FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 13 - 19 APRIL 1976
This week's many stories include the storm of protest over proposals to close St Helens Hospital's A&E at night, the sacking of the bar staff at Windle Labour Club, the Sutton choirboys that planned to sit in bins for three hours, the planned closure of Haydock Cottage Hospital and Haresfinch parents form an action group demanding road safety measures near schools.
We begin on the 13th with a Liverpool Echo report that said three of the twelve private beds in St Helens and Whiston hospitals would be phased out by the end of the year. It was part of the Labour government's plan to greatly reduce the number of so-called pay beds in NHS hospitals. Liverpool had 30 private beds and they were set to lose 7.
The St Helens Reporter on the 15th described how eight part-time bar staff at Windle Labour Club – who had walked out after their pay claim had been rejected – had now been sacked. And one of the Dentons Green Lane club's committee members had resigned in protest at what he called their unfair treatment.
The dispute had begun when the eight staff members – who were earning £1.75 a night for 3½ hours work – asked the club committee for a pay rise of 50p per night. However, they were only offered a 25p increase and so they went on strike, which led to them being dismissed.
Committee members temporarily took over their work and three days later the sacked bar staff were informed that the club planned to advertise their jobs and they could reapply if they wished. Mona Toole had worked at Windle Labour Club for 8 years and told the Reporter:
"Bar staff are much better paid in other clubs. We wrote to the committee about this, asking for a 50p rise to bring us into line with these other clubs. They refused to let us into a meeting with them, to voice our opinions." Both the chairman and secretary of Windle Labour Club declined the Reporter's request to comment on the dispute.
"‘Lives Before Money’ Battle Looms" was the front-page headline in the Reporter to an article that described how a "storm of protest" was gathering over "shock proposals" to close St Helens Hospital's A&E department at night. The paper had first disclosed the closure plans two weeks before when they explained how a low level of usage was why St Helens and Knowsley Area Health Authority felt the emergency facility should shut at night.
So few people were dropping in to A & E that it was said that in one in every four weeks, there were no patient visits at all between midnight and 8 am. But in this week's Reporter it was suggested that the survey that had revealed low attendances had been taken at the time of a junior doctors' overtime ban, which might have distorted the results.
Miners were also very concerned about the closure move in case of accidents occurring. Roy Jackson, a National Union of Mineworkers official at Sutton Manor Colliery, told the Reporter: "We must not put money before disasters. A lot of accidents require quick attention. The St. Helens unit must not be closed."
A meeting of the Area Health Authority this week also considered controversial proposals to close Haydock Cottage Hospital. A report presented to the members of the authority revealed that it was costing £14 a week more to treat patients at Haydock rather than at Whiston. The hospital was considered too small to provide services at a reasonable cost with accommodation on the upper floors of the building restricted because there was no lift.
Area administrator Ken Worthington said: "At present it is running at £60,000 a year. If it were closed and the services transferred to another hospital it would save £40,000 a year." But Councillor Dorothy Fogg said: "I have had a lot of pressure from the union and their members who feel very strongly about this closure." The authority agreed to put the closure document out to the various medical authorities for consultation.
The Reporter described how three regulars at the Swan Hotel in Hall Street in St Helens had raised over £100 for the Society For Mental Welfare. Anthony Smith of Wood Street, Mary May of Recreation Street and Joyce Quirk of Brynn Street had taken part in a 22 mile sponsored walk from Southport town centre to the Swan. Pub landlady Margaret Harrison said: "It took a big effort on the part of all the customers to carry this off and we are very proud of them. They've done really well."
With the increasing number of motor vehicles on the roads during the 1970s, there were regular articles in the Reporter on parents' groups calling for safety measures to protect their children. In this week's paper parents in Haresfinch who had formed an action group were raising concerns over a lack of zebra crossings or safety patrols near the area's two schools.
These were St Alban's Secondary in Washway Lane and St Peter and Paul Primary in Derwent Road. Peter Bradburn of Newlands Road in Haresfinch said: "We have several very busy and dangerous roads here, and there is a real need for some kind of crossing or warden near the two schools. Some of the children who go to St. Alban's get off the bus a few stops before the school to save 3p on their bus fare. This means they have to cross two busy roads. We have had accidents in the past, and we are terrified there might be a fatality in the area."
