FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (14th - 20th January 1969)
This week's stories include Grange Park Labour Club's court case, an Eccleston bus compromise, a puppet spectacular at the Theatre Royal, the Mayor's Christmas Party Fund is explained, parking meters for St Helens are criticised, the St Helens AA restock part of the canal and two people are in the money after winning 'spot the ball' competitions.
We begin on the 14th when Saints replayed their Boxing Day game against Wigan. This was after the traditional fixture in December had controversially been abandoned after 37 minutes through frost. The evening attendance at Knowsley Road was down by 7,000 on Boxing Day. However the 13,000 spectators who turned out were able to see Saints beat the old enemy 13 - 3 with a brace of tries from Les Jones.
Those not keen on rugby league could instead have gone to Baldwin Street during the evening of the 14th. A 'Grand Holiday Film Show' was screened in Helena House with free tickets available from Webster's travel agents in Bridge Street.
There were two days of freezing fog in the Merseyside district from the 15th with a lorry jack-knifing on the East Lancs Road at Haydock Island, demolishing two sets of traffic lights. Four vehicles were also involved in a concertina crash on Southworth Road at Newton-le-Willows.
Whiston Council reconsidered its decision to close Chapel Lane in Eccleston on the 15th. They had taken the decision to close the road to all traffic for four weeks because of work on a new Eccleston drainage scheme. However the 27A bus service from Mill Brow along Chapel Lane would have had to be suspended, which might have caused hardship for elderly residents.
So the Corporation's Transport Department offered to run a shuttle service from other points in Eccleston. Whiston Council were told that they would have to pay for the replacement service, so instead decided to keep the road open just for buses during two of the four weeks.
On the 16th John Davock from King Edward Road in Dentons Green received a cheque for £3,000 from comic Frankie Howerd at the Garrick Theatre in Leigh. The 66-year-old had won the equivalent of £50,000 in today's money in the Liverpool Echo's version of 'Spot the Ball' that they called 'Place the Ball'. Mr Davock had also had a colour TV set installed in his home as a bonus prize.
A man that today we might consider a whistle-blower took his case to court on the 16th after being expelled from Grange Park and Portico Labour Club. John Thompson from Main Avenue in Grange Park claimed illegal expulsion at St Helens County Court in East Street and demanded damages.
The 60-year-old said he had been expelled from the club after alleging financial irregularities and trade union malpractices – including the employment of non-union labour at the Labour club. The problems had apparently begun after Mr Thompson had asked questions about the club's balance sheet at the 1963 annual meeting, including wondering why there had been a deficiency of £287. The explanation was that the sum (about £5,000 in today's money) was for breakages and spillages, which he considered excessive.
The judge ruled in favour of Mr Thompson saying that club rules for expelling a member had not been followed, although he was only awarded £5 damages (around £100 in today's money).
During the evening of the 16th the Hillsiders performed at Prescot Labour Club in Shaw Lane. It was also 'Dolly Night' at the Carnival Discotheque in the Royal Raven in Church Street. "Guys 2/6, Dollies Free" said their ad.
At the Capitol throughout the week "two new blood-curdling horrors" were screened. These were 'Revenge of the Vampire' and 'Sting of Death', with 'The Graduate' shown at the ABC in Bridge Street.
The Corporation's Water Engineer announced this week that an additional ¾ million gallons of water a day would soon be passing through the pipes of St Helens for industrial and domestic use. This was because permission had now been granted to extend the Knowsley water treatment works.
The Echo published a long article on St Helens-born Derek Swain on the 17th. The 25-year-old lived and worked as a barman at the Deane's House Hotel in Prescot. Derek was described as a self-taught expert in the intricate art of painting coats-of-arms, with the walls of the hotel colourfully emblazoned with his work on wooden shields.
During the evening of the 17th the St Helens snooker champion John Barker beat John Crompton from Kirkby by three frames to nil in the first round of the Liverpool and District amateur snooker championship.
There was a large photograph of St Cuthbert's under-15s football team on the front of the St Helens Reporter on the 18th. The Berrys Lane side had just beaten Parr Central 3 - 0 to win the St Helens' Schools Championship Shield. There was also a picture of forty children of employees of Bold Power Station who had enjoyed a day trip to Manchester's Belle Vue Circus.
On the paper's letters page a person using the pseudonym "Robbery in Silence" attacked the council's plans for parking meters in St Helens: "One-armed bandits are a racket, but no bigger racket than parking meters which are placed there to rob the motorist still more. Of course, motorists will pay up and park their cars in front of one of these evils instead of keeping away like I would. They would soon take them away if no one used them."
