IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (20th - 26th May 1919)
This week's stories include the Scottish piper who gathered alms in Fenton Street, the disturbed ex-soldier from Merton Bank, criticism of plans for German guns in Rainford, Providence Hospital's 'Rose Day', Frederick's ice cream for a "little chick", two mining inquests and good news for music lovers in St Helens parks.
We begin on the 20th with the inquest on the tragic death of Ronald Chesworth of Park Street in Haydock. The 17-month-old boy had rushed with open arms towards his mother while she was cleaning the hearth in the family home. In doing so Ronald upset the kettle on the stove and the boiling water scalded him so severely that it led to the toddler's death.
On the same day an inquest was held on the death of Harry Crooks from Clarence Street in Earlestown. He had been fatally injured by runaway coal boxes while working in the Newton Pit in Haydock.
The funeral of Richard Bailey from Rutland Street took place on the 21st in Parr. The assistant brakesman at Sherdley Colliery had suffered a terrible demise. He was killed on the surface after falling off a train of coal wagons that were being taken to Pilkingtons. He was run over and a colleague said he had been "practically cut in two across the stomach".
It had been decided at last month's meeting of the Cemetery and Parks Committee that bands would not be engaged to play in the parks this summer because of a lack of funds. However the issue was again raised at this month's meeting on the 21st. Councillor Fox said during the war bands had been "about defunct" in St Helens.
Four had now reformed but because of inflation their expenses had greatly increased and he thought the council should support them. The councillor proposed that instead of bands being paid to play in the parks by the Corporation, they should instead apply for permission to play on weekday evenings with "the liberty to collect from the public".
Councillor Richard Waring said now the Great War had ended, people were in need of amusement but he wasn't keen on bands having to "cadge for money". A vote was taken and it was decided that the bands could make applications to a sub-committee who would authorise them to play during the summer.
The committee also re-considered Sunday funerals. At their last meeting the councillors heard that the local clergy and funeral directors wanted burials on the Sabbath to be banned. Most people worked 5½ days a week and so Sunday funerals were convenient for them but inconvenient for those that had to carry them out.
The councillors had asked their surveyor to find out how many funerals took place in St Helens on Sundays and what the situation was in other towns. Mr Bradley reported that the average number of monthly burials at St Helens Cemetery on a Sunday was twelve and most other towns in Lancashire did not permit them.
So the committee decided to follow suit and ban them from July 1st, apart from exceptional cases for which application would have to be made to the committee chairman. The committee also decided to see what they could do to stop the playing of bowls for money on public greens. The Reporter called this an "objectionable practice".
The Highways Committee met on the same day and heard that action was being taken to address the flooding in the Rivington Road area. This had been under water during the winter, especially the stretch of road that led to Queen's Recreation Ground (as Queen's Park was then known).
The underlying cause of roads flooding was very often mining subsidence or the activities of railway companies. It was the latter that had partly caused the trouble at Rivington Road as a result of a weir owned by the railway that needed cleaning out.
In January Rainford Urban District Council said they were planning to obtain a couple of big German guns to go on permanent display. The council Chairman had stated that they "would look well on each side of the flagstaff in front of the Village Hall" (pictured above).
However the St Helens Reporter on the 23rd wrote that the councillors had had a change of heart and decided against mounting weapons of war in the village. At their recent meeting Councillor Joseph Allen had said he would feel terribly upset to see such guns in Rainford, adding:
"The horrors of war are exhibiting themselves in the faces of the people, and in the mutilated condition of numerous men without arms and legs and some of them without their sight." Councillor Whalley agreed, saying they had "sufficient sickening sights caused by those weapons without bringing them nearer to them."
The Reporter also described a recent Police Court hearing in which a "tall and sturdy Highland piper, gay in his tartan plaid" had appeared. The man was called Donald Prosser and he was charged with "placing himself in the public street to gather alms".
Inspector Anders had observed Prosser in Fenton Street (which used to be near Kirkland Street) playing the pipes with a notice that said: "Discharged soldier, disabled in France." The officer said the street had been crowded and he was "exciting public sympathy" and doing a "great trade" with a bag full of money. He also possessed a bank book with over £100 on deposit.
Prosser told the court that he had played the pipes in London, Liverpool and all over the country and had never before been summoned to court. He said he had appeared before the King on three occasions and His Majesty had given him a sovereign and he had a newspaper cutting to prove it. The magistrates chose to dismiss the case but warned the piper that he was running a risk and might not be dealt with so leniently in future.
Goodness knows how many times the Frederick ice cream family appeared in court during their early years in St Helens! In the 1911 census there was fourteen of them living in a small house in Duke Street and quite a few would be charged numerous times with committing minor offences. Matthew Frederick made his 15th appearance in the Police Court on the 23rd charged with selling ice cream on a Sunday. The 48-year-old's real name was Mattia Frederici and a constable had seen him driving a pony attached to an ice cream cart.
