FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 19 - 25 MAY 1975
This week's many stories include the dangerous bend on Prescot Road, the St Helens councillor overwhelmed by the son of the Desert Fox, trade unions hold talks with Tony Benn on the Pilkingtons jobs crisis, Haydock Male Voice Choir officials and St Helens athletes receive red carpet treatment in Stuttgart and there's a call for more support for the Haydock Donkey Derby.
We begin on the 21st with the inquest hearing on Bernard Wilcock. The 30-year-old was an electrician from Grasmere Avenue in St Helens and his body had been recovered from Carr Mill Dam over the previous weekend.
On the 22nd Councillor Peggy McNamara was installed as the Mayor of St Helens, with her sister Mary Roscoe serving as Mayoress. Peggy was only the fourth female to serve as mayor and the first woman in twenty years.
A common factor when members of St Helens' organisations visited places in Europe was that they came back raving about the hospitality that they had received. On the 22nd the Mayor of St Helens, two councillors and a team of athletes left the town for a 4-day trip to Stuttgart, ostensibly for an athletics contest. Upon the party's return, Cllr Tony Brown said: "It's been overwhelming – and I'm not easily overwhelmed. If I live to be 100 I don't think I'll get better treatment."
Tony had accompanied the athletes as a representative of the Sports Council and said one of their hosts had been Manfred Rommel, who was the Mayor of Stuttgart and the son of the so-called "Desert Fox". Cllr Brown described him as probably the most interesting person that he had ever met. However, the St Helens' athletes did not fare very well, beaten by the German team by 166 points to 117.
Three officials from Haydock Male Voice Choir also returned from Stuttgart this week after visiting the West German city to make arrangements for the choir's tour in October. Treasurer George Anderton told the Reporter that they had received "red carpet" treatment while in Stuttgart. The threesome was provided with a chauffeur-driven car and they were guests of honour at a concert given by the State Symphony Orchestra.
Every year Rainford Parish Council held a meeting for members of the public to put questions to the councillors. However, the Ormskirk Advertiser reported on the 22nd that only three people, plus one late arrival, had "thronged" to this year's event. But the paper said the outgoing Chairman of the Parish Council, Ron Jones, still gave his report "to the echoing rafters of the Village Hall" and an hour's "lively discussion" followed between the three audience members and the six councillors.
On the 23rd several trade union leaders met the Secretary of State for Industry, Tony Benn, for what was described as talks on the Pilkington jobs crisis. The unions felt the St Helens glass giant could be more transparent over its difficulties and also wanted government action to stop the "dumping" of Japanese television tubes. They also wanted to see British car firms using British glass – in other words, products such as windscreens that were made by Triplex.
The St Helens Reporter on the 23rd apologised to its readers for a severely curtailed edition through industrial action by their printers in the National Graphical Association who were pursuing a pay claim.
The Haydock Donkey Derby was an annual event held on the King George V Playing Fields. It was the main source of income for the Old Folks Treat in Haydock and also helped to finance the local meals-on-wheels service.
This week the organisers put out an appeal for more local support for the derby that was scheduled to take place on June 14th. More entries were required for both the Miss Haydock title and the five-a-side football competition and more helpers were also needed.
Brian Casey, secretary of the Old People's Welfare Committee, told the Reporter: "We have asked each pub and club in town to sponsor girls for the Miss Haydock competition but we need far more entries to make the event worthwhile. The final is at the No. 1 Labour Club in three weeks' time so there is still time for local girls to come forward."
Adverts in this week's Reporter included one from H. Hunter of Peter Street who was offering suitcases from £4.25. P & H. Jolley & Son of Claughton Street was selling leather jackets for men with stud fastenings from £21.95 and women's dresses from £3.99. The "latest styles in Maxi Dresses" were priced at "about" £6.95 and "fashionable rainwear" for women with "34-46" hips in "all the latest shades" cost from £9.50.
Tyreservices of Parr Street were inviting readers of the Reporter to "retyre now for the summer" with Goodyear tubeless remoulds from £3.30 and new cross-ply tyres from £5.44 with free fitting. And West Lancashire Windows of Mill Lane in Rainford were offering to install a double-glazed patio window in a single day from £180.
