FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (13th - 19th JULY 1970)
This week's 15 stories include 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.
We begin at a Housing Committee meeting on the 13th when it was stated that ten houses being built on the Jubits Lane estate were three weeks behind schedule because of "extreme vandalism". Every evening youngsters went on the rampage, causing hundreds of pounds worth of damage, smashing fittings including glazed windows. The borough's chief architect, Derek Billum, said: "It is a playground for children at night. Everything has been done to try and keep them off." Sutton Manor councillor Harry Williams chipped in and told Mr Billum: "I know how you feel. There are some right little laddies up there."
There was a Beatles double-bill at the ABC Savoy for six days from the 13th with 'Let It Be' and 'Help' being screened at the Bridge Street cinema.
On the 14th a dozen skinheads were accused of causing trouble at the Geraldo Club in Lord Street. They became angry after DJ Dave Warwick had refused to play their requests and then seemingly trashed his car. No one actually saw the culprits but the skinheads were strongly suspected. Club manager Tommy Balmforth said if there was any more trouble the "bovver boys" could be banned.
They would also consider a blanket ban on skinheads in the club. "It will be a pity", added Tommy, "because some of these lads, who have been coming here regularly for about four months are nice boys." (The Reporter actually printed "nice bodys" – but I think that was a typo and they meant nice boys!). A police spokesman said: "The police have no lead to show it was skinheads, and there has never been any trouble with them in the town".
St Helens ambulance crews had been on strike since July 1st, although they were covering emergency 999 calls. They had demanded that the FAP (Federation of Ambulance Personnel) be recognised as their official negotiating body and that attendant Louis Barr be repaid the £4 deducted from his wages after he'd refused to clean out a drain. This week the council's Health Committee again rejected both of their demands and on the 15th the 24 men returned to work.
That was after a meeting over tea and buns in Sutton with the straight-talking Councillor Joe Tickle. He was a haulage contractor who said he let the ambulance men know they were on a "hiding to nothing" if they remained out on strike: "I told them to get back to work as fast as possible, and then start talking. The men agreed without hesitation. I made it clear that as FAP was not recognised by the National Joint Council, it was impossible for the Corporation to recognise it."
The council's Works Committee met on the 15th and agreed to lay a new 15-inch sewer pipe in Grange Park Road after residents had complained of flooding after heavy rain.
A nationwide docks strike began on the 16th, which Pilkingtons described as a "severe blow" to their export market as the glass giant attempted to recover from the damaging effects of their own 7-week strike. However, Pilkingtons hoped to increase orders from their home market, as glass that would normally be imported into the country would now be halted.
The under pressure General Municipal Workers Union at Pilks reported some good news this week. Despite the formation of a new, rival union in St Helens led by the former strike committee, the GMWU still had 5,500 members at Pilkingtons and were reorganising with dedicated branches at all six local factories. Recently they had negotiated an additional rise of £1 for their members on top of the £3 agreed by the company in April and their membership was growing daily.
It was revealed in a court case on the 16th that a helicopter had been used in Blackbrook to find a load of missing bricks. St Helens Magistrates were told that there had been a series of thefts of building material from the new Chain Lane estate. So a copter was used to scan the site and spotted 2,000 bricks stacked in a back garden of a house in Mowbray Avenue. As a result a 27-year-old man was fined £10.
A front-page article in the Reporter on the 17th bore the headline: "Car Park in the Sky Town Plan to Get Go-Ahead" and began: "A multi-storey car park, giving a panoramic view of St. Helens, and a space-age covered market are expected to get the official go-ahead next week. Work on phase one of the sweeping re-development plan for the town will begin before the end of the year, it was revealed this week. The first stage of the scheme will be in the area bounded by Church Street, St Mary's Street, and the Ring Road. Completion is expected within 8 months. The super “car-park in the sky” will be perched on top of a large new warehouse alongside the covered market. Shops and office blocks are also to be built there."
