IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (22nd - 28th JUNE 1920)
This week's stories include some very lively scenes in Oldfield Street, a shawl theft from the Town Hall, the Bridge Street fresh fish pioneers, a brave rescue of two children at Haydock, the speeding charabanc drivers in Rainford and the Sinn Fein supporter who got into a frenzy in Corporation Street.
We begin on the 22nd in the Police Court where Agnes Lawley of Morris Street in Sutton faced a charge of stealing a grey, checked shawl belonging to Elisabeth Evans. Mrs Evans had been in front of the School Investigation Committee at the Town Hall (pictured above c. 1926) in connection with her child's school attendance. She'd left her baby go-chair at the bottom of the courtroom stairs and placed her shawl on top.
After seeing the committee, Mrs Evans went to collect her property and found the shawl had disappeared and so complained to the police. She didn't have far to go as their main station was next door. Agnes Lawley had also been before the committee and so quickly became the prime suspect.
At first Agnes denied all knowledge of the shawl. It had only cost ten shillings but the police then took all thefts seriously and later returned to the woman's house to interrogate her again. As a result Mrs Lawley produced the shawl but claimed that she'd bought it for 2 shillings from an unknown woman, although pleaded guilty in court.
It was revealed that her husband earned £5 a week and so the theft went down badly with the Chairman of the Bench, Cllr. William Collier from Croppers Hill: "Fancy your husband with £5 a week and you doing this", he declared. "You will be fined £2 or 28 days imprisonment."
A large advert on the front page of the St Helens Reporter on the 25th said: "A WONDERFUL SUCCESS! CROWDED OUT DAILY. Fresh Fish Supplies Ltd. the pioneers of Cheap Fresh Fish who recently opened a new shop at 22, Bridge Street, St. Helens, have proved to the public that Fish can be brought from the coast and sold in St. Helens within 24 hours of leaving the Trawler, and they have so pleased the housewives of St. Helens that their shop is besieged daily by vast crowds who realize that good fresh Fish is an essential part of the family diet and that it means a great saving in the family exchequer."
I do wonder if the fish shop was being besieged daily by vast crowds, why they felt the need to spend a lot of money on advertising? Another advert was from T. Edmondson's of Rigby Street, who were joining the long list of providers of open-top motor coaches in St Helens. They preferred to spell them "Chars-A-Banc" and were informing "Club Secretaries and Pic-Nic Parties" that two new Leyland vehicles had arrived at their HQ.
The Dancing Rooms in George Street were a popular venue and dancing instructor Joseph Rigby from Windleshaw Road was advertising his Wednesday evening classes. The latest dancing was taught in 3-hour sessions costing just a shilling. These dances included The Festival Two Step, the Pom Pom, Parma Waltz and Dahomey Fox Trot.
A share prospectus for the Thatto Heath Empire also appeared in the Reporter. The cinema had been built in 1912 but a consortium was taking it over. One of the new directors would be Joseph Gaskell who ran the Elephant Hotel in Elephant Lane.
The Reporter wrote of "lively scenes" in Oldfield Street (off City Road) over the previous weekend, which led to a series of cases being heard in the Police Court on the 25th. They began with Amelia Dickson at no. 9 and Hannah Byrne of no. 11 being charged with issuing threats against each other. Mrs Byrne said Mrs Dickson was "treacherous" and had threatened to "cut her ________ head off".
For her part Mrs Dickson said her next-door neighbour had come up the street shouting and had "burst the door off the hinges" and threatened what she would do to her. Up to then, she added, they’d been the "greatest of friends"! The magistrates dismissed both cases.
Catherine Keaton, a young woman from 81 Oldfield Street, was then charged with threatening to assault Marjorie Case. Mrs Case said that when she and her husband were returning to their home, Catherine Keaton, was waiting for her "with pokers" – seemingly more than one, although one would have been enough! She threatened to "lay her out for dead", however her solicitor said his client denied threatening anyone and wished to live in peace with her neighbours. The Bench decided to dismiss that case too.
