IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (27th May - 2 June 1919)
This week's stories include Cowley Sports Day, the young Parr miners who smoked down the pit, a broken ex-soldier from Sutton demands justice, Providence Hospital's Rose Day, the gassed soldier from Leonard Street who came home to die, the brickie from Eccleston Street who killed himself after thrashing his daughter and the "very nasty" man from Vincent Street who knocked about with women of doubtful character.
We begin on the 27th with the death of Samuel Winstanley of Thatto Heath Road. The 56-year-old was a well-known blacksmith and had used a revolver to shoot himself dead. His son told the inquest that his father had been depressed since the death of his wife and also had other health complaints. However Samuel had been to New Brighton on the day before his suicide and had remarked how much better he felt.
The Universal Bazaar sold ladies and children's clothing and was situated next to the Parish Church in Church Street. In the Tuesday Reporter on the 27th they were advertising children's coats and frocks ready for the children's processions at Whit. The Bazaar was also selling ladies' gloves from 1/3, scarves from 1/6 and camisoles from 1/11 and other "wonderful bargains".
On the 28th the inquest on bricklayer John Wright was held at the Griffin Inn in Eccleston (pictured above), after his body had been found in a local pit on the previous day. The 57-year-old had not been seen since the 18th when he left his home in Eccleston Street after having "severely thrashed" his daughter Mary until she became unconscious.
Wright had lived with his invalid wife Sarah and their three daughters. His sister-in-law told the inquest that John had been "very erratic and funny" during the past twelve months. The Deputy Coroner said he had no difficulty in returning a verdict of "suicide while of unsound mind".
On the 28th Thomas Chisholm from Vincent Street was charged in the Police Court with committing a nuisance, using obscene language and obstructing a police officer. "Committing a nuisance", was one of those vague, catch-all terms but usually referred to someone urinating in a public space.
In fact Chisholm had been caught committing his nuisance twice. Inspector Bowden had seen him on one of the occasions and told the court that he'd been drunk and "very nasty." The inspector said he had known the prisoner for many years but had never known him do any work, although he still liked to enjoy himself:
"Every night he is to be seen knocking about the streets in drink and in the company of women of doubtful character." Chisholm claimed the police were picking on him out of spite but was fined a total of £5 by the magistrates.
Gas explosions were an ever-present danger down coal mines and miners were banned from taking any type of smoking materials down the pit. From time to time mineworkers would accidentally take tobacco or matches underground and prosecutions regularly occurred – even though those involved had no intention of smoking. Less common were those who deliberately flouted the rules and put their workmates and their own lives at risk by lighting up down the mine.
On the 29th seven young men – who appeared to be employed at the Havannah Colliery in Parr (nicknamed "The Vanny") – were charged with possessing cigarettes and smoking underground. This had been a premeditated act in which Stanley Arnold from Broad Oak Road had taken the cigarettes down the shaft hidden inside a tin box.
The 14-year-old had then handed the smokes to 16-year-old Harvey Middlehurst from Newton Road, who kept them until the time came for the group to light up. However they hadn't taken any matches down the pit and so needed a light, which they obtained by smashing a safety lamp belonging to Arthur Hewitt with a stone.
Mr Peace – who prosecuted for the colliery company – said he could "conceive of nothing more dangerous than to light cigarettes from a naked light in the mine". They were each fined between £3 10s and £4 10s for their foolhardiness.
The St Helens Reporter on the 30th described how the annual 'Rose Day' had broken all records. The final total raised (including donations) had been over £1,000 – around £55,000 in today's money: "Bathed in bright sunshine and with an abundance of beautiful flowers bedecking the buttonholes of pedestrians, St Helens looked gay last Saturday.
"It was the Providence Hospital rose day, and including natural and artificial flowers about forty-five thousand blooms were disposed of for the benefit of a most worthy object, the special purpose this year being the provision of a motor ambulance. The ladies who so readily gave their assistance carried out their task in a charming manner, so much so that the public was unable to withstand their graceful blandishments."
