IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (23rd - 29th JANUARY 1923)
This week's many stories include the wicked stepmother of Thatto Heath, the girl shoplifters in Bridge Street, the filthy language used on a tram, the 30-year-old emaciated horse that was sold to a St Helens hawker, the Clock Face Colliery pit shaft scare and the inveterate vagrant Gentle Annie has her stomach pumped out.
We begin on the 23rd at St Helens Town Hall when the inquest on Charles Harrison was held. The 36-year-old from Greenough Street was employed at Clock Face Colliery and had been fatally injured by an underground roof collapse – one of the most common causes of mineworkers' deaths. A stone described as about 4ft in length and approaching 2ft in width had fallen without warning on Mr Harrison pinning him to the ground. The St Helens Reporter described the tragedy as demonstrating: "…the hidden dangers of the pit, which take such a toll of the life of the mining community."
Although the Reporter had voluntarily decided not to name child defendants in their court reports, that concession did not extend to their parents. And so if their mums and dads were implicated in their crimes, it didn't take much detective work to deduce who the kids were. On the 25th four girls appeared in St Helens Juvenile Police Court charged with a series of thefts. They were not identified in the paper. However, their parents were charged with receiving their stolen goods – and their names were revealed. The adult defendants were Elizabeth Jones of Tontine Street, Teresa Cardwell of Back Crab Street and Louisa Roby from Market Street.
Supt. Dunn told the hearing that the police had received numerous complaints of petty thefts from shops in Bridge Street. As a result policemen in plainclothes had been keeping watch and had detected the children. The Bench issued a stern rebuke to the parents for encouraging their children to steal – but only fined them ten shillings each. As to the girls' punishments, three of them were placed on probation for two years, but the fourth – who had been before the court before – was sent to a reformatory for three years.
The St Helens Reporter on the 26th described how an eminent engineer called George Sutton had delivered a lecture in Prescot on using wireless in the home. Last November a BBC station in Manchester had begun broadcasting and the new medium was creating some excitement. Sutton claimed to have a longer experience of general wireless telegraphy in England than even Marconi and gave to his audience tips on how to get the best reception. An outdoor wire aerial connected to a tall pole was recommended. However, Mr Sutton mentioned that it was possible to receive signals using a spring bed mattress as an antenna.
The Reporter also described how John James from Sutton Heath Road had appeared in court charged with using offensive language on a tramcar. The prosecution explained that Inspector Woods of the tram company had boarded the vehicle that had been travelling towards Rainhill and seen James standing downstairs using bad language. And when spoken to by the inspector he had used "very objectionable" language to him. Inspector Woods said the man had been swearing so much that he told him to either leave the car or go upstairs.
One of the magistrates then asked the obvious question as to whether that meant persons riding on the tram on the upper deck were allowed to use bad language! Inspector Woods replied that they were not. John James gave an odd reason for his cursing. He said he had boarded the tram at the Red Lion at the top of Bridge Street (shown above) and found the vehicle to be packed. However, some young women were seated when a number of old people were forced to stand and so he decided to give them a piece of his mind. The magistrates seemed to think that his actions in support of the elderly were outweighed by the abuse that he showered on the young women and fined the man £1.
I've written about Annie Murphy on numerous occasions and her activities will continue to make the news over the next few years when she is given the moniker of "Gentle Annie". Why, I cannot say – as I've described her in the past bashing people with umbrellas and smashing windows in a most ungentle fashion! The Reporter described how the prolific vagrant with over 80 court appearances to her name had been in trouble yet again – only two days after being released from prison.
Annie had been found drunk and incapable on a train after drinking spirits. There was so much concern for her condition that the 49-year-old was rushed to Providence Hospital and a stomach pump used on her. Det. Maddocks told the magistrates in St Helens Police Court that Annie had been in a very bad way. "She was half-dead early this morning, but she has revived", he said.
Annie as usual denied that she had been drunk and was fined ten shillings or, if in default of payment, she would have to return to prison for a fortnight. It can be assumed that the latter option was chosen.