And Catherine Keaton was accused of assaulting Hannah Byrne at no. 11 – one of the women in the first case – and Mrs Byrne was accused of hitting her on the head with a pint cup! She denied it and claimed that Mrs Keaton had got her two black eyes by falling over a rug. (Yeah, right!)
A chap called Peter Tracey claimed that Hannah Byrne had also hit him on the head with a pint cup and as a result the woman was fined £2 and the other charges were dismissed. There was another case concerning two more women kicking and throwing bottles but I think we've had enough of lively Oldfield Street for this week!
A brave rescue of two young children took place during the afternoon of the 27th in the canal at Haydock. Six-year-old Robert Rigby from Juddfield Street was fishing for jacksharps and accidentally tumbled into the water. His 9-year-old sister Martha jumped in to help him but she also got into difficulties. Fortunately William Shaw (aged about 15) was fishing nearby and hearing the screams of the two siblings, he raced to the scene and plunged into the water.
The little boy was brought out first and then William dived back in to find the girl, who had disappeared from view. However he managed to find Martha and bring her to the bank. Another fisherman called John Holden – who the Reporter wrote: "knows artificial respiration from A to Z" – was on hand and able to assist Martha who was then "in dire straits". Both children had since recovered from their ordeals and a subscription list had been opened in Haydock to create a fund to reward the two brave rescuers.
The most interesting bunch of turns that I've seen listed for a good while were appearing at the Hippodrome Theatre from the 28th. They were: The Bale Family ("Trick cyclists – a revelation in wheels and thrills"); Allan Hanbury ("The talkative dame"); Syd Royce ("In song and novelty dances"); Alfred Verme ("The famous accordionist who plays seven instruments with his feet"); Sisters Billington ("The water nymphs – the famous Lancashire long distance trick and ornamental swimmers"); Wee Dorothy Dodd ("The baby star in character studies") and Miller and Canning ("Acrobats - playing the Dickens").
A Pilkingtons labourer of no fixed abode called John Carroll was charged in the Police Court on the 28th with being drunk and disorderly and assaulting the police. This is how the Reporter introduced the case: "A stalwart man, who seems to have prided himself on being a Sinn Feiner, and to whom the sight of an Englishman was not agreeable, created a disturbance at Corporation-street on Saturday night, when he set about two constables and threw himself into a frenzy."
The trouble had begun at 9:40pm when John Carroll approached PC Shepherd while on plain-clothes duty in Corporation Street (pictured above). He asked him if he was an Englishman and then said: "You are the man I am looking for" and after being told he was a policeman started kicking him. Some passers-by came to the officer's assistance and as he struggled to handcuff the man, they fell to the ground.
PC Duncan arrived on the scene and was leaning over Carroll, when he kicked him on the side of the head. This knocked off his helmet and raised "a lump the size of an egg". Carroll was kicking out so wildly that they had to take his boots off and it took six constables to get their prisoner into a cell. While at the station Carroll reiterated that he was a Sinn Feiner and made threats about what he would do to the officers when he got out.
In court he was a different man, regretful for his actions and confessing that he had not known what he was doing. After the Boer War, Carroll said he had sailed to New York but returned to Britain at the outbreak of the late war. The man claimed to have been shot in the head in France and since then alcohol had badly affected him and he had not drunk any beer for nearly three years until Saturday. The magistrates tended to issue small fines for assaulting the police but felt Carroll's actions deserved a month in prison and a ten shilling fine for being drunk and disorderly.
And finally on the 28th Rainford Council agreed to put up notices asking drivers of motor charabancs to slow down when passing through congested parts of the village. Before the building of a bypass, those journeying to Ormskirk and Southport from SW Lancashire and Cheshire had to travel right through the village. The old horse-driven wagonette parties had a gentle 4-hour drive from St Helens to Southport but the far faster motor vehicles were damaging roads and properties as they zipped through Rainford.
