FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (2 - 8 OCTOBER 1973)
This week's many stories include criticism of St Helens magistrates for showing leniency towards child sex offenders, St Helens pubs' campaign to close on Christmas night, the Look At Libraries Week, the curious use of radio mics at the Theatre Royal, the drop in the town's population and good news for the battling tenants on the new Four Acre Lane council estate.
We begin on the 4th when St Helens Council's Public Health Department disclosed that an average of just over one house a day had been demolished in the town over the past year. A total of 376 unfit homes had been turned into rubble since October 1972, although there were scores of vacant derelict houses that had yet to be demolished. Often that was because there were other tenants of condemned terraced houses that were waiting to be rehoused and the council needed all of them to be empty before starting demolition.
It used to be expected that St Helens pubs would open during the evening of Christmas Day. However, the Reporter on the 5th described how a campaign was growing for landlords to be allowed to close their doors on Christmas night, with one estimate that almost half of licensees wished to do so. Gordon Weston, the secretary of the St Helens branch of the National Association of Licensed House Managers and the manager of the Sefton Arms (pictured above) said they would definitely be seeking approval from the brewery to close.
Radio microphones were new and rather cumbersome. In an article in the Reporter, the Theatre Royal's stage manager, Slim Ingram, explained how for this week's Pilkington Musical Society production of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’, he had the task of wiring the performers up:
"Just as the girls are about to go on, I open the back of their dresses and push the microphone through their bras and just let the small transmitter into their knickers. Only the principals wear them and they help with the sound. I suppose it's a bit unusual but I don't get embarrassed. I was manager of the Arthur Fox Revue bar in Manchester – the first strip theatre in the North – so a girl in bra and pants is like [a] chap in an overcoat to me."
The Reporter also described how "mike girl" Angela Aspinall had the job of slipping the radio transmitter down the trousers of actor John Draper who played Tevye. Said Angela: "I don't mind doing it – in fact it's fun!"
The paper also reported how the results from the 1971 census had revealed a drop in the town's population. The county borough of St Helens had declined by 4,333 persons in the ten years since 1961, with more people moving out than moving in. However, Sutton with its new housing estates had seen a population increase of 42% in its ward of West Sutton and an 11% rise in East Sutton. Not long ago the vast majority of St Helens people rented their homes. However, the gap was narrowing, with the census revealing that of the 34,225 households in the town, 43% were now home owners.
A letter from someone adopting the pseudonym "Child Voluntary Worker" criticised St Helens' courts for the lenient sentences that they imposed on men convicted of sexually assaulting children – usually probation or a small fine:
"Our magistrates are either childless or heartless, which accounts for children's voluntary workers dropping out, one by one. They are being discouraged by the magistrates' leniency to the fiends of indecent assaults on children. What kind of world are they expected to build up for themselves when their young minds are injured so freely? Today's children are the foundation of tomorrow's world, and should be shown the importance of this by being treated with more respect."
Last week the Reporter's lead story was how families of Ugandan Asians were pulling out of St Helens as a result of what the paper described as their "cold-shoulder treatment". One family even claimed that bricks had been thrown through their windows after moving into their new home. That led to this letter being published in this week’s edition of the paper by someone called L. S.:
"As a regular reader of the St. Helens Reporter, I would like to comment on the treatment of the Ugandan Asians by some specimens of humanity who have the audacity to call themselves British. Are they working or are they on the dole? Whichever it is, when they are trying to deprive them of coming here to work for their living, they are also trying to deprive them of their right to live.
"Maybe some of them that threw bricks through their windows are already sponging on the dole, and even if they are not, they are not the rulers of the country. Ours has always been known as a free country, and as long as they are allowed to work and are willing to take any kind of work, they should not be interfered with."
The Reporter also described how the "battling tenants" on the new Four Acre Lane estate had won the first round in their fight for a community centre. The houses on the estate had been built without any youth or community facilities and as a consequence had been plagued by vandalism and complaints by residents of feeling isolated. Although campaigners sought a dedicated building for community activities, as a stopgap they had asked permission to use the new Four Acre Lane library during the evening.
This week the council's Libraries Committee agreed to allow the exhibition area of the new library to be used for meetings by various groups, although the building itself would not be finished until next March. The Rev. Les Thomas, curate of St Michael's Church in Gartons Lane, was the Chairman of the Four Acre Lane Community Council and he said he was delighted by the approval but felt the activities that could be held there would be limited, especially for the young: "What we really need is a building where we can have freedom of action. The old library in Gartons Lane is the perfect place, but we have received no response on that front."
