FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (6th - 12th JULY 1970)
This week's 15 stories include the post-strike neurosis of the Pilkington dispute, the juvenile delinquents who left the borough for the very first time, striking St Helens ambulance crews are threatened with the sack and bus fares in the town are set to rise because of decimalisation.
First a "what was on guide". There was a double Hammer horror show at the ABC Savoy for six days from the 6th. Christopher Lee starred in a film called 'Taste The Blood of Dracula' and 'Crescendo!' with Stefanie Powers was also screened. Meanwhile at the Capitol, 'The Man Who Haunted Himself' starring Roger Moore began a six-day run.
The town's Transport Manager, Alex Barlow, told the council's Transport Committee on the 7th that the introduction of decimalisation next February would lead to an increase in bus fares. Although Mr Barlow described the rises as "very slight", the Corporation would receive an additional £85,000 per year – the equivalent of about £1½ million in today's money. However he expected further pay rises for transport workers in the near future, which would create greater expense for his department.
The most popular fare on St Helens buses then cost 8d and from 1971 that would become 4 new pence, an increase of 1.6d for 3.15 miles. The present shilling fare that covered a bus journey of 6¾ miles would be increased by 2.4d to 6 new pence. None of the revised schedule of fares showed any reductions and the opportunity was going to be taken to abolish all the remaining day return fares for workers.
On the 8th Karen Arnold was made Rose Queen of Parr Mount primary school in Hudson Street, taking over from her friend Janet Arnold.
On the following day Dr Julian Baines issued a stark warning to striking ambulance crews. The St Helens Medical Officer of Health told them that they faced the sack unless they returned to work soon. The men had gone on strike on the 1st after the St Helens Health Committee had refused to meet their demands. They wanted the committee to recognise the FAP (Federation of Ambulance Personnel) as their official union and for attendant Louis Barr to receive a refund of deducted wages.
Les McGrail, the FAP branch secretary, described the men's anger about patients' disinterest with their dispute: "The men are disgusted with the lack of support they have received from the public. People with whom we have discussed the strike and our reasons for coming out have just shrugged their shoulders. It appears that we are on our own."
This week Pilkingtons were warned of a threat to sabotage their pipelines and as a result the glass giant had tightened its security. Chief Superintendent Jack Watson, the head of St Helens police division, said they were treating the bomb threat "with some concern". However Mr Watson blamed "subversive elements" that had no connection with the recent strike.
Clinkard's Shoe Shop at 5, Westfield Street began their summer sale on the 10th. On the same day the St Helens Reporter was published and profiled Lynda Andrews of Lathom Drive in Rainford who had just given birth to triplets. "I was the first mother to have triplets in Rainford", said the 26-year-old. "It really is terrible. They all start howling at once at feeding time. All I wanted was one baby, but I wouldn't swap them for the world now."
An article by Alan Whalley began: "The rash of petty crimes flung up in the wake of the Pilkington upheaval could signpost a flood of post-strike neurosis, stretching across the glassworking community of St. Helens. This is the opinion of a family doctor, commenting this week on the stresses and strains that the seven weeks of hardship had inflicted."
The unnamed GP claimed the majority of his patients that had been on strike had wanted to return to work before the dispute had ended but many had felt intimidated. Since returning to work after losing seven weeks wages, many men had discovered that the loss of overtime through lost orders meant they were now taking home less money than before the strike – despite their £3 per week increase in basic pay. The doctor said there was a concern that depression and acute anxiety could set in among the poorer paid and it was "reasonable to expect" that some would become slightly dishonest to get over a crisis.
The Reporter also wrote that thirteen "juvenile delinquents" from St Helens would be going on an outward-bound weekend in Derbyshire next week. And for many it would be their first holiday. "To some of these young lads St. Helens is their world", said a probation officer. "They would never dream of travelling out of St. Helens – even to go to work. To them Rainford is a foreign land – their lives end at the town boundary." The boys, aged 13 to 15, would be staying with a group of lads from St Helens youth clubs at a hostel in Edale.
