IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (31st JAN. - 6th FEB. 1922)
This week's stories include the deplorable state of the streets of Sutton, the Higher Parr Street man who turned his wife and baby out into the street, the sad pilgrimage of St Helens' families to war heroes' graves, a boy's unusual excuse for stealing coal from Ashton's Green Colliery, plans to alleviate the Moss Nook flooding and St Helens Corporation threatens to cut off electricity supplies to tardy bill-payers.
We begin on the 31st in St Helens Town Hall with a three-day grand pageant that featured a remarkable 350 performers. Plays took place that represented scenes from India, China, Africa and the South Seas.
Stealing coal in St Helens – particularly with so many people out of work – was commonplace. However, a boy had an unusual excuse for his theft from Ashtons Green Colliery in Parr (pictured above). The lad told St Helens Police Court on February 1st that his mother had given him the money to buy some coal – but he had lost it. Perhaps, his parents had told him to say that, as the police informed the Bench that the unnamed family were in "poor circumstances". However, the Bench were not in sympathetic mood – saying the 15 shillings cost of the coal and court costs had to be repaid and the boy placed on probation for two years. Fifty years earlier he would likely have been imprisoned.
Also on the 1st the monthly Town Council meeting took place with much discussion about the state of the roads in St Helens – and in particular Sutton. Cllr. Hamblett demanded to know what the Highways Committee intended doing about the backlog of road repairs that had built-up during the war when men and materials were in short supply. He called the situation in which thousands of unemployed were being paid dole and other benefits when so much work needed doing on the town's roads, "a farce". But Hamblett was reminded that austerity measures had led to the council reducing the highways' budget by £17,000 for that year (nearly £1m in today's money). Also their steamroller had broken down and there had been a delay getting it repaired.
Cllr. Boscow detailed a list of Sutton streets that were in a "deplorable state". Some, he claimed, had worsened through the recent re-laying of the tram track up Robins Lane to the St Helens Junction terminus. Thatto Heath Road from Elephant Lane to the railway bridge was also said to be in a bad way. In response Ald. Bishop, on behalf of the Highways Committee, said they would soon be catching up on their work.
The Russian famine of 1921 - 1922 is estimated to have killed 5 million and on the 2nd a meeting of what were described as prominent townspeople was held in St Helens Town Hall. The purpose of the assembly was to discuss ways of raising funds to provide relief to alleviate "the horrors" of the famine and a committee was formed.
Cllr. Evelyn Pilkington told the meeting that although there was a great deal of distress locally, they had a duty to the Russians as allies in the war. "We cannot pass on one side and say we cannot help at all", Cllr. Pilkington added. A Miss Walker, who had recently returned from Russia, gave what the Reporter described as "harrowing details of the depths of degradation to which many Russian families had been reduced in order to preserve life."
In February 1920 an unnamed man who was travelling to the Ypres district of France made a kind offer to the relatives of St Helens' soldiers who had died there during the war. He was offering to make enquiries about known graves, make a report on their condition and supply a photograph. All of this he would undertake free of charge. How many people took up the offer I cannot say – but I expect he was inundated with requests.
The grief of the wartime bereaved must have been compounded by the remains of their loved ones being, in most cases, interred on foreign soil. Few had the means to visit, although the St Helens YMCA organised trips to France and Belgium for the relatives of those that had died. The organisation even allowed family members to stay overnight in their hostels, gave them wreaths to take with them and escorted parties to loved ones' graves.
This week a lecture on the war grave cemeteries in France and Flanders was given in the YMCA Hall on the corner of North Road and Duke Street. The Reporter wrote that so many people had flocked to the event that the hall was filled to capacity and its vestibule had also been crowded. The lecturer had travelled over from Ypres where he was employed in arranging war grave visits for the YMCA.
The lecture was illustrated with "beautiful slides" showing the devastated area and some of the hundreds of cemeteries that had been constructed. The YMCA now said they would pay for some families who were short of cash to travel to France – what the Reporter called a "sad pilgrimage". Particulars of the arrangements were available on application from the secretary to the St Helens YMCA.
One of the cruel things that some men did to their wives and children when they were drunk or having a row was to turf them out into the street. On the 3rd, John Williams of Higher Parr Street (shown above) was charged in St Helens Police Court with committing a breach of the peace. A constable told the Bench that at 7:30pm on the previous evening, he had found Williams' wife crying in the street with a child in her arms.