An indication of the popularity of racing pigeons in St Helens was the fact that a pigeon show held on the 27th resulted in 230 entries. Also on that day Sabina Deacle from Elephant Lane in Thatto Heath was sent to prison for three months with hard labour for abusing her stepchild. Thirteen-year-old Margaret had been repeatedly beaten and kicked over a long period leaving her with many scars and cuts on her body.
The girl told the court that her stepmother had hit her on the head several times with a poker. She had also been cut her behind the ear with a knife and the bruises that were then on her legs had been caused by the woman kicking her. Mrs Deacle was described as "fiendishly brutal" by an NSPCC inspector and her husband was considered fearful of his own wife and under her thumb. It was not suggested that James Deacle had participated in the abuse but he had also not intervened – and so received a month's hard labour.
It served a miner well to be nimble-footed down the pit. Fast reactions to coal or dirt dropping on them from the pit roof underground could keep a mineworker alive. And the same applied to runaway coal tubs and out of control pit cages. On the 29th there was another incident at Clock Face Colliery. While the men were changing shifts, one of the two pit cages dropped like a stone towards the bottom of the shaft. Fortunately, no one was inside the cage and those who saw it come hurtling towards them had managed to dash out of its path just in time.
I've written a lot recently about how the owners of working horses could be reluctant to retire them, wanting to get full value for their often meagre investment. There was another such case on the 29th when William Herbert from Wigan was charged in St Helens Police Court with "cruelly travelling" an unfit horse. A hawker called John Lally from Stanhope Street in St Helens gave evidence that Herbert had called at his home with a black mare. A deal was struck between them and the horse was exchanged for Lally's pony, plus 15 shillings.
Next morning he said he found the mare lying in his stable and he required assistance to raise the horse to its feet. Lally managed to put the animal into the shafts of his cart but the poor thing immediately fell down. Inspector Hallam of the RSPCA told the court that the horse was very old and in the most emaciated condition. It took fifty minutes to take it half-a-mile to the Town Hall where it was eventually destroyed. Sergeant Latus told the court that he thought the mare must have been drugged to get it to travel from Wigan and a vet reckoned it was about thirty years old. William Herbert was ordered to pay a fine of 20 shillings.
And finally, for six evenings from the 29th, the Hippodrome Theatre in Corporation Street in St Helens featured 'The Home of the Fairies'. A sort of pantomime, the production was described as a "great musical play of fairyland", with the added attraction of 15 local children appearing in one scene.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the police raid on a betting house in Parr Street, the Sutton Manor fake safe robbery, the capture of a wholesale shopbreaker and the bizarre police stake out at Sutton Post Office.
Although the Reporter had voluntarily decided not to name child defendants in their court reports, that concession did not extend to their parents. And so if their mums and dads were implicated in their crimes, it didn't take much detective work to deduce who the kids were. On the 25th four girls appeared in St Helens Juvenile Police Court charged with a series of thefts. They were not identified in the paper. However, their parents were charged with receiving their stolen goods – and their names were revealed. The adult defendants were Elizabeth Jones of Tontine Street, Teresa Cardwell of Back Crab Street and Louisa Roby from Market Street.
Supt. Dunn told the hearing that the police had received numerous complaints of petty thefts from shops in Bridge Street. As a result policemen in plainclothes had been keeping watch and had detected the children. The Bench issued a stern rebuke to the parents for encouraging their children to steal – but only fined them ten shillings each. As to the girls' punishments, three of them were placed on probation for two years, but the fourth – who had been before the court before – was sent to a reformatory for three years.
The St Helens Reporter on the 26th described how an eminent engineer called George Sutton had delivered a lecture in Prescot on using wireless in the home. Last November a BBC station in Manchester had begun broadcasting and the new medium was creating some excitement. Sutton claimed to have a longer experience of general wireless telegraphy in England than even Marconi and gave to his audience tips on how to get the best reception. An outdoor wire aerial connected to a tall pole was recommended. However, Mr Sutton mentioned that it was possible to receive signals using a spring bed mattress as an antenna.