The officer watched as a man bought an ice cream wafer from him for his child. Upon being questioned Matthew said he knew he shouldn't have sold it on a Sunday. However he said he had done it for the child – or as he put it – to "oblige this little chick" and was fined 5 shillings.
Also in court was Peter Purcell from Merton Bank Road (shown above) who was charged with a breach of the peace. Superintendent Dunn said the 27-year-old lived with his mother and for the last four or five days had been troubling her and his sister very much by "threatening to turn the place up".
On the previous day PC Taylor had seen him in "an excited condition, waving his arms about, shouting, and that sort of thing. He was a danger to his mother and she was frightened to death." Purcell in his defence stated that he'd been in the army for four or five years and had lost an eye in France. He said he was waiting to go into hospital for an artificial eye to be fitted.
The man's most telling comment was "my head gets troubled". Although Peter had a history of drinking and before the war had been in court on a number of occasions, it's hard to imagine that the war had not affected his mind. That was something that was rarely recognised by magistrates but they did choose to bind him over to keep the peace. That said he had to find two people to act as sureties for his good behaviour and he was clearly not a good risk!
The 24th was the Providence Free Hospital Annual Flower Fete or 'Rose Day'. This is how the St Helens Reporter previewed the event: "Roses of every hue, a riot of colour and beauty, will be offered to us as a means of raising funds to help the stricken and unfortunate, through the agency of that most admirable institution, the Providence Free Hospital. This year, the funds will go towards providing a motor ambulance, and sweet maidens and fair ladies will help that deserving cause on Saturday next by offering roses to everyone. And surely you will not refuse?"
A young soldier called Richard Crowder appeared in the Police Court on the 26th having been brought to St Helens from Ireland. He had been lodging with Thomas Fitzpatrick in Alma Street in Peasley Cross and on April 22nd had absconded with his landlord's gold chain, silver medal, rings and cash to the total value of £7 18s. In February Crowder had been released under licence after being committed to a Borstal institution for theft and so the St Helens' magistrates decided to return him to complete his sentence.
For most of this week the playing of a huge eight-ton cathedral organ had been impressing patrons at the Hippodrome. However on the 26th a fresh collection of music hall performances began at the Corporation Street theatre. The turns included: The Ten Loonies ("Music gone mad – harmony is discord"); Gene Gordon ("Comedy magician"); Lillie Langtree ("Comedienne"); Pro-pella ("The mimetic airman"); Peter Farren and Peggy Fawn ("The elements of variety, in a variety of elements") and Pansy, Mairie and Little Max ("In original character comedy").
Next week's stories will include the young Parr miners who smoked down the pit, a broken ex-soldier from Sutton demands justice, the gassed soldier from Leonard Street who came home to die, the brickie from Eccleston Street who killed himself after thrashing his daughter and the "very nasty" man from Vincent Street who knocked about with women of doubtful character.
We begin on the 20th with the inquest on the tragic death of Ronald Chesworth of Park Street in Haydock. The 17-month-old boy had rushed with open arms towards his mother while she was cleaning the hearth in the family home. In doing so Ronald upset the kettle on the stove and the boiling water scalded him so severely that it led to the toddler's death.
On the same day an inquest was held on the death of Harry Crooks from Clarence Street in Earlestown. He had been fatally injured by runaway coal boxes while working in the Newton Pit in Haydock.
The funeral of Richard Bailey from Rutland Street took place on the 21st in Parr. The assistant brakesman at Sherdley Colliery had suffered a terrible demise. He was killed on the surface after falling off a train of coal wagons that were being taken to Pilkingtons. He was run over and a colleague said he had been "practically cut in two across the stomach".
It had been decided at last month's meeting of the Cemetery and Parks Committee that bands would not be engaged to play in the parks this summer because of a lack of funds. However the issue was again raised at this month's meeting on the 21st. Councillor Fox said during the war bands had been "about defunct" in St Helens.
Four had now reformed but because of inflation their expenses had greatly increased and he thought the council should support them. The councillor proposed that instead of bands being paid to play in the parks by the Corporation, they should instead apply for permission to play on weekday evenings with "the liberty to collect from the public".
Councillor Richard Waring said now the Great War had ended, people were in need of amusement but he wasn't keen on bands having to "cadge for money". A vote was taken and it was decided that the bands could make applications to a sub-committee who would authorise them to play during the summer.
The committee also re-considered Sunday funerals. At their last meeting the councillors heard that the local clergy and funeral directors wanted burials on the Sabbath to be banned. Most people worked 5½ days a week and so Sunday funerals were convenient for them but inconvenient for those that had to carry them out.
The councillors had asked their surveyor to find out how many funerals took place in St Helens on Sundays and what the situation was in other towns. Mr Bradley reported that the average number of monthly burials at St Helens Cemetery on a Sunday was twelve and most other towns in Lancashire did not permit them.
