FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (6th - 12th MARCH 1973)
This week's 15 stories include the friendless, elderly patients in Rainhill Hospital, criticism of the wandering dogs of St Helens, there's another leak of sulphuric acid vapour from Leathers, a big step forward in the pedestrianisation of St Helens town centre, a report on the Fletcher triplets from Billinge and a fire chief slams the inconsiderate parking that was slowing his crew's response to call-outs.
We begin on the 7th when – after previous correspondents had criticised dog fouling on the streets – this letter from an H. Thomas of St Helens was published in the Liverpool Echo: "Sir, I am always amazed these dog haters see only one thing on the footpaths. I see broken bottles, chip papers, empty beer cans, men spitting, etc. The streets are absolutely filthy with this kind of mess. Let's have some agitation to get rid of the man-made litter. Nearly every beauty spot in the country is spoiled by the remains of picnics and people dumping old furniture in lakes and along river banks. I find this type of litter very repulsive. Does no one remember when we had horse drawn traffic and cattle walking to the abattoirs? I suppose we had people then complaining why weren't the animals made to visit the lavatory before they started their journey."
On the 7th a senior St Helens fire officer criticised car drivers for inconsiderate parking of their vehicles, which, he claimed, was delaying fire engines when racing to deal with calls. "Because of bad parking we can lose a lot of time and seconds are vital when it comes to saving life," said station officer Austin Curran. Mr Curran's comments came a day after a house fire in Birchfield Street in Thatto Heath when neighbours rescued four children from their blazing home.
When the fire appliances arrived they found cars parked on either side of the road and the gap in-between was too narrow for them to drive through. While they were still 100 yards away from the blazing house, the firemen had to jump off their machines and run to the house. "This is a danger we are increasingly coming across on residential estates", explained Mr Curran. "People are not parking in the best interests of everyone concerned. Many times we have had to manhandle the cars out of the way and we appeal to drivers to show more consideration and wherever possible to park in the driveways of their homes."
One of the heroes of the Birchfield Street fire was neighbour George Hesketh who had climbed through a window into a smoke-filled room to rescue three of the trapped children. Richard Sweeney had assisted him and Doreen Barrett from Rainhill brought out a fourth child. Anthony, Christopher, Ian and Daniel O’Brien – aged between 12 months and 5 years – were reported as suffering from the effects of smoke inhalation.
The new municipal 9-hole golf course at Sherdley Park was set to open at Easter and it was announced on the 7th that Peter Parkinson from Southport had been appointed its first professional golfer. There had been eighteen applicants for the job and the 25-year-old Mr Parkinson would receive a retaining fee of £700.
The Echo's front-page lead story on the 7th began: "An average of one in every four of the 6,000 old people in hospitals, homes and hostels on Merseyside officially is classed as “friendless.” These are people who never see a relative or a personal friend from one year's end to the next. Although they have dedicated staff to look after them and every modern convenience to make their last years more comfortable they lack the one thing they need most, friendship."
Many of the 750 over 65s in Rainhill Hospital (pictured above) had been admitted many years before because of psychiatric disorders but were now unable to be discharged. The Echo explained the problem: "Most have long since been cured but are still in hospital – old and unwanted – because there is nowhere else for them to go and no-one outside who cares." Nearly two-thirds of the Rainhill elderly had never had a visit from family or friends, with most of the remainder only receiving an occasional visit.
During the evening of the 8th there was yet another leakage from the under-fire Leathers sulphuric acid factory in Sutton. Several people were badly affected and Ken Griffiths, Chairman of the East Sutton & Marshalls Cross Action Group, warned that St Helens would have a riot on its hands if the Lancots Lane factory was not immediately closed.
The first complaint came at 6:35pm when a Mr Scott from Robins Lane rang Ken Griffiths to say he had been overcome by sulphuric acid vapour while walking in Sutton Road. More complaints came from as far off as Parr, as two men collapsed after breathing in sulphur dioxide fumes at Crosby Spring Interiors factory in Fleet Lane and were taken to St Helens Hospital.
On the front page of the Reporter on the 9th there was a photo of the Fletcher triplets from Billinge. Rachel, Gregory and Shaun had celebrated their fourth birthdays this week and mum Kathy of Ash Grove Crescent was looking forward to September when the threesome started school for a bit of peace. "The poor staff won't know what's hit them!", Mrs Fletcher told the Reporter, explaining that her main bugbear was having to answer the same question three times! At one point she was having to hand-wash sixty nappies a day.