The Reporter also described how John James from Sutton Heath Road had appeared in court charged with using offensive language on a tramcar. The prosecution explained that Inspector Woods of the tram company had boarded the vehicle that had been travelling towards Rainhill and seen James standing downstairs using bad language. And when spoken to by the inspector he had used "very objectionable" language to him. Inspector Woods said the man had been swearing so much that he told him to either leave the car or go upstairs.
I've written about Annie Murphy on numerous occasions and her activities will continue to make the news over the next few years when she is given the moniker of "Gentle Annie". Why, I cannot say – as I've described her in the past bashing people with umbrellas and smashing windows in a most ungentle fashion! The Reporter described how the prolific vagrant with over 80 court appearances to her name had been in trouble yet again – only two days after being released from prison.
Annie had been found drunk and incapable on a train after drinking spirits. There was so much concern for her condition that the 49-year-old was rushed to Providence Hospital and a stomach pump used on her. Det. Maddocks told the magistrates in St Helens Police Court that Annie had been in a very bad way. "She was half-dead early this morning, but she has revived", he said.
Annie as usual denied that she had been drunk and was fined ten shillings or, if in default of payment, she would have to return to prison for a fortnight. It can be assumed that the latter option was chosen.
An indication of the popularity of racing pigeons in St Helens was the fact that a pigeon show held on the 27th resulted in 230 entries. Also on that day Sabina Deacle from Elephant Lane in Thatto Heath was sent to prison for three months with hard labour for abusing her stepchild. Thirteen-year-old Margaret had been repeatedly beaten and kicked over a long period leaving her with many scars and cuts on her body.
The girl told the court that her stepmother had hit her on the head several times with a poker. She had also been cut her behind the ear with a knife and the bruises that were then on her legs had been caused by the woman kicking her. Mrs Deacle was described as "fiendishly brutal" by an NSPCC inspector and her husband was considered fearful of his own wife and under her thumb. It was not suggested that James Deacle had participated in the abuse but he had also not intervened – and so received a month's hard labour.
It served a miner well to be nimble-footed down the pit. Fast reactions to coal or dirt dropping on them from the pit roof underground could keep a mineworker alive. And the same applied to runaway coal tubs and out of control pit cages. On the 29th there was another incident at Clock Face Colliery. While the men were changing shifts, one of the two pit cages dropped like a stone towards the bottom of the shaft. Fortunately, no one was inside the cage and those who saw it come hurtling towards them had managed to dash out of its path just in time.
I've written a lot recently about how the owners of working horses could be reluctant to retire them, wanting to get full value for their often meagre investment. There was another such case on the 29th when William Herbert from Wigan was charged in St Helens Police Court with "cruelly travelling" an unfit horse. A hawker called John Lally from Stanhope Street in St Helens gave evidence that Herbert had called at his home with a black mare. A deal was struck between them and the horse was exchanged for Lally's pony, plus 15 shillings.
Next morning he said he found the mare lying in his stable and he required assistance to raise the horse to its feet. Lally managed to put the animal into the shafts of his cart but the poor thing immediately fell down. Inspector Hallam of the RSPCA told the court that the horse was very old and in the most emaciated condition. It took fifty minutes to take it half-a-mile to the Town Hall where it was eventually destroyed. Sergeant Latus told the court that he thought the mare must have been drugged to get it to travel from Wigan and a vet reckoned it was about thirty years old. William Herbert was ordered to pay a fine of 20 shillings.
And finally, for six evenings from the 29th, the Hippodrome Theatre in Corporation Street in St Helens featured 'The Home of the Fairies'. A sort of pantomime, the production was described as a "great musical play of fairyland", with the added attraction of 15 local children appearing in one scene.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the police raid on a betting house in Parr Street, the Sutton Manor fake safe robbery, the capture of a wholesale shopbreaker and the bizarre police stake out at Sutton Post Office.
This week's many stories include the wicked stepmother of Thatto Heath, the girl shoplifters in Bridge Street, the filthy language used on a tram, the 30-year-old emaciated horse that was sold to a St Helens hawker, the Clock Face Colliery pit shaft scare and the inveterate vagrant Gentle Annie has her stomach pumped out.
We begin on the 23rd at St Helens Town Hall when the inquest on Charles Harrison was held.