Phase 2 of the scheme was expected to begin at the end of 1971 and would involve the construction of a block bounded by Market Street, Church Street, Bridge Street and the Ring Road. This would contain a new market hall (that would later be called St Mary's Market) and a mixture of large and small shop units. Of course there would eventually be two car parks "in the sky" but only one was currently on the cards.
In 1995 Cable North West dug up the streets of St Helens to install cable TV and radio in subscribers' homes. However Rediffusion had pioneered a similar service many years before. Initially radio only, they attracted viewers in parts of the town that suffered from poor TV reception or where communal aerials in flats had proved unsatisfactory. However Rediffusion only offered the existing TV channels and radio stations, unlike modern day cable and satellite services.
The council's Housing Committee had decided in 1969 to pipe Rediffusion into some of their council estates but the Reporter revealed that residents in Sutton Manor were far from happy with the decision. Mother-of two-Beryl Parker of Bowland Avenue said: "We were never asked if we wanted piped TV – it was forced upon us. We are constantly being harassed by engineers who tell us that wires will have to go under the carpets and holes will have to be drilled everywhere."
Jean Nichols of Epping Avenue complained: "We are being asked to pay a 7s 6d installation fee for something we never wanted. Most of the families brought their own TV sets and paid to have them installed. On principle we will not use the piped TV." Local councillor Harry Williams said he had a file of complaints about Rediffusion engineers "ordering these families around" and complained of them being "treated like puppets". The company said they were aware of the complaints but hoped to have now ironed out all the problems.
The Bank of England had stopped producing £20 notes in 1943 but the denomination reappeared on July 9th. The Reporter decided to – as they put it – "test the inconvenience value" of the new note when buying cheap goods from St Helens' shops. So reporter Val Belshaw was sent out onto the streets to tender the "double tenner" and then she would "gleefully watch the shop assistant's face". Val wrote that reactions were varied: "I got giggles and titters, panic-stricken expressions and cautiousness".
However 17-year-old June Nevitt of Napier Street passed the test with flying colours. The shop assistant at Hart's store "never batted an eye-lid" upon being handed £20 to pay for a yard of 6d braid. Pat Knight in Peter Dewar's tobacconists in Church Street was a little more alarmed when the note was handed over to buy a 3d box of matches. "I've never seen one before", she said. "I think the Queen looks nice on it. But I can't see it being very popular at all."
Val wrote that Betty Scott "very nearly collapsed" upon being handed the note. "It's very strange", declared the 46-year-old from Derbyshire Hill who worked in Baby World. The 50p coin (aka 10 shilling piece) had been introduced last October in advance of decimalisation but Mrs Scott felt the new note would be harder to get accustomed to: "I can't say I like it either. Getting used to a £20 note will be much more difficult than the 10s. piece. I think the notes might be useful when people are buying big things like prams. But for small purchases they are just silly. Still, I suppose people must get rid of them somewhere."
Describing St Helens as "an abortion from the industrial revolution", Alan Whalley heralded the forthcoming redevelopment of the town centre: "The ugliest town in the North West is standing by for the first stage of its multi-million pound face-lift. By the end of this year, the first five-year phase in the redevelopment of dreary St. Helens town centre will drive daylight and modern planning through the weary-looking streets and drab old buildings."
The schools broke up for the summer on the 17th and Ellen Green from Knowsley Road retired after spending forty years teaching at Merton Bank infants' school.
Films were normally screened at the ABC Savoy for 6 or 7 days. Occasionally it was for three but I don't think I've seen 14 days listed before. But that was the planned duration for 'Where Eagles Dare' and the Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton thriller began its fortnight's run down Bridge Street on the 19th. And on the same day the Parr Public Prize Band performed in Sherdley Park as part of the council's 'Bands In Parks' concert series.