Upon enquiring what the problem was, she replied that her husband had turned her out of the house and he was presently breaking up their furniture. The officer went to see Williams and found him in his backyard smashing up their possessions. "I will break the lot before the night is out", Williams told the constable. In court Williams denied turning his wife out, oddly claiming that he had sat on a boiler for an hour without speaking to anyone. He was bound over to keep the peace for six months.
These days police officers on surveillance duty tend to be gathering evidence of serious crimes, such as terrorism, bank robberies, drug dealing etc. A century ago, police stakeouts were more likely to be on the lookout for pitch and toss players, street bookies and poor women helping themselves to bits of coal.
It was the latter offence that led to Mary Byrom of Burtonwood Cottages in Burtonwood being in the dock in St Helens Police Court. PC Holland told the Bench how, along with Sergeant Bate, he had concealed himself under some coal wagons at the sidings of Havannah Colliery in Parr (nicknamed "The Vanny"). They lay in wait for 2½ hours before Mrs Byrom appeared on the scene with two other women. As the threesome began helping themselves to coal, the officers came out from their hiding place and attempted to arrest the three women.
However, Mrs Byrom was the only one that they were able to take into custody. After the magistrates had heard of her poor personal circumstances, which had driven Mrs Byrom to the theft, they decided to fine the woman just three shillings. It was explained at the hearing, that the wealthy owners of the coalmine, Richard Evans Ltd., had complained to the police about people taking pieces of coal and that had resulted in the stake out.
Uncle Ben in this week's Children's Reporter on the 3rd continued to write about the weather: "My Dear Nephews and Nieces, I am very sorry to hear that many of you are or have been poorly. I do hope you will soon be well again, though you will have to take great care to avoid catching a chill. It is very easy to do this when the weather is so troublesome. We shall all be glad, I'm sure, when the roads are dry and clear again, and we can go out without getting our feet wet, or our fingers nipped with the frost."
However, the situation in the Moss Nook area of Sutton was far worse. Severe flooding in the Watery Lane and Berry's Lane districts during periods of heavy rainfall had been a regular complaint for years. At Christmas some residents had eaten their dinner in their bedrooms as water poured under their front doors. It was announced this week that the council's Parliamentary Committee had decided to raise parts of Watery Lane and Berry's Lane that had been affected by subsidence.
Initially, they would ask colliery companies to undertake the work as their mining operations were blamed for drops in both roads and the consequent flooding. If they failed to do so, then the Corporation would undertake the work and invoice the mine owners. However, subsidence was only one of the causes of the longstanding problem and ameliorating that issue would not by itself stop the adjacent Sutton Brook from breaching its banks during bad weather.
Before the nationalisation of electricity and gas in the late 1940s, consumers obtained their supplies from St Helens Corporation. This meant that profits from those undertakings could subsidise the rates. However, the use of electricity in St Helens was primarily by industry with only 6% of British homes connected in 1920. The Corporation was expanding its undertaking and the price of electricity was becoming more affordable – but it was still out of reach of most people in the town.
This week those who were wired to the electricity network were given a stark warning. Pay up or we’ll cut you off! Under the headline "No Pay, No Light", the Reporter wrote: "The Borough Treasurer has been instructed that unless the monthly electricity accounts are paid before the seventh of the month following that in which they become due, the matter be reported to the Town Clerk with a view to the supplies being cut off." Note the reference to light in the headline – as that was the main domestic purpose of electricity with few using it for cooking or other purposes.
Next week's stories will include the midnight raid in Clock Face, how St Helens intended to mark a Royal wedding, the stifling smell of beer in the town's pubs and a brainless break-in at the British Legion Club in Parr Street.
We begin on the 31st in St Helens Town Hall with a three-day grand pageant that featured a remarkable 350 performers. Plays took place that represented scenes from India, China, Africa and the South Seas.
Also on the 1st the monthly Town Council meeting took place with much discussion about the state of the roads in St Helens – and in particular Sutton. Cllr. Hamblett demanded to know what the Highways Committee intended doing about the backlog of road repairs that had built-up during the war when men and materials were in short supply. He called the situation in which thousands of unemployed were being paid dole and other benefits when so much work needed doing on the town's roads, "a farce". But Hamblett was reminded that austerity measures had led to the council reducing the highways' budget by £17,000 for that year (nearly £1m in today's money). Also their steamroller had broken down and there had been a delay getting it repaired.
