FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (3rd - 9th MAY 1971)
This week's many stories include the miracle child of Eldon Street, a Whiston man leaps from his bedroom to avoid a fire, a star holds a POW reunion at the Theatre Royal and the day Dickie Valentine entertained a patient at Rainhill Hospital.
We begin on the 3rd with a letter in the Liverpool Echo from William Stirrup of Pike House in Eccleston – who I believe worked at Rainhill Hospital. He was angry about an unnamed Liverpool firm making 60 redundancies – some after 30 years of service – and ignoring the workers as they left the firm for the final time:
"Has management become so computerised as to be devoid completely of all humanity? I can appreciate how these 60 redundant staff felt when they received their redundancy notice, according to the regulation, but I cannot pretend to understand their feelings when leaving that firm where no one in authority had the human decency to say thank you. If this is the way managers behave, then heaven help us in the future."
Also on the 3rd the Echo published this article about three-year-old Colin Gee of Eldon Street, near Toll Bar: "Granddad Stan Cook never thought he'd keep the promise made at his sick grandson's bedside. For, the doctors said, little Colin Gee had only hours to live. He had had a relapse after an emergency kidney operation. But the three-years-old Colin, of Eldon Street, St. Helens, came round and earned a “miracle baby” tag from the staff at Liverpool's Alder Hey Hospital.
"And yesterday, Stan kept his hospital bed promise by taking Colin for a day at the seaside. As blond-haired Colin played on Southport beach, his mother, 24-years-old Mrs. Betty Gee said: “Only a few weeks ago I thought we'd lost him. It is marvellous to see him so happy again.”
"Colin had a five-hour operation to remove a tumour from one of his kidneys. He came out of the operation well, but then suffered a serious relapse. Mrs. Gee said that her husband, Roy, went to the hospital to see their son and when he came back he said that Colin had gone into a coma and wasn't expected to come round. “But the same afternoon, he opened his eyes, blinked a couple of times, asked for his dummy, and he's never looked back since.”
"“As soon as he came out of hospital, he reminded me of my promise. His eyes lit up when I told him we were going to the seaside. It has really done him good,” said his 63-years-old granddad. After the beach, the ice creams, the pop and the fairground, a smiling Colin said, “Thank you, granddad.”"
On the 4th a fire broke out at St Luke's School in Shaw Lane in Prescot causing £1,000 worth of damage to classrooms. Two 11-year-olds would later be charged with arson.
There was a gassing incident at a house in Green Leach Avenue in Haresfinch on the 5th, which led to a man and a woman being rushed to hospital. The male was found to be dead on arrival and the woman was admitted unconscious. Gas Board officials were reported to be examining the property.
On the following day John Chadwick of Cable Road in Whiston had to jump through his bedroom window to safety when fire broke out at his home. The 26-year-old night shift worker at Stoves of Rainhill was in bed when he heard his four-year-old son screaming outside the house. Mr Chadwick saw smoke and flames coming from his living room and travelling up the stairs and so jumped through the window into his garden. Neighbours tackled the flames with a garden hose until Whiston firemen arrived but the living room was still badly damaged.
Richard Todd is probably best remembered for his portrayal of Wing Commander Guy Gibson in the 1955 film 'The Dam Busters'. Todd's film career had dipped during the ‘60s and he had now returned to the stage. During this week he performed at the Theatre Royal in the play 'The Grass Is Greener'. Also starring was Derek Bond, who played Edward Woodward's boss Hunter in the TV series 'Callan'.
After coming off stage on the 5th, Derek sat down in the theatre bar with four St Helens men who had been POWs at the same German camp as himself during WW2. They were Leonard Mees of Sackville Road, Windle; Daniel Jones of Mona Street, Nicholas Burke of Stanley Avenue in Rainford and greengrocer Harry Leech of West End Road, Haydock. They had all been prisoners in Stalag 7A near Munich where Derek had taken part in revues to keep spirits the men's up.
The Guardian was advertising three St Helens school vacancies on the 6th. Carr Mill Infants was seeking a headmistress, Robins Lane Secondary wanted a head of mathematics and Knowsley Road Junior School was advertising for a headteacher. The latter was an unusual advertisement as it was still normal to specify headmaster or headmistress when recruiting.
