IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (21st - 27th January 1919)
This week's stories include the Parr woman who received a football in the face, a gruesome discovery is made on Eccleston Hill, there's a mysterious death at the Hardshaw Brook chemical works, the police call a Bold Heath woman a "complete nuisance", there's criticism of the town's housing shortage and state of its streets and a reception is held in the Town Hall for 100 former POWs.
Blind persons prior to 1914 were not expected to lead useful lives and were often shut away from society. The large number of men that lost their sight in the war raised awareness of the visually impaired and as a result newspaper magnate Sir Arthur Pearson founded the Blinded Soldiers and Sailors Care Committee. This later became known as St Dunstan's and it provided health care and vocational training for hundreds of blind ex-servicemen.
Many towns were spurred into action to provide improved support and on the 21st the inaugural annual meeting of the St Helens Society of the Welfare of the Blind was held at the Town Hall. The organisation had been founded eleven months earlier and it was revealed at the meeting that there were presently eighty blind people within the St Helens district.
A dispute over a football in the face was considered in St Helens County Court on the 22nd when Frank Lock and his wife sued Joseph Coop for damages. It was alleged that the 19-year-old from Charnwood Street in Parr had kicked a football into the couple's yard in Derbyshire Hill Road.
The ball struck Mrs Lock on the right side of her face, causing the woman to fall onto a row of bricks and break two of her teeth. Her glasses also cut into her nose, which she claimed had bled for three weeks. However Mrs Lock had come to court without any medical or dental evidence to support her case, so the hearing was postponed until February.
On the 22nd the council's Highways Committee met and as usual discussed the state of some of the town's roads. During the war with labour and materials in short supply, more streets than usual had got into disrepair.
Their surveyor told the meeting that he had written to some of the firms that used Atlas Street to ask them if they would pay for the cost of repairing the road. However only one had replied, so the committee decided to go ahead and finance the work themselves.
Alderman Henry Peet asked for something to be done with Pocket Nook Street near the canal bridge, which he said was in a very bad state, uneven and dirty. Councillor Davies complained of the poor state of Sutton Heath Road, which he felt had been affected by mining subsidence, adding that there was six inches of water in places.
To that Councillor Ellison retorted: "Six inches is nothing in these days", to which the other councillors all laughed. Sutton's Councillor Sam Royle then said Leach Lane had six inches of water but was told it was only a country road. Their surveyor said he'd been doing the best he could but there was still a shortage of labour so he had to concentrate his resources on main roads.
William Whittall of Leigh Terrace, Clock Face Road, was fatally injured on January 22nd. The surface hand at Clock Face Colliery was engaged in lowering wagons of slack when a brake lever struck him in the region of the heart. Whittall died on the following day just weeks after returning to civilian life after prolonged army service in France. On four occasions he had been wounded and had spent nine months in hospital in Glasgow
Coal dealer William Heywood suffered a bad fire at the rear of his Junction Lane home on the 22nd. An outhouse containing coal was somehow set alight and unsurprisingly was well ablaze by the time the Fire Brigade arrived, causing around £300 worth of damage.
Now the war was over many former munitions factories and temporary military camps were busy flogging off all sorts of stuff. The Bioscope magazine on the 23rd published an advert concerning the demobilisation of the Knowsley Park camp at Burrows Lane, near Prescot.
The army's recently installed portable cinema and theatre – with Bioscope projector, 480 "red plush and leather" tip-up seats, petrol engine, dynamo and three wagons – were being auctioned off to the highest bidder on the 29th.
On the 23rd William Glover of Clock Face Road was killed by runaway coal wagons at Clock Face Colliery (pictured above during the 1920s). Glover had heard the sound of two empty wagons (a.k.a. boxes) coming towards him and attempted to escape down a hill. However the runaways struck three stationary wagons and a tram of timber and all were forced down the hill towards Glover.
At the man's inquest at the Clock Face Hotel, under-manager John Pickett of Gorsey Lane said he could not explain why the deceased had chosen to run down the hill. If he had stood still or moved two yards to one side, William would have been safe.
A letter in the Reporter of the 24th called for something to be done about the "great topic of the hour". That was the severe housing shortage in St Helens, which was worsening as soldiers and sailors were beginning to return home after the war.
The author of the letter, Thomas Stevenson, claimed that hundreds were "trudging all over the town" looking for a house. Although wanting more homes to be swiftly built, he called for no more "in which you cannot swing a cat".
Instead Mr Stevenson called for new houses to be constructed with a substantial garden where people could "keep in comfort their own poultry and pigs". This, he felt, would do much to stop folk from going out boozing, as they would be far too busy looking after their stock. I'm not sure I buy that!
Stevenson appeared to keep a draper's in Westfield Street and he also wanted it to be compulsory for new homes to be built with bathrooms, saying: "The man who wants now to build a house without a bath ought to be shot as an enemy to the people."
J. Berens of Church Street were promoting their "Great winter sale of fashionable coats, raincoats and costumes." Their motto at sale time was: "Never mind what it costs". I think what they meant was "Never mind what it used to cost, it's still been reduced", but that's not quite as snappy a slogan!