The Reporter also explained why a second family planning clinic had opened in St Helens. Sessions were being held on Tuesdays at the Jersey Street clinic on the new Four Acre Lane housing estate. Dr Julian Baines, the St Helens Medical Officer, explained that there were so many young children on the new estate that mothers were unwilling to leave their families to travel to the existing town centre clinic.
The Reporter also described how Pilkingtons were spending £10,000 in planting trees on the "Burgy Banks" at Islands Brow. Those were the giant heaps of waste sand that had blighted the district for decades. While St Helens Corporation was currently improving the road, Pilks was covering the tips with 9,000 saplings. The paper wrote: "The massive project for the five acres of industrial waste which have been an eyesore for nearly 100 years, is part of an overall plan to improve 17 areas covering 32 acres in St. Helens, over the next five to 10 years."
There was a full-page advert in the Reporter for the new Trident Discount Centre, which had just opened in Four Acre Lane selling a wide range of electrical goods. "Trident Cuts Your Cost Of Living!" was their slogan. Eighteen different stereograms were listed alongside about thirty models of transistor radio and numerous cassette recorders. I imagine children of today would not have a clue as to what any of those things were!
One big change from fifty years ago is that there are no wandering dogs on the streets creating a hazard for motorists. In the Reporter this week this letter was published on the subject: "It's about time something was done nationally to end the problem and the cruelty of the wandering dog. Not raising licence fees – that would be unjust to the poor – but the passing of a Bill to make it a punishable offence for any owner to let his dog out unless adequately supervised.
"In other words, get at the people really at fault – the owners who let the animal out in the morning and know nothing about it until it comes home at night. I suggest this is not for the benefit of the motorist – though I accept he should not have to put up with animals straying in front of his car – but on behalf of those dogs whose lives can be little more than miserable in these circumstances.
"Almost every day in College Street, I see dogs of all ages and sizes missing death by seconds as they cross from one wandering ground to another. Dogs lean and lame limp from pavement to pavement and back again. Recently a friend of mine found a dog tied to railings in Victoria Park. It had been abandoned by some callous clown lacking the wit to “get without” a dog he didn't want in a proper manner. I feel it is about time this nation, laughingly called a nation of dog-lovers, tightened up its regulations about dog-owning."
The editor of the Reporter came clean after some councillors had accused the paper of being biased and always bashing the council. He wrote: "Let's admit it – we are biased. We are biased against inefficiency and bureaucracy. We are biased against half-truth and innuendo, and we are biased against a town council which has allowed to go unaltered and unchecked for too long some of the worst inheritances of the Industrial Revolution. We are biased against those who think they do no wrong, and we do not care about political allegiances since we have none ourselves. We want the best for the people of this town, and we do not care who has to be “bashed” to get it."
On April 1st VAT was replacing Purchase Tax and the Reporter described how shopkeepers in St Helens were finally getting the hang of the new tax system that had – as they put it – "caused headaches at the corner shop over the past few months". The St Helens Chamber of Trade explained how meetings and talks on VAT had been held between traders and customs officials, adding: "If shopkeepers took the trouble to find out about VAT, then they shouldn't have any difficulty."
On the 10th Lord Pilkington opened the new Elim Pentecostal Church in Duke Street. A large increase in their congregation over the previous five years had led to the move. The church had begun in St Helens in 1952 but their old premises had only accommodated sixty worshippers.
On the 11th a big step forward in the plans to pedestrianise St Helens Town Centre took place. That was when Church Street was made one-way from its junction with Hall Street to its junction with Bridge Street. Traffic was also prohibited from entering Church Street, Hardshaw Street and Barrow Street, except for loading and unloading or accessing private yards. A separate Traffic Order was also implemented removing the limited waiting of vehicles in Hardshaw Street. That meant that private vehicles could not park there, except on Sundays and during evenings.
George James, the Borough Engineer, said in advance of the orders being implemented: "Although it is not possible to exclude traffic from the town centre shopping area at the moment, because it has not yet been possible to provide roads to enable shops to be serviced from the back, the present proposals will make at least a section of St. Helens town centre comparatively free from traffic."