The Liverpool Echo on the 6th described the death of singer Dickie Valentine in a car crash, with journalist George Harrison calling him "one of the most generous, warm-hearted men I ever knew in show business" and recalling one particularly kind act:
"On one of his visits to Liverpool, I told him about a girl in Rainhill Hospital, who was a great fan of his and had bought tickets for his show. She collapsed a few days before he arrived and was at Rainhill heartbroken over missing him. “What are we waiting for?” said Dickie. We piled into his car, with his accompanist, and went to the hospital. There he quietly arranged for a piano to be pushed into the girl's ward. Then he walked in and gave his full hour's show to the kid and everybody else who clustered in to hear him."
There was a bad storm during the evening of the 6th and a barn on Lord Derby's estate at Home Farm Road in Knowsley was badly damaged after lightning started a fire. Two children had a remarkable escape from serious injury after lightning struck their bedroom at the Railway Hotel at Pemberton, Wigan. Four-year-old Amanda Topping and her three-year-old brother Stephen were snatched to safety as the bedroom wall and ceiling collapsed and their room caught fire.
The Echo reported on the 8th that a St Helens woman had written to Dr Christian Barnard pleading with him to help save the lives of her two nephews. Elizabeth Livesey of Clarkes Crescent in Eccleston had sent the letter to the South African heart transplant pioneer on behalf of 13-year-old John Bickerstaffe and his 9-year-old brother Harold, of Bishop Reeves Road in Haydock. Both had holes in their hearts and John was scheduled to undergo another major operation at the Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital within the next few weeks.
He had had his first operation when he was eighteen-months-old. Soon afterwards, the hole reopened and he and his brother had been under the regular care of heart specialists ever since. Mrs Livesey told the Echo: "I understand that Dr Barnard has perfected hole-in-the-heart surgery. I feel that, if they go to him, they stand an excellent chance."
And finally the non-St Helens article that attracted my attention in the Echo this week was a reflection on the days when £20 a week was considered a mighty wage: "Ten years ago a wage of £1,000 per annum had a magical ring about it. It was the pinnacle to which the majority of working people aspired. It meant mortgages and fridges, cars and holidays abroad. In fact, once you'd got your first £20 a week pay packet, you'd really arrived. But to-day £1,000 has a far from magical ring about it.
"It is now the official level of modern hardship a week. Under recent legislation, a man earning £20 a week can qualify for the new Family Income Supplement to eke out his wages. For the Government has recognised that the £1,000-a-year man in 1971 is on the bread-line and in need of help. His wages are just enough to keep body and soul together – and no more. A mortgage would be hard to come by and things like a new car or a colour TV set would be impossible. Even a holiday abroad at to-day's cheap package rates would be out of the question.
"£1,000 just ain't what it used to be. Ironically, though, it hit the headlines recently for a very different reason. For £1,000 was the amount of money awarded to a small number of senior Ford employees as a pay rise. It brought their wages up to the £4,000 plus bracket. Amid all the controversy we decided to ask some ordinary people what £1,000 meant to them – 10 years ago and now.
"Mr. John O'Connor, secretary of the Liverpool and Bootle branch of the Police Federation: “In 1960, the prospect of £1,000 a year was enough to bring recruits flocking into the force. It was the magic figure mentioned by a Royal Commission on policemen's pay. The effect in one division was to take it from nearly 70 below strength to almost full strength.”"
Next Week's stories will include the Labour gains at the local council elections, the Moss Bank Labour Club robbery culprits appear in court and Christian Barnard responds to a plea to help two Haydock hole-in-the heart boys.
We begin on the 3rd with a letter in the Liverpool Echo from William Stirrup of Pike House in Eccleston – who I believe worked at Rainhill Hospital. He was angry about an unnamed Liverpool firm making 60 redundancies – some after 30 years of service – and ignoring the workers as they left the firm for the final time:
"Has management become so computerised as to be devoid completely of all humanity? I can appreciate how these 60 redundant staff felt when they received their redundancy notice, according to the regulation, but I cannot pretend to understand their feelings when leaving that firm where no one in authority had the human decency to say thank you. If this is the way managers behave, then heaven help us in the future."
Also on the 3rd the Echo published this article about three-year-old Colin Gee of Eldon Street, near Toll Bar: "Granddad Stan Cook never thought he'd keep the promise made at his sick grandson's bedside. For, the doctors said, little Colin Gee had only hours to live. He had had a relapse after an emergency kidney operation. But the three-years-old Colin, of Eldon Street, St. Helens, came round and earned a “miracle baby” tag from the staff at Liverpool's Alder Hey Hospital.