It was reported this week that Leathers Chemicals had formally appealed against St Helens Council's closure order of their Lancots Lane plant. Their decision had been expected and a public inquiry was now considered to be a certainty.
There were also calls for safety improvements to be made on a bend in Prescot Road in St Helens after an inquest was held into the deaths of two women. Jean Kay and Stella Ellis had in January been passengers in a car driven by a man from Silkstone Street. They were returning home to St Helens from a club in Prescot when their car went out of control on the Prescot Road bend and crashed.
Resident Michael Barber had been first on the scene and told the Reporter that this had not been the first such accident at that spot: "There have been nine crashes in the two years my family have lived here. My wall is scarred with a rainbow of car paints."
The dangerous bend was next to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Secondary School (which would later become Carmel College) and Mr Barber feared for the children's safety. The 39-year-old company director suggested a reduction in the speed limit from 40 to 30 mph and the erection of warning signs and a crash barrier.
Lucy Parr was this week celebrating winning her seven-year fight against her rogue landlord who had refused to undertake essential repair work on her home. Getting in touch with their landlord had been problematic for Lucy and her husband Ray, as the firm could only be contacted through a box number and all their letters had been ignored. But this week a court ordered the Manchester property firm to undertake the work and fined them £13, with an additional £1 to be paid for every day's delay.
In the action brought by St Helens Council the magistrates heard that the semi-detached house in Martindale Road was in such a bad state it was a risk to the couple's health. Mrs Parr told the Reporter: "We have been living in squalor for ages. The house is full of damp, has no proper drainage, floorboards and window frames are rotted and there are holes in the floors and ceilings."
The Liverpool Echo reported on the 24th how a "St. Helens girl who found fame with the Second Generation TV dance team" had married at Lowe House Church. Joan Golden, whose parents lived in Stanhope Street, had entertained in Canada with Des O'Connor and appeared on TV shows with Bob Monkhouse, Roy Castle and Rolf Harris.
And finally, on the 24th the Searchers played Saints Sports and Leisure Centre in Dunriding Lane. The group were not scheduled to be on stage until 11:15 pm, which suggests they were playing another gig in another town earlier that same evening, as some acts then did.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the dangerous Cumber Lane bridge in Whiston, the highlights of the 1975 St Helens Show are announced, Saints complain of a lack of support and a Clock Face girl is hurt at a Bay City Rollers concert.
On the 22nd Councillor Peggy McNamara was installed as the Mayor of St Helens, with her sister Mary Roscoe serving as Mayoress. Peggy was only the fourth female to serve as mayor and the first woman in twenty years.
A common factor when members of St Helens' organisations visited places in Europe was that they came back raving about the hospitality that they had received. On the 22nd the Mayor of St Helens, two councillors and a team of athletes left the town for a 4-day trip to Stuttgart, ostensibly for an athletics contest. Upon the party's return, Cllr Tony Brown said: "It's been overwhelming – and I'm not easily overwhelmed. If I live to be 100 I don't think I'll get better treatment."
Tony had accompanied the athletes as a representative of the Sports Council and said one of their hosts had been Manfred Rommel, who was the Mayor of Stuttgart and the son of the so-called "Desert Fox". Cllr Brown described him as probably the most interesting person that he had ever met. However, the St Helens' athletes did not fare very well, beaten by the German team by 166 points to 117.
Three officials from Haydock Male Voice Choir also returned from Stuttgart this week after visiting the West German city to make arrangements for the choir's tour in October. Treasurer George Anderton told the Reporter that they had received "red carpet" treatment while in Stuttgart. The threesome was provided with a chauffeur-driven car and they were guests of honour at a concert given by the State Symphony Orchestra.
Every year Rainford Parish Council held a meeting for members of the public to put questions to the councillors. However, the Ormskirk Advertiser reported on the 22nd that only three people, plus one late arrival, had "thronged" to this year's event. But the paper said the outgoing Chairman of the Parish Council, Ron Jones, still gave his report "to the echoing rafters of the Village Hall" and an hour's "lively discussion" followed between the three audience members and the six councillors.
