite so well for Margaret Smith and Annie Mather.
The Runcorn Weekly News described on the 22nd how the two had been tramping to Prescot when in Dentons Green they chose the wrong place to take shelter from the cold:
"Two women on their way from Widnes to Prescot at the week-end, strayed into the summer house of the Chief Constable of St. Helens.
"They were arrested and brought before the St. Helens magistrates on Saturday morning.
"One of the two prisoners, Margaret Smith, a widow, said to have no fixed abode, laconically told the magistrates that they did not know it was a policeman's house or they would not have gone in.
"“I would have walked about until I had dropped dead,” she added.
"In a further statement she said that she had 4s. 5½d. in her possession, but she and her companion, Annie Mather, also a widow, who gave an address in Highfield place, Prescot, had been unable to get lodgings.
"They were on their way from Widnes to Prescot, and had to stay at St. Helens. She had been unable to get work owing to the [coal] strike, whilst her companion was a fern-seller.
"They had gone into the building for a rest, as they were “perished with the cold.” They were allowed to go on promising that they would leave the town."
The paper also described a series of cases at the St Helens Police Court after neighbours in Atherton Street in Dentons Green (pictured above in later years) had fallen out.
It was often the case that after a violent disagreement disputes would roll on in court.
One aggrieved party would take out a summons to teach the other party a lesson.
The defendant would feel that they were the victim and issue their own cross summons.
If many people had been involved in the row then a lot of summonses could end up flying about!
Obtaining one did not cost very much and giving poorer people easy access to the courts was clearly a good thing – but it had its limits!
The Runcorn Weekly News described how the Atherton Street debacle had led to summonses being issued alleging assault, damage to false teeth and even an application for eviction from what appeared to be a shared house.
"Cannot it be arranged that we need not have the washing of dirty linen in public?", said the exasperated Chairman of the Bench.
So the solicitors began discussions to see whether a settlement could be reached between the warring parties.
One of the solicitors expressed the view that in the unusual circumstances of the case it would prove difficult to obtain an agreement. However a settlement was eventually reached in private.
The reaching of sanity meant that the summonses issued by each side were withdrawn and everyone agreed to pay their own costs. But what a waste of time and money!
This week the surprise announcement was made that the rates in St Helens were being frozen for six months.
The ratepayers of the town had got used to big rises over the last few years in part through a big increase in the cost of living.
Recently the Ministry of Labour had stated that prices in the shops were now on average 133% higher than they had been in 1914.
Such levels of inflation were unprecedented and with no great experience of price hikes, many people assumed that prices would go back down again in time.
Surprisingly this appears to have been the official view in St Helens – as in announcing the rate freeze, the Chairman of the council's Finance Committee added:
"The committee feels that the time is not far distant when great changes are likely to take place in the present abnormal conditions, and that the prices of materials, wages, food and salaries will fall."
The FA Cup Final was played at Stamford Bridge on the 23rd with Tottenham Hotspur beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 - 0.
There was a huge crowd of 72,805, with King George V in attendance and Job Davies of Rainhill refereeing.
"Jock" – as he was apparently known – was then employed at the Helsby Electrical Works but became a licensee at the Coach and Horses in Rainhill in 1923 and gave up refereeing.
Jock had a short career as a top referee but was highly respected and praised regularly in the newspapers for the way he handled matches.
And this week's "and finally" item is one of the funniest stories I've heard in some time – despite the fact that one poor soul died.
The article was published in the Liverpool Echo this week and describes events in Vilnius under the headline "Dead Man Jumps from a Coffin":
"An inmate of the local asylum died, and the coffined body was taken into the chapel.
"Another lunatic, who had seen the body of his comrade carried away, stole into the chapel, took the body from the coffin, and put it in the cupboard used to keep the church furniture.
"This done, he lay down in the coffin, covered himself with a shroud, and fell asleep. A few hours later a priest arrived and conducted a requiem service.
"When it was finished bearers lifted the coffin to take it away for the burial. The motion woke the madman, who jumped out, struck one of the bearers a blow on the head, and ran away.
"The bearer collapsed and died from fright, while the priest and the others fled panic stricken. Their cries brought a crowd to the chapel entrance.
"Eventually some of the bravest ventured inside to ascertain what had happened. They found an empty coffin and a dead man on the floor, and naturally put the corpse into the coffin.
"They then began to search for the shroud, which the madman had taken away with him.
"One of the searchers opened the cupboard in the hope of finding something to cover the body. Directly he did so the hidden dead man fell on him head first and knocked him down.