And finally, Rainhill Amateur Operatic Society presented Sandy Wilson's musical comedy 'The Boy Friend' at the Theatre Royal for six nights from the 12th. Admission to the stalls cost 60p and the Circle had three price bands of 70p, 50p and 40p.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the proposal to shut down Leathers, the Saints players anger over their social club snub, the high rate of sickness amongst binmen and it's the end of the line for the historic Clock Face railway bridge.
We begin on the 7th when – after previous correspondents had criticised dog fouling on the streets – this letter from an H. Thomas of St Helens was published in the Liverpool Echo: "Sir, I am always amazed these dog haters see only one thing on the footpaths. I see broken bottles, chip papers, empty beer cans, men spitting, etc. The streets are absolutely filthy with this kind of mess. Let's have some agitation to get rid of the man-made litter. Nearly every beauty spot in the country is spoiled by the remains of picnics and people dumping old furniture in lakes and along river banks. I find this type of litter very repulsive. Does no one remember when we had horse drawn traffic and cattle walking to the abattoirs? I suppose we had people then complaining why weren't the animals made to visit the lavatory before they started their journey."
On the 7th a senior St Helens fire officer criticised car drivers for inconsiderate parking of their vehicles, which, he claimed, was delaying fire engines when racing to deal with calls. "Because of bad parking we can lose a lot of time and seconds are vital when it comes to saving life," said station officer Austin Curran. Mr Curran's comments came a day after a house fire in Birchfield Street in Thatto Heath when neighbours rescued four children from their blazing home.
When the fire appliances arrived they found cars parked on either side of the road and the gap in-between was too narrow for them to drive through. While they were still 100 yards away from the blazing house, the firemen had to jump off their machines and run to the house. "This is a danger we are increasingly coming across on residential estates", explained Mr Curran. "People are not parking in the best interests of everyone concerned. Many times we have had to manhandle the cars out of the way and we appeal to drivers to show more consideration and wherever possible to park in the driveways of their homes."
One of the heroes of the Birchfield Street fire was neighbour George Hesketh who had climbed through a window into a smoke-filled room to rescue three of the trapped children. Richard Sweeney had assisted him and Doreen Barrett from Rainhill brought out a fourth child. Anthony, Christopher, Ian and Daniel O’Brien – aged between 12 months and 5 years – were reported as suffering from the effects of smoke inhalation.
The new municipal 9-hole golf course at Sherdley Park was set to open at Easter and it was announced on the 7th that Peter Parkinson from Southport had been appointed its first professional golfer. There had been eighteen applicants for the job and the 25-year-old Mr Parkinson would receive a retaining fee of £700.
The Echo's front-page lead story on the 7th began: "An average of one in every four of the 6,000 old people in hospitals, homes and hostels on Merseyside officially is classed as “friendless.” These are people who never see a relative or a personal friend from one year's end to the next. Although they have dedicated staff to look after them and every modern convenience to make their last years more comfortable they lack the one thing they need most, friendship."
During the evening of the 8th there was yet another leakage from the under-fire Leathers sulphuric acid factory in Sutton. Several people were badly affected and Ken Griffiths, Chairman of the East Sutton & Marshalls Cross Action Group, warned that St Helens would have a riot on its hands if the Lancots Lane factory was not immediately closed.
The first complaint came at 6:35pm when a Mr Scott from Robins Lane rang Ken Griffiths to say he had been overcome by sulphuric acid vapour while walking in Sutton Road. More complaints came from as far off as Parr, as two men collapsed after breathing in sulphur dioxide fumes at Crosby Spring Interiors factory in Fleet Lane and were taken to St Helens Hospital.
On the front page of the Reporter on the 9th there was a photo of the Fletcher triplets from Billinge. Rachel, Gregory and Shaun had celebrated their fourth birthdays this week and mum Kathy of Ash Grove Crescent was looking forward to September when the threesome started school for a bit of peace. "The poor staff won't know what's hit them!", Mrs Fletcher told the Reporter, explaining that her main bugbear was having to answer the same question three times! At one point she was having to hand-wash sixty nappies a day.
The Reporter also explained why a second family planning clinic had opened in St Helens. Sessions were being held on Tuesdays at the Jersey Street clinic on the new Four Acre Lane housing estate. Dr Julian Baines, the St Helens Medical Officer, explained that there were so many young children on the new estate that mothers were unwilling to leave their families to travel to the existing town centre clinic.