"And yesterday, Stan kept his hospital bed promise by taking Colin for a day at the seaside. As blond-haired Colin played on Southport beach, his mother, 24-years-old Mrs. Betty Gee said: “Only a few weeks ago I thought we'd lost him. It is marvellous to see him so happy again.”
"Colin had a five-hour operation to remove a tumour from one of his kidneys. He came out of the operation well, but then suffered a serious relapse. Mrs. Gee said that her husband, Roy, went to the hospital to see their son and when he came back he said that Colin had gone into a coma and wasn't expected to come round. “But the same afternoon, he opened his eyes, blinked a couple of times, asked for his dummy, and he's never looked back since.”
"“As soon as he came out of hospital, he reminded me of my promise. His eyes lit up when I told him we were going to the seaside. It has really done him good,” said his 63-years-old granddad. After the beach, the ice creams, the pop and the fairground, a smiling Colin said, “Thank you, granddad.”"
On the 4th a fire broke out at St Luke's School in Shaw Lane in Prescot causing £1,000 worth of damage to classrooms. Two 11-year-olds would later be charged with arson.
There was a gassing incident at a house in Green Leach Avenue in Haresfinch on the 5th, which led to a man and a woman being rushed to hospital. The male was found to be dead on arrival and the woman was admitted unconscious. Gas Board officials were reported to be examining the property.
On the following day John Chadwick of Cable Road in Whiston had to jump through his bedroom window to safety when fire broke out at his home. The 26-year-old night shift worker at Stoves of Rainhill was in bed when he heard his four-year-old son screaming outside the house. Mr Chadwick saw smoke and flames coming from his living room and travelling up the stairs and so jumped through the window into his garden. Neighbours tackled the flames with a garden hose until Whiston firemen arrived but the living room was still badly damaged.
After coming off stage on the 5th, Derek sat down in the theatre bar with four St Helens men who had been POWs at the same German camp as himself during WW2. They were Leonard Mees of Sackville Road, Windle; Daniel Jones of Mona Street, Nicholas Burke of Stanley Avenue in Rainford and greengrocer Harry Leech of West End Road, Haydock. They had all been prisoners in Stalag 7A near Munich where Derek had taken part in revues to keep spirits the men's up.
The Guardian was advertising three St Helens school vacancies on the 6th. Carr Mill Infants was seeking a headmistress, Robins Lane Secondary wanted a head of mathematics and Knowsley Road Junior School was advertising for a headteacher. The latter was an unusual advertisement as it was still normal to specify headmaster or headmistress when recruiting.
The Liverpool Echo on the 6th described the death of singer Dickie Valentine in a car crash, with journalist George Harrison calling him "one of the most generous, warm-hearted men I ever knew in show business" and recalling one particularly kind act:
"On one of his visits to Liverpool, I told him about a girl in Rainhill Hospital, who was a great fan of his and had bought tickets for his show. She collapsed a few days before he arrived and was at Rainhill heartbroken over missing him. “What are we waiting for?” said Dickie. We piled into his car, with his accompanist, and went to the hospital. There he quietly arranged for a piano to be pushed into the girl's ward. Then he walked in and gave his full hour's show to the kid and everybody else who clustered in to hear him."
There was a bad storm during the evening of the 6th and a barn on Lord Derby's estate at Home Farm Road in Knowsley was badly damaged after lightning started a fire. Two children had a remarkable escape from serious injury after lightning struck their bedroom at the Railway Hotel at Pemberton, Wigan. Four-year-old Amanda Topping and her three-year-old brother Stephen were snatched to safety as the bedroom wall and ceiling collapsed and their room caught fire.
The Echo reported on the 8th that a St Helens woman had written to Dr Christian Barnard pleading with him to help save the lives of her two nephews. Elizabeth Livesey of Clarkes Crescent in Eccleston had sent the letter to the South African heart transplant pioneer on behalf of 13-year-old John Bickerstaffe and his 9-year-old brother Harold, of Bishop Reeves Road in Haydock. Both had holes in their hearts and John was scheduled to undergo another major operation at the Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital within the next few weeks.