There was a special feature on Duke Street in the Reporter with a particular focus on sports outfitters Ben Brooks, which the Somers family had bought in 1966. Six year earlier they had taken over Booths in Hardshaw Street – which had been established in 1863 – and they also had businesses in Wigan and Preston. Oliver Somers explained that there had been a swing away from war toys in recent years with building sets like Lego and space toys now highly popular. The shop sold a tremendous amount of fishing equipment, as well as cricket bats, golf balls, electric train sets and air rifles.
Bartons was advertising a gas central heating summer offer of 5 radiators for £300 and there was also Prestts promoting their prams and the St Helens Business Equipment Company selling cash registers and adding machines. Also in Duke Street were estate agents Thornton-Smith & Co. and F. & H. Warehouses, "cut price specialists in furniture, carpets & bedding".
Dennis Ellam wrote an interesting article about the Salvation Army hostel in Salisbury Street (pictured above), which had a very long history. "It's a rough, tough old building," wrote Dennis, "that once saw boozy life as a workingmen's inn and stands now, black and ugly, like a workhouse out of Dickens."
Before the war the premises were infamous as a place where homeless people paid a penny a night to use a rope stretched across a room. Overcoats were placed over the line and the customers sagged on them with their arms positioned over the rope, sleeping almost in a sitting position. There was much more dignity by 1970 with spotlessly clean rooms and bed linen. Many of the guests had jobs and paid £5 a week full board to sleep in the dormitories.
83-year-old John Blaney had lived in the hostel for eight years and seemed satisfied to see out his days there: "The hostel is okay. And they're a decent set of blokes living here. Sometimes, you find the odd tramp coming in but I never bother with those fellers."
A small number of men lived and worked inside the hostel, such as Frank Gladwin, who earned his lodgings and £3 7s a week. "I was injured in a fire", he explained, "and rather than be out of work, I thought I would come and do this. For the most part, they're not a bad crowd staying here. You get the odd one who's never grateful for anything you do for him. And you get some men just travelling around the country, staying at different Salvation Army hostels."
In charge was Captain Edward Arkle, who said: "These are clean, decent, respectable men living at this hostel. We never have trouble with them. You have to be firm with the men. You have to try to combine a charitable hand with a firm one, otherwise you'd get a few trying to take advantage of you."
Ada Lyon was pictured in the Reporter. The 67-year-old was retiring as chief cook of St Helens Tech having cooked 300 meals a day over the past twenty years. It was estimated that Mrs Lyon had prepared enough meals to feed the entire population of St Helens almost eighteen times.
The paper also described how the building of a new estate at Moss Bank was being delayed by a brick shortage. The council was building 88 flats, 26 "aged persons bungalows", 10 houses and 30 garages in Kendal Drive and needed 50,000 bricks measuring 2⅞ inches. However suppliers were standardising the size of bricks at 2⅝" and the bigger size was proving difficult to find. It was also stated that of 44 new houses planned for Fleet Lane, 31 had been completed and a further block of four houses would be handed over to the council this week.
A new disco called 'The Place' in Ormskirk Street was advertising in the Reporter. It was open four nights a week from 7pm to 10 or 10:30pm and offering non-stop dancing to DJs Mike and Dave with soft drinks only. And finally on the 12th the council's 'Bands In Parks' series continued with a performance in Sherdley Park by Redgate Boys Silver Band.
Next week's stories will include the skinhead trouble at the Geraldo Club in Lord Street, the plan for St Helens to get a multi-storey "car park in the sky", an end to the two-week-old ambulance strike, Sutton Manor residents complain about piped TV and what St Helens folk thought of the new £20 note.
First a "what was on guide". There was a double Hammer horror show at the ABC Savoy for six days from the 6th. Christopher Lee starred in a film called 'Taste The Blood of Dracula' and 'Crescendo!' with Stefanie Powers was also screened. Meanwhile at the Capitol, 'The Man Who Haunted Himself' starring Roger Moore began a six-day run.
The introduction of decimalisation in 1971 was set to lead to an increase in fares on buses in St Helens
Decimalisation would result in fare rises on St Helens buses
St Helens bus fares to rise
The most popular fare on St Helens buses then cost 8d and from 1971 that would become 4 new pence, an increase of 1.6d for 3.15 miles. The present shilling fare that covered a bus journey of 6¾ miles would be increased by 2.4d to 6 new pence. None of the revised schedule of fares showed any reductions and the opportunity was going to be taken to abolish all the remaining day return fares for workers.