The 36-year-old from Greenough Street was employed at Clock Face Colliery and had been fatally injured by an underground roof collapse – one of the most common causes of mineworkers' deaths.
A stone described as about 4ft in length and approaching 2ft in width had fallen without warning on Mr Harrison pinning him to the ground.
The St Helens Reporter described the tragedy as demonstrating: "…the hidden dangers of the pit, which take such a toll of the life of the mining community."
Although the Reporter had voluntarily decided not to name child defendants in their court reports, that concession did not extend to their parents.
And so if their mums and dads were implicated in their crimes, it didn't take much detective work to deduce who the kids were.
On the 25th four girls appeared in St Helens Juvenile Police Court charged with a series of thefts.
They were not identified in the paper. However, their parents were charged with receiving their stolen goods – and their names were revealed.
The adult defendants were Elizabeth Jones of Tontine Street, Teresa Cardwell of Back Crab Street and Louisa Roby from Market Street.
Supt. Dunn told the hearing that the police had received numerous complaints of petty thefts from shops in Bridge Street.
As a result policemen in plainclothes had been keeping watch and had detected the children.
The Bench issued a stern rebuke to the parents for encouraging their children to steal – but only fined them ten shillings each.
As to the girls' punishments, three of them were placed on probation for two years, but the fourth – who had been before the court before – was sent to a reformatory for three years.
The St Helens Reporter on the 26th described how an eminent engineer called George Sutton had delivered a lecture in Prescot on using wireless in the home.
Last November a BBC station in Manchester had begun broadcasting and the new medium was creating some excitement.
Sutton claimed to have a longer experience of general wireless telegraphy in England than even Marconi and gave to his audience tips on how to get the best reception.
An outdoor wire aerial connected to a tall pole was recommended. However, Mr Sutton mentioned that it was possible to receive signals using a spring bed mattress as an antenna.
The Reporter also described how John James from Sutton Heath Road had appeared in court charged with using offensive language on a tramcar.
The prosecution explained that Inspector Woods of the tram company had boarded the vehicle that had been travelling towards Rainhill and seen James standing downstairs using bad language.
And when spoken to by the inspector he had used "very objectionable" language to him.
Inspector Woods said the man had been swearing so much that he told him to either leave the car or go upstairs.
One of the magistrates then asked the obvious question as to whether that meant persons riding on the tram on the upper deck were allowed to use bad language! Inspector Woods replied that they were not.
John James gave an odd reason for his cursing. He said he had boarded the tram at the Red Lion at the top of Bridge Street (shown above) and found the vehicle to be packed.
However, some young women were seated when a number of old people were forced to stand and so he decided to give them a piece of his mind.
The magistrates seemed to think that his actions in support of the elderly were outweighed by the abuse that he showered on the young women and fined the man £1.
I've written about Annie Murphy on numerous occasions and her activities will continue to make the news over the next few years when she is given the moniker of "Gentle Annie".
Why, I cannot say – as I've described her in the past bashing people with umbrellas and smashing windows in a most ungentle fashion!
The Reporter described how the prolific vagrant with over 80 court appearances to her name had been in trouble yet again – only two days after being released from prison.
Annie had been found drunk and incapable on a train after drinking spirits. There was so much concern for her condition that the 49-year-old was rushed to Providence Hospital and a stomach pump used on her.
Det. Maddocks told the magistrates in St Helens Police Court that Annie had been in a very bad way. "She was half-dead early this morning, but she has revived", he said.
Annie as usual denied that she had been drunk and was fined ten shillings or, if in default of payment, she would have to return to prison for a fortnight. It can be assumed that the latter option was chosen.
An indication of the popularity of racing pigeons in St Helens was the fact that a pigeon show held on the 27th resulted in 230 entries.
Also on that day Sabina Deacle from Elephant Lane in Thatto Heath was sent to prison for three months with hard labour for abusing her stepchild.
Thirteen-year-old Margaret had been repeatedly beaten and kicked over a long period leaving her with many scars and cuts on her body.
The girl told the court that her stepmother had hit her on the head several times with a poker.
She had also been cut her behind the ear with a knife and the bruises that were then on her legs had been caused by the woman kicking her.