The council's Clerk told the meeting that he had received a number of complaints about speeding charabancs, adding: "There is no doubt that in the course of time the constant vibration produced by the heavy vehicles passing through would have a serious effect on property."
Next week's stories will include a warning from the St Helens Chief Constable against charabanc road hogs, the first female magistrates are appointed in the town, support for Sinn Fein in Ireland, the high infantile mortality rate and the annual Tradesmen's Holiday.
After seeing the committee, Mrs Evans went to collect her property and found the shawl had disappeared and so complained to the police. She didn't have far to go as their main station was next door. Agnes Lawley had also been before the committee and so quickly became the prime suspect.
At first Agnes denied all knowledge of the shawl. It had only cost ten shillings but the police then took all thefts seriously and later returned to the woman's house to interrogate her again. As a result Mrs Lawley produced the shawl but claimed that she'd bought it for 2 shillings from an unknown woman, although pleaded guilty in court.
It was revealed that her husband earned £5 a week and so the theft went down badly with the Chairman of the Bench, Cllr. William Collier from Croppers Hill: "Fancy your husband with £5 a week and you doing this", he declared. "You will be fined £2 or 28 days imprisonment."
A large advert on the front page of the St Helens Reporter on the 25th said: "A WONDERFUL SUCCESS! CROWDED OUT DAILY. Fresh Fish Supplies Ltd. the pioneers of Cheap Fresh Fish who recently opened a new shop at 22, Bridge Street, St. Helens, have proved to the public that Fish can be brought from the coast and sold in St. Helens within 24 hours of leaving the Trawler, and they have so pleased the housewives of St. Helens that their shop is besieged daily by vast crowds who realize that good fresh Fish is an essential part of the family diet and that it means a great saving in the family exchequer."
I do wonder if the fish shop was being besieged daily by vast crowds, why they felt the need to spend a lot of money on advertising? Another advert was from T. Edmondson's of Rigby Street, who were joining the long list of providers of open-top motor coaches in St Helens. They preferred to spell them "Chars-A-Banc" and were informing "Club Secretaries and Pic-Nic Parties" that two new Leyland vehicles had arrived at their HQ.
The Dancing Rooms in George Street were a popular venue and dancing instructor Joseph Rigby from Windleshaw Road was advertising his Wednesday evening classes. The latest dancing was taught in 3-hour sessions costing just a shilling. These dances included The Festival Two Step, the Pom Pom, Parma Waltz and Dahomey Fox Trot.
A share prospectus for the Thatto Heath Empire also appeared in the Reporter. The cinema had been built in 1912 but a consortium was taking it over. One of the new directors would be Joseph Gaskell who ran the Elephant Hotel in Elephant Lane.
The Reporter wrote of "lively scenes" in Oldfield Street (off City Road) over the previous weekend, which led to a series of cases being heard in the Police Court on the 25th. They began with Amelia Dickson at no. 9 and Hannah Byrne of no. 11 being charged with issuing threats against each other. Mrs Byrne said Mrs Dickson was "treacherous" and had threatened to "cut her ________ head off".
For her part Mrs Dickson said her next-door neighbour had come up the street shouting and had "burst the door off the hinges" and threatened what she would do to her. Up to then, she added, they’d been the "greatest of friends"! The magistrates dismissed both cases.
Catherine Keaton, a young woman from 81 Oldfield Street, was then charged with threatening to assault Marjorie Case. Mrs Case said that when she and her husband were returning to their home, Catherine Keaton, was waiting for her "with pokers" – seemingly more than one, although one would have been enough! She threatened to "lay her out for dead", however her solicitor said his client denied threatening anyone and wished to live in peace with her neighbours. The Bench decided to dismiss that case too.
And Catherine Keaton was accused of assaulting Hannah Byrne at no. 11 – one of the women in the first case – and Mrs Byrne was accused of hitting her on the head with a pint cup! She denied it and claimed that Mrs Keaton had got her two black eyes by falling over a rug. (Yeah, right!)