"The live man fainted from fright, and panic again filled the chapel the crowd rushing out and scattering through the city. It was only after several hours' work by the police that the matter was cleared up."
Next week's stories will include the many prosecutions arising from the coal strike, a St Helens boy's claim for compensation for an injured finger and the Parr miner who impersonated an Irishman in order to get strike pay.
We begin with the national coal strike that had commenced at the start of the month and was now beginning to really hurt consumers – especially during the evening.
The weather a century ago was not dissimilar to how it has been in St Helens over the past week or two.
The Liverpool Echo called it "flooding sunshine and biting cold" and then bizarrely reminisced back to the good old days when our ancestors had tails and fur!
"In many homes the family circle is a cheerless little community in the evenings and “early to bed with a hot bottle” is becoming a popular maxim.
"Matters would be simplified if humans could emulate the lemurs at the Zoo, and sit up close in cosy bunches with heads to the middle and tails wrapped warmly round the outside. Alas, our fur and tails can never be recalled.
"Fuel hunters are to be seen in many of our streets before the dustmen come round and bins are eagerly rummaged for items fit for the private incinerator."
Wood clearly burns well and the Echo also reported that the old Sutton Glassworks site in Lancots Lane in St Helens – that had been used for munitions purposes during the war – still had old ammunition boxes for disposal, which could be bought for 10 shillings a ton.
The country was very much a coal burning society 100 years ago. The smoky stuff was used in homes and industry and required to power trains.
From this week railway services nationwide were being curtailed by a further 10% as coal stocks dwindled.
Also on the 19th the Birmingham Daily Gazette reported great interest in the forthcoming visit by St Helens Ladies football team to the city.
They would be playing Stoke Ladies on the following day at the St Andrew's ground in Birmingham to raise funds for Father Hudson's Homes.
The local charity provided care for what was described as "homeless and friendless" Catholic children.
The Gazette added that it was the first time that a ladies' football match had taken place in Birmingham and thought it would prove a "big attraction".
Out of the 28 women's football teams in Britain, St Helens was stated as the second best behind the Preston side Dick Kerr's.
Some local celebrity would always kick off these games and Lady Agnes de Trafford began the match and a popular film actress called Ena Beaumont kicked off the second half.
The game was drawn 2 - 2 in front of a crowd of 30,000.
It seems that male players celebrating after scoring goals had yet to become a commonplace event. So watching women players hugging and kissing was a novelty!
After the match the Gazette wrote: "The players were smart to recognise the goalgetters.
"As soon as the ball was placed in the net the scorer was hugged and kissed in real feminine fashion, and the crowd witnessed this performance four times, which alone was worth the price of admission."
Another newspaper report from this week said St Helens Ladies had raised £20,000 for charity – that is almost £1 million in today's money.
I've often written about husbands prosecuted for failing to maintain their wife.
This usually occurred when the man had walked out on his family, leaving them dependent upon the Poor Law Guardians.
These were the folk who administered the local workhouse and gave a small amount of financial support (usually in the form of food) to the destitute at home.
It was a man's job to provide for his family not the Guardians and so those who sacrificed their responsibilities were brought to book.
Many of these runaway husbands would tell the magistrates that they'd left home in order to find work.
That was often a fiction but it appears to have been genuine in the case of Joseph Carr – who had settled in St Helens after leaving Yorkshire.
The Hull Daily Mail on April 21st reported how his case had had a happy ending:
"Joseph Carr, French polisher, who had been arrested on warrant at St. Helens, was charged at Beverley on Wednesday at the instance of the Poor Law Guardians with neglecting to maintain his wife and children.
"Defendant, who was formerly in the employ of Messrs Hasslewood, Taylor and Son, Beverley, said he was now working at his trade at St. Helens, where he was earning £4 10s a week.
"If his wife would return to him he would send £2 10s. a week by cheque through his firm to the Chief Constable to maintain her and the children and wipe off arrears of maintenance until he could find a house to remove them.
"The Chief Constable said the man's employers had agreed to this course and would send the money direct.
"The magistrates accepted the offer, £2 to be paid to the wife and 10s. towards paying off the arrears due to the Guardians.
"At the conclusion of the case the defendant and his wife affectionately embraced each other in court."
Hopefully everything worked out for the couple, who at the time of the court case, had three of their youngsters living in a children's home.
Things had not been working out quite so well for Margaret Smith and Annie Mather.
The Runcorn Weekly News described on the 22nd how the two had been tramping to Prescot when in Dentons Green they chose the wrong place to take shelter from the cold:
"Two women on their way from Widnes to Prescot at the week-end, strayed into the summer house of the Chief Constable of St. Helens.
