IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (25th - 31st OCTOBER 1921)
This week's stories include the Nutgrove miner who thought he didn't have to pay rent while on strike, the Dentons Green baby hidden in a tin box, the Windle Motor Company of Duke Street advertise the Ford Sedan, the stolen Sutton army surplus and good news for the rising rugby star of Lingholme Road.
We begin on the 26th with two curious cases heard in St Helens County Court in East Street (pictured above). In the first, a miner named Finnigan of Back Nutgrove Road was summoned for arrears of rent and his landlady also sought possession of her property. The defendant decided to send his mother-in-law to the hearing. That was either because he was not treating the case seriously or because he did not want to lose a day's pay at work through going to court. The judge would not have been impressed by Finnigan's non-attendance and granted the possession order, ordering the absent man to leave his home within a month. With the severe housing shortage in mind, a two-month notice period was much more common in court, suggesting the judge's ire had been raised by his non-appearance.
Later Finnigan showed up in the courtroom and declared that he owed no rent except what had accrued during the coal strike. That had ended three months earlier and the Clerk to the Court declared: "They have an idea that when they are on strike they should not pay anything." That was evidenced by the man having made no attempt to pay off his rent arrears and, according to the Liverpool Echo, the defendant was told by the judge to "clear out of the house". The headline to their report was "Striking With Jam On It".
The second case was when James Naylor from Sutton brought an action against his own son-in-law. He was demanding the sum of £12 10s from Henry Parry for keeping the man's wife and three children – Naylor's own daughter and grandchildren – for a period of two months. The evidence was that last March, Henry Parry had fallen ill while living at Birkenhead and it was decided that it would be better if his wife and children went to stay in St Helens. She accordingly went home to her father and returned to her husband some weeks later.
However, in September the husband and wife fell out – leading to the court action. Henry Parry insisted that he had sent his wife sufficient money to keep his family in Sutton and added that she had brought some of the cash back home with her. The judge ruled that no prior agreement had been made between the complainant and defendant to make financial contributions for the daughter's keep while in St Helens. It was simply a visit, he said, as he dismissed the action and awarded costs to the defendant.
In July I described how a baby's body had been discovered in the St Helens Canal at the bottom of Park Road. There were many hidden pregnancies and secret births by unmarried women in St Helens. Ignorance of how to care for their newborn infant without maternal or professional support could lead to death.
Then the problem was what to do with the child's body – if the female was frightened of reporting the matter to the authorities, perhaps also fearing what their parents would say. Some girls or young women might dispose of their baby's body in the canal or some other such place. However, I have come across numerous sad cases where the frightened girl has simply hidden her child's remains in her bedroom – probably not knowing what to do for the best.
On the 26th an inquest took place into the body of a newborn male child that had been discovered by Margaret Maley of Dentons Green Lane. The woman told the coroner that she went into her daughter's bedroom searching for something that she wanted but instead found a tin box. Inside was the body of a small baby wrapped in newspapers. Mrs Maley called in the police and Inspector Steer said he waited at the house until Constance Maley returned from her studies at the Physical Training College at Aigburth.
The officer questioned Constance and the 21-year-old admitted that the child was hers and that she had placed it inside the box. The inspector said he arrested Constance and she was at present receiving treatment in hospital. Dr Unsworth gave evidence that he had conducted a post-mortem but found no evidence to show that the child had what was described as a "legal separate existence" – having been born alive, in other words.
If that had been the case, Constance could have been charged with death by neglect or worse. As it was the coroner gave the poor young woman the benefit of the doubt and returned a verdict of stillborn. However, that was far from being the end of Constance's troubles, as she was going to be prosecuted for the concealment of the birth. To be continued…
The Windle Motor Company had a large advert on the front page of the St Helens Reporter on the 28th. They had a showroom at 51 Duke Street with a "service station" in Rigby Street. The company claimed to be the only properly equipped garage in St Helens to deal with Ford cars and was promoting the Ford Sedan. The "ideal all-weather car" (in other words, it had a top) came with a hefty price tag of £310, when most folk in St Helens were only earning £3 - £4 per week.
During the evening of the 28th, two hundred Communists attempted to storm a platform in Westminster where Lord Derby of Knowsley Hall was addressing a meeting. The police were called and the Liverpool Echo commented that as a result there were "several damaged heads and bruised limbs to-day".