The Reporter described how choirboys from All Saints Church in Sutton (pictured above) were planning to sit in bins for three hours. The sponsored "bin-in" outside the church in Ellamsbridge Road would be taking place during the following week and was part of the boys' fundraising to pay for a holiday in North Wales in July.
The Rev. John Glover said: "The bin-in is certainly a different sponsorship idea, and a very amusing one. Clean bins will be used, and it will be interesting to see how long the younger choirboys can keep still in one place." There was also going to be a 12-hour table tennis marathon in the church vestry and a whist drive at Sutton Conservative Club.
The Reporter also described how the Bold Miners Welfare Institute in Fleet Lane in Parr was about to undergo a five-year programme of extensive alterations and improvements. These included enlarging its concert room; the construction of a games room and a new bar and catering facilities would also be added. Once the improvements were completed, the club would be able to cater for 3,000 people.
And finally, from Sunday 18th "by public demand", 'The Towering Inferno' starring Steve McQueen and Paul Newman returned to the Capitol Cinema for a week, with 'The Jungle Book' returning to the ABC Savoy.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Reporter's £6 package deal for Wembley, the dangerous walk to school for Eccleston children, the first visitors to the town's Sunray home in Abergele and the demolition of the historic Congregational Church.
We begin on the 13th with a Liverpool Echo report that said three of the twelve private beds in St Helens and Whiston hospitals would be phased out by the end of the year. It was part of the Labour government's plan to greatly reduce the number of so-called pay beds in NHS hospitals. Liverpool had 30 private beds and they were set to lose 7.
The St Helens Reporter on the 15th described how eight part-time bar staff at Windle Labour Club – who had walked out after their pay claim had been rejected – had now been sacked. And one of the Dentons Green Lane club's committee members had resigned in protest at what he called their unfair treatment.
The dispute had begun when the eight staff members – who were earning £1.75 a night for 3½ hours work – asked the club committee for a pay rise of 50p per night. However, they were only offered a 25p increase and so they went on strike, which led to them being dismissed.
Committee members temporarily took over their work and three days later the sacked bar staff were informed that the club planned to advertise their jobs and they could reapply if they wished. Mona Toole had worked at Windle Labour Club for 8 years and told the Reporter:
"Bar staff are much better paid in other clubs. We wrote to the committee about this, asking for a 50p rise to bring us into line with these other clubs. They refused to let us into a meeting with them, to voice our opinions." Both the chairman and secretary of Windle Labour Club declined the Reporter's request to comment on the dispute.
"‘Lives Before Money’ Battle Looms" was the front-page headline in the Reporter to an article that described how a "storm of protest" was gathering over "shock proposals" to close St Helens Hospital's A&E department at night. The paper had first disclosed the closure plans two weeks before when they explained how a low level of usage was why St Helens and Knowsley Area Health Authority felt the emergency facility should shut at night.
So few people were dropping in to A & E that it was said that in one in every four weeks, there were no patient visits at all between midnight and 8 am. But in this week's Reporter it was suggested that the survey that had revealed low attendances had been taken at the time of a junior doctors' overtime ban, which might have distorted the results.
Miners were also very concerned about the closure move in case of accidents occurring. Roy Jackson, a National Union of Mineworkers official at Sutton Manor Colliery, told the Reporter: "We must not put money before disasters. A lot of accidents require quick attention. The St. Helens unit must not be closed."
A meeting of the Area Health Authority this week also considered controversial proposals to close Haydock Cottage Hospital. A report presented to the members of the authority revealed that it was costing £14 a week more to treat patients at Haydock rather than at Whiston. The hospital was considered too small to provide services at a reasonable cost with accommodation on the upper floors of the building restricted because there was no lift.
Area administrator Ken Worthington said: "At present it is running at £60,000 a year. If it were closed and the services transferred to another hospital it would save £40,000 a year." But Councillor Dorothy Fogg said: "I have had a lot of pressure from the union and their members who feel very strongly about this closure." The authority agreed to put the closure document out to the various medical authorities for consultation.
