FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 5 - 11 JANUARY 1976
This week's many stories include the cutbacks proposed for the St Helens Show, footballer Ian Callaghan visits McLean and Appleton's garage to hand out competition prizes, there's bad news for the Ravenhead Action Committee, the lads employed on a clean-up campaign at St Helens' eyesores and the opening of the public inquiry into Leathers Chemicals' appeal against St Helens Council's closure order.
We begin on the 5th when the Pilkington Musical Society began a week's performances of Cinderella at the Theatre Royal. Later in the month Jack and the Beanstalk and Aladdin would both be presented in Corporation Street.
McLean and Appleton's garage had recently organised a painting competition for children in which the three main winners would enjoy a bird's eye view of St Helens from a helicopter. On the 5th Liverpool football star Ian Callaghan presented 30 runners-up with their consolation prizes at the garage showrooms in Prescot Road. And it was announced that the three winners of the star prize were 5-year-old Julie Welding of Bridge Road in Clock Face, 7-year-old Robert Showering of View Road in Rainhill and 8-year-old Joanna Houghton of The Meadows in Rainhill who would soon be taking to the air.
The Ravenhead Action Committee had been formed in 1975 to fight plans to close Pilkington's TV glassware plant. They certainly had an uphill battle. The works was believed to be losing as much as £400,000 a month and the government had refused to provide a temporary subsidy on the ground that the factory had no future. But any slim hopes that the plant could be saved disappeared this week with the news that Thorn's TV factory in Skelmersdale was to close.
The Ravenhead plant was the main supplier of glassware for Thorn and it was now expected that Pilks' planned shutdown scheduled for the end of March would be brought forward. Of the 750 workers originally at the Ravenhead plant, only 280 currently remained, with some staff having been redeployed to the glass firm's other factories and others accepting voluntary redundancy or had retired.
"‘Acid Fumes Choked My Scholars’ Says Head", was the headline to a front-page story in the St Helens Reporter on the 9th. Peter Knight, the headmaster at Robins Lane Secondary School, had told a public inquiry at St Helens Town Hall that in September 1973 children from his school had been left breathless through fumes emitted by Leathers Chemicals (pictured above). "A number of pupils were in distress," Mr Knight explained. "They were finding it difficult to breathe running on the football field. Some with bronchial trouble had to be taken indoors."
The sulphuric acid plant was appealing against an order from St Helens Council to close down its works in Lancots Lane. Anthony Crosland, the Secretary of State for the Environment, had ordered that a public inquiry should take place, which had begun on the 6th and was expected to last a couple of weeks. Schoolteacher Angela Hetherington from St Cuthbert's School in Berry's Lane had also given evidence of leakages from Leathers.
And Jim Atherton, chairman of East Sutton Residents Association, told the inquiry: "The people of Sutton have managed to live with their poor environment and bad smells over the years. But we have a feeling of betrayal by British Sidac. From all the promises to improve the environment we have a situation that has deteriorated." In 1968 British Sidac had requested planning permission to build a £1.3 million sulphuric acid plant adjacent to their main works in Lancots Lane.
Sidac stated that the new factory would result in pollution levels being reduced. That was because the intention had been for the plant to recycle the sulphurous effluent that Sidac discharged into Sutton Brook. After outline planning permission had been granted, the council was surprised to learn that Leathers Chemicals and not Sidac would be operating the new plant and eventually the two firms admitted that they could not get their planned recycling scheme to function – but they denied misleading anyone.
The Reporter also described how a mass rally of women Labour club members was planned for early February to "iron out their rights" under the new Sex Discrimination Act. Organised by Anne Ward, who was a committee member of the Moss Bank ward, the women wanted to discuss where they stood in having their say in Labour club policy. It was said that in some of the town's Labour clubs, women were being barred from their management committees because they paid reduced subscriptions.
The St Helens Reporter stated that well-known comedian Bonk Shaw had passed away at the age of 48. Bonk, of Laurel Road in Haydock, had died suddenly of a heart attack and the paper said he had performed in most of Merseyside's social clubs, including those in St Helens. Top comedians, including George Roper, were expected to attend his funeral at St Helens crematorium.
The Reporter also described plans to cut the budget for the next St Helens Show by £7,000. The money-saving proposals, which had yet to be approved, included the scrapping of the dog show and beat night and the issuing of free meal tickets to participants in the outdoor displays. The future of the beer and refreshment tent was also hanging in the balance and it was also hoped to save money by only using one entertainment marquee.