Cllr. Boscow detailed a list of Sutton streets that were in a "deplorable state". Some, he claimed, had worsened through the recent re-laying of the tram track up Robins Lane to the St Helens Junction terminus. Thatto Heath Road from Elephant Lane to the railway bridge was also said to be in a bad way. In response Ald. Bishop, on behalf of the Highways Committee, said they would soon be catching up on their work.
The Russian famine of 1921 - 1922 is estimated to have killed 5 million and on the 2nd a meeting of what were described as prominent townspeople was held in St Helens Town Hall. The purpose of the assembly was to discuss ways of raising funds to provide relief to alleviate "the horrors" of the famine and a committee was formed.
Cllr. Evelyn Pilkington told the meeting that although there was a great deal of distress locally, they had a duty to the Russians as allies in the war. "We cannot pass on one side and say we cannot help at all", Cllr. Pilkington added. A Miss Walker, who had recently returned from Russia, gave what the Reporter described as "harrowing details of the depths of degradation to which many Russian families had been reduced in order to preserve life."
In February 1920 an unnamed man who was travelling to the Ypres district of France made a kind offer to the relatives of St Helens' soldiers who had died there during the war. He was offering to make enquiries about known graves, make a report on their condition and supply a photograph. All of this he would undertake free of charge. How many people took up the offer I cannot say – but I expect he was inundated with requests.
The grief of the wartime bereaved must have been compounded by the remains of their loved ones being, in most cases, interred on foreign soil. Few had the means to visit, although the St Helens YMCA organised trips to France and Belgium for the relatives of those that had died. The organisation even allowed family members to stay overnight in their hostels, gave them wreaths to take with them and escorted parties to loved ones' graves.
This week a lecture on the war grave cemeteries in France and Flanders was given in the YMCA Hall on the corner of North Road and Duke Street. The Reporter wrote that so many people had flocked to the event that the hall was filled to capacity and its vestibule had also been crowded. The lecturer had travelled over from Ypres where he was employed in arranging war grave visits for the YMCA.
The lecture was illustrated with "beautiful slides" showing the devastated area and some of the hundreds of cemeteries that had been constructed. The YMCA now said they would pay for some families who were short of cash to travel to France – what the Reporter called a "sad pilgrimage". Particulars of the arrangements were available on application from the secretary to the St Helens YMCA.
Upon enquiring what the problem was, she replied that her husband had turned her out of the house and he was presently breaking up their furniture. The officer went to see Williams and found him in his backyard smashing up their possessions. "I will break the lot before the night is out", Williams told the constable. In court Williams denied turning his wife out, oddly claiming that he had sat on a boiler for an hour without speaking to anyone. He was bound over to keep the peace for six months.
These days police officers on surveillance duty tend to be gathering evidence of serious crimes, such as terrorism, bank robberies, drug dealing etc. A century ago, police stakeouts were more likely to be on the lookout for pitch and toss players, street bookies and poor women helping themselves to bits of coal.
It was the latter offence that led to Mary Byrom of Burtonwood Cottages in Burtonwood being in the dock in St Helens Police Court. PC Holland told the Bench how, along with Sergeant Bate, he had concealed himself under some coal wagons at the sidings of Havannah Colliery in Parr (nicknamed "The Vanny"). They lay in wait for 2½ hours before Mrs Byrom appeared on the scene with two other women. As the threesome began helping themselves to coal, the officers came out from their hiding place and attempted to arrest the three women.
However, Mrs Byrom was the only one that they were able to take into custody. After the magistrates had heard of her poor personal circumstances, which had driven Mrs Byrom to the theft, they decided to fine the woman just three shillings. It was explained at the hearing, that the wealthy owners of the coalmine, Richard Evans Ltd., had complained to the police about people taking pieces of coal and that had resulted in the stake out.
Uncle Ben in this week's Children's Reporter on the 3rd continued to write about the weather: "My Dear Nephews and Nieces, I am very sorry to hear that many of you are or have been poorly. I do hope you will soon be well again, though you will have to take great care to avoid catching a chill. It is very easy to do this when the weather is so troublesome. We shall all be glad, I'm sure, when the roads are dry and clear again, and we can go out without getting our feet wet, or our fingers nipped with the frost."