On the 8th Karen Arnold was made Rose Queen of Parr Mount primary school in Hudson Street, taking over from her friend Janet Arnold.
On the following day Dr Julian Baines issued a stark warning to striking ambulance crews. The St Helens Medical Officer of Health told them that they faced the sack unless they returned to work soon. The men had gone on strike on the 1st after the St Helens Health Committee had refused to meet their demands. They wanted the committee to recognise the FAP (Federation of Ambulance Personnel) as their official union and for attendant Louis Barr to receive a refund of deducted wages.
Les McGrail, the FAP branch secretary, described the men's anger about patients' disinterest with their dispute: "The men are disgusted with the lack of support they have received from the public. People with whom we have discussed the strike and our reasons for coming out have just shrugged their shoulders. It appears that we are on our own."
This week Pilkingtons were warned of a threat to sabotage their pipelines and as a result the glass giant had tightened its security. Chief Superintendent Jack Watson, the head of St Helens police division, said they were treating the bomb threat "with some concern". However Mr Watson blamed "subversive elements" that had no connection with the recent strike.
Clinkard's Shoe Shop at 5, Westfield Street began their summer sale on the 10th. On the same day the St Helens Reporter was published and profiled Lynda Andrews of Lathom Drive in Rainford who had just given birth to triplets. "I was the first mother to have triplets in Rainford", said the 26-year-old. "It really is terrible. They all start howling at once at feeding time. All I wanted was one baby, but I wouldn't swap them for the world now."
An article by Alan Whalley began: "The rash of petty crimes flung up in the wake of the Pilkington upheaval could signpost a flood of post-strike neurosis, stretching across the glassworking community of St. Helens. This is the opinion of a family doctor, commenting this week on the stresses and strains that the seven weeks of hardship had inflicted."
The unnamed GP claimed the majority of his patients that had been on strike had wanted to return to work before the dispute had ended but many had felt intimidated. Since returning to work after losing seven weeks wages, many men had discovered that the loss of overtime through lost orders meant they were now taking home less money than before the strike – despite their £3 per week increase in basic pay. The doctor said there was a concern that depression and acute anxiety could set in among the poorer paid and it was "reasonable to expect" that some would become slightly dishonest to get over a crisis.
The Reporter also wrote that thirteen "juvenile delinquents" from St Helens would be going on an outward-bound weekend in Derbyshire next week. And for many it would be their first holiday. "To some of these young lads St. Helens is their world", said a probation officer. "They would never dream of travelling out of St. Helens – even to go to work. To them Rainford is a foreign land – their lives end at the town boundary." The boys, aged 13 to 15, would be staying with a group of lads from St Helens youth clubs at a hostel in Edale.
There was a special feature on Duke Street in the Reporter with a particular focus on sports outfitters Ben Brooks, which the Somers family had bought in 1966. Six year earlier they had taken over Booths in Hardshaw Street – which had been established in 1863 – and they also had businesses in Wigan and Preston. Oliver Somers explained that there had been a swing away from war toys in recent years with building sets like Lego and space toys now highly popular. The shop sold a tremendous amount of fishing equipment, as well as cricket bats, golf balls, electric train sets and air rifles.
Bartons was advertising a gas central heating summer offer of 5 radiators for £300 and there was also Prestts promoting their prams and the St Helens Business Equipment Company selling cash registers and adding machines. Also in Duke Street were estate agents Thornton-Smith & Co. and F. & H. Warehouses, "cut price specialists in furniture, carpets & bedding".
Before the war the premises were infamous as a place where homeless people paid a penny a night to use a rope stretched across a room. Overcoats were placed over the line and the customers sagged on them with their arms positioned over the rope, sleeping almost in a sitting position. There was much more dignity by 1970 with spotlessly clean rooms and bed linen. Many of the guests had jobs and paid £5 a week full board to sleep in the dormitories.
83-year-old John Blaney had lived in the hostel for eight years and seemed satisfied to see out his days there: "The hostel is okay. And they're a decent set of blokes living here. Sometimes, you find the odd tramp coming in but I never bother with those fellers."