At 11pm on the 5th what was described as a "special preview presentation" of the new James Bond film 'Live And Let Die' took place at the Capitol Cinema. Cinemagoers were invited to book in advance to see the Roger Moore film. Two days later 'Live And Let Die' was shown for a week at the ABC Savoy, with the Capitol showing an X-rated film called 'Blue Sextet', that was described in their adverts as "Sex plus sex plus sex".
Every year the 120 railway stations in the Liverpool division of British Rail received inspections. On the 6th it was reported that Rainhill, Newton-le-Willows and Eccleston Park stations had all been specially commended for their appearances.
George Roper of 'The Comedians' TV fame opened Vallerina's new store in the Church Street shopping centre on the 6th. The shop sold foundation wear, tights and knitwear.
And finally, from the 8th a weeklong campaign began in St Helens to persuade more people to take out library books. 'Look At Libraries Week' included a number of special events and an amnesty on fines, allowing overdue books to be returned with no questions asked.
The attractions included exhibitions on local history, the art of bookbinding and the work of the library service. There were also three evenings of music, poetry and discussion. St Helens Chief Librarian, Geoff Senior, commented: "We want to show what we can offer and to persuade more people to take advantage of the library service."
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the claims of reigns of terror and destruction in Parr, complaints over noisy speedboats on Carr Mill Dam, the laying of the foundation stone for the new Parr Baths and the football managers' course held in St Helens.
We begin on the 4th when St Helens Council's Public Health Department disclosed that an average of just over one house a day had been demolished in the town over the past year. A total of 376 unfit homes had been turned into rubble since October 1972, although there were scores of vacant derelict houses that had yet to be demolished. Often that was because there were other tenants of condemned terraced houses that were waiting to be rehoused and the council needed all of them to be empty before starting demolition.
Radio microphones were new and rather cumbersome. In an article in the Reporter, the Theatre Royal's stage manager, Slim Ingram, explained how for this week's Pilkington Musical Society production of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’, he had the task of wiring the performers up:
"Just as the girls are about to go on, I open the back of their dresses and push the microphone through their bras and just let the small transmitter into their knickers. Only the principals wear them and they help with the sound. I suppose it's a bit unusual but I don't get embarrassed. I was manager of the Arthur Fox Revue bar in Manchester – the first strip theatre in the North – so a girl in bra and pants is like [a] chap in an overcoat to me."
The Reporter also described how "mike girl" Angela Aspinall had the job of slipping the radio transmitter down the trousers of actor John Draper who played Tevye. Said Angela: "I don't mind doing it – in fact it's fun!"
The paper also reported how the results from the 1971 census had revealed a drop in the town's population. The county borough of St Helens had declined by 4,333 persons in the ten years since 1961, with more people moving out than moving in. However, Sutton with its new housing estates had seen a population increase of 42% in its ward of West Sutton and an 11% rise in East Sutton. Not long ago the vast majority of St Helens people rented their homes. However, the gap was narrowing, with the census revealing that of the 34,225 households in the town, 43% were now home owners.
A letter from someone adopting the pseudonym "Child Voluntary Worker" criticised St Helens' courts for the lenient sentences that they imposed on men convicted of sexually assaulting children – usually probation or a small fine:
"Our magistrates are either childless or heartless, which accounts for children's voluntary workers dropping out, one by one. They are being discouraged by the magistrates' leniency to the fiends of indecent assaults on children. What kind of world are they expected to build up for themselves when their young minds are injured so freely? Today's children are the foundation of tomorrow's world, and should be shown the importance of this by being treated with more respect."
Last week the Reporter's lead story was how families of Ugandan Asians were pulling out of St Helens as a result of what the paper described as their "cold-shoulder treatment". One family even claimed that bricks had been thrown through their windows after moving into their new home. That led to this letter being published in this week’s edition of the paper by someone called L. S.:
"As a regular reader of the St. Helens Reporter, I would like to comment on the treatment of the Ugandan Asians by some specimens of humanity who have the audacity to call themselves British. Are they working or are they on the dole? Whichever it is, when they are trying to deprive them of coming here to work for their living, they are also trying to deprive them of their right to live.
"Maybe some of them that threw bricks through their windows are already sponging on the dole, and even if they are not, they are not the rulers of the country. Ours has always been known as a free country, and as long as they are allowed to work and are willing to take any kind of work, they should not be interfered with."