On the 23rd several trade union leaders met the Secretary of State for Industry, Tony Benn, for what was described as talks on the Pilkington jobs crisis. The unions felt the St Helens glass giant could be more transparent over its difficulties and also wanted government action to stop the "dumping" of Japanese television tubes. They also wanted to see British car firms using British glass – in other words, products such as windscreens that were made by Triplex.
The St Helens Reporter on the 23rd apologised to its readers for a severely curtailed edition through industrial action by their printers in the National Graphical Association who were pursuing a pay claim.
The Haydock Donkey Derby was an annual event held on the King George V Playing Fields. It was the main source of income for the Old Folks Treat in Haydock and also helped to finance the local meals-on-wheels service.
This week the organisers put out an appeal for more local support for the derby that was scheduled to take place on June 14th. More entries were required for both the Miss Haydock title and the five-a-side football competition and more helpers were also needed.
Brian Casey, secretary of the Old People's Welfare Committee, told the Reporter: "We have asked each pub and club in town to sponsor girls for the Miss Haydock competition but we need far more entries to make the event worthwhile. The final is at the No. 1 Labour Club in three weeks' time so there is still time for local girls to come forward."
Adverts in this week's Reporter included one from H. Hunter of Peter Street who was offering suitcases from £4.25. P & H. Jolley & Son of Claughton Street was selling leather jackets for men with stud fastenings from £21.95 and women's dresses from £3.99. The "latest styles in Maxi Dresses" were priced at "about" £6.95 and "fashionable rainwear" for women with "34-46" hips in "all the latest shades" cost from £9.50.
Tyreservices of Parr Street were inviting readers of the Reporter to "retyre now for the summer" with Goodyear tubeless remoulds from £3.30 and new cross-ply tyres from £5.44 with free fitting. And West Lancashire Windows of Mill Lane in Rainford were offering to install a double-glazed patio window in a single day from £180.
It was reported this week that Leathers Chemicals had formally appealed against St Helens Council's closure order of their Lancots Lane plant. Their decision had been expected and a public inquiry was now considered to be a certainty.
There were also calls for safety improvements to be made on a bend in Prescot Road in St Helens after an inquest was held into the deaths of two women. Jean Kay and Stella Ellis had in January been passengers in a car driven by a man from Silkstone Street. They were returning home to St Helens from a club in Prescot when their car went out of control on the Prescot Road bend and crashed.
Resident Michael Barber had been first on the scene and told the Reporter that this had not been the first such accident at that spot: "There have been nine crashes in the two years my family have lived here. My wall is scarred with a rainbow of car paints."
The dangerous bend was next to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Secondary School (which would later become Carmel College) and Mr Barber feared for the children's safety. The 39-year-old company director suggested a reduction in the speed limit from 40 to 30 mph and the erection of warning signs and a crash barrier.
Lucy Parr was this week celebrating winning her seven-year fight against her rogue landlord who had refused to undertake essential repair work on her home. Getting in touch with their landlord had been problematic for Lucy and her husband Ray, as the firm could only be contacted through a box number and all their letters had been ignored. But this week a court ordered the Manchester property firm to undertake the work and fined them £13, with an additional £1 to be paid for every day's delay.
In the action brought by St Helens Council the magistrates heard that the semi-detached house in Martindale Road was in such a bad state it was a risk to the couple's health. Mrs Parr told the Reporter: "We have been living in squalor for ages. The house is full of damp, has no proper drainage, floorboards and window frames are rotted and there are holes in the floors and ceilings."
The Liverpool Echo reported on the 24th how a "St. Helens girl who found fame with the Second Generation TV dance team" had married at Lowe House Church. Joan Golden, whose parents lived in Stanhope Street, had entertained in Canada with Des O'Connor and appeared on TV shows with Bob Monkhouse, Roy Castle and Rolf Harris.
And finally, on the 24th the Searchers played Saints Sports and Leisure Centre in Dunriding Lane. The group were not scheduled to be on stage until 11:15 pm, which suggests they were playing another gig in another town earlier that same evening, as some acts then did.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the dangerous Cumber Lane bridge in Whiston, the highlights of the 1975 St Helens Show are announced, Saints complain of a lack of support and a Clock Face girl is hurt at a Bay City Rollers concert.
