IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (29th AUG. - 4th SEPT. 1922)
This week's many stories include the man who tied himself up before committing suicide, more on the plans to build a main road between Liverpool and Manchester, a motorcycle accident in Greenfield Road, the bird race to St Helens from Bath, the Nine Little Tiddleywinks perform in the Hippodrome and the clerk who ran off to London with a 19-year-old woman and the £100 contents of a cash box.
We begin on the 29th when James Sexton (pictured above) delivered an address at the St Helens Junction Labour Club. The Labour MP for St Helens accused the Coalition Government of being run by businessmen who protected their friends and oppressed the people. Sexton was also critical of the Government's role in the Versailles Peace Treaty, which, he claimed, had "resulted in France being the bully of Europe". He added: "It is perhaps natural for France to fear Germany, but I am sure it is impossible for Germany to go to war again in the lifetime of this or other two generations. Militarily Germany is down and out, and she ought to be made to pay [reparations] as soon as she is able."
Although Sexton was obviously wrong in his prediction of Germany not being in a position to declare war in the near future, you could argue that he was right in another sense. Many historians state that the harsh terms and reparations in the peace treaty insisted on by France stoked resentment in Germany and was the underlying cause of WW2.
At Prescot Police Court on the 29th, Fred Platt was charged with stealing £114 from the Prescot Board of Guardians. The 34-year-old had been employed as an assistant to the relieving officer who provided support to the destitute within the St Helens and Prescot district.
Platt had taken off for London with 19-year-old Maude Hibbert and the contents of a cash box. She was the daughter of his landlady and, according to Platt, the couple enjoyed a "good time" in the capital living it up in the best hotels. All but £3 of the stolen cash had been blown on their jaunt but Platt now admitted having been a fool and the magistrates committed him for trial. In the course of evidence given at the hearing, it was stated that the clerks in the relieving office hid their cash box in the dustbin at night, as they had no means of locking it up.
With so much open water in St Helens, drowning was a common mode of suicide. I've previously read examples of the desperate filling their pockets with heavy objects – or tying weights around their waste – to hasten their sinking in the water. But what Walter Lunn did is new to me. The 52-year-old from Owen Street in St Helens was found drowned in the Alexandra Dam at Ravenhead on September 1st.
A week earlier, Walter had brought his wife in bed an early morning cup of tea and then gone for a walk – but never returned home. The former glassmaker had been unemployed for 18 months and suffered badly with bronchitis. Although reported by his wife to have been depressed of late, Walter had never threatened to take his life.
But when his body was recovered from the dam, the police found that his legs were tied together with a strong cord and his arms were fastened in a similar fashion behind his back. Sergeant Latham told the coroner at the inquest that it would have been "quite simple" for Mr Lunn to have tied himself up in that manner and foul play was not suspected. In his day Walter had been a powerful swimmer and so the police thought he had tied himself up to prevent him changing his mind when immersed in the cold water.
Under the headline "New Main Road To Manchester – Will Big Scheme Materialise", the St Helens Reporter mused on whether proposals to build what would become known as the East Lancashire Road would be turned into action. It was planned that the huge cost – then estimated at over £3 million – would be split 50 / 50 between the Ministry of Transport and the boroughs that were traversed along the line of the road – namely Manchester, Salford and Liverpool Corporations and Lancashire County Council.
It was considered a big ask for these local authorities to come to an agreement over their £1½m contribution and be able to find the cash. But one positive was that large numbers of unemployed men would be found work. That could reduce what we would call benefit payments that were then funded by local ratepayers. The article stated that an alternative scheme of improving the present roads might be considered if agreement could not be reached.
Since the war there had been a huge growth in motorcycle ownership in St Helens. Although cars were still largely the preserve of business folk, motorbikes with or without sidecars were quite affordable on HP for those in work. Concern was often expressed about the speed that young riders rode their machines, although estimating how fast they were travelling was highly subjective. As a general rule pedestrians (including the police) would say bikers were going at twice the rate the riders claimed. However, without speedometers and such things as radar guns and with people's lack of experience at measuring speed – it was really anyone's guess.