In July I wrote how fifteen people at the former Sutton Bond munitions plant (shown above) that was now being used as a government stores had been convicted of theft or receiving. Exactly what was taken from the old Sutton Glassworks site in Lancots Lane in Sutton was not stated in the reports. However, it amounted to £124, which was a lot of money. Some of the accused had been members of the Royal Defence Corps and had been charged with guarding the stores during the miners strike. However, no one had been guarding the stores from the guards! Despite only half of the stolen property having been recovered, all of the defendants were treated leniently in court with the Bench criticising a laxity in the management of the stores.
On the 29th an advert published in the Guardian provides some insights as to what goods were still inside the old Sutton Bond site, as an auction of surplus plant and machinery was due to take place in ten days time. The items would include 35 electric motors, 24 potato roller driving machines, lathes and planning machines, drilling machines, acetylene welding plants, tachometers and 40 hand presses, amongst a lot more items.
The Government had its own department called the Disposal Board and for almost three years they had been holding thousands of such auctions nationwide as it flogged off the vast amount of stuff that had been used in munitions factories and temporary military camps. Many of these places were self-contained sites to prevent outsiders gaining access – hence the vast amount of equipment of all sorts needed. Previous army surplus sales in Lancots Lane had involved hundreds of wooden benches, a huge quantity of ammunition boxes, 495 chairs, 500 mugs, 226 towels, plus 2,400 plates and basins, etc. etc.
I mentioned last week how rising rugby union star Douglas Cook of Lingholme Road had so impressed the selectors in a trial game that he was immediately picked to play for Lancashire in their next game against Cheshire. However, during the match he had been kicked in the stomach and some hours later was taken ill. On the following day a life-saving operation took place at the Pilkington Special Hospital in Borough Road conducted by the remarkable pioneering surgeon Dr James Kerr.
Although the surgery was declared a success, the young man was still in a very critical condition. However on the 31st it was reported that Douglas had so improved that he was expected to make a "complete and rapid recovery". Yet another success for Dr Kerr, who did so much for wounded and disabled soldiers and sailors in St Helens.
It's hard to imagine what it must have been like going to school in bare feet in all weathers – but many kids in St Helens did. Fortunately, the town's 'Clog and Stocking Fund' saved many other destitute youngsters from that indignity. It was launched in 1912 and during its first six years issued 4,730 pairs of clogs. But the fund relied on public support and on the 30th a concert in aid of the charity took place in the Theatre Royal.
The event featured a performance by the St Helens Orchestral Society which the Reporter said, moved the audience "to raptures". Tribute was paid to its conductor, George Groves from King Edward Road, who had founded the ensemble. I expect his 19-year-old son bearing the same name was in the audience. In just over two years' time, George Jnr would sail to America and in 1927 become the first sound recordist in movie history when he recorded 'The Jazz Singer'.
And finally, this item in the Echo made me smile: "An elderly woman living at Creech Bottom, Dorset, who appeared at Wareham County Court to answer a summons against her husband, a man of 72, told Judge Hyslop Maxwell that her husband lived in Dorset, an old railway carriage, while she herself occupied a cottage.
"The Judge – Why did you marry him? The Woman – I don't know. I suppose I married him for someone to speak to (laughter). The Judge – If you don't live in the same house you don't get much opportunity to speak to him. The Woman – Oh, I goes to and fro, and does for him every morning (laughter)."
Next week's stories will include an opportunity at the Hippodrome to saw a woman in half, the abused wife covered in gores of blood, success for Labour in council elections and the unveiling of a war memorial at St Thomas' Church.
Later Finnigan showed up in the courtroom and declared that he owed no rent except what had accrued during the coal strike. That had ended three months earlier and the Clerk to the Court declared: "They have an idea that when they are on strike they should not pay anything." That was evidenced by the man having made no attempt to pay off his rent arrears and, according to the Liverpool Echo, the defendant was told by the judge to "clear out of the house". The headline to their report was "Striking With Jam On It".