However, the situation in the Moss Nook area of Sutton was far worse. Severe flooding in the Watery Lane and Berry's Lane districts during periods of heavy rainfall had been a regular complaint for years. At Christmas some residents had eaten their dinner in their bedrooms as water poured under their front doors. It was announced this week that the council's Parliamentary Committee had decided to raise parts of Watery Lane and Berry's Lane that had been affected by subsidence.
Initially, they would ask colliery companies to undertake the work as their mining operations were blamed for drops in both roads and the consequent flooding. If they failed to do so, then the Corporation would undertake the work and invoice the mine owners. However, subsidence was only one of the causes of the longstanding problem and ameliorating that issue would not by itself stop the adjacent Sutton Brook from breaching its banks during bad weather.
Before the nationalisation of electricity and gas in the late 1940s, consumers obtained their supplies from St Helens Corporation. This meant that profits from those undertakings could subsidise the rates. However, the use of electricity in St Helens was primarily by industry with only 6% of British homes connected in 1920. The Corporation was expanding its undertaking and the price of electricity was becoming more affordable – but it was still out of reach of most people in the town.
This week those who were wired to the electricity network were given a stark warning. Pay up or we’ll cut you off! Under the headline "No Pay, No Light", the Reporter wrote: "The Borough Treasurer has been instructed that unless the monthly electricity accounts are paid before the seventh of the month following that in which they become due, the matter be reported to the Town Clerk with a view to the supplies being cut off." Note the reference to light in the headline – as that was the main domestic purpose of electricity with few using it for cooking or other purposes.
Next week's stories will include the midnight raid in Clock Face, how St Helens intended to mark a Royal wedding, the stifling smell of beer in the town's pubs and a brainless break-in at the British Legion Club in Parr Street.
This week's stories include the deplorable state of the streets of Sutton, the Higher Parr Street man who turned his wife and baby out into the street, the sad pilgrimage of St Helens' families to war heroes' graves, a boy's unusual excuse for stealing coal from Ashton's Green Colliery, plans to alleviate the Moss Nook flooding and St Helens Corporation threatens to cut off electricity supplies to tardy bill-payers.
We begin on the 31st in St Helens Town Hall with a three-day grand pageant that featured a remarkable 350 performers. Plays took place that represented scenes from India, China, Africa and the South Seas.
Stealing coal in St Helens – particularly with so many people out of work – was commonplace.
However, a boy had an unusual excuse for his theft from Ashtons Green Colliery in Parr (pictured above).
The lad told St Helens Police Court on February 1st that his mother had given him the money to buy some coal – but he had lost it.
Perhaps, his parents had told him to say that, as the police informed the Bench that the unnamed family were in "poor circumstances".
However, the Bench were not in sympathetic mood – saying the 15 shillings cost of the coal and court costs had to be repaid and the boy placed on probation for two years. Fifty years earlier he would likely have been imprisoned.
Also on the 1st the monthly Town Council meeting took place with much discussion about the state of the roads in St Helens – and in particular Sutton.
Cllr. Hamblett demanded to know what the Highways Committee intended doing about the backlog of road repairs that had built-up during the war when men and materials were in short supply.
He called the situation in which thousands of unemployed were being paid dole and other benefits when so much work needed doing on the town's roads, "a farce".
But Hamblett was reminded that austerity measures had led to the council reducing the highways' budget by £17,000 for that year (nearly £1m in today's money).
Also their steamroller had broken down and there had been a delay getting it repaired.
Cllr. Boscow detailed a list of Sutton streets that were in a "deplorable state". Some, he claimed, had worsened through the recent re-laying of the tram track up Robins Lane to the St Helens Junction terminus.
Thatto Heath Road from Elephant Lane to the railway bridge was also said to be in a bad way.
In response Ald. Bishop, on behalf of the Highways Committee, said they would soon be catching up on their work.
The Russian famine of 1921 - 1922 is estimated to have killed 5 million and on the 2nd a meeting of what were described as prominent townspeople was held in St Helens Town Hall.
The purpose of the assembly was to discuss ways of raising funds to provide relief to alleviate "the horrors" of the famine and a committee was formed.
Cllr. Evelyn Pilkington told the meeting that although there was a great deal of distress locally, they had a duty to the Russians as allies in the war.
"We cannot pass on one side and say we cannot help at all", Cllr. Pilkington added.