The Reporter described how in St Helens Police Court this week a range of opinions had been expressed as to the rate two motorbikes had been travelling in Greenfield Road. One driven by Herbert Golding of Alexandra Drive had knocked down a 6-year-old boy and broken his arm. Although Herbert Morris of Windleshaw Road had not witnessed the actual collision, he told the court that he had seen the two bikers in Rivington Road travelling at a very fast speed.
Upon seeing the injured little boy in his mother's arms near Hammill Street, Mr Morris said he told the other rider – Gerald Haslam Fox of Rainford Road – that he ought to be ashamed of himself for travelling at such speed. That he estimated to the court had been about 25 - 30mph. Another witness, Joseph McCormick, said the motorcycles had passed him in Greenfield Road at a great speed, travelling, he reckoned, at a minimum of 25 miles an hour. When Mr McCormick arrived at the scene of the accident he had said to Herbert Golding: "By gum, mate, you were travelling."
Herbert told the court that he had been riding his motorcycle about 5 or 6 feet from the kerb, some distance from Hammill Street, when the boy suddenly left the footpath and walked into his path. An accident was inevitable, he insisted, and there had been nothing he could have done to prevent it. Both he and Gerald Fox denied driving as fast as 25 miles an hour and Gerald's brother, Herbert, said he had seen the two machines being ridden along Greenfield Road and they had not been travelling at more than 12 or 13 miles an hour.
Herbert said he had also heard Golding's horn being sounded as a warning. The witness added that he was a medical student and if the boy had been struck by a motorcycle at a speed of 25 to 30 miles an hour, he would have sustained far more serious injuries than he had. Both young riders were found guilty of a charge of driving to the danger of the public and were fined 20 shillings each.
Some other reasons that the accident happened were likely to have been that children were still allowed to play in the street; they were not drilled in road safety and the drivers of motor vehicles then took no test. Pedestrian crossings were also 12 years away – but that's unlikely to have made any difference if kids were playing in the street.
The annual flower day in aid of the St Helens Crippled Children's Aid Society was held on the 2nd. This year it was decided that fresh heather would be sold instead of flowers and so it was renamed 'Heather Day' with £200 2s 6d raised. The society aided over 100 disabled children in the town, providing what was described as surgical apparatus and spinal carriages, treatment at different hospitals and paying for the sending of children to a convalescent home in Southport.
The St Helens Flying Club held a race from Bath to St Helens on the same day. One might assume that would involve lots of planes taking off and landing on some field in the town. But aeroplanes were still a recent invention and pigeons had being flying a lot longer – and were a lot cheaper to run and safer! The winner of the race was stated as a Mr P. Duckworth, although I imagine it was his bird that flapped its wings for 170 miles and not him!
And finally, the acts performing at the Hippodrome Music Hall from the 4th included: Ernest Hastings ("The great St. Helens favourite – in his humour and music at the piano"); Alfredo ("The vagabond violinist"); Nine Little Tiddleywinks ("In their brilliant little scene"); Bros. Curran ("Unique boxing comedians in an original act") and Rene Ralph ("In dainty song studies").
The Nine Little Tiddleywinks was also described as the "smartest juvenile act in vaudeville" and a review of their performance in Nelson said: "These dainty entertainers render a delightful programme of concerted items, songs and dances. Particularly charming is a realistic “ride to chase” in which the juveniles disport themselves in hunting attire amid the pretty scenery of a woodland glade."
Next week's stories will include the daughter and dad betting operation in Phythian Street, the boys obstructing the railway line at Marshalls Cross and the man with impulsive insanity who threw a stone through a police station window.
Although Sexton was obviously wrong in his prediction of Germany not being in a position to declare war in the near future, you could argue that he was right in another sense. Many historians state that the harsh terms and reparations in the peace treaty insisted on by France stoked resentment in Germany and was the underlying cause of WW2.
At Prescot Police Court on the 29th, Fred Platt was charged with stealing £114 from the Prescot Board of Guardians. The 34-year-old had been employed as an assistant to the relieving officer who provided support to the destitute within the St Helens and Prescot district.