The second case was when James Naylor from Sutton brought an action against his own son-in-law. He was demanding the sum of £12 10s from Henry Parry for keeping the man's wife and three children – Naylor's own daughter and grandchildren – for a period of two months. The evidence was that last March, Henry Parry had fallen ill while living at Birkenhead and it was decided that it would be better if his wife and children went to stay in St Helens. She accordingly went home to her father and returned to her husband some weeks later.
However, in September the husband and wife fell out – leading to the court action. Henry Parry insisted that he had sent his wife sufficient money to keep his family in Sutton and added that she had brought some of the cash back home with her. The judge ruled that no prior agreement had been made between the complainant and defendant to make financial contributions for the daughter's keep while in St Helens. It was simply a visit, he said, as he dismissed the action and awarded costs to the defendant.
In July I described how a baby's body had been discovered in the St Helens Canal at the bottom of Park Road. There were many hidden pregnancies and secret births by unmarried women in St Helens. Ignorance of how to care for their newborn infant without maternal or professional support could lead to death.
Then the problem was what to do with the child's body – if the female was frightened of reporting the matter to the authorities, perhaps also fearing what their parents would say. Some girls or young women might dispose of their baby's body in the canal or some other such place. However, I have come across numerous sad cases where the frightened girl has simply hidden her child's remains in her bedroom – probably not knowing what to do for the best.
On the 26th an inquest took place into the body of a newborn male child that had been discovered by Margaret Maley of Dentons Green Lane. The woman told the coroner that she went into her daughter's bedroom searching for something that she wanted but instead found a tin box. Inside was the body of a small baby wrapped in newspapers. Mrs Maley called in the police and Inspector Steer said he waited at the house until Constance Maley returned from her studies at the Physical Training College at Aigburth.
The officer questioned Constance and the 21-year-old admitted that the child was hers and that she had placed it inside the box. The inspector said he arrested Constance and she was at present receiving treatment in hospital. Dr Unsworth gave evidence that he had conducted a post-mortem but found no evidence to show that the child had what was described as a "legal separate existence" – having been born alive, in other words.
If that had been the case, Constance could have been charged with death by neglect or worse. As it was the coroner gave the poor young woman the benefit of the doubt and returned a verdict of stillborn. However, that was far from being the end of Constance's troubles, as she was going to be prosecuted for the concealment of the birth. To be continued…
The Windle Motor Company had a large advert on the front page of the St Helens Reporter on the 28th. They had a showroom at 51 Duke Street with a "service station" in Rigby Street. The company claimed to be the only properly equipped garage in St Helens to deal with Ford cars and was promoting the Ford Sedan. The "ideal all-weather car" (in other words, it had a top) came with a hefty price tag of £310, when most folk in St Helens were only earning £3 - £4 per week.
During the evening of the 28th, two hundred Communists attempted to storm a platform in Westminster where Lord Derby of Knowsley Hall was addressing a meeting. The police were called and the Liverpool Echo commented that as a result there were "several damaged heads and bruised limbs to-day".
On the 29th an advert published in the Guardian provides some insights as to what goods were still inside the old Sutton Bond site, as an auction of surplus plant and machinery was due to take place in ten days time. The items would include 35 electric motors, 24 potato roller driving machines, lathes and planning machines, drilling machines, acetylene welding plants, tachometers and 40 hand presses, amongst a lot more items.
The Government had its own department called the Disposal Board and for almost three years they had been holding thousands of such auctions nationwide as it flogged off the vast amount of stuff that had been used in munitions factories and temporary military camps. Many of these places were self-contained sites to prevent outsiders gaining access – hence the vast amount of equipment of all sorts needed. Previous army surplus sales in Lancots Lane had involved hundreds of wooden benches, a huge quantity of ammunition boxes, 495 chairs, 500 mugs, 226 towels, plus 2,400 plates and basins, etc. etc.
I mentioned last week how rising rugby union star Douglas Cook of Lingholme Road had so impressed the selectors in a trial game that he was immediately picked to play for Lancashire in their next game against Cheshire. However, during the match he had been kicked in the stomach and some hours later was taken ill. On the following day a life-saving operation took place at the Pilkington Special Hospital in Borough Road conducted by the remarkable pioneering surgeon Dr James Kerr.
Although the surgery was declared a success, the young man was still in a very critical condition. However on the 31st it was reported that Douglas had so improved that he was expected to make a "complete and rapid recovery". Yet another success for Dr Kerr, who did so much for wounded and disabled soldiers and sailors in St Helens.