This week's many stories include the dangerous bend on Prescot Road, the St Helens councillor overwhelmed by the son of the Desert Fox, trade unions hold talks with Tony Benn on the Pilkingtons jobs crisis, Haydock Male Voice Choir officials and St Helens athletes receive red carpet treatment in Stuttgart and there's a call for more support for the Haydock Donkey Derby.
We begin on the 21st with the inquest hearing on Bernard Wilcock.
The 30-year-old was an electrician from Grasmere Avenue in St Helens and his body had been recovered from Carr Mill Dam over the previous weekend.
On the 22nd Councillor Peggy McNamara was installed as the Mayor of St Helens, with her sister Mary Roscoe serving as Mayoress.
Peggy was only the fourth female to serve as mayor and the first woman in twenty years.
A common factor when members of St Helens' organisations visited places in Europe was that they came back raving about the hospitality that they had received.
On the 22nd the Mayor of St Helens, two councillors and a team of athletes left the town for a 4-day trip to Stuttgart, ostensibly for an athletics contest.
Upon the party's return, Cllr Tony Brown said: "It's been overwhelming – and I'm not easily overwhelmed. If I live to be 100 I don't think I'll get better treatment."
Tony had accompanied the athletes as a representative of the Sports Council and said one of their hosts had been Manfred Rommel, who was the Mayor of Stuttgart and the son of the so-called "Desert Fox".
Cllr Brown described him as probably the most interesting person that he had ever met.
However, the St Helens' athletes did not fare very well, beaten by the German team by 166 points to 117.
Three officials from Haydock Male Voice Choir also returned from Stuttgart this week after visiting the West German city to make arrangements for the choir's tour in October.
Treasurer George Anderton told the Reporter that they had received "red carpet" treatment while in Stuttgart.
The threesome was provided with a chauffeur-driven car and they were guests of honour at a concert given by the State Symphony Orchestra.
Every year Rainford Parish Council held a meeting for members of the public to put questions to the councillors.
However, the Ormskirk Advertiser reported on the 22nd that only three people, plus one late arrival, had "thronged" to this year's event.
But the paper said the outgoing Chairman of the Parish Council, Ron Jones, still gave his report "to the echoing rafters of the Village Hall" and an hour's "lively discussion" followed between the three audience members and the six councillors.
On the 23rd several trade union leaders met the Secretary of State for Industry, Tony Benn, for what was described as talks on the Pilkington jobs crisis.
The unions felt the St Helens glass giant could be more transparent over its difficulties and also wanted government action to stop the "dumping" of Japanese television tubes.
They also wanted to see British car firms using British glass – in other words, products such as windscreens that were made by Triplex.
The St Helens Reporter on the 23rd apologised to its readers for a severely curtailed edition through industrial action by their printers in the National Graphical Association who were pursuing a pay claim.
The Haydock Donkey Derby was an annual event held on the King George V Playing Fields.
It was the main source of income for the Old Folks Treat in Haydock and also helped to finance the local meals-on-wheels service.
This week the organisers put out an appeal for more local support for the derby that was scheduled to take place on June 14th.
More entries were required for both the Miss Haydock title and the five-a-side football competition and more helpers were also needed.
Brian Casey, secretary of the Old People's Welfare Committee, told the Reporter:
"We have asked each pub and club in town to sponsor girls for the Miss Haydock competition but we need far more entries to make the event worthwhile.
"The final is at the No. 1 Labour Club in three weeks' time so there is still time for local girls to come forward."
Adverts in this week's Reporter included one from H. Hunter of Peter Street who was offering suitcases from £4.25.
P & H. Jolley & Son of Claughton Street was selling leather jackets for men with stud fastenings from £21.95 and women's dresses from £3.99.
The "latest styles in Maxi Dresses" were priced at "about" £6.95 and "fashionable rainwear" for women with "34-46" hips in "all the latest shades" cost from £9.50.
Tyreservices of Parr Street were inviting readers of the Reporter to "retyre now for the summer" with Goodyear tubeless remoulds from £3.30 and new cross-ply tyres from £5.44 with free fitting.
And West Lancashire Windows of Mill Lane in Rainford were offering to install a double-glazed patio window in a single day from £180.
It was reported this week that Leathers Chemicals had formally appealed against St Helens Council's closure order of their Lancots Lane plant.