Platt had taken off for London with 19-year-old Maude Hibbert and the contents of a cash box. She was the daughter of his landlady and, according to Platt, the couple enjoyed a "good time" in the capital living it up in the best hotels. All but £3 of the stolen cash had been blown on their jaunt but Platt now admitted having been a fool and the magistrates committed him for trial. In the course of evidence given at the hearing, it was stated that the clerks in the relieving office hid their cash box in the dustbin at night, as they had no means of locking it up.
With so much open water in St Helens, drowning was a common mode of suicide. I've previously read examples of the desperate filling their pockets with heavy objects – or tying weights around their waste – to hasten their sinking in the water. But what Walter Lunn did is new to me. The 52-year-old from Owen Street in St Helens was found drowned in the Alexandra Dam at Ravenhead on September 1st.
A week earlier, Walter had brought his wife in bed an early morning cup of tea and then gone for a walk – but never returned home. The former glassmaker had been unemployed for 18 months and suffered badly with bronchitis. Although reported by his wife to have been depressed of late, Walter had never threatened to take his life.
But when his body was recovered from the dam, the police found that his legs were tied together with a strong cord and his arms were fastened in a similar fashion behind his back. Sergeant Latham told the coroner at the inquest that it would have been "quite simple" for Mr Lunn to have tied himself up in that manner and foul play was not suspected. In his day Walter had been a powerful swimmer and so the police thought he had tied himself up to prevent him changing his mind when immersed in the cold water.
Under the headline "New Main Road To Manchester – Will Big Scheme Materialise", the St Helens Reporter mused on whether proposals to build what would become known as the East Lancashire Road would be turned into action. It was planned that the huge cost – then estimated at over £3 million – would be split 50 / 50 between the Ministry of Transport and the boroughs that were traversed along the line of the road – namely Manchester, Salford and Liverpool Corporations and Lancashire County Council.
It was considered a big ask for these local authorities to come to an agreement over their £1½m contribution and be able to find the cash. But one positive was that large numbers of unemployed men would be found work. That could reduce what we would call benefit payments that were then funded by local ratepayers. The article stated that an alternative scheme of improving the present roads might be considered if agreement could not be reached.
Since the war there had been a huge growth in motorcycle ownership in St Helens. Although cars were still largely the preserve of business folk, motorbikes with or without sidecars were quite affordable on HP for those in work. Concern was often expressed about the speed that young riders rode their machines, although estimating how fast they were travelling was highly subjective. As a general rule pedestrians (including the police) would say bikers were going at twice the rate the riders claimed. However, without speedometers and such things as radar guns and with people's lack of experience at measuring speed – it was really anyone's guess.
The Reporter described how in St Helens Police Court this week a range of opinions had been expressed as to the rate two motorbikes had been travelling in Greenfield Road. One driven by Herbert Golding of Alexandra Drive had knocked down a 6-year-old boy and broken his arm. Although Herbert Morris of Windleshaw Road had not witnessed the actual collision, he told the court that he had seen the two bikers in Rivington Road travelling at a very fast speed.
Upon seeing the injured little boy in his mother's arms near Hammill Street, Mr Morris said he told the other rider – Gerald Haslam Fox of Rainford Road – that he ought to be ashamed of himself for travelling at such speed. That he estimated to the court had been about 25 - 30mph. Another witness, Joseph McCormick, said the motorcycles had passed him in Greenfield Road at a great speed, travelling, he reckoned, at a minimum of 25 miles an hour. When Mr McCormick arrived at the scene of the accident he had said to Herbert Golding: "By gum, mate, you were travelling."
Herbert told the court that he had been riding his motorcycle about 5 or 6 feet from the kerb, some distance from Hammill Street, when the boy suddenly left the footpath and walked into his path. An accident was inevitable, he insisted, and there had been nothing he could have done to prevent it. Both he and Gerald Fox denied driving as fast as 25 miles an hour and Gerald's brother, Herbert, said he had seen the two machines being ridden along Greenfield Road and they had not been travelling at more than 12 or 13 miles an hour.
Herbert said he had also heard Golding's horn being sounded as a warning. The witness added that he was a medical student and if the boy had been struck by a motorcycle at a speed of 25 to 30 miles an hour, he would have sustained far more serious injuries than he had. Both young riders were found guilty of a charge of driving to the danger of the public and were fined 20 shillings each.