Next week's stories will include the St Helens firemen who worked part-time as pallbearers at funerals, a community rallies to help a Dentons Green pensioner, the second St Helens Show is held and the Parr man who had to wait 15 years for a new garden gate from the council.
We begin at a Housing Committee meeting on the 13th when it was stated that ten houses being built on the Jubits Lane estate were three weeks behind schedule because of "extreme vandalism". Every evening youngsters went on the rampage, causing hundreds of pounds worth of damage, smashing fittings including glazed windows. The borough's chief architect, Derek Billum, said: "It is a playground for children at night. Everything has been done to try and keep them off." Sutton Manor councillor Harry Williams chipped in and told Mr Billum: "I know how you feel. There are some right little laddies up there."
On the 14th a dozen skinheads were accused of causing trouble at the Geraldo Club in Lord Street. They became angry after DJ Dave Warwick had refused to play their requests and then seemingly trashed his car. No one actually saw the culprits but the skinheads were strongly suspected. Club manager Tommy Balmforth said if there was any more trouble the "bovver boys" could be banned.
They would also consider a blanket ban on skinheads in the club. "It will be a pity", added Tommy, "because some of these lads, who have been coming here regularly for about four months are nice boys." (The Reporter actually printed "nice bodys" – but I think that was a typo and they meant nice boys!). A police spokesman said: "The police have no lead to show it was skinheads, and there has never been any trouble with them in the town".
St Helens ambulance crews had been on strike since July 1st, although they were covering emergency 999 calls. They had demanded that the FAP (Federation of Ambulance Personnel) be recognised as their official negotiating body and that attendant Louis Barr be repaid the £4 deducted from his wages after he'd refused to clean out a drain. This week the council's Health Committee again rejected both of their demands and on the 15th the 24 men returned to work.
That was after a meeting over tea and buns in Sutton with the straight-talking Councillor Joe Tickle. He was a haulage contractor who said he let the ambulance men know they were on a "hiding to nothing" if they remained out on strike: "I told them to get back to work as fast as possible, and then start talking. The men agreed without hesitation. I made it clear that as FAP was not recognised by the National Joint Council, it was impossible for the Corporation to recognise it."
The council's Works Committee met on the 15th and agreed to lay a new 15-inch sewer pipe in Grange Park Road after residents had complained of flooding after heavy rain.
A nationwide docks strike began on the 16th, which Pilkingtons described as a "severe blow" to their export market as the glass giant attempted to recover from the damaging effects of their own 7-week strike. However, Pilkingtons hoped to increase orders from their home market, as glass that would normally be imported into the country would now be halted.
The under pressure General Municipal Workers Union at Pilks reported some good news this week. Despite the formation of a new, rival union in St Helens led by the former strike committee, the GMWU still had 5,500 members at Pilkingtons and were reorganising with dedicated branches at all six local factories. Recently they had negotiated an additional rise of £1 for their members on top of the £3 agreed by the company in April and their membership was growing daily.
It was revealed in a court case on the 16th that a helicopter had been used in Blackbrook to find a load of missing bricks. St Helens Magistrates were told that there had been a series of thefts of building material from the new Chain Lane estate. So a copter was used to scan the site and spotted 2,000 bricks stacked in a back garden of a house in Mowbray Avenue. As a result a 27-year-old man was fined £10.
A front-page article in the Reporter on the 17th bore the headline: "Car Park in the Sky Town Plan to Get Go-Ahead" and began: "A multi-storey car park, giving a panoramic view of St. Helens, and a space-age covered market are expected to get the official go-ahead next week. Work on phase one of the sweeping re-development plan for the town will begin before the end of the year, it was revealed this week. The first stage of the scheme will be in the area bounded by Church Street, St Mary's Street, and the Ring Road. Completion is expected within 8 months. The super “car-park in the sky” will be perched on top of a large new warehouse alongside the covered market. Shops and office blocks are also to be built there."