An ex-soldier from Sutton had this remarkable letter published in the Reporter in which he contrasts two events five years apart:
"August, 1914 – “Your King and Country need you” Town Hall Square, St. Helens:- Hundreds of men, trying to get their names enrolled as England's bodyguard, loitering all over the place, to await their call for enrolment, to be sent to Warrington [army depot] in chars-a-banc, to be made fit and ready to meet their country's foes.
"No charge is made against them for obstruction or loitering. Old men giving years below their legal age to meet the foe, young, strong healthy men, ready to be trained in the hard school of discipline, who feared no foe, and later, proved their prowess against centuries-old disciplined, yet barbarous and cruel enemies, the Huns. And the Huns had to get out or get under. Our brave soldiers, our heroes, saved this Empire.
"May 28th, 1919, Town Hall Square:- The same heroes, crippled, broken, gassed, and maimed. The same Town Hall Square, but not the same spirit that sent these men to be crippled, broken, gassed, and maimed. They form up in an orderly queue, to ask and receive the miserable pittance that is meted out to them for their glorious work of saving this Empire.
"To-day they are loitering, causing an obstruction, moved on by the police as though they were felons, loitering with intent. This town must understand it is a free town, and its freedom was won by these men who were called “Patriots” in 1914.
"What is the difference? Are these men, broken in their country's cause, not entitled to justice? This is not Bolshevism. It is pure British thinking, and thinking of this kind has made England what she is to-day. Never forget, England was saved by these broken men, St. Helens men included! God save our King! A TRUE BRITON, Sutton."
The Reporter also described how Isaac Myers – the "loafer of no fixed abode" – had been back in court. Last October the man had been sent to prison for three months for assaulting a woman and possessing an altered army discharge certificate. Isaac's discharge papers had originally described his conduct in the army as "indifferent" but he'd altered it to read "magnificent"!
Since coming out of jail Myers had been sleeping rough and was caught by the police in Duke Street begging from door to door. In court he complained that he couldn't find work, saying: "I cannot live on the air". Isaac was sent to prison for 14 days with the Chairman of the Bench saying he would find some work there.
An unnamed boy appeared in the court on the 30th charged with stealing a golf ball from the St Helens Golf Club. A young woman had driven the ball but then gave it up as lost. However PC Gale happened to see the 14-year-old lad run onto the course and put the ball in his pocket before running away. In court it was stated that boys were a "great nuisance" on the course and the lad – who was earning £1 7 shillings a week at a coalmine – was fined 5 shillings.
"It has been a jolly fine afternoon", said the headmaster of Cowley Boys School at the end of their annual sports. This was held on the 31st on the school cricket ground in Wynne Road. The Reporter described a "picturesque throng of parents, relatives, friends and well-wishers", who had attended in the bright sunshine of a warm and cloudless afternoon. There were several cases of collapse at the end of "hard-won contests", which the Reporter wrote demonstrated the "sturdy British spirit of endurance and courageous struggle to the last gasp."
The body of a man aged about thirty was pulled out of the Carr Mill Dam on June 1st (pictured above) although his identity had yet to be established.
The council's Watch Committee were the people that regulated the police and on the 2nd they were told that the St Helens force had decided not to come out on strike. That was despite all but fourteen officers voting to take industrial action. Instead the committee would be recommending to the full council an improved package of pay and conditions for the police.
On the 2nd the funeral took place at St Nicholas Church in Sutton of 36-year-old Peter Heyes of the Royal Field Artillery. The St Helens Reporter wrote that he had been "through Mons, the Marne, Ypres, and many other battles. He was gassed three times in 1918, and finally came home to die." The newspaper added that the St Helens' branches of the Discharged Sailors and Soldiers Federation "came forward to pay homage to him, and formed up outside Sutton Club, and marched to the deceased's home in Leonard Street. The line of route was thronged with people.
"After the service, the cornets sounded the “Last Post,” which thrilled everyone within hearing, and subsequently the soldiers marched to Sutton Club, headed by their band." The East Sutton Discharged Sailors and Soldiers Club was in Fisher Street but didn't last long as the uninsured premises were gutted after catching fire in April 1923.