Some other reasons that the accident happened were likely to have been that children were still allowed to play in the street; they were not drilled in road safety and the drivers of motor vehicles then took no test. Pedestrian crossings were also 12 years away – but that's unlikely to have made any difference if kids were playing in the street.
The annual flower day in aid of the St Helens Crippled Children's Aid Society was held on the 2nd. This year it was decided that fresh heather would be sold instead of flowers and so it was renamed 'Heather Day' with £200 2s 6d raised. The society aided over 100 disabled children in the town, providing what was described as surgical apparatus and spinal carriages, treatment at different hospitals and paying for the sending of children to a convalescent home in Southport.
The St Helens Flying Club held a race from Bath to St Helens on the same day. One might assume that would involve lots of planes taking off and landing on some field in the town. But aeroplanes were still a recent invention and pigeons had being flying a lot longer – and were a lot cheaper to run and safer! The winner of the race was stated as a Mr P. Duckworth, although I imagine it was his bird that flapped its wings for 170 miles and not him!
And finally, the acts performing at the Hippodrome Music Hall from the 4th included: Ernest Hastings ("The great St. Helens favourite – in his humour and music at the piano"); Alfredo ("The vagabond violinist"); Nine Little Tiddleywinks ("In their brilliant little scene"); Bros. Curran ("Unique boxing comedians in an original act") and Rene Ralph ("In dainty song studies").
The Nine Little Tiddleywinks was also described as the "smartest juvenile act in vaudeville" and a review of their performance in Nelson said: "These dainty entertainers render a delightful programme of concerted items, songs and dances. Particularly charming is a realistic “ride to chase” in which the juveniles disport themselves in hunting attire amid the pretty scenery of a woodland glade."
Next week's stories will include the daughter and dad betting operation in Phythian Street, the boys obstructing the railway line at Marshalls Cross and the man with impulsive insanity who threw a stone through a police station window.
This week's many stories include the man who tied himself up before committing suicide, more on the plans to build a main road between Liverpool and Manchester, a motorcycle accident in Greenfield Road, the bird race to St Helens from Bath, the Nine Little Tiddleywinks perform in the Hippodrome and the clerk who ran off to London with a 19-year-old woman and the £100 contents of a cash box.
We begin on the 29th when James Sexton (pictured above) delivered an address at the St Helens Junction Labour Club.
The Labour MP for St Helens accused the Coalition Government of being run by businessmen who protected their friends and oppressed the people.
Sexton was also critical of the Government's role in the Versailles Peace Treaty, which, he claimed, had "resulted in France being the bully of Europe". He added:
"It is perhaps natural for France to fear Germany, but I am sure it is impossible for Germany to go to war again in the lifetime of this or other two generations. Militarily Germany is down and out, and she ought to be made to pay [reparations] as soon as she is able."
Although Sexton was obviously wrong in his prediction of Germany not being in a position to declare war in the near future, you could argue that he was right in another sense.
Many historians state that the harsh terms and reparations in the peace treaty insisted on by France stoked resentment in Germany and was the underlying cause of WW2.
At Prescot Police Court on the 29th, Fred Platt was charged with stealing £114 from the Prescot Board of Guardians.
The 34-year-old had been employed as an assistant to the relieving officer who provided support to the destitute within the St Helens and Prescot district.
Platt had taken off for London with 19-year-old Maude Hibbert and the contents of a cash box.
She was the daughter of his landlady and, according to Platt, the couple enjoyed a "good time" in the capital living it up in the best hotels.
All but £3 of the stolen cash had been blown on their jaunt but Platt now admitted having been a fool and the magistrates committed him for trial.
In the course of evidence given at the hearing, it was stated that the clerks in the relieving office hid their cash box in the dustbin at night, as they had no means of locking it up.
With so much open water in St Helens, drowning was a common mode of suicide.
I've previously read examples of the desperate filling their pockets with heavy objects – or tying weights around their waste – to hasten their sinking in the water. But what Walter Lunn did is new to me.
The 52-year-old from Owen Street in St Helens was found drowned in the Alexandra Dam at Ravenhead on September 1st.
A week earlier, Walter had brought his wife in bed an early morning cup of tea and then gone for a walk – but never returned home.
The former glassmaker had been unemployed for 18 months and suffered badly with bronchitis.