He had had his first operation when he was eighteen-months-old. Soon afterwards, the hole reopened and he and his brother had been under the regular care of heart specialists ever since. Mrs Livesey told the Echo: "I understand that Dr Barnard has perfected hole-in-the-heart surgery. I feel that, if they go to him, they stand an excellent chance."
And finally the non-St Helens article that attracted my attention in the Echo this week was a reflection on the days when £20 a week was considered a mighty wage: "Ten years ago a wage of £1,000 per annum had a magical ring about it. It was the pinnacle to which the majority of working people aspired. It meant mortgages and fridges, cars and holidays abroad. In fact, once you'd got your first £20 a week pay packet, you'd really arrived. But to-day £1,000 has a far from magical ring about it.
"It is now the official level of modern hardship a week. Under recent legislation, a man earning £20 a week can qualify for the new Family Income Supplement to eke out his wages. For the Government has recognised that the £1,000-a-year man in 1971 is on the bread-line and in need of help. His wages are just enough to keep body and soul together – and no more. A mortgage would be hard to come by and things like a new car or a colour TV set would be impossible. Even a holiday abroad at to-day's cheap package rates would be out of the question.
"£1,000 just ain't what it used to be. Ironically, though, it hit the headlines recently for a very different reason. For £1,000 was the amount of money awarded to a small number of senior Ford employees as a pay rise. It brought their wages up to the £4,000 plus bracket. Amid all the controversy we decided to ask some ordinary people what £1,000 meant to them – 10 years ago and now.
"Mr. John O'Connor, secretary of the Liverpool and Bootle branch of the Police Federation: “In 1960, the prospect of £1,000 a year was enough to bring recruits flocking into the force. It was the magic figure mentioned by a Royal Commission on policemen's pay. The effect in one division was to take it from nearly 70 below strength to almost full strength.”"
Next Week's stories will include the Labour gains at the local council elections, the Moss Bank Labour Club robbery culprits appear in court and Christian Barnard responds to a plea to help two Haydock hole-in-the heart boys.
This week's many stories include the miracle child of Eldon Street, a Whiston man leaps from his bedroom to avoid a fire, a star holds a POW reunion at the Theatre Royal and the day Dickie Valentine entertained a patient at Rainhill Hospital.
We begin on the 3rd with a letter in the Liverpool Echo from William Stirrup of Pike House in Eccleston – who I believe worked at Rainhill Hospital.
He was angry about an unnamed Liverpool firm making 60 redundancies – some after 30 years of service – and ignoring the workers as they left the firm for the final time:
"Has management become so computerised as to be devoid completely of all humanity?
"I can appreciate how these 60 redundant staff felt when they received their redundancy notice, according to the regulation, but I cannot pretend to understand their feelings when leaving that firm where no one in authority had the human decency to say thank you.
"If this is the way managers behave, then heaven help us in the future."
Also on the 3rd the Echo published this article about three-year-old Colin Gee of Eldon Street, near Toll Bar:
"Granddad Stan Cook never thought he'd keep the promise made at his sick grandson's bedside.
"For, the doctors said, little Colin Gee had only hours to live. He had had a relapse after an emergency kidney operation.
"But the three-years-old Colin, of Eldon Street, St. Helens, came round and earned a “miracle baby” tag from the staff at Liverpool's Alder Hey Hospital.
"And yesterday, Stan kept his hospital bed promise by taking Colin for a day at the seaside. As blond-haired Colin played on Southport beach, his mother, 24-years-old Mrs. Betty Gee said:
"“Only a few weeks ago I thought we'd lost him. It is marvellous to see him so happy again.”
"Colin had a five-hour operation to remove a tumour from one of his kidneys. He came out of the operation well, but then suffered a serious relapse.
"Mrs. Gee said that her husband, Roy, went to the hospital to see their son and when he came back he said that Colin had gone into a coma and wasn't expected to come round.
"“But the same afternoon, he opened his eyes, blinked a couple of times, asked for his dummy, and he's never looked back since.”
"“As soon as he came out of hospital, he reminded me of my promise. His eyes lit up when I told him we were going to the seaside. It has really done him good,” said his 63-years-old granddad.
"After the beach, the ice creams, the pop and the fairground, a smiling Colin said, “Thank you, granddad.”"
On the 4th a fire broke out at St Luke's School in Shaw Lane in Prescot causing £1,000 worth of damage to classrooms. Two 11-year-olds would later be charged with arson.