A Miss Walker, who had recently returned from Russia, gave what the Reporter described as "harrowing details of the depths of degradation to which many Russian families had been reduced in order to preserve life."
In February 1920 an unnamed man who was travelling to the Ypres district of France made a kind offer to the relatives of St Helens' soldiers who had died there during the war.
He was offering to make enquiries about known graves, make a report on their condition and supply a photograph. All of this he would undertake free of charge.
How many people took up the offer I cannot say – but I expect he was inundated with requests.
The grief of the wartime bereaved must have been compounded by the remains of their loved ones being, in most cases, interred on foreign soil.
Few had the means to visit, although the St Helens YMCA organised trips to France and Belgium for the relatives of those that had died.
The organisation even allowed family members to stay overnight in their hostels, gave them wreaths to take with them and escorted parties to loved ones' graves.
This week a lecture on the war grave cemeteries in France and Flanders was given in the YMCA Hall on the corner of North Road and Duke Street.
The Reporter wrote that so many people had flocked to the event that the hall was filled to capacity and its vestibule had also been crowded.
The lecturer had travelled over from Ypres where he was employed in arranging war grave visits for the YMCA.
The lecture was illustrated with "beautiful slides" showing the devastated area and some of the hundreds of cemeteries that had been constructed.
The YMCA now said they would pay for some families who were short of cash to travel to France – what the Reporter called a "sad pilgrimage".
Particulars of the arrangements were available on application from the secretary to the St Helens YMCA.
One of the cruel things that some men did to their wives and children when they were drunk or having a row was to turf them out into the street.
On the 3rd, John Williams of Higher Parr Street (shown above) was charged in St Helens Police Court with committing a breach of the peace.
A constable told the Bench that at 7:30pm on the previous evening, he had found Williams' wife crying in the street with a child in her arms.
Upon enquiring what the problem was, she replied that her husband had turned her out of the house and he was presently breaking up their furniture.
The officer went to see Williams and found him in his backyard smashing up their possessions. "I will break the lot before the night is out", Williams told the constable.
In court Williams denied turning his wife out, oddly claiming that he had sat on a boiler for an hour without speaking to anyone. He was bound over to keep the peace for six months.
These days police officers on surveillance duty tend to be gathering evidence of serious crimes, such as terrorism, bank robberies, drug dealing etc.
A century ago, police stakeouts were more likely to be on the lookout for pitch and toss players, street bookies and poor women helping themselves to bits of coal.
It was the latter offence that led to Mary Byrom of Burtonwood Cottages in Burtonwood being in the dock in St Helens Police Court.
PC Holland told the Bench how, along with Sergeant Bate, he had concealed himself under some coal wagons at the sidings of Havannah Colliery in Parr (nicknamed "The Vanny").
They lay in wait for 2½ hours before Mrs Byrom appeared on the scene with two other women.
As the threesome began helping themselves to coal, the officers came out from their hiding place and attempted to arrest the three women. However, Mrs Byrom was the only one that they were able to take into custody.
After the magistrates had heard of her poor personal circumstances, which had driven Mrs Byrom to the theft, they decided to fine the woman just three shillings.
It was explained at the hearing, that the wealthy owners of the coalmine, Richard Evans Ltd., had complained to the police about people taking pieces of coal and that had resulted in the stake out.
Uncle Ben in this week's Children's Reporter on the 3rd continued to write about the weather:
"My Dear Nephews and Nieces, I am very sorry to hear that many of you are or have been poorly. I do hope you will soon be well again, though you will have to take great care to avoid catching a chill.
"It is very easy to do this when the weather is so troublesome. We shall all be glad, I'm sure, when the roads are dry and clear again, and we can go out without getting our feet wet, or our fingers nipped with the frost."
However, the situation in the Moss Nook area of Sutton was far worse. Severe flooding in the Watery Lane and Berry's Lane districts during periods of heavy rainfall had been a regular complaint for years.
At Christmas some residents had eaten their dinner in their bedrooms as water poured under their front doors.
It was announced this week that the council's Parliamentary Committee had decided to raise parts of Watery Lane and Berry's Lane that had been affected by subsidence.
Initially, they would ask colliery companies to undertake the work as their mining operations were blamed for drops in both roads and the consequent flooding.
If they failed to do so, then the Corporation would undertake the work and invoice the mine owners.