Although reported by his wife to have been depressed of late, Walter had never threatened to take his life.
But when his body was recovered from the dam, the police found that his legs were tied together with a strong cord and his arms were fastened in a similar fashion behind his back.
Sergeant Latham told the coroner at the inquest that it would have been "quite simple" for Mr Lunn to have tied himself up in that manner and foul play was not suspected.
In his day Walter had been a powerful swimmer and so the police thought he had tied himself up to prevent him changing his mind when immersed in the cold water.
Under the headline "New Main Road To Manchester – Will Big Scheme Materialise", the St Helens Reporter mused on whether proposals to build what would become known as the East Lancashire Road would be turned into action.
It was planned that the huge cost – then estimated at over £3 million – would be split 50 / 50 between the Ministry of Transport and the boroughs that were traversed along the line of the road – namely Manchester, Salford and Liverpool Corporations and Lancashire County Council.
It was considered a big ask for these local authorities to come to an agreement over their £1½m contribution and be able to find the cash.
But one positive was that large numbers of unemployed men would be found work. That could reduce what we would call benefit payments that were then funded by local ratepayers.
The article stated that an alternative scheme of improving the present roads might be considered if agreement could not be reached.
Since the war there had been a huge growth in motorcycle ownership in St Helens. Although cars were still largely the preserve of business folk, motorbikes with or without sidecars were quite affordable on HP for those in work.
Concern was often expressed about the speed that young riders rode their machines, although estimating how fast they were travelling was highly subjective.
As a general rule pedestrians (including the police) would say bikers were going at twice the rate the riders claimed.
However, without speedometers and such things as radar guns and with people's lack of experience at measuring speed – it was really anyone's guess.
The Reporter described how in St Helens Police Court this week a range of opinions had been expressed as to the rate two motorbikes had been travelling in Greenfield Road.
One driven by Herbert Golding of Alexandra Drive had knocked down a 6-year-old boy and broken his arm.
Although Herbert Morris of Windleshaw Road had not witnessed the actual collision, he told the court that he had seen the two bikers in Rivington Road travelling at a very fast speed.
Upon seeing the injured little boy in his mother's arms near Hammill Street, Mr Morris said he told the other rider – Gerald Haslam Fox of Rainford Road – that he ought to be ashamed of himself for travelling at such speed. That he estimated to the court had been about 25 - 30mph.
Another witness, Joseph McCormick, said the motorcycles had passed him in Greenfield Road at a great speed, travelling, he reckoned, at a minimum of 25 miles an hour.
When Mr McCormick arrived at the scene of the accident he had said to Herbert Golding: "By gum, mate, you were travelling."
Herbert told the court that he had been riding his motorcycle about 5 or 6 feet from the kerb, some distance from Hammill Street, when the boy suddenly left the footpath and walked into his path.
An accident was inevitable, he insisted, and there had been nothing he could have done to prevent it.
Both he and Gerald Fox denied driving as fast as 25 miles an hour and Gerald's brother, Herbert, said he had seen the two machines being ridden along Greenfield Road and they had not been travelling at more than 12 or 13 miles an hour.
Herbert said he had also heard Golding's horn being sounded as a warning.
The witness added that he was a medical student and if the boy had been struck by a motorcycle at a speed of 25 to 30 miles an hour, he would have sustained far more serious injuries than he had.
Both young riders were found guilty of a charge of driving to the danger of the public and were fined 20 shillings each.
Some other reasons that the accident happened were likely to have been that children were still allowed to play in the street; they were not drilled in road safety and the drivers of motor vehicles then took no test.
Pedestrian crossings were also 12 years away – but that's unlikely to have made any difference if kids were playing in the street.
The annual flower day in aid of the St Helens Crippled Children's Aid Society was held on the 2nd.
This year it was decided that fresh heather would be sold instead of flowers and so it was renamed 'Heather Day' with £200 2s 6d raised.
The society aided over 100 disabled children in the town, providing what was described as surgical apparatus and spinal carriages, treatment at different hospitals and paying for the sending of children to a convalescent home in Southport.
The St Helens Flying Club held a race from Bath to St Helens on the same day. One might assume that would involve lots of planes taking off and landing on some field in the town.