A small number of men lived and worked inside the hostel, such as Frank Gladwin, who earned his lodgings and £3 7s a week. "I was injured in a fire", he explained, "and rather than be out of work, I thought I would come and do this. For the most part, they're not a bad crowd staying here. You get the odd one who's never grateful for anything you do for him. And you get some men just travelling around the country, staying at different Salvation Army hostels."
In charge was Captain Edward Arkle, who said: "These are clean, decent, respectable men living at this hostel. We never have trouble with them. You have to be firm with the men. You have to try to combine a charitable hand with a firm one, otherwise you'd get a few trying to take advantage of you."
Ada Lyon was pictured in the Reporter. The 67-year-old was retiring as chief cook of St Helens Tech having cooked 300 meals a day over the past twenty years. It was estimated that Mrs Lyon had prepared enough meals to feed the entire population of St Helens almost eighteen times.
The paper also described how the building of a new estate at Moss Bank was being delayed by a brick shortage. The council was building 88 flats, 26 "aged persons bungalows", 10 houses and 30 garages in Kendal Drive and needed 50,000 bricks measuring 2⅞ inches. However suppliers were standardising the size of bricks at 2⅝" and the bigger size was proving difficult to find. It was also stated that of 44 new houses planned for Fleet Lane, 31 had been completed and a further block of four houses would be handed over to the council this week.
A new disco called 'The Place' in Ormskirk Street was advertising in the Reporter. It was open four nights a week from 7pm to 10 or 10:30pm and offering non-stop dancing to DJs Mike and Dave with soft drinks only. And finally on the 12th the council's 'Bands In Parks' series continued with a performance in Sherdley Park by Redgate Boys Silver Band.
Next week's stories will include the skinhead trouble at the Geraldo Club in Lord Street, the plan for St Helens to get a multi-storey "car park in the sky", an end to the two-week-old ambulance strike, Sutton Manor residents complain about piped TV and what St Helens folk thought of the new £20 note.
This week's 15 stories include the post-strike neurosis of the Pilkington dispute, the juvenile delinquents who left the borough for the very first time, striking St Helens ambulance crews are threatened with the sack and bus fares in the town are set to rise because of decimalisation.
First a "what was on guide". There was a double Hammer horror show at the ABC Savoy for six days from the 6th. Christopher Lee starred in a film called 'Taste The Blood of Dracula' and 'Crescendo!' with Stefanie Powers was also screened.
Meanwhile at the Capitol, 'The Man Who Haunted Himself' starring Roger Moore began a six-day run.
The town's Transport Manager, Alex Barlow, told the council's Transport Committee on the 7th that the introduction of decimalisation next February would lead to an increase in bus fares.
Although Mr Barlow described the rises as "very slight", the Corporation would receive an additional £85,000 per year – the equivalent of about £1½ million in today's money.
However he expected further pay rises for transport workers in the near future, which would create greater expense for his department.
The most popular fare on St Helens buses then cost 8d and from 1971 that would become 4 new pence, an increase of 1.6d for 3.15 miles.
The present shilling fare that covered a bus journey of 6¾ miles would be increased by 2.4d to 6 new pence.
None of the revised schedule of fares showed any reductions and the opportunity was going to be taken to abolish all the remaining day return fares for workers.
On the 8th Karen Arnold was made Rose Queen of Parr Mount primary school in Hudson Street, taking over from her friend Janet Arnold.
On the following day Dr Julian Baines issued a stark warning to striking ambulance crews.
The St Helens Medical Officer of Health told them that they faced the sack unless they returned to work soon.
The men had gone on strike on the 1st after the St Helens Health Committee had refused to meet their demands.
They wanted the committee to recognise the FAP (Federation of Ambulance Personnel) as their official union and for attendant Louis Barr to receive a refund of deducted wages.
Les McGrail, the FAP branch secretary, described the men's anger about patients' disinterest with their dispute:
"The men are disgusted with the lack of support they have received from the public. People with whom we have discussed the strike and our reasons for coming out have just shrugged their shoulders. It appears that we are on our own."
This week Pilkingtons were warned of a threat to sabotage their pipelines and as a result the glass giant had tightened its security.
Chief Superintendent Jack Watson, the head of St Helens police division, said they were treating the bomb threat "with some concern".
However Mr Watson blamed "subversive elements" that had no connection with the recent strike.