Mrs Deacle was described as "fiendishly brutal" by an NSPCC inspector and her husband was considered fearful of his own wife and under her thumb.
It was not suggested that James Deacle had participated in the abuse but he had also not intervened – and so received a month's hard labour.
It served a miner well to be nimble-footed down the pit. Fast reactions to coal or dirt dropping on them from the pit roof underground could keep a mineworker alive.
And the same applied to runaway coal tubs and out of control pit cages.
On the 29th there was another incident at Clock Face Colliery. While the men were changing shifts, one of the two pit cages dropped like a stone towards the bottom of the shaft.
Fortunately, no one was inside the cage and those who saw it come hurtling towards them, managed to dash out of its path just in time.
I've written a lot recently about how the owners of working horses could be reluctant to retire them, wanting to get full value for their often meagre investment.
There was another such case on the 29th when William Herbert from Wigan was charged in St Helens Police Court with "cruelly travelling" an unfit horse.
A hawker called John Lally from Stanhope Street in St Helens gave evidence that Herbert had called at his home with a black mare.
A deal was struck between them and the horse was exchanged for Lally's pony, plus 15 shillings.
Next morning he said he found the mare lying in his stable and he required assistance to raise the horse to its feet.
Lally managed to put the animal into the shafts of his cart but the poor thing immediately fell down.
Inspector Hallam of the RSPCA told the court that the horse was very old and in the most emaciated condition.
It took fifty minutes to take it half-a-mile to the Town Hall where it was eventually destroyed.
Sergeant Latus told the court that he thought the mare must have been drugged to get it to travel from Wigan and a vet reckoned it was about thirty years old. William Herbert was ordered to pay a fine of 20 shillings.
And finally, for six evenings from the 29th, the Hippodrome Theatre in Corporation Street in St Helens featured 'The Home of the Fairies'.
A sort of pantomime, the production was described as a "great musical play of fairyland", with the added attraction of 15 local children appearing in one scene.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the police raid on a betting house in Parr Street, the Sutton Manor fake safe robbery, the capture of a wholesale shopbreaker and the bizarre police stake out at Sutton Post Office.
The 36-year-old from Greenough Street was employed at Clock Face Colliery and had been fatally injured by an underground roof collapse – one of the most common causes of mineworkers' deaths.
A stone described as about 4ft in length and approaching 2ft in width had fallen without warning on Mr Harrison pinning him to the ground.
The St Helens Reporter described the tragedy as demonstrating: "…the hidden dangers of the pit, which take such a toll of the life of the mining community."
Although the Reporter had voluntarily decided not to name child defendants in their court reports, that concession did not extend to their parents.
And so if their mums and dads were implicated in their crimes, it didn't take much detective work to deduce who the kids were.
On the 25th four girls appeared in St Helens Juvenile Police Court charged with a series of thefts.
They were not identified in the paper. However, their parents were charged with receiving their stolen goods – and their names were revealed.
The adult defendants were Elizabeth Jones of Tontine Street, Teresa Cardwell of Back Crab Street and Louisa Roby from Market Street.
Supt. Dunn told the hearing that the police had received numerous complaints of petty thefts from shops in Bridge Street.
As a result policemen in plainclothes had been keeping watch and had detected the children.
The Bench issued a stern rebuke to the parents for encouraging their children to steal – but only fined them ten shillings each.
As to the girls' punishments, three of them were placed on probation for two years, but the fourth – who had been before the court before – was sent to a reformatory for three years.
The St Helens Reporter on the 26th described how an eminent engineer called George Sutton had delivered a lecture in Prescot on using wireless in the home.
Last November a BBC station in Manchester had begun broadcasting and the new medium was creating some excitement.
Sutton claimed to have a longer experience of general wireless telegraphy in England than even Marconi and gave to his audience tips on how to get the best reception.
An outdoor wire aerial connected to a tall pole was recommended. However, Mr Sutton mentioned that it was possible to receive signals using a spring bed mattress as an antenna.
The Reporter also described how John James from Sutton Heath Road had appeared in court charged with using offensive language on a tramcar.
