FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 11 - 17 MAY 1976
This week's many stories include the smashed windows of coaches taking Saints supporters to away games, a cash crisis threatens NHS services in St Helens, fire causes considerable damage to the HQ of the St John Ambulance Brigade, footballer Emlyn Hughes is in Rainhill and an appeal is made for volunteers to keep lonely hospital patients company.
We begin on the 12th when Gordon Oakes, the government's Energy Under-Secretary, opened a new plastic recovery works in Burtonhead Road in St Helens. Reclamat International ran the recycling plant, which converted such items as polythene bags, plastic coffin handles, stripped electric cable and disused magnetic tape cassettes into a back plastic construction board. That could be used in a wide range of applications, particularly farm buildings.
Also on the 12th, fire caused considerable damage to the St Helens headquarters of the St John Ambulance Brigade. Firemen fought for two hours to bring the blaze under control but the roof of the gutted building in Standish Street was destroyed, along with all the interior furniture and first-aid equipment.
The damage was estimated at £20,000 and the Brigade said they had very little chance of repairing the building because the cost would be too high. The Brigade's Area Treasurer, Derek Unsworth, described the fire as a sickening blow, adding: "I do not know how we will manage to carry on." St Helens police were said to be investigating the cause of the blaze.
In September 1975 the St Helens Reporter stated that a coach operator had blacklisted Saints rugby league ground following an attack by hooligans on a coach. That had resulted in 13-year-old Angela Grimes being injured by a flying brick. David Bradley, the general manager of Fieldsends Coaches, said: "I am shocked that this could happen. We will certainly not be going to St. Helens again and I feel that after this we shall cancel our coaches for rugby matches all together."
It had been the second case of coach vandalism at Saints in a week, as when the club had played Leeds stones had cracked another vehicle's window. But such vandalism was also affecting Saints supporters at away fixtures. This week Stan Magowan of Ellison's Travel in Westfield Street described how his coaches sent to take Saints' supporters to away games were regularly returning with broken windows.
During this season bricks and bottles had already smashed eight windows, each costing £57. And this week after visiting Leeds, young vandals had put bricks through one coach's large scenic window worth £104.
Stan said: "It is getting to be an expensive exercise, and would pay us not to go. Luckily nobody has been injured yet but one woman was very shaken up on Tuesday. It is mainly 13 and 14-year-olds doing this. It is happening everywhere and other coach firms are having the same trouble. It is costing too much and something has to be done. If we make, say £36 on a trip to Salford, all of that and more will go on replacing a window."
As an alternative to having sales, Helena House would sometimes have dividend offer days in which purchasers received extra stamps depending on the product that they bought. The Baldwin Street superstore took out a full-page advert in the Reporter on the 14th of this week in which they listed the many divi offers that were available. These included 40 stamps for ever two pairs of tights, 600 stamps for every handbag and 4,800 stamps for purchasers of a Singer sewing machine.
Meanwhile, Woolworths in Church Street were advertising a more traditional sale, featuring such things as stereo units, transistor radios and a Commodore calculator. The latter were quite large in the 1970s and although only priced in Woolies' sale at £5.75, in today's money that's £60 to £70. EMI blank cassette tapes were also on offer with C60s reduced to 43p and C90s costing 57p.
The Reporter described how two days after Liverpool had won the league championship for a record 9th time, star player Emlyn Hughes had still fulfilled an engagement in Rainhill. That was at the Rael Brook shirt factory in Warrington Road where the footballer made a presentation.
The 350 women that worked at the plant had raised £400 in collections at Christmas and decided that the nearby Stephenson Training Centre for the mentally handicapped should benefit. The money had been used to buy a music centre, records and tapes and, along with a cheque for £200, Emlyn presented the donations to Cllr Dorothy Fogg.
She was the chairman of St Helens Social Services Committee who would pass the gifts on to the Rainhill centre. "They're all champions," remarked Emlyn, adding: "It's fantastic how a group of workers can get together and raise money for such a good cause."
The Reporter also described how nearly 200 persons had taken part in a protest march in Billinge organised by a Parents Action Group. That was after a decision had been taken that all Catholic children leaving St Mary's Primary School at Birchley must go to St Alban's Secondary School in St Helens. The parents had wanted them to be taught at the nearby St Peter's Comprehensive in Orrell but had been told that the school was overcrowded.