The Reporter also described how the "battling tenants" on the new Four Acre Lane estate had won the first round in their fight for a community centre. The houses on the estate had been built without any youth or community facilities and as a consequence had been plagued by vandalism and complaints by residents of feeling isolated. Although campaigners sought a dedicated building for community activities, as a stopgap they had asked permission to use the new Four Acre Lane library during the evening.
This week the council's Libraries Committee agreed to allow the exhibition area of the new library to be used for meetings by various groups, although the building itself would not be finished until next March. The Rev. Les Thomas, curate of St Michael's Church in Gartons Lane, was the Chairman of the Four Acre Lane Community Council and he said he was delighted by the approval but felt the activities that could be held there would be limited, especially for the young: "What we really need is a building where we can have freedom of action. The old library in Gartons Lane is the perfect place, but we have received no response on that front."
At 11pm on the 5th what was described as a "special preview presentation" of the new James Bond film 'Live And Let Die' took place at the Capitol Cinema. Cinemagoers were invited to book in advance to see the Roger Moore film. Two days later 'Live And Let Die' was shown for a week at the ABC Savoy, with the Capitol showing an X-rated film called 'Blue Sextet', that was described in their adverts as "Sex plus sex plus sex".
Every year the 120 railway stations in the Liverpool division of British Rail received inspections. On the 6th it was reported that Rainhill, Newton-le-Willows and Eccleston Park stations had all been specially commended for their appearances.
George Roper of 'The Comedians' TV fame opened Vallerina's new store in the Church Street shopping centre on the 6th. The shop sold foundation wear, tights and knitwear.
And finally, from the 8th a weeklong campaign began in St Helens to persuade more people to take out library books. 'Look At Libraries Week' included a number of special events and an amnesty on fines, allowing overdue books to be returned with no questions asked.
The attractions included exhibitions on local history, the art of bookbinding and the work of the library service. There were also three evenings of music, poetry and discussion. St Helens Chief Librarian, Geoff Senior, commented: "We want to show what we can offer and to persuade more people to take advantage of the library service."
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the claims of reigns of terror and destruction in Parr, complaints over noisy speedboats on Carr Mill Dam, the laying of the foundation stone for the new Parr Baths and the football managers' course held in St Helens.
This week's many stories include criticism of St Helens magistrates for showing leniency towards child sex offenders, St Helens pubs' campaign to close on Christmas night, the Look At Libraries Week, the curious use of radio mics at the Theatre Royal, the drop in the town's population and good news for the battling tenants on the new Four Acre Lane council estate.
We begin on the 4th when St Helens Council's Public Health Department disclosed that an average of just over one house a day had been demolished in the town over the past year.
A total of 376 unfit homes had been turned into rubble since October 1972, although there were scores of vacant derelict houses that had yet to be demolished.
Often that was because there were other tenants of condemned terraced houses that were waiting to be rehoused and the council needed all of them to be empty before starting demolition.
It used to be expected that St Helens pubs would open during the evening of Christmas Day.
However, the Reporter on the 5th described how a campaign was growing for landlords to be allowed to close their doors on Christmas night, with one estimate that almost half of licensees wished to do so.
Gordon Weston, the secretary of the St Helens branch of the National Association of Licensed House Managers and the manager of the Sefton Arms (pictured above) said they would definitely be seeking approval from the brewery to close.
Radio microphones were new and rather cumbersome. In an article in the Reporter, the Theatre Royal's stage manager, Slim Ingram, explained how for this week's Pilkington Musical Society production of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’, he had the task of wiring the performers up:
"Just as the girls are about to go on, I open the back of their dresses and push the microphone through their bras and just let the small transmitter into their knickers. Only the principals wear them and they help with the sound.
"I suppose it's a bit unusual but I don't get embarrassed. I was manager of the Arthur Fox Revue bar in Manchester – the first strip theatre in the North – so a girl in bra and pants is like [a] chap in an overcoat to me."
The Reporter also described how "mike girl" Angela Aspinall had the job of slipping the radio transmitter down the trousers of actor John Draper who played Tevye. Said Angela: "I don't mind doing it – in fact it's fun!"
The paper also reported how the results from the 1971 census had revealed a drop in the town's population.
The county borough of St Helens had declined by 4,333 persons in the ten years since 1961, with more people moving out than moving in.
However, Sutton with its new housing estates had seen a population increase of 42% in its ward of West Sutton and an 11% rise in East Sutton.
Not long ago the vast majority of St Helens people rented their homes. However, the gap was narrowing, with the census revealing that of the 34,225 households in the town, 43% were now home owners.