There was a gassing incident at a house in Green Leach Avenue in Haresfinch on the 5th, which led to a man and a woman being rushed to hospital.
The male was found to be dead on arrival and the woman was admitted unconscious. Gas Board officials were reported to be examining the property.
On the following day John Chadwick of Cable Road in Whiston had to jump through his bedroom window to safety when fire broke out at his home.
The 26-year-old night shift worker at Stoves of Rainhill was in bed when he heard his four-year-old son screaming outside the house.
Mr Chadwick saw smoke and flames coming from his living room and travelling up the stairs and so jumped through the window into his garden.
Neighbours tackled the flames with a garden hose until Whiston firemen arrived but the living room was still badly damaged.
Richard Todd is probably best remembered for his portrayal of Wing Commander Guy Gibson in the 1955 film 'The Dam Busters'.
Todd's film career had dipped during the ‘60s and he had now returned to the stage. During this week he performed at the Theatre Royal in the play 'The Grass Is Greener'.
Also starring was Derek Bond, who played Edward Woodward's boss Hunter in the TV series 'Callan'.
After coming off stage on the 5th, Derek sat down in the theatre bar with four St Helens men who had been POWs at the same German camp as himself during WW2.
They were Leonard Mees of Sackville Road, Windle; Daniel Jones of Mona Street, Nicholas Burke of Stanley Avenue in Rainford and greengrocer Harry Leech of West End Road, Haydock.
They had all been prisoners in Stalag 7A near Munich where Derek had taken part in revues to keep spirits the men's up.
The Guardian was advertising three St Helens school vacancies on the 6th.
Carr Mill Infants was seeking a headmistress, Robins Lane Secondary wanted a head of mathematics and Knowsley Road Junior School was advertising for a headteacher.
The latter was an unusual advertisement as it was still normal to specify headmaster or headmistress when recruiting.
The Liverpool Echo on the 6th described the death of singer Dickie Valentine in a car crash, with journalist George Harrison calling him "one of the most generous, warm-hearted men I ever knew in show business" and recalling one particularly kind act:
"On one of his visits to Liverpool, I told him about a girl in Rainhill Hospital, who was a great fan of his and had bought tickets for his show. She collapsed a few days before he arrived and was at Rainhill heartbroken over missing him.
"“What are we waiting for?” said Dickie. We piled into his car, with his accompanist, and went to the hospital. There he quietly arranged for a piano to be pushed into the girl's ward.
"Then he walked in and gave his full hour's show to the kid and everybody else who clustered in to hear him."
There was a bad storm during the evening of the 6th and a barn on Lord Derby's estate at Home Farm Road in Knowsley was badly damaged after lightning started a fire.
Two children had a remarkable escape from serious injury after lightning struck their bedroom at the Railway Hotel at Pemberton, Wigan.
Four-year-old Amanda Topping and her three-year-old brother Stephen were snatched to safety as the bedroom wall and ceiling collapsed and their room caught fire.
The Echo reported on the 8th that a St Helens woman had written to Dr Christian Barnard pleading with him to help save the lives of her two nephews.
Elizabeth Livesey of Clarkes Crescent in Eccleston had sent the letter to the South African heart transplant pioneer on behalf of 13-year-old John Bickerstaffe and his 9-year-old brother Harold, of Bishop Reeves Road in Haydock.
Both had holes in their hearts and John was scheduled to undergo another major operation at the Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital within the next few weeks.
He had had his first operation when he was eighteen-months-old. Soon afterwards, the hole reopened and he and his brother had been under the regular care of heart specialists ever since.
Mrs Livesey told the Echo: "I understand that Dr Barnard has perfected hole-in-the-heart surgery. I feel that, if they go to him, they stand an excellent chance."
And finally the non-St Helens article that attracted my attention in the Echo this week was a reflection on the days when £20 a week was considered a mighty wage:
"Ten years ago a wage of £1,000 per annum had a magical ring about it. It was the pinnacle to which the majority of working people aspired. It meant mortgages and fridges, cars and holidays abroad.
"In fact, once you'd got your first £20 a week pay packet, you'd really arrived. But to-day £1,000 has a far from magical ring about it.
"It is now the official level of modern hardship a week. Under recent legislation, a man earning £20 a week can qualify for the new Family Income Supplement to eke out his wages.