Other economies included raising the cost of the show programme from 15p to 20p. And advertising charges were set to rise by 20% and charitable organisations that sold goods or raised money at the show would now have to pay the full rental charge. A Town Hall spokesman said: "We are hoping to run the show this year on the amount of money which it cost to run it last year. Plans to scrap the Dog Show were proposed because this event costs more than any other at the show, around £2,500."
Tyrer's January sale was well underway offering "many half-price bargains". Ladies boots were advertised in the Reporter for £7.99; various styles of dresses for £5.99 and Jaeger skirts cost £9.99.
The paper described how a number of boys were hard at work on a clean-up campaign at a number of local eyesores. At Hewitt Avenue in Newtown, a group of about nine lads were busy cleaning the old burial ground opposite St Teresa's Church. In recent years the graveyard – which was over 100 years old – had been a target for vandals and, along with general neglect, had become an eyesore.
The lads, all aged 16 and 17, said they were glad of the opportunity to do some work. John Sharp of Clipsley Lane in Haydock explained his reasons for participating in the clean-up: "I have been out of work for about a year. Anything is better than being on the dole. We are doing something useful here and getting paid for it. In fact we will probably be earning three times as much as we get from the dole." And Peter Thelwell from Brunswick Street in Parr said: "This is the first job I have had since leaving school in the summer. It is hopeless. There is just nothing at all."
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the little girls that flew thousands of miles to St Helens, the plans to open two dog tracks in Jackson Street, the boom in ear piercing in St Helens and a bank customer complains after being booked for parking.
We begin on the 5th when the Pilkington Musical Society began a week's performances of Cinderella at the Theatre Royal. Later in the month Jack and the Beanstalk and Aladdin would both be presented in Corporation Street.
McLean and Appleton's garage had recently organised a painting competition for children in which the three main winners would enjoy a bird's eye view of St Helens from a helicopter. On the 5th Liverpool football star Ian Callaghan presented 30 runners-up with their consolation prizes at the garage showrooms in Prescot Road. And it was announced that the three winners of the star prize were 5-year-old Julie Welding of Bridge Road in Clock Face, 7-year-old Robert Showering of View Road in Rainhill and 8-year-old Joanna Houghton of The Meadows in Rainhill who would soon be taking to the air.
The Ravenhead Action Committee had been formed in 1975 to fight plans to close Pilkington's TV glassware plant. They certainly had an uphill battle. The works was believed to be losing as much as £400,000 a month and the government had refused to provide a temporary subsidy on the ground that the factory had no future. But any slim hopes that the plant could be saved disappeared this week with the news that Thorn's TV factory in Skelmersdale was to close.
The Ravenhead plant was the main supplier of glassware for Thorn and it was now expected that Pilks' planned shutdown scheduled for the end of March would be brought forward. Of the 750 workers originally at the Ravenhead plant, only 280 currently remained, with some staff having been redeployed to the glass firm's other factories and others accepting voluntary redundancy or had retired.
The sulphuric acid plant was appealing against an order from St Helens Council to close down its works in Lancots Lane. Anthony Crosland, the Secretary of State for the Environment, had ordered that a public inquiry should take place, which had begun on the 6th and was expected to last a couple of weeks. Schoolteacher Angela Hetherington from St Cuthbert's School in Berry's Lane had also given evidence of leakages from Leathers.
And Jim Atherton, chairman of East Sutton Residents Association, told the inquiry: "The people of Sutton have managed to live with their poor environment and bad smells over the years. But we have a feeling of betrayal by British Sidac. From all the promises to improve the environment we have a situation that has deteriorated." In 1968 British Sidac had requested planning permission to build a £1.3 million sulphuric acid plant adjacent to their main works in Lancots Lane.
Sidac stated that the new factory would result in pollution levels being reduced. That was because the intention had been for the plant to recycle the sulphurous effluent that Sidac discharged into Sutton Brook. After outline planning permission had been granted, the council was surprised to learn that Leathers Chemicals and not Sidac would be operating the new plant and eventually the two firms admitted that they could not get their planned recycling scheme to function – but they denied misleading anyone.
The Reporter also described how a mass rally of women Labour club members was planned for early February to "iron out their rights" under the new Sex Discrimination Act. Organised by Anne Ward, who was a committee member of the Moss Bank ward, the women wanted to discuss where they stood in having their say in Labour club policy. It was said that in some of the town's Labour clubs, women were being barred from their management committees because they paid reduced subscriptions.