The Reporter also described how Pilkingtons were spending £10,000 in planting trees on the "Burgy Banks" at Islands Brow. Those were the giant heaps of waste sand that had blighted the district for decades. While St Helens Corporation was currently improving the road, Pilks was covering the tips with 9,000 saplings. The paper wrote: "The massive project for the five acres of industrial waste which have been an eyesore for nearly 100 years, is part of an overall plan to improve 17 areas covering 32 acres in St. Helens, over the next five to 10 years."
There was a full-page advert in the Reporter for the new Trident Discount Centre, which had just opened in Four Acre Lane selling a wide range of electrical goods. "Trident Cuts Your Cost Of Living!" was their slogan. Eighteen different stereograms were listed alongside about thirty models of transistor radio and numerous cassette recorders. I imagine children of today would not have a clue as to what any of those things were!
One big change from fifty years ago is that there are no wandering dogs on the streets creating a hazard for motorists. In the Reporter this week this letter was published on the subject: "It's about time something was done nationally to end the problem and the cruelty of the wandering dog. Not raising licence fees – that would be unjust to the poor – but the passing of a Bill to make it a punishable offence for any owner to let his dog out unless adequately supervised.
"In other words, get at the people really at fault – the owners who let the animal out in the morning and know nothing about it until it comes home at night. I suggest this is not for the benefit of the motorist – though I accept he should not have to put up with animals straying in front of his car – but on behalf of those dogs whose lives can be little more than miserable in these circumstances.
"Almost every day in College Street, I see dogs of all ages and sizes missing death by seconds as they cross from one wandering ground to another. Dogs lean and lame limp from pavement to pavement and back again. Recently a friend of mine found a dog tied to railings in Victoria Park. It had been abandoned by some callous clown lacking the wit to “get without” a dog he didn't want in a proper manner. I feel it is about time this nation, laughingly called a nation of dog-lovers, tightened up its regulations about dog-owning."
The editor of the Reporter came clean after some councillors had accused the paper of being biased and always bashing the council. He wrote: "Let's admit it – we are biased. We are biased against inefficiency and bureaucracy. We are biased against half-truth and innuendo, and we are biased against a town council which has allowed to go unaltered and unchecked for too long some of the worst inheritances of the Industrial Revolution. We are biased against those who think they do no wrong, and we do not care about political allegiances since we have none ourselves. We want the best for the people of this town, and we do not care who has to be “bashed” to get it."
On April 1st VAT was replacing Purchase Tax and the Reporter described how shopkeepers in St Helens were finally getting the hang of the new tax system that had – as they put it – "caused headaches at the corner shop over the past few months". The St Helens Chamber of Trade explained how meetings and talks on VAT had been held between traders and customs officials, adding: "If shopkeepers took the trouble to find out about VAT, then they shouldn't have any difficulty."
On the 10th Lord Pilkington opened the new Elim Pentecostal Church in Duke Street. A large increase in their congregation over the previous five years had led to the move. The church had begun in St Helens in 1952 but their old premises had only accommodated sixty worshippers.
On the 11th a big step forward in the plans to pedestrianise St Helens Town Centre took place. That was when Church Street was made one-way from its junction with Hall Street to its junction with Bridge Street. Traffic was also prohibited from entering Church Street, Hardshaw Street and Barrow Street, except for loading and unloading or accessing private yards. A separate Traffic Order was also implemented removing the limited waiting of vehicles in Hardshaw Street. That meant that private vehicles could not park there, except on Sundays and during evenings.
George James, the Borough Engineer, said in advance of the orders being implemented: "Although it is not possible to exclude traffic from the town centre shopping area at the moment, because it has not yet been possible to provide roads to enable shops to be serviced from the back, the present proposals will make at least a section of St. Helens town centre comparatively free from traffic."
And finally, Rainhill Amateur Operatic Society presented Sandy Wilson's musical comedy 'The Boy Friend' at the Theatre Royal for six nights from the 12th. Admission to the stalls cost 60p and the Circle had three price bands of 70p, 50p and 40p.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the proposal to shut down Leathers, the Saints players anger over their social club snub, the high rate of sickness amongst binmen and it's the end of the line for the historic Clock Face railway bridge.
This week's 15 stories include the friendless, elderly patients in Rainhill Hospital, criticism of the wandering dogs of St Helens, there's another leak of sulphuric acid vapour from Leathers, a big step forward in the pedestrianisation of St Helens town centre, a report on the Fletcher triplets from Billinge and a fire chief slams the inconsiderate parking that was slowing his crew's response to call-outs.