A chap called Peter Tracey claimed that Hannah Byrne had also hit him on the head with a pint cup and as a result the woman was fined £2 and the other charges were dismissed. There was another case concerning two more women kicking and throwing bottles but I think we've had enough of lively Oldfield Street for this week!
A brave rescue of two young children took place during the afternoon of the 27th in the canal at Haydock. Six-year-old Robert Rigby from Juddfield Street was fishing for jacksharps and accidentally tumbled into the water. His 9-year-old sister Martha jumped in to help him but she also got into difficulties. Fortunately William Shaw (aged about 15) was fishing nearby and hearing the screams of the two siblings, he raced to the scene and plunged into the water.
The little boy was brought out first and then William dived back in to find the girl, who had disappeared from view. However he managed to find Martha and bring her to the bank. Another fisherman called John Holden – who the Reporter wrote: "knows artificial respiration from A to Z" – was on hand and able to assist Martha who was then "in dire straits". Both children had since recovered from their ordeals and a subscription list had been opened in Haydock to create a fund to reward the two brave rescuers.
The most interesting bunch of turns that I've seen listed for a good while were appearing at the Hippodrome Theatre from the 28th. They were: The Bale Family ("Trick cyclists – a revelation in wheels and thrills"); Allan Hanbury ("The talkative dame"); Syd Royce ("In song and novelty dances"); Alfred Verme ("The famous accordionist who plays seven instruments with his feet"); Sisters Billington ("The water nymphs – the famous Lancashire long distance trick and ornamental swimmers"); Wee Dorothy Dodd ("The baby star in character studies") and Miller and Canning ("Acrobats - playing the Dickens").
A Pilkingtons labourer of no fixed abode called John Carroll was charged in the Police Court on the 28th with being drunk and disorderly and assaulting the police. This is how the Reporter introduced the case: "A stalwart man, who seems to have prided himself on being a Sinn Feiner, and to whom the sight of an Englishman was not agreeable, created a disturbance at Corporation-street on Saturday night, when he set about two constables and threw himself into a frenzy."
PC Duncan arrived on the scene and was leaning over Carroll, when he kicked him on the side of the head. This knocked off his helmet and raised "a lump the size of an egg". Carroll was kicking out so wildly that they had to take his boots off and it took six constables to get their prisoner into a cell. While at the station Carroll reiterated that he was a Sinn Feiner and made threats about what he would do to the officers when he got out.
In court he was a different man, regretful for his actions and confessing that he had not known what he was doing. After the Boer War, Carroll said he had sailed to New York but returned to Britain at the outbreak of the late war. The man claimed to have been shot in the head in France and since then alcohol had badly affected him and he had not drunk any beer for nearly three years until Saturday. The magistrates tended to issue small fines for assaulting the police but felt Carroll's actions deserved a month in prison and a ten shilling fine for being drunk and disorderly.
And finally on the 28th Rainford Council agreed to put up notices asking drivers of motor charabancs to slow down when passing through congested parts of the village. Before the building of a bypass, those journeying to Ormskirk and Southport from SW Lancashire and Cheshire had to travel right through the village. The old horse-driven wagonette parties had a gentle 4-hour drive from St Helens to Southport but the far faster motor vehicles were damaging roads and properties as they zipped through Rainford.
The council's Clerk told the meeting that he had received a number of complaints about speeding charabancs, adding: "There is no doubt that in the course of time the constant vibration produced by the heavy vehicles passing through would have a serious effect on property."
Next week's stories will include a warning from the St Helens Chief Constable against charabanc road hogs, the first female magistrates are appointed in the town, support for Sinn Fein in Ireland, the high infantile mortality rate and the annual Tradesmen's Holiday.
This week's stories include some very lively scenes in Oldfield Street, a shawl theft from the Town Hall, the Bridge Street fresh fish pioneers, a brave rescue of two children at Haydock, the speeding charabanc drivers in Rainford and the Sinn Fein supporter who got into a frenzy in Corporation Street.