A letter from someone adopting the pseudonym "Child Voluntary Worker" criticised St Helens' courts for the lenient sentences that they imposed on men convicted of sexually assaulting children – usually probation or a small fine:
"Our magistrates are either childless or heartless, which accounts for children's voluntary workers dropping out, one by one. They are being discouraged by the magistrates' leniency to the fiends of indecent assaults on children.
"What kind of world are they expected to build up for themselves when their young minds are injured so freely?
"Today's children are the foundation of tomorrow's world, and should be shown the importance of this by being treated with more respect."
Last week the Reporter's lead story was how families of Ugandan Asians were pulling out of St Helens as a result of what the paper described as their "cold-shoulder treatment".
One family even claimed that bricks had been thrown through their windows after moving into their new home. That led to this letter being published in this week’s edition of the paper by someone called L. S.:
"As a regular reader of the St. Helens Reporter, I would like to comment on the treatment of the Ugandan Asians by some specimens of humanity who have the audacity to call themselves British. Are they working or are they on the dole?
"Whichever it is, when they are trying to deprive them of coming here to work for their living, they are also trying to deprive them of their right to live.
"Maybe some of them that threw bricks through their windows are already sponging on the dole, and even if they are not, they are not the rulers of the country.
"Ours has always been known as a free country, and as long as they are allowed to work and are willing to take any kind of work, they should not be interfered with."
The Reporter also described how the "battling tenants" on the new Four Acre Lane estate had won the first round in their fight for a community centre.
The houses on the estate had been built without any youth or community facilities and as a consequence had been plagued by vandalism and complaints by residents of feeling isolated.
Although campaigners sought a dedicated building for community activities, as a stopgap they had asked permission to use the new Four Acre Lane library during the evening.
This week the council's Libraries Committee agreed to allow the exhibition area of the new library to be used for meetings by various groups, although the building itself would not be finished until next March.
The Rev. Les Thomas, curate of St Michael's Church in Gartons Lane, was the Chairman of the Four Acre Lane Community Council and he said he was delighted by the approval but felt the activities that could be held there would be limited, especially for the young:
"What we really need is a building where we can have freedom of action. The old library in Gartons Lane is the perfect place, but we have received no response on that front."
At 11pm on the 5th what was described as a "special preview presentation" of the new James Bond film 'Live And Let Die' took place at the Capitol Cinema. Cinemagoers were invited to book in advance to see the Roger Moore film.
Two days later 'Live And Let Die' was shown for a week at the ABC Savoy, with the Capitol showing an X-rated film called 'Blue Sextet', that was described in their adverts as "Sex plus sex plus sex".
Every year the 120 railway stations in the Liverpool division of British Rail received inspections.
On the 6th it was reported that Rainhill, Newton-le-Willows and Eccleston Park stations had all been specially commended for their appearances.
George Roper of 'The Comedians' TV fame opened Vallerina's new store in the Church Street shopping centre on the 6th. The shop sold foundation wear, tights and knitwear.
And finally, from the 8th a weeklong campaign began in St Helens to persuade more people to take out library books.
'Look At Libraries Week' included a number of special events and an amnesty on fines, allowing overdue books to be returned with no questions asked.
The attractions included exhibitions on local history, the art of bookbinding and the work of the library service. There were also three evenings of music, poetry and discussion.
St Helens Chief Librarian, Geoff Senior, commented: "We want to show what we can offer and to persuade more people to take advantage of the library service."
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the claims of reigns of terror and destruction in Parr, complaints over noisy speedboats on Carr Mill Dam, the laying of the foundation stone for the new Parr Baths and the football managers' course held in St Helens.
We begin on the 4th when St Helens Council's Public Health Department disclosed that an average of just over one house a day had been demolished in the town over the past year.
A total of 376 unfit homes had been turned into rubble since October 1972, although there were scores of vacant derelict houses that had yet to be demolished.
Often that was because there were other tenants of condemned terraced houses that were waiting to be rehoused and the council needed all of them to be empty before starting demolition.
It used to be expected that St Helens pubs would open during the evening of Christmas Day.
However, the Reporter on the 5th described how a campaign was growing for landlords to be allowed to close their doors on Christmas night, with one estimate that almost half of licensees wished to do so.
Radio microphones were new and rather cumbersome. In an article in the Reporter, the Theatre Royal's stage manager, Slim Ingram, explained how for this week's Pilkington Musical Society production of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’, he had the task of wiring the performers up:
"Just as the girls are about to go on, I open the back of their dresses and push the microphone through their bras and just let the small transmitter into their knickers. Only the principals wear them and they help with the sound.