On the 24th Mary Winstanley from Warrington Road in Bold Heath was back in court. The 73-year-old lived in the old Heyes Beerhouse, which had lost its licence in 1897 and since then appears to have been used exclusively as a farmhouse.
Mary was making her 23rd appearance in court but unusually these were not for drunkenness or vagrancy offences. Instead the woman had a habit of committing minor breaches of the laws, often connected with her horse and cart.
Mary's latest offence was driving her vehicle in Chester Lane without lights. She was using candle lamps and claimed that she'd lit them but they'd gone out in the rain and she had not been able to relight them. A constable in court described Mary as a "complete nuisance on the road, and would be getting smashed up one of these days." She was fined ten shillings.
Over 100 prisoners of war had so far returned to St Helens and on the 25th tea and entertainment was provided for them in the Town Hall. A large 'Welcome Home' emblem was displayed at the front of the platform and the Mayor addressed the men. Alderman Henry Bates said he knew that some had suffered great privations in the German camps and said it was the "duty of every Britisher" to bring to book those responsible for their "dastardly treatment".
An inquest into a mysterious death at the Hardshaw Brook chemical works took place at the Town Hall on the 25th. James Brunskill from Higher Parr Street was a packer of bleach and had to wear what was described as a muzzle because of the presence of gas. This was said to have been strong on the day that he died.
The 44-year-old was discovered lying on the floor four yards from his workplace. A post-mortem revealed a small wound on the back of his head but Dr Joseph Unsworth from North Road attributed death to the diseased condition of the man's heart. That was regularly stated as the cause of fatalities, when I suspect doctors often didn't really know the reason. Perhaps medical science might offer a different explanation today.
Ernie Proudlove from Herbert Street (pictured above as a young man and in retirement) was in action on the 25th. Sutton's champion boxer fought Tommy Oates from Leeds in a 15 round bout at the Prince's Theatre in Preston, winning on points. Two days later Ernie fought Bob Bevan from Rhymney at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester in a ten rounder losing on points. These days it's unthinkable for fighters to compete twice a week but Ernie did that all the time, and sometimes did a full shift down the pit beforehand!
On the 26th some boys made a gruesome discovery down an old stone quarry on Eccleston Hill. They saw a foot sticking out from under planks, which so frightened the lads that they immediately ran home. The police uncovered the remains of a soldier who was described as "little better than a skeleton", having seemingly been there for over twelve months. The former member of the North Lancashire Regiment was yet to be identified.
And finally the pantomime season continued at the Hippodrome Theatre with 'Humpty Dumpty' performed from the 27th. It was a popular panto a century ago with the Corporation Street theatre having staged it last year as well. There appears to have been more to it than just falling off a wall!
Next week's stories will include the murder trial of Annie Houghton from Talbot Street who'd carried out an abortion that went wrong, the first female to be charged with playing pitch and toss appears in court, plans are revealed for the first council estate in the borough, the St Helens Fire Brigade's annual report and action to improve the health of the town.
Blind persons prior to 1914 were not expected to lead useful lives and were often shut away from society. The large number of men that lost their sight in the war raised awareness of the visually impaired and as a result newspaper magnate Sir Arthur Pearson founded the Blinded Soldiers and Sailors Care Committee. This later became known as St Dunstan's and it provided health care and vocational training for hundreds of blind ex-servicemen.
Left: Blind persons in a mat weaving workshop at St Dunstan's in London; Right: Sir Arthur Pearson (1866 - 1921)
Left: Mat weaving at St Dunstan's; Right: Sir Arthur Pearson
Inside St Dunstan's and Sir Arthur Pearson
A dispute over a football in the face was considered in St Helens County Court on the 22nd when Frank Lock and his wife sued Joseph Coop for damages. It was alleged that the 19-year-old from Charnwood Street in Parr had kicked a football into the couple's yard in Derbyshire Hill Road.
The ball struck Mrs Lock on the right side of her face, causing the woman to fall onto a row of bricks and break two of her teeth. Her glasses also cut into her nose, which she claimed had bled for three weeks. However Mrs Lock had come to court without any medical or dental evidence to support her case, so the hearing was postponed until February.
On the 22nd the council's Highways Committee met and as usual discussed the state of some of the town's roads. During the war with labour and materials in short supply, more streets than usual had got into disrepair.
Their surveyor told the meeting that he had written to some of the firms that used Atlas Street to ask them if they would pay for the cost of repairing the road. However only one had replied, so the committee decided to go ahead and finance the work themselves.
Alderman Henry Peet asked for something to be done with Pocket Nook Street near the canal bridge, which he said was in a very bad state, uneven and dirty. Councillor Davies complained of the poor state of Sutton Heath Road, which he felt had been affected by mining subsidence, adding that there was six inches of water in places.