Next week's stories will include the leading St Helens civilian pilot who pioneered flights to Blackpool, the Silkstone Street gambling school, the "drunk" teetotaller in Cooper Street, street betting for Derby Day in Foundry Street, the Lowe Street squabble, the housing crisis in the town and a young Oxford Street housekeeper's fall from the path of honesty.
We begin on the 27th with the death of Samuel Winstanley of Thatto Heath Road. The 56-year-old was a well-known blacksmith and had used a revolver to shoot himself dead. His son told the inquest that his father had been depressed since the death of his wife and also had other health complaints. However Samuel had been to New Brighton on the day before his suicide and had remarked how much better he felt.
The Universal Bazaar sold ladies and children's clothing and was situated next to the Parish Church in Church Street. In the Tuesday Reporter on the 27th they were advertising children's coats and frocks ready for the children's processions at Whit. The Bazaar was also selling ladies' gloves from 1/3, scarves from 1/6 and camisoles from 1/11 and other "wonderful bargains".
Wright had lived with his invalid wife Sarah and their three daughters. His sister-in-law told the inquest that John had been "very erratic and funny" during the past twelve months. The Deputy Coroner said he had no difficulty in returning a verdict of "suicide while of unsound mind".
On the 28th Thomas Chisholm from Vincent Street was charged in the Police Court with committing a nuisance, using obscene language and obstructing a police officer. "Committing a nuisance", was one of those vague, catch-all terms but usually referred to someone urinating in a public space.
In fact Chisholm had been caught committing his nuisance twice. Inspector Bowden had seen him on one of the occasions and told the court that he'd been drunk and "very nasty." The inspector said he had known the prisoner for many years but had never known him do any work, although he still liked to enjoy himself:
"Every night he is to be seen knocking about the streets in drink and in the company of women of doubtful character." Chisholm claimed the police were picking on him out of spite but was fined a total of £5 by the magistrates.
Gas explosions were an ever-present danger down coal mines and miners were banned from taking any type of smoking materials down the pit. From time to time mineworkers would accidentally take tobacco or matches underground and prosecutions regularly occurred – even though those involved had no intention of smoking. Less common were those who deliberately flouted the rules and put their workmates and their own lives at risk by lighting up down the mine.
On the 29th seven young men – who appeared to be employed at the Havannah Colliery in Parr (nicknamed "The Vanny") – were charged with possessing cigarettes and smoking underground. This had been a premeditated act in which Stanley Arnold from Broad Oak Road had taken the cigarettes down the shaft hidden inside a tin box.
The 14-year-old had then handed the smokes to 16-year-old Harvey Middlehurst from Newton Road, who kept them until the time came for the group to light up. However they hadn't taken any matches down the pit and so needed a light, which they obtained by smashing a safety lamp belonging to Arthur Hewitt with a stone.
Mr Peace – who prosecuted for the colliery company – said he could "conceive of nothing more dangerous than to light cigarettes from a naked light in the mine". They were each fined between £3 10s and £4 10s for their foolhardiness.
The St Helens Reporter on the 30th described how the annual 'Rose Day' had broken all records. The final total raised (including donations) had been over £1,000 – around £55,000 in today's money: "Bathed in bright sunshine and with an abundance of beautiful flowers bedecking the buttonholes of pedestrians, St Helens looked gay last Saturday.
"It was the Providence Hospital rose day, and including natural and artificial flowers about forty-five thousand blooms were disposed of for the benefit of a most worthy object, the special purpose this year being the provision of a motor ambulance. The ladies who so readily gave their assistance carried out their task in a charming manner, so much so that the public was unable to withstand their graceful blandishments."
An ex-soldier from Sutton had this remarkable letter published in the Reporter in which he contrasts two events five years apart:
"August, 1914 – “Your King and Country need you” Town Hall Square, St. Helens:- Hundreds of men, trying to get their names enrolled as England's bodyguard, loitering all over the place, to await their call for enrolment, to be sent to Warrington [army depot] in chars-a-banc, to be made fit and ready to meet their country's foes.