We begin on the 22nd in the Police Court where Agnes Lawley of Morris Street in Sutton faced a charge of stealing a grey, checked shawl belonging to Elisabeth Evans.
Mrs Evans had been in front of the School Investigation Committee at the Town Hall (pictured above c. 1926) in connection with her child's school attendance.
She'd left her baby go-chair at the bottom of the courtroom stairs and placed her shawl on top.
After seeing the committee, Mrs Evans went to collect her property and found the shawl had disappeared and so complained to the police.
She didn't have far to go as their main station was next door. Agnes Lawley had also been before the committee and so quickly became the prime suspect.
At first Agnes denied all knowledge of the shawl. It had only cost ten shillings but the police then took all thefts seriously and later returned to the woman's house to interrogate her again.
As a result Mrs Lawley produced the shawl but claimed that she'd bought it for 2 shillings from an unknown woman, although pleaded guilty in court.
It was revealed that her husband earned £5 a week and so the theft went down badly with the Chairman of the Bench, Cllr. William Collier from Croppers Hill:
"Fancy your husband with £5 a week and you doing this", he declared. "You will be fined £2 or 28 days imprisonment."
A large advert on the front page of the St Helens Reporter on the 25th said:
"A WONDERFUL SUCCESS! CROWDED OUT DAILY. Fresh Fish Supplies Ltd. the pioneers of Cheap Fresh Fish who recently opened a new shop at 22, Bridge Street, St. Helens, have proved to the public that Fish can be brought from the coast and sold in St. Helens within 24 hours of leaving the Trawler, and they have so pleased the housewives of St. Helens that their shop is besieged daily by vast crowds who realize that good fresh Fish is an essential part of the family diet and that it means a great saving in the family exchequer."
I do wonder if the fish shop was being besieged daily by vast crowds, why they felt the need to spend a lot of money on advertising?
Another advert was from T. Edmondson's of Rigby Street, who were joining the long list of providers of open-top motor coaches in St Helens.
They preferred to spell them "Chars-A-Banc" and were informing "Club Secretaries and Pic-Nic Parties" that two new Leyland vehicles had arrived at their HQ.
The Dancing Rooms in George Street were a popular venue and dancing instructor Joseph Rigby from Windleshaw Road was advertising his Wednesday evening classes.
The latest dancing was taught in 3-hour sessions costing just a shilling. These dances included The Festival Two Step, the Pom Pom, Parma Waltz and Dahomey Fox Trot.
A share prospectus for the Thatto Heath Empire also appeared in the Reporter.
The cinema had been built in 1912 but a consortium was taking it over. One of the new directors would be Joseph Gaskell who ran the Elephant Hotel in Elephant Lane.
The Reporter wrote of "lively scenes" in Oldfield Street (off City Road) over the previous weekend, which led to a series of cases being heard in the Police Court on the 25th.
They began with Amelia Dickson at no. 9 and Hannah Byrne of no. 11 being charged with issuing threats against each other.
Mrs Byrne said Mrs Dickson was "treacherous" and had threatened to "cut her ________ head off".
For her part Mrs Dickson said her next-door neighbour had come up the street shouting and had "burst the door off the hinges" and threatened what she would do to her.
Up to then, she added, they’d been the "greatest of friends"! The magistrates dismissed both cases.
Catherine Keaton, a young woman from 81 Oldfield Street, was then charged with threatening to assault Marjorie Case.
Mrs Case said that when she and her husband were returning to their home, Catherine Keaton, was waiting for her "with pokers" – seemingly more than one, although one would have been enough!
She threatened to "lay her out for dead", however her solicitor said his client denied threatening anyone and wished to live in peace with her neighbours. The Bench decided to dismiss that case too.
And Catherine Keaton was accused of assaulting Hannah Byrne at no. 11 – one of the women in the first case – and Mrs Byrne was accused of hitting her on the head with a pint cup!
She denied it and claimed that Mrs Keaton had got her two black eyes by falling over a rug. (Yeah, right!)