To that Councillor Ellison retorted: "Six inches is nothing in these days", to which the other councillors all laughed. Sutton's Councillor Sam Royle then said Leach Lane had six inches of water but was told it was only a country road. Their surveyor said he'd been doing the best he could but there was still a shortage of labour so he had to concentrate his resources on main roads.
William Whittall of Leigh Terrace, Clock Face Road, was fatally injured on January 22nd. The surface hand at Clock Face Colliery was engaged in lowering wagons of slack when a brake lever struck him in the region of the heart. Whittall died on the following day just weeks after returning to civilian life after prolonged army service in France. On four occasions he had been wounded and had spent nine months in hospital in Glasgow
Coal dealer William Heywood suffered a bad fire at the rear of his Junction Lane home on the 22nd. An outhouse containing coal was somehow set alight and unsurprisingly was well ablaze by the time the Fire Brigade arrived, causing around £300 worth of damage.
Now the war was over many former munitions factories and temporary military camps were busy flogging off all sorts of stuff. The Bioscope magazine on the 23rd published an advert concerning the demobilisation of the Knowsley Park camp at Burrows Lane, near Prescot.
The army's recently installed portable cinema and theatre – with Bioscope projector, 480 "red plush and leather" tip-up seats, petrol engine, dynamo and three wagons – were being auctioned off to the highest bidder on the 29th.
At the man's inquest at the Clock Face Hotel, under-manager John Pickett of Gorsey Lane said he could not explain why the deceased had chosen to run down the hill. If he had stood still or moved two yards to one side, William would have been safe.
A letter in the Reporter of the 24th called for something to be done about the "great topic of the hour". That was the severe housing shortage in St Helens, which was worsening as soldiers and sailors were beginning to return home after the war.
The author of the letter, Thomas Stevenson, claimed that hundreds were "trudging all over the town" looking for a house. Although wanting more homes to be swiftly built, he called for no more "in which you cannot swing a cat".
Instead Mr Stevenson called for new houses to be constructed with a substantial garden where people could "keep in comfort their own poultry and pigs". This, he felt, would do much to stop folk from going out boozing, as they would be far too busy looking after their stock. I'm not sure I buy that!
Stevenson appeared to keep a draper's in Westfield Street and he also wanted it to be compulsory for new homes to be built with bathrooms, saying: "The man who wants now to build a house without a bath ought to be shot as an enemy to the people."
J. Berens of Church Street were promoting their "Great winter sale of fashionable coats, raincoats and costumes." Their motto at sale time was: "Never mind what it costs". I think what they meant was "Never mind what it used to cost, it's still been reduced", but that's not quite as snappy a slogan!
On the 24th Mary Winstanley from Warrington Road in Bold Heath was back in court. The 73-year-old lived in the old Heyes Beerhouse, which had lost its licence in 1897 and since then appears to have been used exclusively as a farmhouse.
Mary was making her 23rd appearance in court but unusually these were not for drunkenness or vagrancy offences. Instead the woman had a habit of committing minor breaches of the laws, often connected with her horse and cart.
Mary's latest offence was driving her vehicle in Chester Lane without lights. She was using candle lamps and claimed that she'd lit them but they'd gone out in the rain and she had not been able to relight them. A constable in court described Mary as a "complete nuisance on the road, and would be getting smashed up one of these days." She was fined ten shillings.
Over 100 prisoners of war had so far returned to St Helens and on the 25th tea and entertainment was provided for them in the Town Hall. A large 'Welcome Home' emblem was displayed at the front of the platform and the Mayor addressed the men. Alderman Henry Bates said he knew that some had suffered great privations in the German camps and said it was the "duty of every Britisher" to bring to book those responsible for their "dastardly treatment".
An inquest into a mysterious death at the Hardshaw Brook chemical works took place at the Town Hall on the 25th. James Brunskill from Higher Parr Street was a packer of bleach and had to wear what was described as a muzzle because of the presence of gas. This was said to have been strong on the day that he died.
The 44-year-old was discovered lying on the floor four yards from his workplace. A post-mortem revealed a small wound on the back of his head but Dr Joseph Unsworth from North Road attributed death to the diseased condition of the man's heart. That was regularly stated as the cause of fatalities, when I suspect doctors often didn't really know the reason. Perhaps medical science might offer a different explanation today.
On the 26th some boys made a gruesome discovery down an old stone quarry on Eccleston Hill. They saw a foot sticking out from under planks, which so frightened the lads that they immediately ran home. The police uncovered the remains of a soldier who was described as "little better than a skeleton", having seemingly been there for over twelve months. The former member of the North Lancashire Regiment was yet to be identified.
And finally the pantomime season continued at the Hippodrome Theatre with 'Humpty Dumpty' performed from the 27th. It was a popular panto a century ago with the Corporation Street theatre having staged it last year as well. There appears to have been more to it than just falling off a wall!
Next week's stories will include the murder trial of Annie Houghton from Talbot Street who'd carried out an abortion that went wrong, the first female to be charged with playing pitch and toss appears in court, plans are revealed for the first council estate in the borough, the St Helens Fire Brigade's annual report and action to improve the health of the town.