So the committee decided to follow suit and ban them from July 1st, apart from exceptional cases for which application would have to be made to the committee chairman. The committee also decided to see what they could do to stop the playing of bowls for money on public greens. The Reporter called this an "objectionable practice".
The Highways Committee met on the same day and heard that action was being taken to address the flooding in the Rivington Road area. This had been under water during the winter, especially the stretch of road that led to Queen's Recreation Ground (as Queen's Park was then known).
The underlying cause of roads flooding was very often mining subsidence or the activities of railway companies. It was the latter that had partly caused the trouble at Rivington Road as a result of a weir owned by the railway that needed cleaning out.
However the St Helens Reporter on the 23rd wrote that the councillors had had a change of heart and decided against mounting weapons of war in the village. At their recent meeting Councillor Joseph Allen had said he would feel terribly upset to see such guns in Rainford, adding:
"The horrors of war are exhibiting themselves in the faces of the people, and in the mutilated condition of numerous men without arms and legs and some of them without their sight." Councillor Whalley agreed, saying they had "sufficient sickening sights caused by those weapons without bringing them nearer to them."
The Reporter also described a recent Police Court hearing in which a "tall and sturdy Highland piper, gay in his tartan plaid" had appeared. The man was called Donald Prosser and he was charged with "placing himself in the public street to gather alms".
Inspector Anders had observed Prosser in Fenton Street (which used to be near Kirkland Street) playing the pipes with a notice that said: "Discharged soldier, disabled in France." The officer said the street had been crowded and he was "exciting public sympathy" and doing a "great trade" with a bag full of money. He also possessed a bank book with over £100 on deposit.
Prosser told the court that he had played the pipes in London, Liverpool and all over the country and had never before been summoned to court. He said he had appeared before the King on three occasions and His Majesty had given him a sovereign and he had a newspaper cutting to prove it. The magistrates chose to dismiss the case but warned the piper that he was running a risk and might not be dealt with so leniently in future.
Goodness knows how many times the Frederick ice cream family appeared in court during their early years in St Helens! In the 1911 census there was fourteen of them living in a small house in Duke Street and quite a few would be charged numerous times with committing minor offences. Matthew Frederick made his 15th appearance in the Police Court on the 23rd charged with selling ice cream on a Sunday. The 48-year-old's real name was Mattia Frederici and a constable had seen him driving a pony attached to an ice cream cart.
The officer watched as a man bought an ice cream wafer from him for his child. Upon being questioned Matthew said he knew he shouldn't have sold it on a Sunday. However he said he had done it for the child – or as he put it – to "oblige this little chick" and was fined 5 shillings.
On the previous day PC Taylor had seen him in "an excited condition, waving his arms about, shouting, and that sort of thing. He was a danger to his mother and she was frightened to death." Purcell in his defence stated that he'd been in the army for four or five years and had lost an eye in France. He said he was waiting to go into hospital for an artificial eye to be fitted.
The man's most telling comment was "my head gets troubled". Although Peter had a history of drinking and before the war had been in court on a number of occasions, it's hard to imagine that the war had not affected his mind. That was something that was rarely recognised by magistrates but they did choose to bind him over to keep the peace. That said he had to find two people to act as sureties for his good behaviour and he was clearly not a good risk!
The 24th was the Providence Free Hospital Annual Flower Fete or 'Rose Day'. This is how the St Helens Reporter previewed the event: "Roses of every hue, a riot of colour and beauty, will be offered to us as a means of raising funds to help the stricken and unfortunate, through the agency of that most admirable institution, the Providence Free Hospital. This year, the funds will go towards providing a motor ambulance, and sweet maidens and fair ladies will help that deserving cause on Saturday next by offering roses to everyone. And surely you will not refuse?"
A young soldier called Richard Crowder appeared in the Police Court on the 26th having been brought to St Helens from Ireland. He had been lodging with Thomas Fitzpatrick in Alma Street in Peasley Cross and on April 22nd had absconded with his landlord's gold chain, silver medal, rings and cash to the total value of £7 18s. In February Crowder had been released under licence after being committed to a Borstal institution for theft and so the St Helens' magistrates decided to return him to complete his sentence.
For most of this week the playing of a huge eight-ton cathedral organ had been impressing patrons at the Hippodrome. However on the 26th a fresh collection of music hall performances began at the Corporation Street theatre. The turns included: The Ten Loonies ("Music gone mad – harmony is discord"); Gene Gordon ("Comedy magician"); Lillie Langtree ("Comedienne"); Pro-pella ("The mimetic airman"); Peter Farren and Peggy Fawn ("The elements of variety, in a variety of elements") and Pansy, Mairie and Little Max ("In original character comedy").
Next week's stories will include the young Parr miners who smoked down the pit, a broken ex-soldier from Sutton demands justice, the gassed soldier from Leonard Street who came home to die, the brickie from Eccleston Street who killed himself after thrashing his daughter and the "very nasty" man from Vincent Street who knocked about with women of doubtful character.