A chap called Peter Tracey claimed that Hannah Byrne had also hit him on the head with a pint cup and as a result the woman was fined £2 and the other charges were dismissed.
There was another case concerning two more women kicking and throwing bottles but I think we've had enough of lively Oldfield Street for this week!
A brave rescue of two young children took place during the afternoon of the 27th in the canal at Haydock.
Six-year-old Robert Rigby from Juddfield Street was fishing for jacksharps and accidentally tumbled into the water.
His 9-year-old sister Martha jumped in to help him but she also got into difficulties.
Fortunately William Shaw (aged about 15) was fishing nearby and hearing the screams of the two siblings, he raced to the scene and plunged into the water.
The little boy was brought out first and then William dived back in to find the girl, who had disappeared from view. However he managed to find Martha and bring her to the bank.
Another fisherman called John Holden – who the Reporter wrote: "knows artificial respiration from A to Z" – was on hand and able to assist Martha who was then "in dire straits".
Both children had since recovered from their ordeals and a subscription list had been opened in Haydock to create a fund to reward the two brave rescuers.
The most interesting bunch of turns that I've seen listed for a good while were appearing at the Hippodrome Theatre from the 28th. They were:
The Bale Family ("Trick cyclists – a revelation in wheels and thrills"); Allan Hanbury ("The talkative dame"); Syd Royce ("In song and novelty dances"); Alfred Verme ("The famous accordionist who plays seven instruments with his feet"); Sisters Billington ("The water nymphs – the famous Lancashire long distance trick and ornamental swimmers"); Wee Dorothy Dodd ("The baby star in character studies") and Miller and Canning ("Acrobats - playing the Dickens").
A Pilkingtons labourer of no fixed abode called John Carroll was charged in the Police Court on the 28th with being drunk and disorderly and assaulting the police.
This is how the Reporter introduced the case:
"A stalwart man, who seems to have prided himself on being a Sinn Feiner, and to whom the sight of an Englishman was not agreeable, created a disturbance at Corporation-street on Saturday night, when he set about two constables and threw himself into a frenzy."
The trouble had begun at 9:40pm when John Carroll approached PC Shepherd while on plain-clothes duty in Corporation Street (pictured above).
He asked him if he was an Englishman and then said: "You are the man I am looking for" and after being told he was a policeman started kicking him.
Some passers-by came to the officer's assistance and as he struggled to handcuff the man, they fell to the ground.
PC Duncan arrived on the scene and was leaning over Carroll, when he kicked him on the side of the head.
This knocked off his helmet and raised "a lump the size of an egg". Carroll was kicking out so wildly that they had to take his boots off and it took six constables to get their prisoner into a cell.
While at the station Carroll reiterated that he was a Sinn Feiner and made threats about what he would do to the officers when he got out.
In court he was a different man, regretful for his actions and confessing that he had not known what he was doing.
After the Boer War, Carroll said he had sailed to New York but returned to Britain at the outbreak of the late war.
The man claimed to have been shot in the head in France and since then alcohol had badly affected him and he had not drunk any beer for nearly three years until Saturday.
The magistrates tended to issue small fines for assaulting the police but felt Carroll's actions deserved a month in prison and a ten shilling fine for being drunk and disorderly.
And finally on the 28th Rainford Council agreed to put up notices asking drivers of motor charabancs to slow down when passing through congested parts of the village.
Before the building of a bypass, those journeying to Ormskirk and Southport from SW Lancashire and Cheshire had to travel right through the village.
The old horse-driven wagonette parties had a gentle 4-hour drive from St Helens to Southport but the far faster motor vehicles were damaging roads and properties as they zipped through Rainford.
The council's Clerk told the meeting that he had received a number of complaints about speeding charabancs, adding:
"There is no doubt that in the course of time the constant vibration produced by the heavy vehicles passing through would have a serious effect on property."