Their decision had been expected and a public inquiry was now considered to be a certainty.
There were also calls for safety improvements to be made on a bend in Prescot Road in St Helens after an inquest was held into the deaths of two women.
Jean Kay and Stella Ellis had in January been passengers in a car driven by a man from Silkstone Street.
They were returning home to St Helens from a club in Prescot when their car went out of control on the Prescot Road bend and crashed.
Resident Michael Barber had been first on the scene and told the Reporter that this had not been the first such accident at that spot:
"There have been nine crashes in the two years my family have lived here. My wall is scarred with a rainbow of car paints."
The dangerous bend was next to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Secondary School (which would later become Carmel College) and Mr Barber feared for the children's safety.
The 39-year-old company director suggested a reduction in the speed limit from 40 to 30 mph and the erection of warning signs and a crash barrier.
Lucy Parr was this week celebrating winning her seven-year fight against her rogue landlord who had refused to undertake essential repair work on her home.
Getting in touch with their landlord had been problematic for Lucy and her husband Ray, as the firm could only be contacted through a box number and all their letters had been ignored.
But this week a court ordered the Manchester property firm to undertake the work and fined them £13, with an additional £1 to be paid for every day's delay.
In the action brought by St Helens Council the magistrates heard that the semi-detached house in Martindale Road was in such a bad state it was a risk to the couple's health.
Mrs Parr told the Reporter: "We have been living in squalor for ages. The house is full of damp, has no proper drainage, floorboards and window frames are rotted and there are holes in the floors and ceilings."
The Liverpool Echo reported on the 24th how a "St. Helens girl who found fame with the Second Generation TV dance team" had married at Lowe House Church.
Joan Golden, whose parents lived in Stanhope Street, had entertained in Canada with Des O'Connor and appeared on TV shows with Bob Monkhouse, Roy Castle and Rolf Harris.
And finally, on the 24th the Searchers played Saints Sports and Leisure Centre in Dunriding Lane.
The group were not scheduled to be on stage until 11:15 pm, which suggests they were playing another gig in another town earlier that same evening, as some acts then did.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the dangerous Cumber Lane bridge in Whiston, the highlights of the 1975 St Helens Show are announced, Saints complain of a lack of support and a Clock Face girl is hurt at a Bay City Rollers concert.
We begin on the 21st with the inquest hearing on Bernard Wilcock.
On the 22nd Councillor Peggy McNamara was installed as the Mayor of St Helens, with her sister Mary Roscoe serving as Mayoress.
Peggy was only the fourth female to serve as mayor and the first woman in twenty years.
A common factor when members of St Helens' organisations visited places in Europe was that they came back raving about the hospitality that they had received.
On the 22nd the Mayor of St Helens, two councillors and a team of athletes left the town for a 4-day trip to Stuttgart, ostensibly for an athletics contest.
Upon the party's return, Cllr Tony Brown said: "It's been overwhelming – and I'm not easily overwhelmed. If I live to be 100 I don't think I'll get better treatment."
Tony had accompanied the athletes as a representative of the Sports Council and said one of their hosts had been Manfred Rommel, who was the Mayor of Stuttgart and the son of the so-called "Desert Fox".
Cllr Brown described him as probably the most interesting person that he had ever met.
However, the St Helens' athletes did not fare very well, beaten by the German team by 166 points to 117.
Three officials from Haydock Male Voice Choir also returned from Stuttgart this week after visiting the West German city to make arrangements for the choir's tour in October.
Treasurer George Anderton told the Reporter that they had received "red carpet" treatment while in Stuttgart.
The threesome was provided with a chauffeur-driven car and they were guests of honour at a concert given by the State Symphony Orchestra.
Every year Rainford Parish Council held a meeting for members of the public to put questions to the councillors.
However, the Ormskirk Advertiser reported on the 22nd that only three people, plus one late arrival, had "thronged" to this year's event.
But the paper said the outgoing Chairman of the Parish Council, Ron Jones, still gave his report "to the echoing rafters of the Village Hall" and an hour's "lively discussion" followed between the three audience members and the six councillors.
On the 23rd several trade union leaders met the Secretary of State for Industry, Tony Benn, for what was described as talks on the Pilkington jobs crisis.