The Reporter described how three regulars at the Swan Hotel in Hall Street in St Helens had raised over £100 for the Society For Mental Welfare. Anthony Smith of Wood Street, Mary May of Recreation Street and Joyce Quirk of Brynn Street had taken part in a 22 mile sponsored walk from Southport town centre to the Swan. Pub landlady Margaret Harrison said: "It took a big effort on the part of all the customers to carry this off and we are very proud of them. They've done really well."
With the increasing number of motor vehicles on the roads during the 1970s, there were regular articles in the Reporter on parents' groups calling for safety measures to protect their children. In this week's paper parents in Haresfinch who had formed an action group were raising concerns over a lack of zebra crossings or safety patrols near the area's two schools.
These were St Alban's Secondary in Washway Lane and St Peter and Paul Primary in Derwent Road. Peter Bradburn of Newlands Road in Haresfinch said: "We have several very busy and dangerous roads here, and there is a real need for some kind of crossing or warden near the two schools. Some of the children who go to St. Alban's get off the bus a few stops before the school to save 3p on their bus fare. This means they have to cross two busy roads. We have had accidents in the past, and we are terrified there might be a fatality in the area."
The Rev. John Glover said: "The bin-in is certainly a different sponsorship idea, and a very amusing one. Clean bins will be used, and it will be interesting to see how long the younger choirboys can keep still in one place." There was also going to be a 12-hour table tennis marathon in the church vestry and a whist drive at Sutton Conservative Club.
The Reporter also described how the Bold Miners Welfare Institute in Fleet Lane in Parr was about to undergo a five-year programme of extensive alterations and improvements. These included enlarging its concert room; the construction of a games room and a new bar and catering facilities would also be added. Once the improvements were completed, the club would be able to cater for 3,000 people.
And finally, from Sunday 18th "by public demand", 'The Towering Inferno' starring Steve McQueen and Paul Newman returned to the Capitol Cinema for a week, with 'The Jungle Book' returning to the ABC Savoy.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Reporter's £6 package deal for Wembley, the dangerous walk to school for Eccleston children, the first visitors to the town's Sunray home in Abergele and the demolition of the historic Congregational Church.
This week's many stories include the storm of protest over proposals to close St Helens Hospital's A&E at night, the sacking of the bar staff at Windle Labour Club, the Sutton choirboys that planned to sit in bins for three hours, the planned closure of Haydock Cottage Hospital and Haresfinch parents form an action group demanding road safety measures near schools.
We begin on the 13th with a Liverpool Echo report that said three of the twelve private beds in St Helens and Whiston hospitals would be phased out by the end of the year.
It was part of the Labour government's plan to greatly reduce the number of so-called pay beds in NHS hospitals. Liverpool had 30 private beds and they were set to lose 7.
The St Helens Reporter on the 15th described how eight part-time bar staff at Windle Labour Club – who had walked out after their pay claim had been rejected – had now been sacked.
And one of the Dentons Green Lane club's committee members had resigned in protest at what he called their unfair treatment.
The dispute had begun when the eight staff members – who were earning £1.75 a night for 3½ hours work – asked the club committee for a pay rise of 50p per night.
However, they were only offered a 25p increase and so they went on strike, which led to them being dismissed.
Committee members temporarily took over their work and three days later the sacked bar staff were informed that the club planned to advertise their jobs and they could reapply if they wished.
Mona Toole had worked at Windle Labour Club for 8 years and told the Reporter:
"Bar staff are much better paid in other clubs. We wrote to the committee about this, asking for a 50p rise to bring us into line with these other clubs. They refused to let us into a meeting with them, to voice our opinions."
Both the chairman and secretary of Windle Labour Club declined the Reporter's request to comment on the dispute.
"‘Lives Before Money’ Battle Looms" was the front-page headline in the Reporter to an article that described how a "storm of protest" was gathering over "shock proposals" to close St Helens Hospital's A&E department at night.
The paper had first disclosed the closure plans two weeks before when they explained how a low level of usage was why St Helens and Knowsley Area Health Authority felt the emergency facility should shut at night.
So few people were dropping in to A & E that it was said that in one in every four weeks, there were no patient visits at all between midnight and 8 am.
But in this week's Reporter it was suggested that the survey that had revealed low attendances had been taken at the time of a junior doctors' overtime ban, which might have distorted the results.
Miners were also very concerned about the closure move in case of accidents occurring.