But aeroplanes were still a recent invention and pigeons had being flying a lot longer – and were a lot cheaper to run and safer!
The winner of the race was stated as a Mr P. Duckworth, although I imagine it was his bird that flapped its wings for 170 miles and not him!
And finally, the acts performing at the Hippodrome Music Hall from the 4th included:
Ernest Hastings ("The great St. Helens favourite – in his humour and music at the piano"); Alfredo ("The vagabond violinist"); Nine Little Tiddleywinks ("In their brilliant little scene"); Bros. Curran ("Unique boxing comedians in an original act") and Rene Ralph ("In dainty song studies").
The Nine Little Tiddleywinks was also described as the "smartest juvenile act in vaudeville" and a review of their performance in Nelson said:
"These dainty entertainers render a delightful programme of concerted items, songs and dances. Particularly charming is a realistic “ride to chase” in which the juveniles disport themselves in hunting attire amid the pretty scenery of a woodland glade."
Next week's stories will include the daughter and dad betting operation in Phythian Street, the boys obstructing the railway line at Marshalls Cross and the man with impulsive insanity who threw a stone through a police station window.
The Labour MP for St Helens accused the Coalition Government of being run by businessmen who protected their friends and oppressed the people.
Sexton was also critical of the Government's role in the Versailles Peace Treaty, which, he claimed, had "resulted in France being the bully of Europe". He added:
"It is perhaps natural for France to fear Germany, but I am sure it is impossible for Germany to go to war again in the lifetime of this or other two generations. Militarily Germany is down and out, and she ought to be made to pay [reparations] as soon as she is able."
Although Sexton was obviously wrong in his prediction of Germany not being in a position to declare war in the near future, you could argue that he was right in another sense.
Many historians state that the harsh terms and reparations in the peace treaty insisted on by France stoked resentment in Germany and was the underlying cause of WW2.
At Prescot Police Court on the 29th, Fred Platt was charged with stealing £114 from the Prescot Board of Guardians.
The 34-year-old had been employed as an assistant to the relieving officer who provided support to the destitute within the St Helens and Prescot district.
Platt had taken off for London with 19-year-old Maude Hibbert and the contents of a cash box.
She was the daughter of his landlady and, according to Platt, the couple enjoyed a "good time" in the capital living it up in the best hotels.
All but £3 of the stolen cash had been blown on their jaunt but Platt now admitted having been a fool and the magistrates committed him for trial.
In the course of evidence given at the hearing, it was stated that the clerks in the relieving office hid their cash box in the dustbin at night, as they had no means of locking it up.
With so much open water in St Helens, drowning was a common mode of suicide.
I've previously read examples of the desperate filling their pockets with heavy objects – or tying weights around their waste – to hasten their sinking in the water. But what Walter Lunn did is new to me.
The 52-year-old from Owen Street in St Helens was found drowned in the Alexandra Dam at Ravenhead on September 1st.
A week earlier, Walter had brought his wife in bed an early morning cup of tea and then gone for a walk – but never returned home.
The former glassmaker had been unemployed for 18 months and suffered badly with bronchitis.
Although reported by his wife to have been depressed of late, Walter had never threatened to take his life.
But when his body was recovered from the dam, the police found that his legs were tied together with a strong cord and his arms were fastened in a similar fashion behind his back.
Sergeant Latham told the coroner at the inquest that it would have been "quite simple" for Mr Lunn to have tied himself up in that manner and foul play was not suspected.
In his day Walter had been a powerful swimmer and so the police thought he had tied himself up to prevent him changing his mind when immersed in the cold water.
Under the headline "New Main Road To Manchester – Will Big Scheme Materialise", the St Helens Reporter mused on whether proposals to build what would become known as the East Lancashire Road would be turned into action.
It was planned that the huge cost – then estimated at over £3 million – would be split 50 / 50 between the Ministry of Transport and the boroughs that were traversed along the line of the road – namely Manchester, Salford and Liverpool Corporations and Lancashire County Council.
It was considered a big ask for these local authorities to come to an agreement over their £1½m contribution and be able to find the cash.
But one positive was that large numbers of unemployed men would be found work. That could reduce what we would call benefit payments that were then funded by local ratepayers.