It's hard to imagine what it must have been like going to school in bare feet in all weathers – but many kids in St Helens did. Fortunately, the town's 'Clog and Stocking Fund' saved many other destitute youngsters from that indignity. It was launched in 1912 and during its first six years issued 4,730 pairs of clogs. But the fund relied on public support and on the 30th a concert in aid of the charity took place in the Theatre Royal.
The event featured a performance by the St Helens Orchestral Society which the Reporter said, moved the audience "to raptures". Tribute was paid to its conductor, George Groves from King Edward Road, who had founded the ensemble. I expect his 19-year-old son bearing the same name was in the audience. In just over two years' time, George Jnr would sail to America and in 1927 become the first sound recordist in movie history when he recorded 'The Jazz Singer'.
And finally, this item in the Echo made me smile: "An elderly woman living at Creech Bottom, Dorset, who appeared at Wareham County Court to answer a summons against her husband, a man of 72, told Judge Hyslop Maxwell that her husband lived in Dorset, an old railway carriage, while she herself occupied a cottage.
"The Judge – Why did you marry him? The Woman – I don't know. I suppose I married him for someone to speak to (laughter). The Judge – If you don't live in the same house you don't get much opportunity to speak to him. The Woman – Oh, I goes to and fro, and does for him every morning (laughter)."
Next week's stories will include an opportunity at the Hippodrome to saw a woman in half, the abused wife covered in gores of blood, success for Labour in council elections and the unveiling of a war memorial at St Thomas' Church.
This week's stories include the Nutgrove miner who thought he didn't have to pay rent while on strike, the Dentons Green baby hidden in a tin box, the Windle Motor Company of Duke Street advertise the Ford Sedan, the stolen Sutton army surplus and good news for the rising rugby star of Lingholme Road.
We begin on the 26th with two curious cases heard in St Helens County Court in East Street (pictured above).
In the first, a miner named Finnigan of Back Nutgrove Road was summoned for arrears of rent and his landlady also sought possession of her property.
The defendant decided to send his mother-in-law to the hearing. That was either because he was not treating the case seriously or because he did not want to lose a day's pay at work through going to court.
The judge would not have been impressed by Finnigan's non-attendance and granted the possession order, ordering the absent man to leave his home within a month.
With the severe housing shortage in mind, a two-month notice period was much more common in court, suggesting the judge's ire had been raised by his non-appearance.
Later Finnigan showed up in the courtroom and declared that he owed no rent except what had accrued during the coal strike.
That had ended three months earlier and the Clerk to the Court declared: "They have an idea that when they are on strike they should not pay anything."
That was evidenced by the man having made no attempt to pay off his rent arrears and, according to the Liverpool Echo, the defendant was told by the judge to "clear out of the house".
The headline to their report was "Striking With Jam On It".
The second case was when James Naylor from Sutton brought an action against his own son-in-law.
He was demanding the sum of £12 10s from Henry Parry for keeping the man's wife and three children – Naylor's own daughter and grandchildren – for a period of two months.
The evidence was that last March, Henry Parry had fallen ill while living at Birkenhead and it was decided that it would be better if his wife and children went to stay in St Helens.
She accordingly went home to her father and returned to her husband some weeks later.
However, in September the husband and wife fell out – leading to the court action.
Henry Parry insisted that he had sent his wife sufficient money to keep his family in Sutton and added that she had brought some of the cash back home with her.
The judge ruled that no prior agreement had been made between the complainant and defendant to make financial contributions for the daughter's keep while in St Helens.
It was simply a visit, he said, as he dismissed the action and awarded costs to the defendant.
In July I described how a baby's body had been discovered in the St Helens Canal at the bottom of Park Road.
There were many hidden pregnancies and secret births by unmarried women in St Helens.
Ignorance of how to care for their newborn infant without maternal or professional support could lead to death.
Then the problem was what to do with the child's body – if the female was frightened of reporting the matter to the authorities, perhaps also fearing what their parents would say.
Some girls or young women might dispose of their baby's body in the canal or some other such place.
However, I have come across numerous sad cases where the frightened girl has simply hidden her child's remains in her bedroom – probably not knowing what to do for the best.