The St Helens Reporter stated that well-known comedian Bonk Shaw had passed away at the age of 48. Bonk, of Laurel Road in Haydock, had died suddenly of a heart attack and the paper said he had performed in most of Merseyside's social clubs, including those in St Helens. Top comedians, including George Roper, were expected to attend his funeral at St Helens crematorium.
The Reporter also described plans to cut the budget for the next St Helens Show by £7,000. The money-saving proposals, which had yet to be approved, included the scrapping of the dog show and beat night and the issuing of free meal tickets to participants in the outdoor displays. The future of the beer and refreshment tent was also hanging in the balance and it was also hoped to save money by only using one entertainment marquee.
Other economies included raising the cost of the show programme from 15p to 20p. And advertising charges were set to rise by 20% and charitable organisations that sold goods or raised money at the show would now have to pay the full rental charge. A Town Hall spokesman said: "We are hoping to run the show this year on the amount of money which it cost to run it last year. Plans to scrap the Dog Show were proposed because this event costs more than any other at the show, around £2,500."
The paper described how a number of boys were hard at work on a clean-up campaign at a number of local eyesores. At Hewitt Avenue in Newtown, a group of about nine lads were busy cleaning the old burial ground opposite St Teresa's Church. In recent years the graveyard – which was over 100 years old – had been a target for vandals and, along with general neglect, had become an eyesore.
The lads, all aged 16 and 17, said they were glad of the opportunity to do some work. John Sharp of Clipsley Lane in Haydock explained his reasons for participating in the clean-up: "I have been out of work for about a year. Anything is better than being on the dole. We are doing something useful here and getting paid for it. In fact we will probably be earning three times as much as we get from the dole." And Peter Thelwell from Brunswick Street in Parr said: "This is the first job I have had since leaving school in the summer. It is hopeless. There is just nothing at all."
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the little girls that flew thousands of miles to St Helens, the plans to open two dog tracks in Jackson Street, the boom in ear piercing in St Helens and a bank customer complains after being booked for parking.
This week's many stories include the cutbacks proposed for the St Helens Show, footballer Ian Callaghan visits McLean and Appleton's garage to hand out competition prizes, there's bad news for the Ravenhead Action Committee, the lads employed on a clean-up campaign at St Helens' eyesores and the opening of the public inquiry into Leathers Chemicals' appeal against St Helens Council's closure order.
We begin on the 5th when the Pilkington Musical Society began a week's performances of Cinderella at the Theatre Royal.
Later in the month Jack and the Beanstalk and Aladdin would both be presented in Corporation Street.
McLean and Appleton's garage had recently organised a painting competition for children in which the three main winners would enjoy a bird's eye view of St Helens from a helicopter.
On the 5th Liverpool football star Ian Callaghan presented 30 runners-up with their consolation prizes at the garage showrooms in Prescot Road.
And it was announced that the three winners of the star prize were 5-year-old Julie Welding of Bridge Road in Clock Face, 7-year-old Robert Showering of View Road in Rainhill and 8-year-old Joanna Houghton of The Meadows in Rainhill who would soon be taking to the air.
The Ravenhead Action Committee had been formed in 1975 to fight plans to close Pilkington's TV glassware plant.
They certainly had an uphill battle. The works was believed to be losing as much as £400,000 a month and the government had refused to provide a temporary subsidy on the ground that the factory had no future.
But any slim hopes that the plant could be saved disappeared this week with the news that Thorn's TV factory in Skelmersdale was to close.
The Ravenhead plant was the main supplier of glassware for Thorn and it was now expected that Pilks' planned shutdown scheduled for the end of March would be brought forward.
Of the 750 workers originally at the Ravenhead plant, only 280 currently remained, with some staff having been redeployed to the glass firm's other factories and others accepting voluntary redundancy or had retired.
"‘Acid Fumes Choked My Scholars’ Says Head", was the headline to a front-page story in the St Helens Reporter on the 9th.
Peter Knight, the headmaster at Robins Lane Secondary School, had told a public inquiry at St Helens Town Hall that in September 1973 children from his school had been left breathless through fumes emitted by Leathers Chemicals (pictured above).
"A number of pupils were in distress," Mr Knight explained. "They were finding it difficult to breathe running on the football field. Some with bronchial trouble had to be taken indoors."
The sulphuric acid plant was appealing against an order from St Helens Council to close down its works in Lancots Lane.
Anthony Crosland, the Secretary of State for the Environment, had ordered that a public inquiry should take place, which had begun on the 6th and was expected to last a couple of weeks.