There is, of course, nothing new in the NHS saying it is underfunded. Fifty years ago this week the St Helens and Knowsley Area Health Authority declared how a cash crisis was threatening services. At their monthly meeting they decided to appeal to the Mersey Regional Health Authority for more funding. Dr John Packer, the area medical officer, said:
"We are getting to a stage where the situation could be serious. We are asking if there is a chance of more cash to avoid unwelcome decisions which will reflect on the quality of services to patients."
The authority also appealed for volunteers to keep lonely hospital patients company, as many of their 900 patients in local hospitals either had no relatives to visit them or whose relatives lived too far away. The Area Health Authority's Press Officer, Norman Tabb, said:
"The highest proportion of patients who are in need of regular visitors are the elderly. We would like volunteers to help with little things such as letter-writing, essentially to build up a friendship for lonely people."
And St Helens Marriage Guidance Council was appealing for more counsellors to join them, as they said the shortage was preventing them from providing the sort of service to the community that they would like to give.
During the last year a staff of five counsellors had interviewed 178 wives and 88 husbands. And as a sign of things to come when couples living together were unmarried, 22 interviews had been conducted with single people.
The Saints Sports and Leisure Centre in Dunriding Lane was now advertising itself as the St Helens RFC Cabaret Club and on the evenings of the 14th and 15th, it had Josh White performing. You may recall him from 'The Comedians' TV show.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Pilks' strike that was connected to a punch-up, the lorries accused of damaging Cowley Street and the controversy over Saints' wheelchair and invalid car ban at their Knowsley Road ground.
We begin on the 12th when Gordon Oakes, the government's Energy Under-Secretary, opened a new plastic recovery works in Burtonhead Road in St Helens. Reclamat International ran the recycling plant, which converted such items as polythene bags, plastic coffin handles, stripped electric cable and disused magnetic tape cassettes into a back plastic construction board. That could be used in a wide range of applications, particularly farm buildings.
Also on the 12th, fire caused considerable damage to the St Helens headquarters of the St John Ambulance Brigade. Firemen fought for two hours to bring the blaze under control but the roof of the gutted building in Standish Street was destroyed, along with all the interior furniture and first-aid equipment.
The damage was estimated at £20,000 and the Brigade said they had very little chance of repairing the building because the cost would be too high. The Brigade's Area Treasurer, Derek Unsworth, described the fire as a sickening blow, adding: "I do not know how we will manage to carry on." St Helens police were said to be investigating the cause of the blaze.
In September 1975 the St Helens Reporter stated that a coach operator had blacklisted Saints rugby league ground following an attack by hooligans on a coach. That had resulted in 13-year-old Angela Grimes being injured by a flying brick. David Bradley, the general manager of Fieldsends Coaches, said: "I am shocked that this could happen. We will certainly not be going to St. Helens again and I feel that after this we shall cancel our coaches for rugby matches all together."
It had been the second case of coach vandalism at Saints in a week, as when the club had played Leeds stones had cracked another vehicle's window. But such vandalism was also affecting Saints supporters at away fixtures. This week Stan Magowan of Ellison's Travel in Westfield Street described how his coaches sent to take Saints' supporters to away games were regularly returning with broken windows.
During this season bricks and bottles had already smashed eight windows, each costing £57. And this week after visiting Leeds, young vandals had put bricks through one coach's large scenic window worth £104.
Stan said: "It is getting to be an expensive exercise, and would pay us not to go. Luckily nobody has been injured yet but one woman was very shaken up on Tuesday. It is mainly 13 and 14-year-olds doing this. It is happening everywhere and other coach firms are having the same trouble. It is costing too much and something has to be done. If we make, say £36 on a trip to Salford, all of that and more will go on replacing a window."
The Reporter described how two days after Liverpool had won the league championship for a record 9th time, star player Emlyn Hughes had still fulfilled an engagement in Rainhill. That was at the Rael Brook shirt factory in Warrington Road where the footballer made a presentation.
The 350 women that worked at the plant had raised £400 in collections at Christmas and decided that the nearby Stephenson Training Centre for the mentally handicapped should benefit. The money had been used to buy a music centre, records and tapes and, along with a cheque for £200, Emlyn presented the donations to Cllr Dorothy Fogg.
She was the chairman of St Helens Social Services Committee who would pass the gifts on to the Rainhill centre. "They're all champions," remarked Emlyn, adding: "It's fantastic how a group of workers can get together and raise money for such a good cause."