We begin on the 7th when – after previous correspondents had criticised dog fouling on the streets – this letter from an H. Thomas of St Helens was published in the Liverpool Echo:
"Sir, I am always amazed these dog haters see only one thing on the footpaths. I see broken bottles, chip papers, empty beer cans, men spitting, etc. The streets are absolutely filthy with this kind of mess. Let's have some agitation to get rid of the man-made litter.
"Nearly every beauty spot in the country is spoiled by the remains of picnics and people dumping old furniture in lakes and along river banks. I find this type of litter very repulsive.
"Does no one remember when we had horse drawn traffic and cattle walking to the abattoirs? I suppose we had people then complaining why weren't the animals made to visit the lavatory before they started their journey."
On the 7th a senior St Helens fire officer criticised car drivers for inconsiderate parking of their vehicles, which, he claimed, was delaying fire engines when racing to deal with calls.
"Because of bad parking we can lose a lot of time and seconds are vital when it comes to saving life," said station officer Austin Curran.
Mr Curran's comments came a day after a house fire in Birchfield Street in Thatto Heath when neighbours rescued four children from their blazing home.
When the fire appliances arrived they found cars parked on either side of the road and the gap in-between was too narrow for them to drive through.
While they were still 100 yards away from the blazing house, the firemen had to jump off their machines and run to the house.
"This is a danger we are increasingly coming across on residential estates", explained Mr Curran. "People are not parking in the best interests of everyone concerned.
"Many times we have had to manhandle the cars out of the way and we appeal to drivers to show more consideration and wherever possible to park in the driveways of their homes."
One of the heroes of the Birchfield Street fire was neighbour George Hesketh who had climbed through a window into a smoke-filled room to rescue three of the trapped children.
Richard Sweeney had assisted him and Doreen Barrett from Rainhill brought out a fourth child.
Anthony, Christopher, Ian and Daniel O’Brien – aged between 12 months and 5 years – were reported as suffering from the effects of smoke inhalation.
The new municipal 9-hole golf course at Sherdley Park was set to open at Easter and it was announced on the 7th that Peter Parkinson from Southport had been appointed its first professional golfer.
There had been eighteen applicants for the job and the 25-year-old Mr Parkinson would receive a retaining fee of £700.
The Echo's front-page lead story on the 7th began: "An average of one in every four of the 6,000 old people in hospitals, homes and hostels on Merseyside officially is classed as “friendless.”
"These are people who never see a relative or a personal friend from one year's end to the next. Although they have dedicated staff to look after them and every modern convenience to make their last years more comfortable they lack the one thing they need most, friendship."
Many of the 750 over 65s in Rainhill Hospital (pictured above) had been admitted many years before because of psychiatric disorders but were now unable to be discharged. The Echo explained the problem:
"Most have long since been cured but are still in hospital – old and unwanted – because there is nowhere else for them to go and no-one outside who cares."
Nearly two-thirds of the Rainhill elderly had never had a visit from family or friends, with most of the remainder only receiving an occasional visit.
During the evening of the 8th there was yet another leakage from the under-fire Leathers sulphuric acid factory in Sutton.
Several people were badly affected and Ken Griffiths, Chairman of the East Sutton & Marshalls Cross Action Group, warned that St Helens would have a riot on its hands if the Lancots Lane factory was not immediately closed.
The first complaint came at 6:35pm when a Mr Scott from Robins Lane rang Ken Griffiths to say he had been overcome by sulphuric acid vapour while walking in Sutton Road.
More complaints came from as far off as Parr, as two men collapsed after breathing in sulphur dioxide fumes at Crosby Spring Interiors factory in Fleet Lane and were taken to St Helens Hospital.
On the front page of the Reporter on the 9th there was a photo of the Fletcher triplets from Billinge.
Rachel, Gregory and Shaun had celebrated their fourth birthdays this week and mum Kathy of Ash Grove Crescent was looking forward to September when the threesome started school for a bit of peace.
"The poor staff won't know what's hit them!", Mrs Fletcher told the Reporter, explaining that her main bugbear was having to answer the same question three times! At one point she was having to hand-wash sixty nappies a day.
The Reporter also explained why a second family planning clinic had opened in St Helens.