"They were arrested and brought before the St. Helens magistrates on Saturday morning.
"One of the two prisoners, Margaret Smith, a widow, said to have no fixed abode, laconically told the magistrates that they did not know it was a policeman's house or they would not have gone in.
"“I would have walked about until I had dropped dead,” she added.
"In a further statement she said that she had 4s. 5½d. in her possession, but she and her companion, Annie Mather, also a widow, who gave an address in Highfield place, Prescot, had been unable to get lodgings.
"They were on their way from Widnes to Prescot, and had to stay at St. Helens. She had been unable to get work owing to the [coal] strike, whilst her companion was a fern-seller.
"They had gone into the building for a rest, as they were “perished with the cold.” They were allowed to go on promising that they would leave the town."
It was often the case that after a violent disagreement disputes would roll on in court.
One aggrieved party would take out a summons to teach the other party a lesson.
The defendant would feel that they were the victim and issue their own cross summons.
If many people had been involved in the row then a lot of summonses could end up flying about!
Obtaining one did not cost very much and giving poorer people easy access to the courts was clearly a good thing – but it had its limits!
The Runcorn Weekly News described how the Atherton Street debacle had led to summonses being issued alleging assault, damage to false teeth and even an application for eviction from what appeared to be a shared house.
"Cannot it be arranged that we need not have the washing of dirty linen in public?", said the exasperated Chairman of the Bench.
So the solicitors began discussions to see whether a settlement could be reached between the warring parties.
One of the solicitors expressed the view that in the unusual circumstances of the case it would prove difficult to obtain an agreement. However a settlement was eventually reached in private.
The reaching of sanity meant that the summonses issued by each side were withdrawn and everyone agreed to pay their own costs. But what a waste of time and money!
This week the surprise announcement was made that the rates in St Helens were being frozen for six months.
The ratepayers of the town had got used to big rises over the last few years in part through a big increase in the cost of living.
Recently the Ministry of Labour had stated that prices in the shops were now on average 133% higher than they had been in 1914.
Such levels of inflation were unprecedented and with no great experience of price hikes, many people assumed that prices would go back down again in time.
Surprisingly this appears to have been the official view in St Helens – as in announcing the rate freeze, the Chairman of the council's Finance Committee added:
"The committee feels that the time is not far distant when great changes are likely to take place in the present abnormal conditions, and that the prices of materials, wages, food and salaries will fall."
The FA Cup Final was played at Stamford Bridge on the 23rd with Tottenham Hotspur beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 - 0.
There was a huge crowd of 72,805, with King George V in attendance and Job Davies of Rainhill refereeing.
"Jock" – as he was apparently known – was then employed at the Helsby Electrical Works but became a licensee at the Coach and Horses in Rainhill in 1923 and gave up refereeing.
Jock had a short career as a top referee but was highly respected and praised regularly in the newspapers for the way he handled matches.
And this week's "and finally" item is one of the funniest stories I've heard in some time – despite the fact that one poor soul died.
The article was published in the Liverpool Echo this week and describes events in Vilnius under the headline "Dead Man Jumps from a Coffin":
"An inmate of the local asylum died, and the coffined body was taken into the chapel.
"Another lunatic, who had seen the body of his comrade carried away, stole into the chapel, took the body from the coffin, and put it in the cupboard used to keep the church furniture.
"This done, he lay down in the coffin, covered himself with a shroud, and fell asleep. A few hours later a priest arrived and conducted a requiem service.
"When it was finished bearers lifted the coffin to take it away for the burial. The motion woke the madman, who jumped out, struck one of the bearers a blow on the head, and ran away.
"The bearer collapsed and died from fright, while the priest and the others fled panic stricken. Their cries brought a crowd to the chapel entrance.
"Eventually some of the bravest ventured inside to ascertain what had happened. They found an empty coffin and a dead man on the floor, and naturally put the corpse into the coffin.
"They then began to search for the shroud, which the madman had taken away with him.
"One of the searchers opened the cupboard in the hope of finding something to cover the body. Directly he did so the hidden dead man fell on him head first and knocked him down.
"The live man fainted from fright, and panic again filled the chapel the crowd rushing out and scattering through the city. It was only after several hours' work by the police that the matter was cleared up."
Next week's stories will include the many prosecutions arising from the coal strike, a St Helens boy's claim for compensation for an injured finger and the Parr miner who impersonated an Irishman in order to get strike pay.