"No charge is made against them for obstruction or loitering. Old men giving years below their legal age to meet the foe, young, strong healthy men, ready to be trained in the hard school of discipline, who feared no foe, and later, proved their prowess against centuries-old disciplined, yet barbarous and cruel enemies, the Huns. And the Huns had to get out or get under. Our brave soldiers, our heroes, saved this Empire.
"May 28th, 1919, Town Hall Square:- The same heroes, crippled, broken, gassed, and maimed. The same Town Hall Square, but not the same spirit that sent these men to be crippled, broken, gassed, and maimed. They form up in an orderly queue, to ask and receive the miserable pittance that is meted out to them for their glorious work of saving this Empire.
"To-day they are loitering, causing an obstruction, moved on by the police as though they were felons, loitering with intent. This town must understand it is a free town, and its freedom was won by these men who were called “Patriots” in 1914.
"What is the difference? Are these men, broken in their country's cause, not entitled to justice? This is not Bolshevism. It is pure British thinking, and thinking of this kind has made England what she is to-day. Never forget, England was saved by these broken men, St. Helens men included! God save our King! A TRUE BRITON, Sutton."
The Reporter also described how Isaac Myers – the "loafer of no fixed abode" – had been back in court. Last October the man had been sent to prison for three months for assaulting a woman and possessing an altered army discharge certificate. Isaac's discharge papers had originally described his conduct in the army as "indifferent" but he'd altered it to read "magnificent"!
Since coming out of jail Myers had been sleeping rough and was caught by the police in Duke Street begging from door to door. In court he complained that he couldn't find work, saying: "I cannot live on the air". Isaac was sent to prison for 14 days with the Chairman of the Bench saying he would find some work there.
An unnamed boy appeared in the court on the 30th charged with stealing a golf ball from the St Helens Golf Club. A young woman had driven the ball but then gave it up as lost. However PC Gale happened to see the 14-year-old lad run onto the course and put the ball in his pocket before running away. In court it was stated that boys were a "great nuisance" on the course and the lad – who was earning £1 7 shillings a week at a coalmine – was fined 5 shillings.
"It has been a jolly fine afternoon", said the headmaster of Cowley Boys School at the end of their annual sports. This was held on the 31st on the school cricket ground in Wynne Road. The Reporter described a "picturesque throng of parents, relatives, friends and well-wishers", who had attended in the bright sunshine of a warm and cloudless afternoon. There were several cases of collapse at the end of "hard-won contests", which the Reporter wrote demonstrated the "sturdy British spirit of endurance and courageous struggle to the last gasp."
The council's Watch Committee were the people that regulated the police and on the 2nd they were told that the St Helens force had decided not to come out on strike. That was despite all but fourteen officers voting to take industrial action. Instead the committee would be recommending to the full council an improved package of pay and conditions for the police.
On the 2nd the funeral took place at St Nicholas Church in Sutton of 36-year-old Peter Heyes of the Royal Field Artillery. The St Helens Reporter wrote that he had been "through Mons, the Marne, Ypres, and many other battles. He was gassed three times in 1918, and finally came home to die." The newspaper added that the St Helens' branches of the Discharged Sailors and Soldiers Federation "came forward to pay homage to him, and formed up outside Sutton Club, and marched to the deceased's home in Leonard Street. The line of route was thronged with people.
"After the service, the cornets sounded the “Last Post,” which thrilled everyone within hearing, and subsequently the soldiers marched to Sutton Club, headed by their band." The East Sutton Discharged Sailors and Soldiers Club was in Fisher Street but didn't last long as the uninsured premises were gutted after catching fire in April 1923.
Next week's stories will include the leading St Helens civilian pilot who pioneered flights to Blackpool, the Silkstone Street gambling school, the "drunk" teetotaller in Cooper Street, street betting for Derby Day in Foundry Street, the Lowe Street squabble, the housing crisis in the town and a young Oxford Street housekeeper's fall from the path of honesty.