"For the Government has recognised that the £1,000-a-year man in 1971 is on the bread-line and in need of help.
"His wages are just enough to keep body and soul together – and no more. A mortgage would be hard to come by and things like a new car or a colour TV set would be impossible.
"Even a holiday abroad at to-day's cheap package rates would be out of the question.
"£1,000 just ain't what it used to be. Ironically, though, it hit the headlines recently for a very different reason.
"For £1,000 was the amount of money awarded to a small number of senior Ford employees as a pay rise. It brought their wages up to the £4,000 plus bracket.
"Amid all the controversy we decided to ask some ordinary people what £1,000 meant to them – 10 years ago and now.
"Mr. John O'Connor, secretary of the Liverpool and Bootle branch of the Police Federation:
"“In 1960, the prospect of £1,000 a year was enough to bring recruits flocking into the force. It was the magic figure mentioned by a Royal Commission on policemen's pay.
"“The effect in one division was to take it from nearly 70 below strength to almost full strength.”"
Next Week's stories will include the Labour gains at the local council elections, the Moss Bank Labour Club robbery culprits appear in court and Christian Barnard responds to a plea to help two Haydock hole-in-the heart boys.
We begin on the 3rd with a letter in the Liverpool Echo from William Stirrup of Pike House in Eccleston – who I believe worked at Rainhill Hospital.
He was angry about an unnamed Liverpool firm making 60 redundancies – some after 30 years of service – and ignoring the workers as they left the firm for the final time:
"Has management become so computerised as to be devoid completely of all humanity?
"I can appreciate how these 60 redundant staff felt when they received their redundancy notice, according to the regulation, but I cannot pretend to understand their feelings when leaving that firm where no one in authority had the human decency to say thank you.
"If this is the way managers behave, then heaven help us in the future."
Also on the 3rd the Echo published this article about three-year-old Colin Gee of Eldon Street, near Toll Bar:
"Granddad Stan Cook never thought he'd keep the promise made at his sick grandson's bedside.
"For, the doctors said, little Colin Gee had only hours to live. He had had a relapse after an emergency kidney operation.
"But the three-years-old Colin, of Eldon Street, St. Helens, came round and earned a “miracle baby” tag from the staff at Liverpool's Alder Hey Hospital.
"And yesterday, Stan kept his hospital bed promise by taking Colin for a day at the seaside. As blond-haired Colin played on Southport beach, his mother, 24-years-old Mrs. Betty Gee said:
"“Only a few weeks ago I thought we'd lost him. It is marvellous to see him so happy again.”
"Colin had a five-hour operation to remove a tumour from one of his kidneys. He came out of the operation well, but then suffered a serious relapse.
"Mrs. Gee said that her husband, Roy, went to the hospital to see their son and when he came back he said that Colin had gone into a coma and wasn't expected to come round.
"“But the same afternoon, he opened his eyes, blinked a couple of times, asked for his dummy, and he's never looked back since.”
"“As soon as he came out of hospital, he reminded me of my promise. His eyes lit up when I told him we were going to the seaside. It has really done him good,” said his 63-years-old granddad.
"After the beach, the ice creams, the pop and the fairground, a smiling Colin said, “Thank you, granddad.”"
On the 4th a fire broke out at St Luke's School in Shaw Lane in Prescot causing £1,000 worth of damage to classrooms. Two 11-year-olds would later be charged with arson.
There was a gassing incident at a house in Green Leach Avenue in Haresfinch on the 5th, which led to a man and a woman being rushed to hospital.
The male was found to be dead on arrival and the woman was admitted unconscious. Gas Board officials were reported to be examining the property.
On the following day John Chadwick of Cable Road in Whiston had to jump through his bedroom window to safety when fire broke out at his home.
The 26-year-old night shift worker at Stoves of Rainhill was in bed when he heard his four-year-old son screaming outside the house.
Mr Chadwick saw smoke and flames coming from his living room and travelling up the stairs and so jumped through the window into his garden.
Neighbours tackled the flames with a garden hose until Whiston firemen arrived but the living room was still badly damaged.
Todd's film career had dipped during the ‘60s and he had now returned to the stage. During this week he performed at the Theatre Royal in the play 'The Grass Is Greener'.
Also starring was Derek Bond, who played Edward Woodward's boss Hunter in the TV series 'Callan'.