The article stated that an alternative scheme of improving the present roads might be considered if agreement could not be reached.
Since the war there had been a huge growth in motorcycle ownership in St Helens. Although cars were still largely the preserve of business folk, motorbikes with or without sidecars were quite affordable on HP for those in work.
Concern was often expressed about the speed that young riders rode their machines, although estimating how fast they were travelling was highly subjective.
As a general rule pedestrians (including the police) would say bikers were going at twice the rate the riders claimed.
However, without speedometers and such things as radar guns and with people's lack of experience at measuring speed – it was really anyone's guess.
The Reporter described how in St Helens Police Court this week a range of opinions had been expressed as to the rate two motorbikes had been travelling in Greenfield Road.
One driven by Herbert Golding of Alexandra Drive had knocked down a 6-year-old boy and broken his arm.
Although Herbert Morris of Windleshaw Road had not witnessed the actual collision, he told the court that he had seen the two bikers in Rivington Road travelling at a very fast speed.
Upon seeing the injured little boy in his mother's arms near Hammill Street, Mr Morris said he told the other rider – Gerald Haslam Fox of Rainford Road – that he ought to be ashamed of himself for travelling at such speed. That he estimated to the court had been about 25 - 30mph.
Another witness, Joseph McCormick, said the motorcycles had passed him in Greenfield Road at a great speed, travelling, he reckoned, at a minimum of 25 miles an hour.
When Mr McCormick arrived at the scene of the accident he had said to Herbert Golding: "By gum, mate, you were travelling."
Herbert told the court that he had been riding his motorcycle about 5 or 6 feet from the kerb, some distance from Hammill Street, when the boy suddenly left the footpath and walked into his path.
An accident was inevitable, he insisted, and there had been nothing he could have done to prevent it.
Both he and Gerald Fox denied driving as fast as 25 miles an hour and Gerald's brother, Herbert, said he had seen the two machines being ridden along Greenfield Road and they had not been travelling at more than 12 or 13 miles an hour.
Herbert said he had also heard Golding's horn being sounded as a warning.
The witness added that he was a medical student and if the boy had been struck by a motorcycle at a speed of 25 to 30 miles an hour, he would have sustained far more serious injuries than he had.
Both young riders were found guilty of a charge of driving to the danger of the public and were fined 20 shillings each.
Some other reasons that the accident happened were likely to have been that children were still allowed to play in the street; they were not drilled in road safety and the drivers of motor vehicles then took no test.
Pedestrian crossings were also 12 years away – but that's unlikely to have made any difference if kids were playing in the street.
The annual flower day in aid of the St Helens Crippled Children's Aid Society was held on the 2nd.
This year it was decided that fresh heather would be sold instead of flowers and so it was renamed 'Heather Day' with £200 2s 6d raised.
The society aided over 100 disabled children in the town, providing what was described as surgical apparatus and spinal carriages, treatment at different hospitals and paying for the sending of children to a convalescent home in Southport.
The St Helens Flying Club held a race from Bath to St Helens on the same day. One might assume that would involve lots of planes taking off and landing on some field in the town.
But aeroplanes were still a recent invention and pigeons had being flying a lot longer – and were a lot cheaper to run and safer!
The winner of the race was stated as a Mr P. Duckworth, although I imagine it was his bird that flapped its wings for 170 miles and not him!
And finally, the acts performing at the Hippodrome Music Hall from the 4th included:
Ernest Hastings ("The great St. Helens favourite – in his humour and music at the piano"); Alfredo ("The vagabond violinist"); Nine Little Tiddleywinks ("In their brilliant little scene"); Bros. Curran ("Unique boxing comedians in an original act") and Rene Ralph ("In dainty song studies").
The Nine Little Tiddleywinks was also described as the "smartest juvenile act in vaudeville" and a review of their performance in Nelson said:
"These dainty entertainers render a delightful programme of concerted items, songs and dances. Particularly charming is a realistic “ride to chase” in which the juveniles disport themselves in hunting attire amid the pretty scenery of a woodland glade."
Next week's stories will include the daughter and dad betting operation in Phythian Street, the boys obstructing the railway line at Marshalls Cross and the man with impulsive insanity who threw a stone through a police station window.