Sessions were being held on Tuesdays at the Jersey Street clinic on the new Four Acre Lane housing estate.
Dr Julian Baines, the St Helens Medical Officer, explained that there were so many young children on the new estate that mothers were unwilling to leave their families to travel to the existing town centre clinic.
The Reporter also described how Pilkingtons were spending £10,000 in planting trees on the "Burgy Banks" at Islands Brow. Those were the giant heaps of waste sand that had blighted the district for decades.
While St Helens Corporation was currently improving the road, Pilks was covering the tips with 9,000 saplings. The paper wrote:
"The massive project for the five acres of industrial waste which have been an eyesore for nearly 100 years, is part of an overall plan to improve 17 areas covering 32 acres in St. Helens, over the next five to 10 years."
There was a full-page advert in the Reporter for the new Trident Discount Centre, which had just opened in Four Acre Lane selling a wide range of electrical goods. "Trident Cuts Your Cost Of Living!" was their slogan.
Eighteen different stereograms were listed alongside about thirty models of transistor radio and numerous cassette recorders. I imagine children of today would not have a clue as to what any of those things were!
One big change from fifty years ago is that there are no wandering dogs on the streets creating a hazard for motorists. In the Reporter this week this letter was published on the subject:
"It's about time something was done nationally to end the problem and the cruelty of the wandering dog. Not raising licence fees – that would be unjust to the poor – but the passing of a Bill to make it a punishable offence for any owner to let his dog out unless adequately supervised.
"In other words, get at the people really at fault – the owners who let the animal out in the morning and know nothing about it until it comes home at night. I suggest this is not for the benefit of the motorist – though I accept he should not have to put up with animals straying in front of his car – but on behalf of those dogs whose lives can be little more than miserable in these circumstances.
"Almost every day in College Street, I see dogs of all ages and sizes missing death by seconds as they cross from one wandering ground to another. Dogs lean and lame limp from pavement to pavement and back again.
"Recently a friend of mine found a dog tied to railings in Victoria Park. It had been abandoned by some callous clown lacking the wit to “get without” a dog he didn't want in a proper manner. I feel it is about time this nation, laughingly called a nation of dog-lovers, tightened up its regulations about dog-owning."
The editor of the Reporter came clean after some councillors had accused the paper of being biased and always bashing the council. He wrote:
"Let's admit it – we are biased. We are biased against inefficiency and bureaucracy. We are biased against half-truth and innuendo, and we are biased against a town council which has allowed to go unaltered and unchecked for too long some of the worst inheritances of the Industrial Revolution.
"We are biased against those who think they do no wrong, and we do not care about political allegiances since we have none ourselves. We want the best for the people of this town, and we do not care who has to be “bashed” to get it."
On April 1st VAT was replacing Purchase Tax and the Reporter described how shopkeepers in St Helens were finally getting the hang of the new tax system that had – as they put it – "caused headaches at the corner shop over the past few months".
The St Helens Chamber of Trade explained how meetings and talks on VAT had been held between traders and customs officials, adding: "If shopkeepers took the trouble to find out about VAT, then they shouldn't have any difficulty."
On the 10th Lord Pilkington opened the new Elim Pentecostal Church in Duke Street. A large increase in their congregation over the previous five years had led to the move.
The church had begun in St Helens in 1952 but their old premises had only accommodated sixty worshippers.
On the 11th a big step forward in the plans to pedestrianise St Helens Town Centre took place.
That was when Church Street was made one-way from its junction with Hall Street to its junction with Bridge Street.
Traffic was also prohibited from entering Church Street, Hardshaw Street and Barrow Street, except for loading and unloading or accessing private yards.
A separate Traffic Order was also implemented removing the limited waiting of vehicles in Hardshaw Street.
That meant that private vehicles could not park there, except on Sundays and during evenings.
George James, the Borough Engineer, said in advance of the orders being implemented:
"Although it is not possible to exclude traffic from the town centre shopping area at the moment, because it has not yet been possible to provide roads to enable shops to be serviced from the back, the present proposals will make at least a section of St. Helens town centre comparatively free from traffic."
And finally, Rainhill Amateur Operatic Society presented Sandy Wilson's musical comedy 'The Boy Friend' at the Theatre Royal for six nights from the 12th.