Clinkard's Shoe Shop at 5, Westfield Street began their summer sale on the 10th.
On the same day the St Helens Reporter was published and profiled Lynda Andrews of Lathom Drive in Rainford who had just given birth to triplets.
"I was the first mother to have triplets in Rainford", said the 26-year-old.
"It really is terrible. They all start howling at once at feeding time. All I wanted was one baby, but I wouldn't swap them for the world now."
An article by Alan Whalley began: "The rash of petty crimes flung up in the wake of the Pilkington upheaval could signpost a flood of post-strike neurosis, stretching across the glassworking community of St. Helens.
"This is the opinion of a family doctor, commenting this week on the stresses and strains that the seven weeks of hardship had inflicted."
The unnamed GP claimed the majority of his patients that had been on strike had wanted to return to work before the dispute had ended but many had felt intimidated.
Since returning to work after losing seven weeks wages, many men had discovered that the loss of overtime through lost orders meant they were now taking home less money than before the strike – despite their £3 per week increase in basic pay.
The doctor said there was a concern that depression and acute anxiety could set in among the poorer paid and it was "reasonable to expect" that some would become slightly dishonest to get over a crisis.
The Reporter also wrote that thirteen "juvenile delinquents" from St Helens would be going on an outward-bound weekend in Derbyshire next week.
And for many it would be their first holiday. "To some of these young lads St. Helens is their world", said a probation officer.
"They would never dream of travelling out of St. Helens – even to go to work. To them Rainford is a foreign land – their lives end at the town boundary."
The boys, aged 13 to 15, would be staying with a group of lads from St Helens youth clubs at a hostel in Edale.
There was a special feature on Duke Street in the Reporter with a particular focus on sports outfitters Ben Brooks, which the Somers family had bought in 1966.
Six year earlier they had taken over Booths in Hardshaw Street – which had been established in 1863 – and they also had businesses in Wigan and Preston.
Oliver Somers explained that there had been a swing away from war toys in recent years with building sets like Lego and space toys now highly popular.
The shop sold a tremendous amount of fishing equipment, as well as cricket bats, golf balls, electric train sets and air rifles.
Bartons was advertising a gas central heating summer offer of 5 radiators for £300 and there was also Prestts promoting their prams and the St Helens Business Equipment Company selling cash registers and adding machines.
Also in Duke Street were estate agents Thornton-Smith & Co. and F. & H. Warehouses, "cut price specialists in furniture, carpets & bedding".
Dennis Ellam wrote an interesting article about the Salvation Army hostel in Salisbury Street (pictured above), which had a very long history.
"It's a rough, tough old building," wrote Dennis, "that once saw boozy life as a workingmen's inn and stands now, black and ugly, like a workhouse out of Dickens."
Before the war the premises were infamous as a place where homeless people paid a penny a night to use a rope stretched across a room.
Overcoats were placed over the line and the customers sagged on them with their arms positioned over the rope, sleeping almost in a sitting position.
There was much more dignity by 1970 with spotlessly clean rooms and bed linen.
Many of the guests had jobs and paid £5 a week full board to sleep in the dormitories.
83-year-old John Blaney had lived in the hostel for eight years and seemed satisfied to see out his days there:
"The hostel is okay. And they're a decent set of blokes living here. Sometimes, you find the odd tramp coming in but I never bother with those fellers."
A small number of men lived and worked inside the hostel, such as Frank Gladwin, who earned his lodgings and £3 7s a week.
"I was injured in a fire", he explained, "and rather than be out of work, I thought I would come and do this. For the most part, they're not a bad crowd staying here.
"You get the odd one who's never grateful for anything you do for him. And you get some men just travelling around the country, staying at different Salvation Army hostels."
In charge of the hostel was Captain Edward Arkle, who said:
"These are clean, decent, respectable men living at this hostel. We never have trouble with them. You have to be firm with the men. You have to try to combine a charitable hand with a firm one, otherwise you'd get a few trying to take advantage of you."
Ada Lyon was pictured in the Reporter. The 67-year-old was retiring as chief cook of St Helens Tech having cooked 300 meals a day over the past twenty years.
It was estimated that Mrs Lyon had prepared enough meals to feed the entire population of St Helens almost eighteen times.