On the 26th an inquest took place into the body of a newborn male child that had been discovered by Margaret Maley of Dentons Green Lane.
The woman told the coroner that she went into her daughter's bedroom searching for something that she wanted but instead found a tin box. Inside was the body of a small baby wrapped in newspapers.
Mrs Maley called in the police and Inspector Steer said he waited at the house until Constance Maley returned from her studies at the Physical Training College at Aigburth.
The officer questioned Constance and the 21-year-old admitted that the child was hers and that she had placed it inside the box.
The inspector said he arrested Constance and she was at present receiving treatment in hospital.
Dr Unsworth gave evidence that he had conducted a post-mortem but found no evidence to show that the child had what was described as a "legal separate existence" – having been born alive, in other words.
If that had been the case, Constance could have been charged with death by neglect or worse.
As it was the coroner gave the poor young woman the benefit of the doubt and returned a verdict of stillborn.
However, that was far from being the end of Constance's troubles, as she was going to be prosecuted for the concealment of the birth. To be continued…
The Windle Motor Company had a large advert on the front page of the St Helens Reporter on the 28th.
They had a showroom at 51 Duke Street with a "service station" in Rigby Street.
The company claimed to be the only properly equipped garage in St Helens to deal with Ford cars and was promoting the Ford Sedan.
The "ideal all-weather car" (in other words, it had a top) came with a hefty price tag of £310, when most folk in St Helens were only earning £3 - £4 per week.
During the evening of the 28th, two hundred Communists attempted to storm a platform in Westminster where Lord Derby of Knowsley Hall was addressing a meeting.
The police were called and the Liverpool Echo commented that as a result there were "several damaged heads and bruised limbs to-day".
In July I wrote how fifteen people at the former Sutton Bond munitions plant (shown above) that was now being used as a government stores had been convicted of theft or receiving.
Exactly what was taken from the old Sutton Glassworks site in Lancots Lane in Sutton was not stated in the reports. However, it amounted to £124, which was a lot of money.
Some of the accused had been members of the Royal Defence Corps and had been charged with guarding the stores during the miners strike. However, no one had been guarding the stores from the guards!
Despite only half of the stolen property having been recovered, all of the defendants were treated leniently in court with the Bench criticising a laxity in the management of the stores.
On the 29th an advert published in the Guardian provides some insights as to what goods were still inside the old Sutton Bond site, as an auction of surplus plant and machinery was due to take place in ten days time.
The items would include 35 electric motors, 24 potato roller driving machines, lathes and planning machines, drilling machines, acetylene welding plants, tachometers and 40 hand presses, amongst a lot more items.
The Government had its own department called the Disposal Board and for almost three years they had been holding thousands of such auctions nationwide as it flogged off the vast amount of stuff that had been used in munitions factories and temporary military camps.
Many of these places were self-contained sites to prevent outsiders gaining access – hence the vast amount of equipment of all sorts needed.
Previous army surplus sales in Lancots Lane had involved hundreds of wooden benches, a huge quantity of ammunition boxes, 495 chairs, 500 mugs, 226 towels, plus 2,400 plates and basins, etc. etc.
I mentioned last week how rising rugby union star Douglas Cook of Lingholme Road had so impressed the selectors in a trial game that he was immediately picked to play for Lancashire in their next game against Cheshire.
However, during the match he had been kicked in the stomach and some hours later was taken ill.
On the following day a life-saving operation took place at the Pilkington Special Hospital in Borough Road conducted by the remarkable pioneering surgeon Dr James Kerr.
Although the surgery was declared a success, the young man was still in a very critical condition.
However on the 31st it was reported that Douglas had so improved that he was expected to make a "complete and rapid recovery".
Yet another success for Dr Kerr, who did so much for wounded and disabled soldiers and sailors in St Helens.
It's hard to imagine what it must have been like going to school in bare feet in all weathers – but many kids in St Helens did.
Fortunately, the town's 'Clog and Stocking Fund' saved many other destitute youngsters from that indignity.
It was launched in 1912 and during its first six years issued 4,730 pairs of clogs. But the fund relied on public support and on the 30th a concert in aid of the charity took place in the Theatre Royal.
The event featured a performance by the St Helens Orchestral Society which the Reporter said, moved the audience "to raptures".