Phase 2 of the scheme was expected to begin at the end of 1971 and would involve the construction of a block bounded by Market Street, Church Street, Bridge Street and the Ring Road. This would contain a new market hall (that would later be called St Mary's Market) and a mixture of large and small shop units. Of course there would eventually be two car parks "in the sky" but only one was currently on the cards.
In 1995 Cable North West dug up the streets of St Helens to install cable TV and radio in subscribers' homes. However Rediffusion had pioneered a similar service many years before. Initially radio only, they attracted viewers in parts of the town that suffered from poor TV reception or where communal aerials in flats had proved unsatisfactory. However Rediffusion only offered the existing TV channels and radio stations, unlike modern day cable and satellite services.
The council's Housing Committee had decided in 1969 to pipe Rediffusion into some of their council estates but the Reporter revealed that residents in Sutton Manor were far from happy with the decision. Mother-of two-Beryl Parker of Bowland Avenue said: "We were never asked if we wanted piped TV – it was forced upon us. We are constantly being harassed by engineers who tell us that wires will have to go under the carpets and holes will have to be drilled everywhere."
Jean Nichols of Epping Avenue complained: "We are being asked to pay a 7s 6d installation fee for something we never wanted. Most of the families brought their own TV sets and paid to have them installed. On principle we will not use the piped TV." Local councillor Harry Williams said he had a file of complaints about Rediffusion engineers "ordering these families around" and complained of them being "treated like puppets". The company said they were aware of the complaints but hoped to have now ironed out all the problems.
The Bank of England had stopped producing £20 notes in 1943 but the denomination reappeared on July 9th. The Reporter decided to – as they put it – "test the inconvenience value" of the new note when buying cheap goods from St Helens' shops. So reporter Val Belshaw was sent out onto the streets to tender the "double tenner" and then she would "gleefully watch the shop assistant's face". Val wrote that reactions were varied: "I got giggles and titters, panic-stricken expressions and cautiousness".
However 17-year-old June Nevitt of Napier Street passed the test with flying colours. The shop assistant at Hart's store "never batted an eye-lid" upon being handed £20 to pay for a yard of 6d braid. Pat Knight in Peter Dewar's tobacconists in Church Street was a little more alarmed when the note was handed over to buy a 3d box of matches. "I've never seen one before", she said. "I think the Queen looks nice on it. But I can't see it being very popular at all."
Val wrote that Betty Scott "very nearly collapsed" upon being handed the note. "It's very strange", declared the 46-year-old from Derbyshire Hill who worked in Baby World. The 50p coin (aka 10 shilling piece) had been introduced last October in advance of decimalisation but Mrs Scott felt the new note would be harder to get accustomed to: "I can't say I like it either. Getting used to a £20 note will be much more difficult than the 10s. piece. I think the notes might be useful when people are buying big things like prams. But for small purchases they are just silly. Still, I suppose people must get rid of them somewhere."
Describing St Helens as "an abortion from the industrial revolution", Alan Whalley heralded the forthcoming redevelopment of the town centre: "The ugliest town in the North West is standing by for the first stage of its multi-million pound face-lift. By the end of this year, the first five-year phase in the redevelopment of dreary St. Helens town centre will drive daylight and modern planning through the weary-looking streets and drab old buildings."
The schools broke up for the summer on the 17th and Ellen Green from Knowsley Road retired after spending forty years teaching at Merton Bank infants' school.
Films were normally screened at the ABC Savoy for 6 or 7 days. Occasionally it was for three but I don't think I've seen 14 days listed before. But that was the planned duration for 'Where Eagles Dare' and the Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton thriller began its fortnight's run down Bridge Street on the 19th. And on the same day the Parr Public Prize Band performed in Sherdley Park as part of the council's 'Bands In Parks' concert series.
Next week's stories will include the St Helens firemen who worked part-time as pallbearers at funerals, a community rallies to help a Dentons Green pensioner, the second St Helens Show is held and the Parr man who had to wait 15 years for a new garden gate from the council.