However, subsidence was only one of the causes of the longstanding problem and ameliorating that issue would not by itself stop the adjacent Sutton Brook from breaching its banks during bad weather.
Before the nationalisation of electricity and gas in the late 1940s, consumers obtained their supplies from St Helens Corporation. This meant that profits from those undertakings could subsidise the rates.
However, the use of electricity in St Helens was primarily by industry with only 6% of British homes connected in 1920.
The Corporation was expanding its undertaking and the price of electricity was becoming more affordable – but it was still out of reach of most people in the town.
This week those who were wired to the electricity network were given a stark warning. Pay up or we’ll cut you off! Under the headline "No Pay, No Light", the Reporter wrote:
"The Borough Treasurer has been instructed that unless the monthly electricity accounts are paid before the seventh of the month following that in which they become due, the matter be reported to the Town Clerk with a view to the supplies being cut off."
Note the reference to light in the headline – as that was the main domestic purpose of electricity with few using it for cooking or other purposes.
Next week's stories will include the midnight raid in Clock Face, how St Helens intended to mark a Royal wedding, the stifling smell of beer in the town's pubs and a brainless break-in at the British Legion Club in Parr Street.
We begin on the 31st in St Helens Town Hall with a three-day grand pageant that featured a remarkable 350 performers. Plays took place that represented scenes from India, China, Africa and the South Seas.
Stealing coal in St Helens – particularly with so many people out of work – was commonplace.
The lad told St Helens Police Court on February 1st that his mother had given him the money to buy some coal – but he had lost it.
Perhaps, his parents had told him to say that, as the police informed the Bench that the unnamed family were in "poor circumstances".
However, the Bench were not in sympathetic mood – saying the 15 shillings cost of the coal and court costs had to be repaid and the boy placed on probation for two years. Fifty years earlier he would likely have been imprisoned.
Also on the 1st the monthly Town Council meeting took place with much discussion about the state of the roads in St Helens – and in particular Sutton.
Cllr. Hamblett demanded to know what the Highways Committee intended doing about the backlog of road repairs that had built-up during the war when men and materials were in short supply.
He called the situation in which thousands of unemployed were being paid dole and other benefits when so much work needed doing on the town's roads, "a farce".
But Hamblett was reminded that austerity measures had led to the council reducing the highways' budget by £17,000 for that year (nearly £1m in today's money).
Also their steamroller had broken down and there had been a delay getting it repaired.
Cllr. Boscow detailed a list of Sutton streets that were in a "deplorable state". Some, he claimed, had worsened through the recent re-laying of the tram track up Robins Lane to the St Helens Junction terminus.
Thatto Heath Road from Elephant Lane to the railway bridge was also said to be in a bad way.
In response Ald. Bishop, on behalf of the Highways Committee, said they would soon be catching up on their work.
The Russian famine of 1921 - 1922 is estimated to have killed 5 million and on the 2nd a meeting of what were described as prominent townspeople was held in St Helens Town Hall.
The purpose of the assembly was to discuss ways of raising funds to provide relief to alleviate "the horrors" of the famine and a committee was formed.
Cllr. Evelyn Pilkington told the meeting that although there was a great deal of distress locally, they had a duty to the Russians as allies in the war.
"We cannot pass on one side and say we cannot help at all", Cllr. Pilkington added.
A Miss Walker, who had recently returned from Russia, gave what the Reporter described as "harrowing details of the depths of degradation to which many Russian families had been reduced in order to preserve life."
In February 1920 an unnamed man who was travelling to the Ypres district of France made a kind offer to the relatives of St Helens' soldiers who had died there during the war.
He was offering to make enquiries about known graves, make a report on their condition and supply a photograph. All of this he would undertake free of charge.
How many people took up the offer I cannot say – but I expect he was inundated with requests.
The grief of the wartime bereaved must have been compounded by the remains of their loved ones being, in most cases, interred on foreign soil.
Few had the means to visit, although the St Helens YMCA organised trips to France and Belgium for the relatives of those that had died.
The organisation even allowed family members to stay overnight in their hostels, gave them wreaths to take with them and escorted parties to loved ones' graves.
This week a lecture on the war grave cemeteries in France and Flanders was given in the YMCA Hall on the corner of North Road and Duke Street.
The Reporter wrote that so many people had flocked to the event that the hall was filled to capacity and its vestibule had also been crowded.