Roy Jackson, a National Union of Mineworkers official at Sutton Manor Colliery, told the Reporter: "We must not put money before disasters. A lot of accidents require quick attention. The St. Helens unit must not be closed."
A meeting of the Area Health Authority this week also considered controversial proposals to close Haydock Cottage Hospital.
A report presented to the members of the authority revealed that it was costing £14 a week more to treat patients at Haydock rather than at Whiston.
The hospital was considered too small to provide services at a reasonable cost with accommodation on the upper floors of the building restricted because there was no lift.
Area administrator Ken Worthington said: "At present it is running at £60,000 a year. If it were closed and the services transferred to another hospital it would save £40,000 a year."
But Councillor Dorothy Fogg said: "I have had a lot of pressure from the union and their members who feel very strongly about this closure."
The authority agreed to put the closure document out to the various medical authorities for consultation.
The Reporter described how three regulars at the Swan Hotel in Hall Street in St Helens had raised over £100 for the Society For Mental Welfare.
Anthony Smith of Wood Street, Mary May of Recreation Street and Joyce Quirk of Brynn Street had taken part in a 22 mile sponsored walk from Southport town centre to the Swan.
Pub landlady Margaret Harrison said: "It took a big effort on the part of all the customers to carry this off and we are very proud of them. They've done really well."
With the increasing number of motor vehicles on the roads during the 1970s, there were regular articles in the Reporter on parents' groups calling for safety measures to protect their children.
In this week's paper parents in Haresfinch who had formed an action group were raising concerns over a lack of zebra crossings or safety patrols near the area's two schools.
These were St Alban's Secondary in Washway Lane and St Peter and Paul Primary in Derwent Road. Peter Bradburn of Newlands Road in Haresfinch said:
"We have several very busy and dangerous roads here, and there is a real need for some kind of crossing or warden near the two schools.
"Some of the children who go to St. Alban's get off the bus a few stops before the school to save 3p on their bus fare. This means they have to cross two busy roads. We have had accidents in the past, and we are terrified there might be a fatality in the area."
The Reporter described how choirboys from All Saints Church in Sutton (pictured above) were planning to sit in bins for three hours.
The sponsored "bin-in" outside the church in Ellamsbridge Road would be taking place during the following week and was part of the boys' fundraising to pay for a holiday in North Wales in July.
The Rev. John Glover said: "The bin-in is certainly a different sponsorship idea, and a very amusing one. Clean bins will be used, and it will be interesting to see how long the younger choirboys can keep still in one place."
There was also going to be a 12-hour table tennis marathon in the church vestry and a whist drive at Sutton Conservative Club.
The Reporter also described how the Bold Miners Welfare Institute in Fleet Lane in Parr was about to undergo a five-year programme of extensive alterations and improvements.
These included enlarging its concert room; the construction of a games room and a new bar and catering facilities would also be added.
Once the improvements were completed, the club would be able to cater for 3,000 people.
And finally, from Sunday 18th "by public demand", 'The Towering Inferno' starring Steve McQueen and Paul Newman returned to the Capitol Cinema for a week, with 'The Jungle Book' returning to the ABC Savoy.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Reporter's £6 package deal for Wembley, the dangerous walk to school for Eccleston children, the first visitors to the town's Sunray home in Abergele and the demolition of the historic Congregational Church.
We begin on the 13th with a Liverpool Echo report that said three of the twelve private beds in St Helens and Whiston hospitals would be phased out by the end of the year.
It was part of the Labour government's plan to greatly reduce the number of so-called pay beds in NHS hospitals. Liverpool had 30 private beds and they were set to lose 7.
The St Helens Reporter on the 15th described how eight part-time bar staff at Windle Labour Club – who had walked out after their pay claim had been rejected – had now been sacked.
And one of the Dentons Green Lane club's committee members had resigned in protest at what he called their unfair treatment.
The dispute had begun when the eight staff members – who were earning £1.75 a night for 3½ hours work – asked the club committee for a pay rise of 50p per night.
However, they were only offered a 25p increase and so they went on strike, which led to them being dismissed.
Committee members temporarily took over their work and three days later the sacked bar staff were informed that the club planned to advertise their jobs and they could reapply if they wished.