This week's 15 stories include 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.
We begin at a Housing Committee meeting on the 13th when it was stated that ten houses being built on the Jubits Lane estate were three weeks behind schedule because of "extreme vandalism".
Every evening youngsters went on the rampage, causing hundreds of pounds worth of damage, smashing fittings including glazed windows.
The borough's chief architect, Derek Billum, said: "It is a playground for children at night. Everything has been done to try and keep them off."
Sutton Manor councillor Harry Williams chipped in and told Mr Billum: "I know how you feel. There are some right little laddies up there."
There was a Beatles double-bill at the ABC Savoy for six days from the 13th with 'Let It Be' and 'Help' being screened at the Bridge Street cinema.
On the 14th a dozen skinheads were accused of causing trouble at the Geraldo Club in Lord Street.
They became angry after DJ Dave Warwick had refused to play their requests and then seemingly trashed his car.
No one actually saw the culprits but the skinheads were strongly suspected.
Club manager Tommy Balmforth said if there was any more trouble the "bovver boys" could be banned.
They would also consider a blanket ban on skinheads in the club.
"It will be a pity", added Tommy, "because some of these lads, who have been coming here regularly for about four months are nice boys."
A police spokesman said: "The police have no lead to show it was skinheads, and there has never been any trouble with them in the town".
St Helens ambulance crews had been on strike since July 1st, although they were covering emergency 999 calls.
They had demanded that the FAP (Federation of Ambulance Personnel) be recognised as their official negotiating body and that attendant Louis Barr be repaid the £4 deducted from his wages after he'd refused to clean out a drain.
This week the council's Health Committee again rejected both of their demands and on the 15th the 24 men returned to work.
That was after a meeting over tea and buns in Sutton with the straight-talking Councillor Joe Tickle.
He was a haulage contractor who said he let the ambulance men know they were on a "hiding to nothing" if they remained out on strike:
"I told them to get back to work as fast as possible, and then start talking. The men agreed without hesitation. I made it clear that as FAP was not recognised by the National Joint Council, it was impossible for the Corporation to recognise it."
The council's Works Committee met on the 15th and agreed to lay a new 15-inch sewer pipe in Grange Park Road after residents had complained of flooding after heavy rain.
A nationwide docks strike began on the 16th, which Pilkingtons described as a "severe blow" to their export market as the glass giant attempted to recover from the damaging effects of their own 7-week strike.
However, Pilkingtons hoped to increase orders from their home market, as glass that would normally be imported into the country would now be halted.
The under pressure General Municipal Workers Union at Pilks reported some good news this week.
Despite the formation of a new, rival union in St Helens led by the former strike committee, the GMWU still had 5,500 members at Pilkingtons and were reorganising with dedicated branches at all six local factories.
Recently they had negotiated an additional rise of £1 for their members on top of the £3 agreed by the company in April and their membership was growing daily.
It was revealed in a court case on the 16th that a helicopter had been used in Blackbrook to find a load of missing bricks.
St Helens Magistrates were told that there had been a series of thefts of building material from the new Chain Lane estate.
So a copter was used to scan the site and spotted 2,000 bricks stacked in a back garden of a house in Mowbray Avenue. As a result a 27-year-old man was fined £10.
A front-page article in the Reporter on the 17th bore the headline: "Car Park in the Sky Town Plan to Get Go-Ahead" and began:
"A multi-storey car park, giving a panoramic view of St. Helens, and a space-age covered market are expected to get the official go-ahead next week. Work on phase one of the sweeping re-development plan for the town will begin before the end of the year, it was revealed this week.
"The first stage of the scheme will be in the area bounded by Church Street, St Mary's Street, and the Ring Road. Completion is expected within 8 months. The super “car-park in the sky” will be perched on top of a large new warehouse alongside the covered market. Shops and office blocks are also to be built there."