Schoolteacher Angela Hetherington from St Cuthbert's School in Berry's Lane had also given evidence of leakages from Leathers.
And Jim Atherton, chairman of East Sutton Residents Association, told the inquiry:
"The people of Sutton have managed to live with their poor environment and bad smells over the years. But we have a feeling of betrayal by British Sidac. From all the promises to improve the environment we have a situation that has deteriorated."
In 1968 British Sidac had requested planning permission to build a £1.3 million sulphuric acid plant adjacent to their main works in Lancots Lane.
Sidac stated that the new factory would result in pollution levels being reduced. That was because the intention had been for the plant to recycle the sulphurous effluent that Sidac discharged into Sutton Brook.
After outline planning permission had been granted, the council was surprised to learn that Leathers Chemicals and not Sidac would be operating the new plant and eventually the two firms admitted that they could not get their planned recycling scheme to function – but they denied misleading anyone.
The Reporter also described how a mass rally of women Labour club members was planned for early February to "iron out their rights" under the new Sex Discrimination Act.
Organised by Anne Ward, who was a committee member of the Moss Bank ward, the women wanted to discuss where they stood in having their say in Labour club policy.
It was said that in some of the town's Labour clubs, women were being barred from their management committees because they paid reduced subscriptions.
The St Helens Reporter stated that well-known comedian Bonk Shaw had passed away at the age of 48.
Bonk, of Laurel Road in Haydock, had died suddenly of a heart attack and the paper said he had performed in most of Merseyside's social clubs, including those in St Helens.
Top comedians, including George Roper, were expected to attend his funeral at St Helens crematorium.
The Reporter also described plans to cut the budget for the next St Helens Show by £7,000.
The money-saving proposals, which had yet to be approved, included the scrapping of the dog show and beat night and the issuing of free meal tickets to participants in the outdoor displays.
The future of the beer and refreshment tent was also hanging in the balance and it was also hoped to save money by only using one entertainment marquee.
Other economies included raising the cost of the show programme from 15p to 20p.
And advertising charges were set to rise by 20% and charitable organisations that sold goods or raised money at the show would now have to pay the full rental charge.
A Town Hall spokesman said: "We are hoping to run the show this year on the amount of money which it cost to run it last year. Plans to scrap the Dog Show were proposed because this event costs more than any other at the show, around £2,500."
Tyrer's January sale was well underway offering "many half-price bargains".
Ladies boots were advertised in the Reporter for £7.99; various styles of dresses for £5.99 and Jaeger skirts cost £9.99.
The paper described how a number of boys were hard at work on a clean-up campaign at a number of local eyesores.
At Hewitt Avenue in Newtown, a group of about nine lads were busy cleaning the old burial ground opposite St Teresa's Church.
In recent years the graveyard – which was over 100 years old – had been a target for vandals and, along with general neglect, had become an eyesore.
The lads, all aged 16 and 17, said they were glad of the opportunity to do some work.
John Sharp of Clipsley Lane in Haydock explained his reasons for participating in the clean-up: "I have been out of work for about a year. Anything is better than being on the dole.
"We are doing something useful here and getting paid for it. In fact we will probably be earning three times as much as we get from the dole."
And Peter Thelwell from Brunswick Street in Parr said: "This is the first job I have had since leaving school in the summer. It is hopeless. There is just nothing at all."
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the little girls that flew thousands of miles to St Helens, the plans to open two dog tracks in Jackson Street, the boom in ear piercing in St Helens and a bank customer complains after being booked for parking.
We begin on the 5th when the Pilkington Musical Society began a week's performances of Cinderella at the Theatre Royal.
Later in the month Jack and the Beanstalk and Aladdin would both be presented in Corporation Street.
McLean and Appleton's garage had recently organised a painting competition for children in which the three main winners would enjoy a bird's eye view of St Helens from a helicopter.
On the 5th Liverpool football star Ian Callaghan presented 30 runners-up with their consolation prizes at the garage showrooms in Prescot Road.
And it was announced that the three winners of the star prize were 5-year-old Julie Welding of Bridge Road in Clock Face, 7-year-old Robert Showering of View Road in Rainhill and 8-year-old Joanna Houghton of The Meadows in Rainhill who would soon be taking to the air.
The Ravenhead Action Committee had been formed in 1975 to fight plans to close Pilkington's TV glassware plant.
They certainly had an uphill battle. The works was believed to be losing as much as £400,000 a month and the government had refused to provide a temporary subsidy on the ground that the factory had no future.