The paper also described how the building of a new estate at Moss Bank was being delayed by a brick shortage.
The council was building 88 flats, 26 "aged persons bungalows", 10 houses and 30 garages in Kendal Drive and needed 50,000 bricks measuring 2⅞ inches.
However suppliers were standardising the size of bricks at 2⅝" and the bigger size was proving difficult to find.
It was also stated that of 44 new houses planned for Fleet Lane, 31 had been completed and a further block of four houses would be handed over to the council this week.
A new disco called 'The Place' in Ormskirk Street was advertising in the Reporter.
It was open four nights a week from 7pm to 10 or 10:30pm and offering non-stop dancing to DJs Mike and Dave with soft drinks only.
And finally on the 12th the council's 'Bands In Parks' series continued with a performance in Sherdley Park by Redgate Boys Silver Band.
Next week's stories will include the skinhead trouble at the Geraldo Club in Lord Street, the plan for St Helens to get a multi-storey "car park in the sky", an end to the two-week-old ambulance strike, Sutton Manor residents complain about piped TV and what St Helens folk thought of the new £20 note.
First a "what was on guide". There was a double Hammer horror show at the ABC Savoy for six days from the 6th. Christopher Lee starred in a film called 'Taste The Blood of Dracula' and 'Crescendo!' with Stefanie Powers was also screened.
Meanwhile at the Capitol, 'The Man Who Haunted Himself' starring Roger Moore began a six-day run.
The introduction of decimalisation in 1971 was set to lead to an increase in fares on buses in St Helens
Decimalisation would result in fare rises on St Helens buses
St Helens bus fares set to rise
Although Mr Barlow described the rises as "very slight", the Corporation would receive an additional £85,000 per year – the equivalent of about £1½ million in today's money.
However he expected further pay rises for transport workers in the near future, which would create greater expense for his department.
The most popular fare on St Helens buses then cost 8d and from 1971 that would become 4 new pence, an increase of 1.6d for 3.15 miles.
The present shilling fare that covered a bus journey of 6¾ miles would be increased by 2.4d to 6 new pence.
None of the revised schedule of fares showed any reductions and the opportunity was going to be taken to abolish all the remaining day return fares for workers.
On the 8th Karen Arnold was made Rose Queen of Parr Mount primary school in Hudson Street, taking over from her friend Janet Arnold.
On the following day Dr Julian Baines issued a stark warning to striking ambulance crews.
The St Helens Medical Officer of Health told them that they faced the sack unless they returned to work soon.
The men had gone on strike on the 1st after the St Helens Health Committee had refused to meet their demands.
They wanted the committee to recognise the FAP (Federation of Ambulance Personnel) as their official union and for attendant Louis Barr to receive a refund of deducted wages.
Les McGrail, the FAP branch secretary, described the men's anger about patients' disinterest with their dispute:
"The men are disgusted with the lack of support they have received from the public. People with whom we have discussed the strike and our reasons for coming out have just shrugged their shoulders. It appears that we are on our own."
This week Pilkingtons were warned of a threat to sabotage their pipelines and as a result the glass giant had tightened its security.
Chief Superintendent Jack Watson, the head of St Helens police division, said they were treating the bomb threat "with some concern".
However Mr Watson blamed "subversive elements" that had no connection with the recent strike.
Clinkard's Shoe Shop at 5, Westfield Street began their summer sale on the 10th.
On the same day the St Helens Reporter was published and profiled Lynda Andrews of Lathom Drive in Rainford who had just given birth to triplets.
"I was the first mother to have triplets in Rainford", said the 26-year-old.
"It really is terrible. They all start howling at once at feeding time. All I wanted was one baby, but I wouldn't swap them for the world now."
An article by Alan Whalley began: "The rash of petty crimes flung up in the wake of the Pilkington upheaval could signpost a flood of post-strike neurosis, stretching across the glassworking community of St. Helens.
"This is the opinion of a family doctor, commenting this week on the stresses and strains that the seven weeks of hardship had inflicted."
The unnamed GP claimed the majority of his patients that had been on strike had wanted to return to work before the dispute had ended but many had felt intimidated.
Since returning to work after losing seven weeks wages, many men had discovered that the loss of overtime through lost orders meant they were now taking home less money than before the strike – despite their £3 per week increase in basic pay.