Phase 2 of the scheme was expected to begin at the end of 1971 and would involve the construction of a block bounded by Market Street, Church Street, Bridge Street and the Ring Road.
This would contain a new market hall (that would later be called St Mary's Market) and a mixture of large and small shop units.
Of course there would eventually be two car parks "in the sky" but only one was currently on the cards.
In 1995 Cable North West dug up the streets of St Helens to install cable TV and radio in subscribers' homes.
However Rediffusion had pioneered a similar service many years before.
Initially radio only, they attracted viewers in parts of the town that suffered from poor TV reception or where communal aerials in flats had proved unsatisfactory.
However Rediffusion only offered the existing TV channels and radio stations, unlike modern day cable and satellite services.
The council's Housing Committee had decided in 1969 to pipe Rediffusion into some of their council estates but the Reporter revealed that residents in Sutton Manor were far from happy with the decision.
Mother-of two-Beryl Parker of Bowland Avenue said:
"We were never asked if we wanted piped TV – it was forced upon us. We are constantly being harassed by engineers who tell us that wires will have to go under the carpets and holes will have to be drilled everywhere."
Jean Nichols of Epping Avenue complained: "We are being asked to pay a 7s 6d installation fee for something we never wanted. Most of the families brought their own TV sets and paid to have them installed. On principle we will not use the piped TV."
Local councillor Harry Williams said he had a file of complaints about Rediffusion engineers "ordering these families around" and complained of them being "treated like puppets".
The company said they were aware of the complaints but hoped to have now ironed out all the problems.
The Bank of England had stopped producing £20 notes in 1943 but the denomination reappeared on July 9th.
The Reporter decided to – as they put it – "test the inconvenience value" of the new note when buying cheap goods from St Helens' shops.
So reporter Val Belshaw was sent out onto the streets to tender the "double tenner" and then she would "gleefully watch the shop assistant's face".
Val wrote that reactions were varied: "I got giggles and titters, panic-stricken expressions and cautiousness".
However 17-year-old June Nevitt of Napier Street passed the test with flying colours.
The shop assistant at Hart's store "never batted an eye-lid" upon being handed £20 to pay for a yard of 6d braid.
Pat Knight in Peter Dewar's tobacconists in Church Street was a little more alarmed when the note was handed over to buy a 3d box of matches.
"I've never seen one before", she said. "I think the Queen looks nice on it. But I can't see it being very popular at all."
Val wrote that Betty Scott "very nearly collapsed" upon being handed the note. "It's very strange", declared the 46-year-old from Derbyshire Hill who worked in Baby World.
The 50p coin (aka 10 shilling piece) had been introduced last October in advance of decimalisation but Mrs Scott felt the new note would be harder to get accustomed to:
"I can't say I like it either. Getting used to a £20 note will be much more difficult than the 10s. piece. I think the notes might be useful when people are buying big things like prams. But for small purchases they are just silly. Still, I suppose people must get rid of them somewhere."
Describing St Helens as "an abortion from the industrial revolution", Alan Whalley heralded the forthcoming redevelopment of the town centre:
"The ugliest town in the North West is standing by for the first stage of its multi-million pound face-lift. By the end of this year, the first five-year phase in the redevelopment of dreary St. Helens town centre will drive daylight and modern planning through the weary-looking streets and drab old buildings."
The schools broke up for the summer on the 17th and Ellen Green from Knowsley Road retired after spending forty years teaching at Merton Bank infants' school.
Films were normally screened at the ABC Savoy for 6 or 7 days. Occasionally it was for three but I don't think I've seen 14 days listed before.
But that was the planned duration for 'Where Eagles Dare' and the Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton thriller began its fortnight's run down Bridge Street on the 19th.
And on the same day the Parr Public Prize Band performed in Sherdley Park as part of the council's 'Bands In Parks' concert series.
Next week's stories will include the St Helens firemen who worked part-time as pallbearers at funerals, a community rallies to help a Dentons Green pensioner, the second St Helens Show is held and the Parr man who had to wait 15 years for a new garden gate from the council.