The prosecution explained that Inspector Woods of the tram company had boarded the vehicle that had been travelling towards Rainhill and seen James standing downstairs using bad language.
And when spoken to by the inspector he had used "very objectionable" language to him.
Inspector Woods said the man had been swearing so much that he told him to either leave the car or go upstairs.
One of the magistrates then asked the obvious question as to whether that meant persons riding on the tram on the upper deck were allowed to use bad language! Inspector Woods replied that they were not.
However, some young women were seated when a number of old people were forced to stand and so he decided to give them a piece of his mind.
The magistrates seemed to think that his actions in support of the elderly were outweighed by the abuse that he showered on the young women and fined the man £1.
I've written about Annie Murphy on numerous occasions and her activities will continue to make the news over the next few years when she is given the moniker of "Gentle Annie".
Why, I cannot say – as I've described her in the past bashing people with umbrellas and smashing windows in a most ungentle fashion!
The Reporter described how the prolific vagrant with over 80 court appearances to her name had been in trouble yet again – only two days after being released from prison.
Annie had been found drunk and incapable on a train after drinking spirits. There was so much concern for her condition that the 49-year-old was rushed to Providence Hospital and a stomach pump used on her.
Det. Maddocks told the magistrates in St Helens Police Court that Annie had been in a very bad way. "She was half-dead early this morning, but she has revived", he said.
Annie as usual denied that she had been drunk and was fined ten shillings or, if in default of payment, she would have to return to prison for a fortnight. It can be assumed that the latter option was chosen.
An indication of the popularity of racing pigeons in St Helens was the fact that a pigeon show held on the 27th resulted in 230 entries.
Also on that day Sabina Deacle from Elephant Lane in Thatto Heath was sent to prison for three months with hard labour for abusing her stepchild.
Thirteen-year-old Margaret had been repeatedly beaten and kicked over a long period leaving her with many scars and cuts on her body.
The girl told the court that her stepmother had hit her on the head several times with a poker.
She had also been cut her behind the ear with a knife and the bruises that were then on her legs had been caused by the woman kicking her.
Mrs Deacle was described as "fiendishly brutal" by an NSPCC inspector and her husband was considered fearful of his own wife and under her thumb.
It was not suggested that James Deacle had participated in the abuse but he had also not intervened – and so received a month's hard labour.
It served a miner well to be nimble-footed down the pit. Fast reactions to coal or dirt dropping on them from the pit roof underground could keep a mineworker alive.
And the same applied to runaway coal tubs and out of control pit cages.
On the 29th there was another incident at Clock Face Colliery. While the men were changing shifts, one of the two pit cages dropped like a stone towards the bottom of the shaft.
Fortunately, no one was inside the cage and those who saw it come hurtling towards them, managed to dash out of its path just in time.
I've written a lot recently about how the owners of working horses could be reluctant to retire them, wanting to get full value for their often meagre investment.
There was another such case on the 29th when William Herbert from Wigan was charged in St Helens Police Court with "cruelly travelling" an unfit horse.
A hawker called John Lally from Stanhope Street in St Helens gave evidence that Herbert had called at his home with a black mare.
A deal was struck between them and the horse was exchanged for Lally's pony, plus 15 shillings.
Next morning he said he found the mare lying in his stable and he required assistance to raise the horse to its feet.
Lally managed to put the animal into the shafts of his cart but the poor thing immediately fell down.
Inspector Hallam of the RSPCA told the court that the horse was very old and in the most emaciated condition.
It took fifty minutes to take it half-a-mile to the Town Hall where it was eventually destroyed.
Sergeant Latus told the court that he thought the mare must have been drugged to get it to travel from Wigan and a vet reckoned it was about thirty years old. William Herbert was ordered to pay a fine of 20 shillings.
And finally, for six evenings from the 29th, the Hippodrome Theatre in Corporation Street in St Helens featured 'The Home of the Fairies'.
A sort of pantomime, the production was described as a "great musical play of fairyland", with the added attraction of 15 local children appearing in one scene.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the police raid on a betting house in Parr Street, the Sutton Manor fake safe robbery, the capture of a wholesale shopbreaker and the bizarre police stake out at Sutton Post Office.