The Reporter also described how nearly 200 persons had taken part in a protest march in Billinge organised by a Parents Action Group. That was after a decision had been taken that all Catholic children leaving St Mary's Primary School at Birchley must go to St Alban's Secondary School in St Helens. The parents had wanted them to be taught at the nearby St Peter's Comprehensive in Orrell but had been told that the school was overcrowded.
There is, of course, nothing new in the NHS saying it is underfunded. Fifty years ago this week the St Helens and Knowsley Area Health Authority declared how a cash crisis was threatening services. At their monthly meeting they decided to appeal to the Mersey Regional Health Authority for more funding. Dr John Packer, the area medical officer, said:
"We are getting to a stage where the situation could be serious. We are asking if there is a chance of more cash to avoid unwelcome decisions which will reflect on the quality of services to patients."
The authority also appealed for volunteers to keep lonely hospital patients company, as many of their 900 patients in local hospitals either had no relatives to visit them or whose relatives lived too far away. The Area Health Authority's Press Officer, Norman Tabb, said:
"The highest proportion of patients who are in need of regular visitors are the elderly. We would like volunteers to help with little things such as letter-writing, essentially to build up a friendship for lonely people."
And St Helens Marriage Guidance Council was appealing for more counsellors to join them, as they said the shortage was preventing them from providing the sort of service to the community that they would like to give.
During the last year a staff of five counsellors had interviewed 178 wives and 88 husbands. And as a sign of things to come when couples living together were unmarried, 22 interviews had been conducted with single people.
The Saints Sports and Leisure Centre in Dunriding Lane was now advertising itself as the St Helens RFC Cabaret Club and on the evenings of the 14th and 15th, it had Josh White performing. You may recall him from 'The Comedians' TV show.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Pilks' strike that was connected to a punch-up, the lorries accused of damaging Cowley Street and the controversy over Saints' wheelchair and invalid car ban at their Knowsley Road ground.
This week's many stories include the smashed windows of coaches taking Saints supporters to away games, a cash crisis threatens NHS services in St Helens, fire causes considerable damage to the HQ of the St John's Ambulance Brigade, footballer Emlyn Hughes is in Rainhill and an appeal is made for volunteers to keep lonely hospital patients company.
We begin on the 12th when Gordon Oakes, the government's Energy Under-Secretary, opened a new plastic recovery works in Burtonhead Road in St Helens.
Reclamat International ran the recycling plant, which converted such items as polythene bags, plastic coffin handles, stripped electric cable and disused magnetic tape cassettes into a back plastic construction board.
That could be used in a wide range of applications, particularly farm buildings.
Also on the 12th, fire caused considerable damage to the St Helens headquarters of the St John Ambulance Brigade.
Firemen fought for two hours to bring the blaze under control but the roof of the gutted building in Standish Street was destroyed, along with all the interior furniture and first-aid equipment.
The damage was estimated at £20,000 and the Brigade said they had very little chance of repairing the building because the cost would be too high.
The Brigade's Area Treasurer, Derek Unsworth, described the fire as a sickening blow, adding: "I do not know how we will manage to carry on."
St Helens police were said to be investigating the cause of the blaze.
In September 1975 the St Helens Reporter stated that a coach operator had blacklisted Saints rugby league ground following an attack by hooligans on a coach.
That had resulted in 13-year-old Angela Grimes being injured by a flying brick.
David Bradley, the general manager of Fieldsends Coaches, said: "I am shocked that this could happen. We will certainly not be going to St. Helens again and I feel that after this we shall cancel our coaches for rugby matches all together."
It had been the second case of coach vandalism at Saints in a week, as when the club had played Leeds stones had cracked another vehicle's window.
But such vandalism was also affecting Saints supporters at away fixtures.
This week Stan Magowan of Ellison's Travel in Westfield Street described how his coaches sent to take Saints' supporters to away games were regularly returning with broken windows.
During this season bricks and bottles had already smashed eight windows, each costing £57.
And this week after visiting Leeds, young vandals had put bricks through one coach's large scenic window worth £104.
Stan said: "It is getting to be an expensive exercise, and would pay us not to go. Luckily nobody has been injured yet but one woman was very shaken up on Tuesday. It is mainly 13 and 14-year-olds doing this.
"It is happening everywhere and other coach firms are having the same trouble. It is costing too much and something has to be done. If we make, say £36 on a trip to Salford, all of that and more will go on replacing a window."