Tribute was paid to its conductor, George Groves from King Edward Road, who had founded the ensemble.
I expect his 19-year-old son bearing the same name was in the audience. In just over two years' time, George Jnr would sail to America and in 1927 become the first sound recordist in movie history when he recorded 'The Jazz Singer'.
And finally, this item in the Echo made me smile:
"An elderly woman living at Creech Bottom, Dorset, who appeared at Wareham County Court to answer a summons against her husband, a man of 72, told Judge Hyslop Maxwell that her husband lived in an old railway carriage, while she herself occupied a cottage.
'The Judge – Why did you marry him?
"The Woman – I don't know. I suppose I married him for someone to speak to (laughter).
"The Judge – If you don't live in the same house you don't get much opportunity to speak to him.
"The Woman – Oh, I goes to and fro, and does for him every morning (laughter)."
Next week's stories will include an opportunity at the Hippodrome to saw a woman in half, the abused wife covered in gores of blood, success for Labour in council elections and the unveiling of a war memorial at St Thomas' Church.
In the first, a miner named Finnigan of Back Nutgrove Road was summoned for arrears of rent and his landlady also sought possession of her property.
The defendant decided to send his mother-in-law to the hearing. That was either because he was not treating the case seriously or because he did not want to lose a day's pay at work through going to court.
The judge would not have been impressed by Finnigan's non-attendance and granted the possession order, ordering the absent man to leave his home within a month.
With the severe housing shortage in mind, a two-month notice period was much more common in court, suggesting the judge's ire had been raised by his non-appearance.
Later Finnigan showed up in the courtroom and declared that he owed no rent except what had accrued during the coal strike.
That had ended three months earlier and the Clerk to the Court declared: "They have an idea that when they are on strike they should not pay anything."
That was evidenced by the man having made no attempt to pay off his rent arrears and, according to the Liverpool Echo, the defendant was told by the judge to "clear out of the house".
The headline to their report was "Striking With Jam On It".
The second case was when James Naylor from Sutton brought an action against his own son-in-law.
He was demanding the sum of £12 10s from Henry Parry for keeping the man's wife and three children – Naylor's own daughter and grandchildren – for a period of two months.
The evidence was that last March, Henry Parry had fallen ill while living at Birkenhead and it was decided that it would be better if his wife and children went to stay in St Helens.
She accordingly went home to her father and returned to her husband some weeks later.
However, in September the husband and wife fell out – leading to the court action.
Henry Parry insisted that he had sent his wife sufficient money to keep his family in Sutton and added that she had brought some of the cash back home with her.
The judge ruled that no prior agreement had been made between the complainant and defendant to make financial contributions for the daughter's keep while in St Helens.
It was simply a visit, he said, as he dismissed the action and awarded costs to the defendant.
In July I described how a baby's body had been discovered in the St Helens Canal at the bottom of Park Road.
There were many hidden pregnancies and secret births by unmarried women in St Helens.
Ignorance of how to care for their newborn infant without maternal or professional support could lead to death.
Then the problem was what to do with the child's body – if the female was frightened of reporting the matter to the authorities, perhaps also fearing what their parents would say.
Some girls or young women might dispose of their baby's body in the canal or some other such place.
However, I have come across numerous sad cases where the frightened girl has simply hidden her child's remains in her bedroom – probably not knowing what to do for the best.
On the 26th an inquest took place into the body of a newborn male child that had been discovered by Margaret Maley of Dentons Green Lane.
The woman told the coroner that she went into her daughter's bedroom searching for something that she wanted but instead found a tin box. Inside was the body of a small baby wrapped in newspapers.
Mrs Maley called in the police and Inspector Steer said he waited at the house until Constance Maley returned from her studies at the Physical Training College at Aigburth.
The officer questioned Constance and the 21-year-old admitted that the child was hers and that she had placed it inside the box.
The inspector said he arrested Constance and she was at present receiving treatment in hospital.
Dr Unsworth gave evidence that he had conducted a post-mortem but found no evidence to show that the child had what was described as a "legal separate existence" – having been born alive, in other words.
If that had been the case, Constance could have been charged with death by neglect or worse.
As it was the coroner gave the poor young woman the benefit of the doubt and returned a verdict of stillborn.