Mona Toole had worked at Windle Labour Club for 8 years and told the Reporter:
"Bar staff are much better paid in other clubs. We wrote to the committee about this, asking for a 50p rise to bring us into line with these other clubs. They refused to let us into a meeting with them, to voice our opinions."
Both the chairman and secretary of Windle Labour Club declined the Reporter's request to comment on the dispute.
"‘Lives Before Money’ Battle Looms" was the front-page headline in the Reporter to an article that described how a "storm of protest" was gathering over "shock proposals" to close St Helens Hospital's A&E department at night.
The paper had first disclosed the closure plans two weeks before when they explained how a low level of usage was why St Helens and Knowsley Area Health Authority felt the emergency facility should shut at night.
So few people were dropping in to A & E that it was said that in one in every four weeks, there were no patient visits at all between midnight and 8 am.
But in this week's Reporter it was suggested that the survey that had revealed low attendances had been taken at the time of a junior doctors' overtime ban, which might have distorted the results.
Miners were also very concerned about the closure move in case of accidents occurring.
Roy Jackson, a National Union of Mineworkers official at Sutton Manor Colliery, told the Reporter: "We must not put money before disasters. A lot of accidents require quick attention. The St. Helens unit must not be closed."
A meeting of the Area Health Authority this week also considered controversial proposals to close Haydock Cottage Hospital.
A report presented to the members of the authority revealed that it was costing £14 a week more to treat patients at Haydock rather than at Whiston.
The hospital was considered too small to provide services at a reasonable cost with accommodation on the upper floors of the building restricted because there was no lift.
Area administrator Ken Worthington said: "At present it is running at £60,000 a year. If it were closed and the services transferred to another hospital it would save £40,000 a year."
But Councillor Dorothy Fogg said: "I have had a lot of pressure from the union and their members who feel very strongly about this closure."
The authority agreed to put the closure document out to the various medical authorities for consultation.
The Reporter described how three regulars at the Swan Hotel in Hall Street in St Helens had raised over £100 for the Society For Mental Welfare.
Anthony Smith of Wood Street, Mary May of Recreation Street and Joyce Quirk of Brynn Street had taken part in a 22 mile sponsored walk from Southport town centre to the Swan.
Pub landlady Margaret Harrison said: "It took a big effort on the part of all the customers to carry this off and we are very proud of them. They've done really well."
With the increasing number of motor vehicles on the roads during the 1970s, there were regular articles in the Reporter on parents' groups calling for safety measures to protect their children.
In this week's paper parents in Haresfinch who had formed an action group were raising concerns over a lack of zebra crossings or safety patrols near the area's two schools.
These were St Alban's Secondary in Washway Lane and St Peter and Paul Primary in Derwent Road. Peter Bradburn of Newlands Road in Haresfinch said:
"We have several very busy and dangerous roads here, and there is a real need for some kind of crossing or warden near the two schools.
"Some of the children who go to St. Alban's get off the bus a few stops before the school to save 3p on their bus fare. This means they have to cross two busy roads. We have had accidents in the past, and we are terrified there might be a fatality in the area."
The sponsored "bin-in" outside the church in Ellamsbridge Road would be taking place during the following week and was part of the boys' fundraising to pay for a holiday in North Wales in July.
The Rev. John Glover said: "The bin-in is certainly a different sponsorship idea, and a very amusing one. Clean bins will be used, and it will be interesting to see how long the younger choirboys can keep still in one place."
There was also going to be a 12-hour table tennis marathon in the church vestry and a whist drive at Sutton Conservative Club.
The Reporter also described how the Bold Miners Welfare Institute in Fleet Lane in Parr was about to undergo a five-year programme of extensive alterations and improvements.
These included enlarging its concert room; the construction of a games room and a new bar and catering facilities would also be added.
Once the improvements were completed, the club would be able to cater for 3,000 people.
And finally, from Sunday 18th "by public demand", 'The Towering Inferno' starring Steve McQueen and Paul Newman returned to the Capitol Cinema for a week, with 'The Jungle Book' returning to the ABC Savoy.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Reporter's £6 package deal for Wembley, the dangerous walk to school for Eccleston children, the first visitors to the town's Sunray home in Abergele and the demolition of the historic Congregational Church.