The lecturer had travelled over from Ypres where he was employed in arranging war grave visits for the YMCA.
The lecture was illustrated with "beautiful slides" showing the devastated area and some of the hundreds of cemeteries that had been constructed.
The YMCA now said they would pay for some families who were short of cash to travel to France – what the Reporter called a "sad pilgrimage".
Particulars of the arrangements were available on application from the secretary to the St Helens YMCA.
On the 3rd, John Williams of Higher Parr Street (shown above) was charged in St Helens Police Court with committing a breach of the peace.
A constable told the Bench that at 7:30pm on the previous evening, he had found Williams' wife crying in the street with a child in her arms.
Upon enquiring what the problem was, she replied that her husband had turned her out of the house and he was presently breaking up their furniture.
The officer went to see Williams and found him in his backyard smashing up their possessions. "I will break the lot before the night is out", Williams told the constable.
In court Williams denied turning his wife out, oddly claiming that he had sat on a boiler for an hour without speaking to anyone. He was bound over to keep the peace for six months.
These days police officers on surveillance duty tend to be gathering evidence of serious crimes, such as terrorism, bank robberies, drug dealing etc.
A century ago, police stakeouts were more likely to be on the lookout for pitch and toss players, street bookies and poor women helping themselves to bits of coal.
It was the latter offence that led to Mary Byrom of Burtonwood Cottages in Burtonwood being in the dock in St Helens Police Court.
PC Holland told the Bench how, along with Sergeant Bate, he had concealed himself under some coal wagons at the sidings of Havannah Colliery in Parr (nicknamed "The Vanny").
They lay in wait for 2½ hours before Mrs Byrom appeared on the scene with two other women.
As the threesome began helping themselves to coal, the officers came out from their hiding place and attempted to arrest the three women. However, Mrs Byrom was the only one that they were able to take into custody.
After the magistrates had heard of her poor personal circumstances, which had driven Mrs Byrom to the theft, they decided to fine the woman just three shillings.
It was explained at the hearing, that the wealthy owners of the coalmine, Richard Evans Ltd., had complained to the police about people taking pieces of coal and that had resulted in the stake out.
Uncle Ben in this week's Children's Reporter on the 3rd continued to write about the weather:
"My Dear Nephews and Nieces, I am very sorry to hear that many of you are or have been poorly. I do hope you will soon be well again, though you will have to take great care to avoid catching a chill.
"It is very easy to do this when the weather is so troublesome. We shall all be glad, I'm sure, when the roads are dry and clear again, and we can go out without getting our feet wet, or our fingers nipped with the frost."
However, the situation in the Moss Nook area of Sutton was far worse. Severe flooding in the Watery Lane and Berry's Lane districts during periods of heavy rainfall had been a regular complaint for years.
At Christmas some residents had eaten their dinner in their bedrooms as water poured under their front doors.
It was announced this week that the council's Parliamentary Committee had decided to raise parts of Watery Lane and Berry's Lane that had been affected by subsidence.
Initially, they would ask colliery companies to undertake the work as their mining operations were blamed for drops in both roads and the consequent flooding.
If they failed to do so, then the Corporation would undertake the work and invoice the mine owners.
However, subsidence was only one of the causes of the longstanding problem and ameliorating that issue would not by itself stop the adjacent Sutton Brook from breaching its banks during bad weather.
Before the nationalisation of electricity and gas in the late 1940s, consumers obtained their supplies from St Helens Corporation. This meant that profits from those undertakings could subsidise the rates.
However, the use of electricity in St Helens was primarily by industry with only 6% of British homes connected in 1920.
The Corporation was expanding its undertaking and the price of electricity was becoming more affordable – but it was still out of reach of most people in the town.
This week those who were wired to the electricity network were given a stark warning. Pay up or we’ll cut you off! Under the headline "No Pay, No Light", the Reporter wrote:
"The Borough Treasurer has been instructed that unless the monthly electricity accounts are paid before the seventh of the month following that in which they become due, the matter be reported to the Town Clerk with a view to the supplies being cut off."
Note the reference to light in the headline – as that was the main domestic purpose of electricity with few using it for cooking or other purposes.
Next week's stories will include the midnight raid in Clock Face, how St Helens intended to mark a Royal wedding, the stifling smell of beer in the town's pubs and a brainless break-in at the British Legion Club in Parr Street.