Next week's stories will include a warning from the St Helens Chief Constable against charabanc road hogs, the first female magistrates are appointed in the town, support for Sinn Fein in Ireland, the high infantile mortality rate and the annual Tradesmen's Holiday.
Mrs Evans had been in front of the School Investigation Committee at the Town Hall (pictured above c. 1926) in connection with her child's school attendance.
She'd left her baby go-chair at the bottom of the courtroom stairs and placed her shawl on top.
After seeing the committee, Mrs Evans went to collect her property and found the shawl had disappeared and so complained to the police.
She didn't have far to go as their main station was next door. Agnes Lawley had also been before the committee and so quickly became the prime suspect.
At first Agnes denied all knowledge of the shawl. It had only cost ten shillings but the police then took all thefts seriously and later returned to the woman's house to interrogate her again.
As a result Mrs Lawley produced the shawl but claimed that she'd bought it for 2 shillings from an unknown woman, although pleaded guilty in court.
It was revealed that her husband earned £5 a week and so the theft went down badly with the Chairman of the Bench, Cllr. William Collier from Croppers Hill:
"Fancy your husband with £5 a week and you doing this", he declared. "You will be fined £2 or 28 days imprisonment."
A large advert on the front page of the St Helens Reporter on the 25th said:
"A WONDERFUL SUCCESS! CROWDED OUT DAILY. Fresh Fish Supplies Ltd. the pioneers of Cheap Fresh Fish who recently opened a new shop at 22, Bridge Street, St. Helens, have proved to the public that Fish can be brought from the coast and sold in St. Helens within 24 hours of leaving the Trawler, and they have so pleased the housewives of St. Helens that their shop is besieged daily by vast crowds who realize that good fresh Fish is an essential part of the family diet and that it means a great saving in the family exchequer."
I do wonder if the fish shop was being besieged daily by vast crowds, why they felt the need to spend a lot of money on advertising?
Another advert was from T. Edmondson's of Rigby Street, who were joining the long list of providers of open-top motor coaches in St Helens.
They preferred to spell them "Chars-A-Banc" and were informing "Club Secretaries and Pic-Nic Parties" that two new Leyland vehicles had arrived at their HQ.
The Dancing Rooms in George Street were a popular venue and dancing instructor Joseph Rigby from Windleshaw Road was advertising his Wednesday evening classes.
The latest dancing was taught in 3-hour sessions costing just a shilling. These dances included The Festival Two Step, the Pom Pom, Parma Waltz and Dahomey Fox Trot.
A share prospectus for the Thatto Heath Empire also appeared in the Reporter.
The cinema had been built in 1912 but a consortium was taking it over. One of the new directors would be Joseph Gaskell who ran the Elephant Hotel in Elephant Lane.
The Reporter wrote of "lively scenes" in Oldfield Street (off City Road) over the previous weekend, which led to a series of cases being heard in the Police Court on the 25th.
They began with Amelia Dickson at no. 9 and Hannah Byrne of no. 11 being charged with issuing threats against each other.
Mrs Byrne said Mrs Dickson was "treacherous" and had threatened to "cut her ________ head off".
For her part Mrs Dickson said her next-door neighbour had come up the street shouting and had "burst the door off the hinges" and threatened what she would do to her.
Up to then, she added, they’d been the "greatest of friends"! The magistrates dismissed both cases.
Catherine Keaton, a young woman from 81 Oldfield Street, was then charged with threatening to assault Marjorie Case.
Mrs Case said that when she and her husband were returning to their home, Catherine Keaton, was waiting for her "with pokers" – seemingly more than one, although one would have been enough!
She threatened to "lay her out for dead", however her solicitor said his client denied threatening anyone and wished to live in peace with her neighbours. The Bench decided to dismiss that case too.
And Catherine Keaton was accused of assaulting Hannah Byrne at no. 11 – one of the women in the first case – and Mrs Byrne was accused of hitting her on the head with a pint cup!
She denied it and claimed that Mrs Keaton had got her two black eyes by falling over a rug. (Yeah, right!)