The doctor said there was a concern that depression and acute anxiety could set in among the poorer paid and it was "reasonable to expect" that some would become slightly dishonest to get over a crisis.
The Reporter also wrote that thirteen "juvenile delinquents" from St Helens would be going on an outward-bound weekend in Derbyshire next week.
And for many it would be their first holiday. "To some of these young lads St. Helens is their world", said a probation officer.
"They would never dream of travelling out of St. Helens – even to go to work. To them Rainford is a foreign land – their lives end at the town boundary."
The boys, aged 13 to 15, would be staying with a group of lads from St Helens youth clubs at a hostel in Edale.
There was a special feature on Duke Street in the Reporter with a particular focus on sports outfitters Ben Brooks, which the Somers family had bought in 1966.
Six year earlier they had taken over Booths in Hardshaw Street – which had been established in 1863 – and they also had businesses in Wigan and Preston.
Oliver Somers explained that there had been a swing away from war toys in recent years with building sets like Lego and space toys now highly popular.
The shop sold a tremendous amount of fishing equipment, as well as cricket bats, golf balls, electric train sets and air rifles.
Bartons was advertising a gas central heating summer offer of 5 radiators for £300 and there was also Prestts promoting their prams and the St Helens Business Equipment Company selling cash registers and adding machines.
Also in Duke Street were estate agents Thornton-Smith & Co. and F. & H. Warehouses, "cut price specialists in furniture, carpets & bedding".
"It's a rough, tough old building," wrote Dennis, "that once saw boozy life as a workingmen's inn and stands now, black and ugly, like a workhouse out of Dickens."
Before the war the premises were infamous as a place where homeless people paid a penny a night to use a rope stretched across a room.
Overcoats were placed over the line and the customers sagged on them with their arms positioned over the rope, sleeping almost in a sitting position.
There was much more dignity by 1970 with spotlessly clean rooms and bed linen.
Many of the guests had jobs and paid £5 a week full board to sleep in the dormitories.
83-year-old John Blaney had lived in the hostel for eight years and seemed satisfied to see out his days there:
"The hostel is okay. And they're a decent set of blokes living here. Sometimes, you find the odd tramp coming in but I never bother with those fellers."
A small number of men lived and worked inside the hostel, such as Frank Gladwin, who earned his lodgings and £3 7s a week.
"I was injured in a fire", he explained, "and rather than be out of work, I thought I would come and do this. For the most part, they're not a bad crowd staying here.
"You get the odd one who's never grateful for anything you do for him. And you get some men just travelling around the country, staying at different Salvation Army hostels."
In charge of the hostel was Captain Edward Arkle, who said:
"These are clean, decent, respectable men living at this hostel. We never have trouble with them. You have to be firm with the men. You have to try to combine a charitable hand with a firm one, otherwise you'd get a few trying to take advantage of you."
Ada Lyon was pictured in the Reporter. The 67-year-old was retiring as chief cook of St Helens Tech having cooked 300 meals a day over the past twenty years.
It was estimated that Mrs Lyon had prepared enough meals to feed the entire population of St Helens almost eighteen times.
The paper also described how the building of a new estate at Moss Bank was being delayed by a brick shortage.
The council was building 88 flats, 26 "aged persons bungalows", 10 houses and 30 garages in Kendal Drive and needed 50,000 bricks measuring 2⅞ inches.
However suppliers were standardising the size of bricks at 2⅝" and the bigger size was proving difficult to find.
It was also stated that of 44 new houses planned for Fleet Lane, 31 had been completed and a further block of four houses would be handed over to the council this week.
A new disco called 'The Place' in Ormskirk Street was advertising in the Reporter.
It was open four nights a week from 7pm to 10 or 10:30pm and offering non-stop dancing to DJs Mike and Dave with soft drinks only.
And finally on the 12th the council's 'Bands In Parks' series continued with a performance in Sherdley Park by Redgate Boys Silver Band.
Next week's stories will include the skinhead trouble at the Geraldo Club in Lord Street, the plan for St Helens to get a multi-storey "car park in the sky", an end to the two-week-old ambulance strike, Sutton Manor residents complain about piped TV and what St Helens folk thought of the new £20 note.