After coming off stage on the 5th, Derek sat down in the theatre bar with four St Helens men who had been POWs at the same German camp as himself during WW2.
They were Leonard Mees of Sackville Road, Windle; Daniel Jones of Mona Street, Nicholas Burke of Stanley Avenue in Rainford and greengrocer Harry Leech of West End Road, Haydock.
They had all been prisoners in Stalag 7A near Munich where Derek had taken part in revues to keep spirits the men's up.
The Guardian was advertising three St Helens school vacancies on the 6th.
Carr Mill Infants was seeking a headmistress, Robins Lane Secondary wanted a head of mathematics and Knowsley Road Junior School was advertising for a headteacher.
The latter was an unusual advertisement as it was still normal to specify headmaster or headmistress when recruiting.
The Liverpool Echo on the 6th described the death of singer Dickie Valentine in a car crash, with journalist George Harrison calling him "one of the most generous, warm-hearted men I ever knew in show business" and recalling one particularly kind act:
"On one of his visits to Liverpool, I told him about a girl in Rainhill Hospital, who was a great fan of his and had bought tickets for his show. She collapsed a few days before he arrived and was at Rainhill heartbroken over missing him.
"“What are we waiting for?” said Dickie. We piled into his car, with his accompanist, and went to the hospital. There he quietly arranged for a piano to be pushed into the girl's ward.
"Then he walked in and gave his full hour's show to the kid and everybody else who clustered in to hear him."
There was a bad storm during the evening of the 6th and a barn on Lord Derby's estate at Home Farm Road in Knowsley was badly damaged after lightning started a fire.
Two children had a remarkable escape from serious injury after lightning struck their bedroom at the Railway Hotel at Pemberton, Wigan.
Four-year-old Amanda Topping and her three-year-old brother Stephen were snatched to safety as the bedroom wall and ceiling collapsed and their room caught fire.
The Echo reported on the 8th that a St Helens woman had written to Dr Christian Barnard pleading with him to help save the lives of her two nephews.
Elizabeth Livesey of Clarkes Crescent in Eccleston had sent the letter to the South African heart transplant pioneer on behalf of 13-year-old John Bickerstaffe and his 9-year-old brother Harold, of Bishop Reeves Road in Haydock.
Both had holes in their hearts and John was scheduled to undergo another major operation at the Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital within the next few weeks.
He had had his first operation when he was eighteen-months-old. Soon afterwards, the hole reopened and he and his brother had been under the regular care of heart specialists ever since.
Mrs Livesey told the Echo: "I understand that Dr Barnard has perfected hole-in-the-heart surgery. I feel that, if they go to him, they stand an excellent chance."
And finally the non-St Helens article that attracted my attention in the Echo this week was a reflection on the days when £20 a week was considered a mighty wage:
"Ten years ago a wage of £1,000 per annum had a magical ring about it. It was the pinnacle to which the majority of working people aspired. It meant mortgages and fridges, cars and holidays abroad.
"In fact, once you'd got your first £20 a week pay packet, you'd really arrived. But to-day £1,000 has a far from magical ring about it.
"It is now the official level of modern hardship a week. Under recent legislation, a man earning £20 a week can qualify for the new Family Income Supplement to eke out his wages.
"For the Government has recognised that the £1,000-a-year man in 1971 is on the bread-line and in need of help.
"His wages are just enough to keep body and soul together – and no more. A mortgage would be hard to come by and things like a new car or a colour TV set would be impossible.
"Even a holiday abroad at to-day's cheap package rates would be out of the question.
"£1,000 just ain't what it used to be. Ironically, though, it hit the headlines recently for a very different reason.
"For £1,000 was the amount of money awarded to a small number of senior Ford employees as a pay rise. It brought their wages up to the £4,000 plus bracket.
"Amid all the controversy we decided to ask some ordinary people what £1,000 meant to them – 10 years ago and now.
"Mr. John O'Connor, secretary of the Liverpool and Bootle branch of the Police Federation:
"“In 1960, the prospect of £1,000 a year was enough to bring recruits flocking into the force. It was the magic figure mentioned by a Royal Commission on policemen's pay.
"“The effect in one division was to take it from nearly 70 below strength to almost full strength.”"
Next Week's stories will include the Labour gains at the local council elections, the Moss Bank Labour Club robbery culprits appear in court and Christian Barnard responds to a plea to help two Haydock hole-in-the heart boys.