But any slim hopes that the plant could be saved disappeared this week with the news that Thorn's TV factory in Skelmersdale was to close.
The Ravenhead plant was the main supplier of glassware for Thorn and it was now expected that Pilks' planned shutdown scheduled for the end of March would be brought forward.
Of the 750 workers originally at the Ravenhead plant, only 280 currently remained, with some staff having been redeployed to the glass firm's other factories and others accepting voluntary redundancy or had retired.
Peter Knight, the headmaster at Robins Lane Secondary School, had told a public inquiry at St Helens Town Hall that in September 1973 children from his school had been left breathless through fumes emitted by Leathers Chemicals (pictured above).
"A number of pupils were in distress," Mr Knight explained. "They were finding it difficult to breathe running on the football field. Some with bronchial trouble had to be taken indoors."
The sulphuric acid plant was appealing against an order from St Helens Council to close down its works in Lancots Lane.
Anthony Crosland, the Secretary of State for the Environment, had ordered that a public inquiry should take place, which had begun on the 6th and was expected to last a couple of weeks.
Schoolteacher Angela Hetherington from St Cuthbert's School in Berry's Lane had also given evidence of leakages from Leathers.
And Jim Atherton, chairman of East Sutton Residents Association, told the inquiry:
"The people of Sutton have managed to live with their poor environment and bad smells over the years. But we have a feeling of betrayal by British Sidac. From all the promises to improve the environment we have a situation that has deteriorated."
In 1968 British Sidac had requested planning permission to build a £1.3 million sulphuric acid plant adjacent to their main works in Lancots Lane.
Sidac stated that the new factory would result in pollution levels being reduced. That was because the intention had been for the plant to recycle the sulphurous effluent that Sidac discharged into Sutton Brook.
After outline planning permission had been granted, the council was surprised to learn that Leathers Chemicals and not Sidac would be operating the new plant and eventually the two firms admitted that they could not get their planned recycling scheme to function – but they denied misleading anyone.
The Reporter also described how a mass rally of women Labour club members was planned for early February to "iron out their rights" under the new Sex Discrimination Act.
Organised by Anne Ward, who was a committee member of the Moss Bank ward, the women wanted to discuss where they stood in having their say in Labour club policy.
It was said that in some of the town's Labour clubs, women were being barred from their management committees because they paid reduced subscriptions.
The St Helens Reporter stated that well-known comedian Bonk Shaw had passed away at the age of 48.
Bonk, of Laurel Road in Haydock, had died suddenly of a heart attack and the paper said he had performed in most of Merseyside's social clubs, including those in St Helens.
Top comedians, including George Roper, were expected to attend his funeral at St Helens crematorium.
The Reporter also described plans to cut the budget for the next St Helens Show by £7,000.
The money-saving proposals, which had yet to be approved, included the scrapping of the dog show and beat night and the issuing of free meal tickets to participants in the outdoor displays.
The future of the beer and refreshment tent was also hanging in the balance and it was also hoped to save money by only using one entertainment marquee.
Other economies included raising the cost of the show programme from 15p to 20p.
And advertising charges were set to rise by 20% and charitable organisations that sold goods or raised money at the show would now have to pay the full rental charge.
A Town Hall spokesman said: "We are hoping to run the show this year on the amount of money which it cost to run it last year. Plans to scrap the Dog Show were proposed because this event costs more than any other at the show, around £2,500."
Ladies boots were advertised in the Reporter for £7.99; various styles of dresses for £5.99 and Jaeger skirts cost £9.99.
The paper described how a number of boys were hard at work on a clean-up campaign at a number of local eyesores.
At Hewitt Avenue in Newtown, a group of about nine lads were busy cleaning the old burial ground opposite St Teresa's Church.
In recent years the graveyard – which was over 100 years old – had been a target for vandals and, along with general neglect, had become an eyesore.
The lads, all aged 16 and 17, said they were glad of the opportunity to do some work.
John Sharp of Clipsley Lane in Haydock explained his reasons for participating in the clean-up: "I have been out of work for about a year. Anything is better than being on the dole.
"We are doing something useful here and getting paid for it. In fact we will probably be earning three times as much as we get from the dole."
And Peter Thelwell from Brunswick Street in Parr said: "This is the first job I have had since leaving school in the summer. It is hopeless. There is just nothing at all."
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the little girls that flew thousands of miles to St Helens, the plans to open two dog tracks in Jackson Street, the boom in ear piercing in St Helens and a bank customer complains after being booked for parking.