Admission to the stalls cost 60p and the Circle had three price bands of 70p, 50p and 40p.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the proposal to shut down Leathers, the Saints players anger over their social club snub, the high rate of sickness amongst binmen and it's the end of the line for the historic Clock Face railway bridge.
We begin on the 7th when – after previous correspondents had criticised dog fouling on the streets – this letter from an H. Thomas of St Helens was published in the Liverpool Echo:
"Sir, I am always amazed these dog haters see only one thing on the footpaths. I see broken bottles, chip papers, empty beer cans, men spitting, etc. The streets are absolutely filthy with this kind of mess. Let's have some agitation to get rid of the man-made litter.
"Nearly every beauty spot in the country is spoiled by the remains of picnics and people dumping old furniture in lakes and along river banks. I find this type of litter very repulsive.
"Does no one remember when we had horse drawn traffic and cattle walking to the abattoirs? I suppose we had people then complaining why weren't the animals made to visit the lavatory before they started their journey."
On the 7th a senior St Helens fire officer criticised car drivers for inconsiderate parking of their vehicles, which, he claimed, was delaying fire engines when racing to deal with calls.
"Because of bad parking we can lose a lot of time and seconds are vital when it comes to saving life," said station officer Austin Curran.
Mr Curran's comments came a day after a house fire in Birchfield Street in Thatto Heath when neighbours rescued four children from their blazing home.
When the fire appliances arrived they found cars parked on either side of the road and the gap in-between was too narrow for them to drive through.
While they were still 100 yards away from the blazing house, the firemen had to jump off their machines and run to the house.
"This is a danger we are increasingly coming across on residential estates", explained Mr Curran. "People are not parking in the best interests of everyone concerned.
"Many times we have had to manhandle the cars out of the way and we appeal to drivers to show more consideration and wherever possible to park in the driveways of their homes."
One of the heroes of the Birchfield Street fire was neighbour George Hesketh who had climbed through a window into a smoke-filled room to rescue three of the trapped children.
Richard Sweeney had assisted him and Doreen Barrett from Rainhill brought out a fourth child.
Anthony, Christopher, Ian and Daniel O’Brien – aged between 12 months and 5 years – were reported as suffering from the effects of smoke inhalation.
The new municipal 9-hole golf course at Sherdley Park was set to open at Easter and it was announced on the 7th that Peter Parkinson from Southport had been appointed its first professional golfer.
There had been eighteen applicants for the job and the 25-year-old Mr Parkinson would receive a retaining fee of £700.
The Echo's front-page lead story on the 7th began: "An average of one in every four of the 6,000 old people in hospitals, homes and hostels on Merseyside officially is classed as “friendless.”
"These are people who never see a relative or a personal friend from one year's end to the next. Although they have dedicated staff to look after them and every modern convenience to make their last years more comfortable they lack the one thing they need most, friendship."
"Most have long since been cured but are still in hospital – old and unwanted – because there is nowhere else for them to go and no-one outside who cares."
Nearly two-thirds of the Rainhill elderly had never had a visit from family or friends, with most of the remainder only receiving an occasional visit.
During the evening of the 8th there was yet another leakage from the under-fire Leathers sulphuric acid factory in Sutton.
Several people were badly affected and Ken Griffiths, Chairman of the East Sutton & Marshalls Cross Action Group, warned that St Helens would have a riot on its hands if the Lancots Lane factory was not immediately closed.
The first complaint came at 6:35pm when a Mr Scott from Robins Lane rang Ken Griffiths to say he had been overcome by sulphuric acid vapour while walking in Sutton Road.
More complaints came from as far off as Parr, as two men collapsed after breathing in sulphur dioxide fumes at Crosby Spring Interiors factory in Fleet Lane and were taken to St Helens Hospital.
On the front page of the Reporter on the 9th there was a photo of the Fletcher triplets from Billinge.
Rachel, Gregory and Shaun had celebrated their fourth birthdays this week and mum Kathy of Ash Grove Crescent was looking forward to September when the threesome started school for a bit of peace.
"The poor staff won't know what's hit them!", Mrs Fletcher told the Reporter, explaining that her main bugbear was having to answer the same question three times! At one point she was having to hand-wash sixty nappies a day.
The Reporter also explained why a second family planning clinic had opened in St Helens.
Sessions were being held on Tuesdays at the Jersey Street clinic on the new Four Acre Lane housing estate.