As an alternative to having sales, Helena House would sometimes have dividend offer days in which purchasers received extra stamps depending on the product that they bought.
The Baldwin Street superstore took out a full-page advert in the Reporter on the 14th of this week in which they listed the many divi offers that were available.
These included 40 stamps for ever two pairs of tights, 600 stamps for every handbag and 4,800 stamps for purchasers of a Singer sewing machine.
Meanwhile, Woolworths in Church Street were advertising a more traditional sale, featuring such things as stereo units, transistor radios and a Commodore calculator.
The latter were quite large in the 1970s and although only priced in Woolies' sale at £5.75, in today's money that's £60 to £70.
EMI blank cassette tapes were also on offer with C60s reduced to 43p and C90s costing 57p.
The Reporter described how two days after Liverpool had won the league championship for a record 9th time, star player Emlyn Hughes had still fulfilled an engagement in Rainhill.
That was at the Rael Brook shirt factory in Warrington Road where the footballer made a presentation.
The 350 women that worked at the plant had raised £400 in collections at Christmas and decided that the nearby Stephenson Training Centre for the mentally handicapped should benefit.
The money had been used to buy a music centre, records and tapes and, along with a cheque for £200, Emlyn presented the donations to Cllr Dorothy Fogg.
She was the chairman of St Helens Social Services Committee who would pass the gifts on to the Rainhill centre.
"They're all champions," remarked Emlyn, adding: "It's fantastic how a group of workers can get together and raise money for such a good cause."
The Reporter also described how nearly 200 persons had taken part in a protest march in Billinge organised by a Parents Action Group.
That was after a decision had been taken that all Catholic children leaving St Mary's Primary School at Birchley must go to St Alban's Secondary School in St Helens.
The parents had wanted them to be taught at the nearby St Peter's Comprehensive in Orrell but had been told that the school was overcrowded.
There is, of course, nothing new in the NHS saying it is underfunded. Fifty years ago this week the St Helens and Knowsley Area Health Authority declared how a cash crisis was threatening services.
At their monthly meeting they decided to appeal to the Mersey Regional Health Authority for more funding. Dr John Packer, the area medical officer, said:
"We are getting to a stage where the situation could be serious. We are asking if there is a chance of more cash to avoid unwelcome decisions which will reflect on the quality of services to patients."
The authority also appealed for volunteers to keep lonely hospital patients company, as many of their 900 patients in local hospitals either had no relatives to visit them or whose relatives lived too far away.
The Area Health Authority's Press Officer, Norman Tabb, said:
"The highest proportion of patients who are in need of regular visitors are the elderly. We would like volunteers to help with little things such as letter-writing, essentially to build up a friendship for lonely people."
And St Helens Marriage Guidance Council was appealing for more counsellors to join them, as they said the shortage was preventing them from providing the sort of service to the community that they would like to give.
During the last year a staff of five counsellors had interviewed 178 wives and 88 husbands.
And as a sign of things to come when couples living together were unmarried, 22 interviews had been conducted with single people.
The Saints Sports and Leisure Centre in Dunriding Lane was now advertising itself as the St Helens RFC Cabaret Club and on the evenings of the 14th and 15th, it had Josh White performing. You may recall him from 'The Comedians' TV show.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Pilks' strike that was connected to a punch-up, the lorries accused of damaging Cowley Street and the controversy over Saints' wheelchair and invalid car ban at their Knowsley Road ground.
We begin on the 12th when Gordon Oakes, the government's Energy Under-Secretary, opened a new plastic recovery works in Burtonhead Road in St Helens.
Reclamat International ran the recycling plant, which converted such items as polythene bags, plastic coffin handles, stripped electric cable and disused magnetic tape cassettes into a back plastic construction board.
That could be used in a wide range of applications, particularly farm buildings.
Also on the 12th, fire caused considerable damage to the St Helens headquarters of the St John Ambulance Brigade.
Firemen fought for two hours to bring the blaze under control but the roof of the gutted building in Standish Street was destroyed, along with all the interior furniture and first-aid equipment.
The damage was estimated at £20,000 and the Brigade said they had very little chance of repairing the building because the cost would be too high.
The Brigade's Area Treasurer, Derek Unsworth, described the fire as a sickening blow, adding: "I do not know how we will manage to carry on."
St Helens police were said to be investigating the cause of the blaze.