However, that was far from being the end of Constance's troubles, as she was going to be prosecuted for the concealment of the birth. To be continued…
The Windle Motor Company had a large advert on the front page of the St Helens Reporter on the 28th.
They had a showroom at 51 Duke Street with a "service station" in Rigby Street.
The company claimed to be the only properly equipped garage in St Helens to deal with Ford cars and was promoting the Ford Sedan.
The "ideal all-weather car" (in other words, it had a top) came with a hefty price tag of £310, when most folk in St Helens were only earning £3 - £4 per week.
During the evening of the 28th, two hundred Communists attempted to storm a platform in Westminster where Lord Derby of Knowsley Hall was addressing a meeting.
The police were called and the Liverpool Echo commented that as a result there were "several damaged heads and bruised limbs to-day".
Exactly what was taken from the old Sutton Glassworks site in Lancots Lane in Sutton was not stated in the reports. However, it amounted to £124, which was a lot of money.
Some of the accused had been members of the Royal Defence Corps and had been charged with guarding the stores during the miners strike. However, no one had been guarding the stores from the guards!
Despite only half of the stolen property having been recovered, all of the defendants were treated leniently in court with the Bench criticising a laxity in the management of the stores.
On the 29th an advert published in the Guardian provides some insights as to what goods were still inside the old Sutton Bond site, as an auction of surplus plant and machinery was due to take place in ten days time.
The items would include 35 electric motors, 24 potato roller driving machines, lathes and planning machines, drilling machines, acetylene welding plants, tachometers and 40 hand presses, amongst a lot more items.
The Government had its own department called the Disposal Board and for almost three years they had been holding thousands of such auctions nationwide as it flogged off the vast amount of stuff that had been used in munitions factories and temporary military camps.
Many of these places were self-contained sites to prevent outsiders gaining access – hence the vast amount of equipment of all sorts needed.
Previous army surplus sales in Lancots Lane had involved hundreds of wooden benches, a huge quantity of ammunition boxes, 495 chairs, 500 mugs, 226 towels, plus 2,400 plates and basins, etc. etc.
I mentioned last week how rising rugby union star Douglas Cook of Lingholme Road had so impressed the selectors in a trial game that he was immediately picked to play for Lancashire in their next game against Cheshire.
However, during the match he had been kicked in the stomach and some hours later was taken ill.
On the following day a life-saving operation took place at the Pilkington Special Hospital in Borough Road conducted by the remarkable pioneering surgeon Dr James Kerr.
Although the surgery was declared a success, the young man was still in a very critical condition.
However on the 31st it was reported that Douglas had so improved that he was expected to make a "complete and rapid recovery".
Yet another success for Dr Kerr, who did so much for wounded and disabled soldiers and sailors in St Helens.
It's hard to imagine what it must have been like going to school in bare feet in all weathers – but many kids in St Helens did.
Fortunately, the town's 'Clog and Stocking Fund' saved many other destitute youngsters from that indignity.
It was launched in 1912 and during its first six years issued 4,730 pairs of clogs. But the fund relied on public support and on the 30th a concert in aid of the charity took place in the Theatre Royal.
The event featured a performance by the St Helens Orchestral Society which the Reporter said, moved the audience "to raptures".
Tribute was paid to its conductor, George Groves from King Edward Road, who had founded the ensemble.
I expect his 19-year-old son bearing the same name was in the audience. In just over two years' time, George Jnr would sail to America and in 1927 become the first sound recordist in movie history when he recorded 'The Jazz Singer'.
And finally, this item in the Echo made me smile:
"An elderly woman living at Creech Bottom, Dorset, who appeared at Wareham County Court to answer a summons against her husband, a man of 72, told Judge Hyslop Maxwell that her husband lived in an old railway carriage, while she herself occupied a cottage.
'The Judge – Why did you marry him?
"The Woman – I don't know. I suppose I married him for someone to speak to (laughter).
"The Judge – If you don't live in the same house you don't get much opportunity to speak to him.
"The Woman – Oh, I goes to and fro, and does for him every morning (laughter)."
Next week's stories will include an opportunity at the Hippodrome to saw a woman in half, the abused wife covered in gores of blood, success for Labour in council elections and the unveiling of a war memorial at St Thomas' Church.