Dr Julian Baines, the St Helens Medical Officer, explained that there were so many young children on the new estate that mothers were unwilling to leave their families to travel to the existing town centre clinic.
The Reporter also described how Pilkingtons were spending £10,000 in planting trees on the "Burgy Banks" at Islands Brow. Those were the giant heaps of waste sand that had blighted the district for decades.
While St Helens Corporation was currently improving the road, Pilks was covering the tips with 9,000 saplings. The paper wrote:
"The massive project for the five acres of industrial waste which have been an eyesore for nearly 100 years, is part of an overall plan to improve 17 areas covering 32 acres in St. Helens, over the next five to 10 years."
There was a full-page advert in the Reporter for the new Trident Discount Centre, which had just opened in Four Acre Lane selling a wide range of electrical goods. "Trident Cuts Your Cost Of Living!" was their slogan.
Eighteen different stereograms were listed alongside about thirty models of transistor radio and numerous cassette recorders. I imagine children of today would not have a clue as to what any of those things were!
One big change from fifty years ago is that there are no wandering dogs on the streets creating a hazard for motorists. In the Reporter this week this letter was published on the subject:
"It's about time something was done nationally to end the problem and the cruelty of the wandering dog. Not raising licence fees – that would be unjust to the poor – but the passing of a Bill to make it a punishable offence for any owner to let his dog out unless adequately supervised.
"In other words, get at the people really at fault – the owners who let the animal out in the morning and know nothing about it until it comes home at night. I suggest this is not for the benefit of the motorist – though I accept he should not have to put up with animals straying in front of his car – but on behalf of those dogs whose lives can be little more than miserable in these circumstances.
"Almost every day in College Street, I see dogs of all ages and sizes missing death by seconds as they cross from one wandering ground to another. Dogs lean and lame limp from pavement to pavement and back again.
"Recently a friend of mine found a dog tied to railings in Victoria Park. It had been abandoned by some callous clown lacking the wit to “get without” a dog he didn't want in a proper manner. I feel it is about time this nation, laughingly called a nation of dog-lovers, tightened up its regulations about dog-owning."
The editor of the Reporter came clean after some councillors had accused the paper of being biased and always bashing the council. He wrote:
"Let's admit it – we are biased. We are biased against inefficiency and bureaucracy. We are biased against half-truth and innuendo, and we are biased against a town council which has allowed to go unaltered and unchecked for too long some of the worst inheritances of the Industrial Revolution.
"We are biased against those who think they do no wrong, and we do not care about political allegiances since we have none ourselves. We want the best for the people of this town, and we do not care who has to be “bashed” to get it."
On April 1st VAT was replacing Purchase Tax and the Reporter described how shopkeepers in St Helens were finally getting the hang of the new tax system that had – as they put it – "caused headaches at the corner shop over the past few months".
The St Helens Chamber of Trade explained how meetings and talks on VAT had been held between traders and customs officials, adding: "If shopkeepers took the trouble to find out about VAT, then they shouldn't have any difficulty."
On the 10th Lord Pilkington opened the new Elim Pentecostal Church in Duke Street. A large increase in their congregation over the previous five years had led to the move.
The church had begun in St Helens in 1952 but their old premises had only accommodated sixty worshippers.
On the 11th a big step forward in the plans to pedestrianise St Helens Town Centre took place.
That was when Church Street was made one-way from its junction with Hall Street to its junction with Bridge Street.
Traffic was also prohibited from entering Church Street, Hardshaw Street and Barrow Street, except for loading and unloading or accessing private yards.
A separate Traffic Order was also implemented removing the limited waiting of vehicles in Hardshaw Street.
That meant that private vehicles could not park there, except on Sundays and during evenings.
George James, the Borough Engineer, said in advance of the orders being implemented:
"Although it is not possible to exclude traffic from the town centre shopping area at the moment, because it has not yet been possible to provide roads to enable shops to be serviced from the back, the present proposals will make at least a section of St. Helens town centre comparatively free from traffic."
And finally, Rainhill Amateur Operatic Society presented Sandy Wilson's musical comedy 'The Boy Friend' at the Theatre Royal for six nights from the 12th.
Admission to the stalls cost 60p and the Circle had three price bands of 70p, 50p and 40p.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the proposal to shut down Leathers, the Saints players anger over their social club snub, the high rate of sickness amongst binmen and it's the end of the line for the historic Clock Face railway bridge.