In September 1975 the St Helens Reporter stated that a coach operator had blacklisted Saints rugby league ground following an attack by hooligans on a coach.
That had resulted in 13-year-old Angela Grimes being injured by a flying brick.
David Bradley, the general manager of Fieldsends Coaches, said: "I am shocked that this could happen. We will certainly not be going to St. Helens again and I feel that after this we shall cancel our coaches for rugby matches all together."
It had been the second case of coach vandalism at Saints in a week, as when the club had played Leeds stones had cracked another vehicle's window.
But such vandalism was also affecting Saints supporters at away fixtures.
This week Stan Magowan of Ellison's Travel in Westfield Street described how his coaches sent to take Saints' supporters to away games were regularly returning with broken windows.
During this season bricks and bottles had already smashed eight windows, each costing £57.
And this week after visiting Leeds, young vandals had put bricks through one coach's large scenic window worth £104.
Stan said: "It is getting to be an expensive exercise, and would pay us not to go. Luckily nobody has been injured yet but one woman was very shaken up on Tuesday. It is mainly 13 and 14-year-olds doing this.
"It is happening everywhere and other coach firms are having the same trouble. It is costing too much and something has to be done. If we make, say £36 on a trip to Salford, all of that and more will go on replacing a window."
The Baldwin Street superstore took out a full-page advert in the Reporter on the 14th of this week in which they listed the many divi offers that were available.
These included 40 stamps for ever two pairs of tights, 600 stamps for every handbag and 4,800 stamps for purchasers of a Singer sewing machine.
The latter were quite large in the 1970s and although only priced in Woolies' sale at £5.75, in today's money that's £60 to £70.
EMI blank cassette tapes were also on offer with C60s reduced to 43p and C90s costing 57p.
The Reporter described how two days after Liverpool had won the league championship for a record 9th time, star player Emlyn Hughes had still fulfilled an engagement in Rainhill.
That was at the Rael Brook shirt factory in Warrington Road where the footballer made a presentation.
The 350 women that worked at the plant had raised £400 in collections at Christmas and decided that the nearby Stephenson Training Centre for the mentally handicapped should benefit.
The money had been used to buy a music centre, records and tapes and, along with a cheque for £200, Emlyn presented the donations to Cllr Dorothy Fogg.
She was the chairman of St Helens Social Services Committee who would pass the gifts on to the Rainhill centre.
"They're all champions," remarked Emlyn, adding: "It's fantastic how a group of workers can get together and raise money for such a good cause."
The Reporter also described how nearly 200 persons had taken part in a protest march in Billinge organised by a Parents Action Group.
That was after a decision had been taken that all Catholic children leaving St Mary's Primary School at Birchley must go to St Alban's Secondary School in St Helens.
The parents had wanted them to be taught at the nearby St Peter's Comprehensive in Orrell but had been told that the school was overcrowded.
There is, of course, nothing new in the NHS saying it is underfunded. Fifty years ago this week the St Helens and Knowsley Area Health Authority declared how a cash crisis was threatening services.
At their monthly meeting they decided to appeal to the Mersey Regional Health Authority for more funding. Dr John Packer, the area medical officer, said:
"We are getting to a stage where the situation could be serious. We are asking if there is a chance of more cash to avoid unwelcome decisions which will reflect on the quality of services to patients."
The authority also appealed for volunteers to keep lonely hospital patients company, as many of their 900 patients in local hospitals either had no relatives to visit them or whose relatives lived too far away.
The Area Health Authority's Press Officer, Norman Tabb, said:
"The highest proportion of patients who are in need of regular visitors are the elderly. We would like volunteers to help with little things such as letter-writing, essentially to build up a friendship for lonely people."
And St Helens Marriage Guidance Council was appealing for more counsellors to join them, as they said the shortage was preventing them from providing the sort of service to the community that they would like to give.
During the last year a staff of five counsellors had interviewed 178 wives and 88 husbands.
And as a sign of things to come when couples living together were unmarried, 22 interviews had been conducted with single people.
The Saints Sports and Leisure Centre in Dunriding Lane was now advertising itself as the St Helens RFC Cabaret Club and on the evenings of the 14th and 15th, it had Josh White performing. You may recall him from 'The Comedians' TV show.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Pilks' strike that was connected to a punch-up, the lorries accused of damaging Cowley Street and the controversy over Saints' wheelchair and invalid car ban at their Knowsley Road ground.