The unions felt the St Helens glass giant could be more transparent over its difficulties and also wanted government action to stop the "dumping" of Japanese television tubes.
They also wanted to see British car firms using British glass – in other words, products such as windscreens that were made by Triplex.
The St Helens Reporter on the 23rd apologised to its readers for a severely curtailed edition through industrial action by their printers in the National Graphical Association who were pursuing a pay claim.
The Haydock Donkey Derby was an annual event held on the King George V Playing Fields.
It was the main source of income for the Old Folks Treat in Haydock and also helped to finance the local meals-on-wheels service.
This week the organisers put out an appeal for more local support for the derby that was scheduled to take place on June 14th.
More entries were required for both the Miss Haydock title and the five-a-side football competition and more helpers were also needed.
Brian Casey, secretary of the Old People's Welfare Committee, told the Reporter:
"We have asked each pub and club in town to sponsor girls for the Miss Haydock competition but we need far more entries to make the event worthwhile.
"The final is at the No. 1 Labour Club in three weeks' time so there is still time for local girls to come forward."
Adverts in this week's Reporter included one from H. Hunter of Peter Street who was offering suitcases from £4.25.
P & H. Jolley & Son of Claughton Street was selling leather jackets for men with stud fastenings from £21.95 and women's dresses from £3.99.
The "latest styles in Maxi Dresses" were priced at "about" £6.95 and "fashionable rainwear" for women with "34-46" hips in "all the latest shades" cost from £9.50.
Tyreservices of Parr Street were inviting readers of the Reporter to "retyre now for the summer" with Goodyear tubeless remoulds from £3.30 and new cross-ply tyres from £5.44 with free fitting.
And West Lancashire Windows of Mill Lane in Rainford were offering to install a double-glazed patio window in a single day from £180.
It was reported this week that Leathers Chemicals had formally appealed against St Helens Council's closure order of their Lancots Lane plant.
Their decision had been expected and a public inquiry was now considered to be a certainty.
There were also calls for safety improvements to be made on a bend in Prescot Road in St Helens after an inquest was held into the deaths of two women.
Jean Kay and Stella Ellis had in January been passengers in a car driven by a man from Silkstone Street.
They were returning home to St Helens from a club in Prescot when their car went out of control on the Prescot Road bend and crashed.
Resident Michael Barber had been first on the scene and told the Reporter that this had not been the first such accident at that spot:
"There have been nine crashes in the two years my family have lived here. My wall is scarred with a rainbow of car paints."
The dangerous bend was next to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Secondary School (which would later become Carmel College) and Mr Barber feared for the children's safety.
The 39-year-old company director suggested a reduction in the speed limit from 40 to 30 mph and the erection of warning signs and a crash barrier.
Lucy Parr was this week celebrating winning her seven-year fight against her rogue landlord who had refused to undertake essential repair work on her home.
Getting in touch with their landlord had been problematic for Lucy and her husband Ray, as the firm could only be contacted through a box number and all their letters had been ignored.
But this week a court ordered the Manchester property firm to undertake the work and fined them £13, with an additional £1 to be paid for every day's delay.
In the action brought by St Helens Council the magistrates heard that the semi-detached house in Martindale Road was in such a bad state it was a risk to the couple's health.
Mrs Parr told the Reporter: "We have been living in squalor for ages. The house is full of damp, has no proper drainage, floorboards and window frames are rotted and there are holes in the floors and ceilings."
The Liverpool Echo reported on the 24th how a "St. Helens girl who found fame with the Second Generation TV dance team" had married at Lowe House Church.
Joan Golden, whose parents lived in Stanhope Street, had entertained in Canada with Des O'Connor and appeared on TV shows with Bob Monkhouse, Roy Castle and Rolf Harris.
And finally, on the 24th the Searchers played Saints Sports and Leisure Centre in Dunriding Lane.
The group were not scheduled to be on stage until 11:15 pm, which suggests they were playing another gig in another town earlier that same evening, as some acts then did.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the dangerous Cumber Lane bridge in Whiston, the highlights of the 1975 St Helens Show are announced, Saints complain of a lack of support and a Clock Face girl is hurt at a Bay City Rollers concert.