We begin at a Housing Committee meeting on the 13th when it was stated that ten houses being built on the Jubits Lane estate were three weeks behind schedule because of "extreme vandalism".
Every evening youngsters went on the rampage, causing hundreds of pounds worth of damage, smashing fittings including glazed windows.
The borough's chief architect, Derek Billum, said: "It is a playground for children at night. Everything has been done to try and keep them off."
Sutton Manor councillor Harry Williams chipped in and told Mr Billum: "I know how you feel. There are some right little laddies up there."
On the 14th a dozen skinheads were accused of causing trouble at the Geraldo Club in Lord Street.
They became angry after DJ Dave Warwick had refused to play their requests and then seemingly trashed his car.
No one actually saw the culprits but the skinheads were strongly suspected.
Club manager Tommy Balmforth said if there was any more trouble the "bovver boys" could be banned.
They would also consider a blanket ban on skinheads in the club.
"It will be a pity", added Tommy, "because some of these lads, who have been coming here regularly for about four months are nice boys."
A police spokesman said: "The police have no lead to show it was skinheads, and there has never been any trouble with them in the town".
St Helens ambulance crews had been on strike since July 1st, although they were covering emergency 999 calls.
They had demanded that the FAP (Federation of Ambulance Personnel) be recognised as their official negotiating body and that attendant Louis Barr be repaid the £4 deducted from his wages after he'd refused to clean out a drain.
This week the council's Health Committee again rejected both of their demands and on the 15th the 24 men returned to work.
That was after a meeting over tea and buns in Sutton with the straight-talking Councillor Joe Tickle.
He was a haulage contractor who said he let the ambulance men know they were on a "hiding to nothing" if they remained out on strike:
"I told them to get back to work as fast as possible, and then start talking. The men agreed without hesitation. I made it clear that as FAP was not recognised by the National Joint Council, it was impossible for the Corporation to recognise it."
The council's Works Committee met on the 15th and agreed to lay a new 15-inch sewer pipe in Grange Park Road after residents had complained of flooding after heavy rain.
A nationwide docks strike began on the 16th, which Pilkingtons described as a "severe blow" to their export market as the glass giant attempted to recover from the damaging effects of their own 7-week strike.
However, Pilkingtons hoped to increase orders from their home market, as glass that would normally be imported into the country would now be halted.
The under pressure General Municipal Workers Union at Pilks reported some good news this week.
Despite the formation of a new, rival union in St Helens led by the former strike committee, the GMWU still had 5,500 members at Pilkingtons and were reorganising with dedicated branches at all six local factories.
Recently they had negotiated an additional rise of £1 for their members on top of the £3 agreed by the company in April and their membership was growing daily.
It was revealed in a court case on the 16th that a helicopter had been used in Blackbrook to find a load of missing bricks.
St Helens Magistrates were told that there had been a series of thefts of building material from the new Chain Lane estate.
So a copter was used to scan the site and spotted 2,000 bricks stacked in a back garden of a house in Mowbray Avenue. As a result a 27-year-old man was fined £10.
A front-page article in the Reporter on the 17th bore the headline: "Car Park in the Sky Town Plan to Get Go-Ahead" and began:
"A multi-storey car park, giving a panoramic view of St. Helens, and a space-age covered market are expected to get the official go-ahead next week. Work on phase one of the sweeping re-development plan for the town will begin before the end of the year, it was revealed this week.
"The first stage of the scheme will be in the area bounded by Church Street, St Mary's Street, and the Ring Road. Completion is expected within 8 months. The super “car-park in the sky” will be perched on top of a large new warehouse alongside the covered market. Shops and office blocks are also to be built there."
Phase 2 of the scheme was expected to begin at the end of 1971 and would involve the construction of a block bounded by Market Street, Church Street, Bridge Street and the Ring Road.