"I suppose it's a bit unusual but I don't get embarrassed. I was manager of the Arthur Fox Revue bar in Manchester – the first strip theatre in the North – so a girl in bra and pants is like [a] chap in an overcoat to me."
The Reporter also described how "mike girl" Angela Aspinall had the job of slipping the radio transmitter down the trousers of actor John Draper who played Tevye. Said Angela: "I don't mind doing it – in fact it's fun!"
The paper also reported how the results from the 1971 census had revealed a drop in the town's population.
The county borough of St Helens had declined by 4,333 persons in the ten years since 1961, with more people moving out than moving in.
However, Sutton with its new housing estates had seen a population increase of 42% in its ward of West Sutton and an 11% rise in East Sutton.
Not long ago the vast majority of St Helens people rented their homes. However, the gap was narrowing, with the census revealing that of the 34,225 households in the town, 43% were now home owners.
A letter from someone adopting the pseudonym "Child Voluntary Worker" criticised St Helens' courts for the lenient sentences that they imposed on men convicted of sexually assaulting children – usually probation or a small fine:
"Our magistrates are either childless or heartless, which accounts for children's voluntary workers dropping out, one by one. They are being discouraged by the magistrates' leniency to the fiends of indecent assaults on children.
"What kind of world are they expected to build up for themselves when their young minds are injured so freely?
"Today's children are the foundation of tomorrow's world, and should be shown the importance of this by being treated with more respect."
Last week the Reporter's lead story was how families of Ugandan Asians were pulling out of St Helens as a result of what the paper described as their "cold-shoulder treatment".
One family even claimed that bricks had been thrown through their windows after moving into their new home. That led to this letter being published in this week’s edition of the paper by someone called L. S.:
"As a regular reader of the St. Helens Reporter, I would like to comment on the treatment of the Ugandan Asians by some specimens of humanity who have the audacity to call themselves British. Are they working or are they on the dole?
"Whichever it is, when they are trying to deprive them of coming here to work for their living, they are also trying to deprive them of their right to live.
"Maybe some of them that threw bricks through their windows are already sponging on the dole, and even if they are not, they are not the rulers of the country.
"Ours has always been known as a free country, and as long as they are allowed to work and are willing to take any kind of work, they should not be interfered with."
The Reporter also described how the "battling tenants" on the new Four Acre Lane estate had won the first round in their fight for a community centre.
The houses on the estate had been built without any youth or community facilities and as a consequence had been plagued by vandalism and complaints by residents of feeling isolated.
Although campaigners sought a dedicated building for community activities, as a stopgap they had asked permission to use the new Four Acre Lane library during the evening.
This week the council's Libraries Committee agreed to allow the exhibition area of the new library to be used for meetings by various groups, although the building itself would not be finished until next March.
The Rev. Les Thomas, curate of St Michael's Church in Gartons Lane, was the Chairman of the Four Acre Lane Community Council and he said he was delighted by the approval but felt the activities that could be held there would be limited, especially for the young:
"What we really need is a building where we can have freedom of action. The old library in Gartons Lane is the perfect place, but we have received no response on that front."
At 11pm on the 5th what was described as a "special preview presentation" of the new James Bond film 'Live And Let Die' took place at the Capitol Cinema. Cinemagoers were invited to book in advance to see the Roger Moore film.
Two days later 'Live And Let Die' was shown for a week at the ABC Savoy, with the Capitol showing an X-rated film called 'Blue Sextet', that was described in their adverts as "Sex plus sex plus sex".
Every year the 120 railway stations in the Liverpool division of British Rail received inspections.
On the 6th it was reported that Rainhill, Newton-le-Willows and Eccleston Park stations had all been specially commended for their appearances.
George Roper of 'The Comedians' TV fame opened Vallerina's new store in the Church Street shopping centre on the 6th. The shop sold foundation wear, tights and knitwear.
And finally, from the 8th a weeklong campaign began in St Helens to persuade more people to take out library books.
'Look At Libraries Week' included a number of special events and an amnesty on fines, allowing overdue books to be returned with no questions asked.
The attractions included exhibitions on local history, the art of bookbinding and the work of the library service. There were also three evenings of music, poetry and discussion.
St Helens Chief Librarian, Geoff Senior, commented: "We want to show what we can offer and to persuade more people to take advantage of the library service."
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the claims of reigns of terror and destruction in Parr, complaints over noisy speedboats on Carr Mill Dam, the laying of the foundation stone for the new Parr Baths and the football managers' course held in St Helens.