A chap called Peter Tracey claimed that Hannah Byrne had also hit him on the head with a pint cup and as a result the woman was fined £2 and the other charges were dismissed.
There was another case concerning two more women kicking and throwing bottles but I think we've had enough of lively Oldfield Street for this week!
A brave rescue of two young children took place during the afternoon of the 27th in the canal at Haydock.
Six-year-old Robert Rigby from Juddfield Street was fishing for jacksharps and accidentally tumbled into the water.
His 9-year-old sister Martha jumped in to help him but she also got into difficulties.
Fortunately William Shaw (aged about 15) was fishing nearby and hearing the screams of the two siblings, he raced to the scene and plunged into the water.
The little boy was brought out first and then William dived back in to find the girl, who had disappeared from view. However he managed to find Martha and bring her to the bank.
Another fisherman called John Holden – who the Reporter wrote: "knows artificial respiration from A to Z" – was on hand and able to assist Martha who was then "in dire straits".
Both children had since recovered from their ordeals and a subscription list had been opened in Haydock to create a fund to reward the two brave rescuers.
The most interesting bunch of turns that I've seen listed for a good while were appearing at the Hippodrome Theatre from the 28th. They were:
The Bale Family ("Trick cyclists – a revelation in wheels and thrills"); Allan Hanbury ("The talkative dame"); Syd Royce ("In song and novelty dances"); Alfred Verme ("The famous accordionist who plays seven instruments with his feet"); Sisters Billington ("The water nymphs – the famous Lancashire long distance trick and ornamental swimmers"); Wee Dorothy Dodd ("The baby star in character studies") and Miller and Canning ("Acrobats - playing the Dickens").
A Pilkingtons labourer of no fixed abode called John Carroll was charged in the Police Court on the 28th with being drunk and disorderly and assaulting the police.
This is how the Reporter introduced the case:
"A stalwart man, who seems to have prided himself on being a Sinn Feiner, and to whom the sight of an Englishman was not agreeable, created a disturbance at Corporation-street on Saturday night, when he set about two constables and threw himself into a frenzy."
He asked him if he was an Englishman and then said: "You are the man I am looking for" and after being told he was a policeman started kicking him.
Some passers-by came to the officer's assistance and as he struggled to handcuff the man, they fell to the ground.
PC Duncan arrived on the scene and was leaning over Carroll, when he kicked him on the side of the head.
This knocked off his helmet and raised "a lump the size of an egg". Carroll was kicking out so wildly that they had to take his boots off and it took six constables to get their prisoner into a cell.
While at the station Carroll reiterated that he was a Sinn Feiner and made threats about what he would do to the officers when he got out.
In court he was a different man, regretful for his actions and confessing that he had not known what he was doing.
After the Boer War, Carroll said he had sailed to New York but returned to Britain at the outbreak of the late war.
The man claimed to have been shot in the head in France and since then alcohol had badly affected him and he had not drunk any beer for nearly three years until Saturday.
The magistrates tended to issue small fines for assaulting the police but felt Carroll's actions deserved a month in prison and a ten shilling fine for being drunk and disorderly.
And finally on the 28th Rainford Council agreed to put up notices asking drivers of motor charabancs to slow down when passing through congested parts of the village.
Before the building of a bypass, those journeying to Ormskirk and Southport from SW Lancashire and Cheshire had to travel right through the village.
The old horse-driven wagonette parties had a gentle 4-hour drive from St Helens to Southport but the far faster motor vehicles were damaging roads and properties as they zipped through Rainford.
The council's Clerk told the meeting that he had received a number of complaints about speeding charabancs, adding:
"There is no doubt that in the course of time the constant vibration produced by the heavy vehicles passing through would have a serious effect on property."
Next week's stories will include a warning from the St Helens Chief Constable against charabanc road hogs, the first female magistrates are appointed in the town, support for Sinn Fein in Ireland, the high infantile mortality rate and the annual Tradesmen's Holiday.