This would contain a new market hall (that would later be called St Mary's Market) and a mixture of large and small shop units.
Of course there would eventually be two car parks "in the sky" but only one was currently on the cards.
In 1995 Cable North West dug up the streets of St Helens to install cable TV and radio in subscribers' homes.
However Rediffusion had pioneered a similar service many years before.
Initially radio only, they attracted viewers in parts of the town that suffered from poor TV reception or where communal aerials in flats had proved unsatisfactory.
However Rediffusion only offered the existing TV channels and radio stations, unlike modern day cable and satellite services.
The council's Housing Committee had decided in 1969 to pipe Rediffusion into some of their council estates but the Reporter revealed that residents in Sutton Manor were far from happy with the decision.
Mother-of two-Beryl Parker of Bowland Avenue said:
"We were never asked if we wanted piped TV – it was forced upon us. We are constantly being harassed by engineers who tell us that wires will have to go under the carpets and holes will have to be drilled everywhere."
Jean Nichols of Epping Avenue complained: "We are being asked to pay a 7s 6d installation fee for something we never wanted. Most of the families brought their own TV sets and paid to have them installed. On principle we will not use the piped TV."
Local councillor Harry Williams said he had a file of complaints about Rediffusion engineers "ordering these families around" and complained of them being "treated like puppets".
The company said they were aware of the complaints but hoped to have now ironed out all the problems.
The Bank of England had stopped producing £20 notes in 1943 but the denomination reappeared on July 9th.
The Reporter decided to – as they put it – "test the inconvenience value" of the new note when buying cheap goods from St Helens' shops.
So reporter Val Belshaw was sent out onto the streets to tender the "double tenner" and then she would "gleefully watch the shop assistant's face".
Val wrote that reactions were varied: "I got giggles and titters, panic-stricken expressions and cautiousness".
However 17-year-old June Nevitt of Napier Street passed the test with flying colours.
The shop assistant at Hart's store "never batted an eye-lid" upon being handed £20 to pay for a yard of 6d braid.
Pat Knight in Peter Dewar's tobacconists in Church Street was a little more alarmed when the note was handed over to buy a 3d box of matches.
"I've never seen one before", she said. "I think the Queen looks nice on it. But I can't see it being very popular at all."
Val wrote that Betty Scott "very nearly collapsed" upon being handed the note. "It's very strange", declared the 46-year-old from Derbyshire Hill who worked in Baby World.
The 50p coin (aka 10 shilling piece) had been introduced last October in advance of decimalisation but Mrs Scott felt the new note would be harder to get accustomed to:
"I can't say I like it either. Getting used to a £20 note will be much more difficult than the 10s. piece. I think the notes might be useful when people are buying big things like prams. But for small purchases they are just silly. Still, I suppose people must get rid of them somewhere."
Describing St Helens as "an abortion from the industrial revolution", Alan Whalley heralded the forthcoming redevelopment of the town centre:
"The ugliest town in the North West is standing by for the first stage of its multi-million pound face-lift. By the end of this year, the first five-year phase in the redevelopment of dreary St. Helens town centre will drive daylight and modern planning through the weary-looking streets and drab old buildings."
The schools broke up for the summer on the 17th and Ellen Green from Knowsley Road retired after spending forty years teaching at Merton Bank infants' school.
Films were normally screened at the ABC Savoy for 6 or 7 days. Occasionally it was for three but I don't think I've seen 14 days listed before.
But that was the planned duration for 'Where Eagles Dare' and the Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton thriller began its fortnight's run down Bridge Street on the 19th.
And on the same day the Parr Public Prize Band performed in Sherdley Park as part of the council's 'Bands In Parks' concert series.
Next week's stories will include the St Helens firemen who worked part-time as pallbearers at funerals, a community rallies to help a Dentons Green pensioner, the second St Helens Show is held and the Parr man who had to wait 15 years for a new garden gate from the council.