There was also a letter from a Mrs D. Hunter from Campbell Street who was confused by the Mayor's Party Fund. Councillor Tom Forshaw's special fund paid for Christmas parties in schools and many residents and businesses sent in contributions. However Mrs Hunter wondered why two of her children had been asked to pay 2s 6d each for their recent parties if this money was available. Also why she and other mothers had been invited to contribute jellies, biscuits and cakes.
The answer was provided by Councillor Forshaw who said the cash donated each year averaged £250. However there were 18,000 schoolchildren in St Helens and the fund was only able to subsidise parties and not pay for them in their entirety.
There was good news for Gertrude Corbett from Epsom Street (off Broad Oak Road) in the Reporter. The 72-year-old widow had won a Vauxhall Victor worth about £1,000 in the newspaper's 'Find the Ball' football competition. Mrs Corbett was a serial entrant of competitions in newspapers and magazines, having been posting entries for forty-five years.
The Reporter's weekly page on St Helens' many societies called 'Notes From All Quarters About The Town's Organisations' described how the St Helens Mountaineering Club had held its annual dinner at the Royal Raven in Church Street. Then on the following weekend its members had visited Patterdale in the Lake District with two parties reaching the summit of Helvellyn. The club's secretary was Arthur Halliwell from Massey Street in Sutton and weekly meetings were held at the White Hart in Church Street.
The Budgerigar Society had recently held its annual meeting and a "full and instructive programme" had been arranged for the coming season. The budgie lovers met monthly in the Clarendon Hotel in College Street.
The English Folk Dance and Song Society were looking forward to their Anglo Scottish dance at the Dodd Memorial Hall in Dentons Green Lane in a couple of weeks. They met weekly at Grange Park School.
The St Helens Rambling Club had held their Christmas party at the Eagle and Child in Rainford and had recently been walking on the limestone moors and uplands in Yorkshire, as well as the woodlands and meadows on the Wirral.
The Manchester United Supporters Club for St Helens held their annual dance on the 18th at the Town Hall. The driving force behind the club was John Halsall from Carnegie Crescent, with meetings held at the nearby Victoria Hotel (a.k.a. 'Little Pig') in Ellamsbridge Road.
The St Helens Angling Association held their annual meeting at the Globe Hotel in Hardshaw Street on the 18th in which members were told that a stock of bream had arrived to restock Lennon's side of the canal. Anglers were asked not to fish that length of the waterway for some weeks to "allow the fish to settle down" prior to the closed season. It was hoped that in three or four years time the spawn from the bream would give their members "some decent sport".
The Reporter also revealed that parishioners at St Matthews in Thatto Heath had so far raised £625 towards their £2,000 target to buy a new church organ. Some of the fundraising came from selling goods that they'd made.
At the Geraldo Club in Lord Street, St Helens, on the 19th was Terry Combo, who was described as being "of Sutton Manor miners". Presumably that name was a take on Perry Como. Accompanying Terry was Bill on the organ and Ron on the drums.
The reputation of those living on a "gypsy" caravan site off Reginald Road was further dented on the 20th when three of their residents appeared in court. All were scrap metal dealers with two 18-year-olds accused of wounding PC Ernest Robinson with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. There were also charges of attempting to break into Roto-dynamics on the Reginald Road Industrial Estate. All three were remanded in custody for seven days.
'The Magic Lamp and Jack and the Beanstalk' was a "puppet spectacular" performed at the Theatre Royal from the 20th. It was a follow-up to 'Snow White and the Seven Musical Dwarfs', which had been performed in St Helens last June by Ray and Joan DaSilva's company.
Their 20-foot high puppet stage was claimed to be the largest in the country and allowed for simultaneous operation of marionettes from above and glove and rod-type puppets from below. What was described as an "innovation" was a special Saturday morning performance in which children could be left alone in the theatre while their parents went shopping. I don't think they'd offer that today!
Also from that day 'Carry On Up The Khyber' was being screened at the ABC Bridge Street in which cinema-goers were promised "gales of laughter". The supporting film was 'King Kong Escapes'. Meanwhile at the Capitol the saucy Austrian film 'The Sweet Sins of Sexy Susan', supported by 'Strip Poker', began playing for six days.
Next week's stories include plans for a "mini-Manhattan" town centre skyline, proposals for the Beth Avenue estate in Sutton, Rainford's railway rubbish, a scheme to modernise 5,000 St Helens council homes, good news for the town's bin men, a robbery of an elderly Newton shopkeeper, a new hostel for the Sally Army and a new baby clinic for Rainford.
We begin on the 14th when Saints replayed their Boxing Day game against Wigan. This was after the traditional fixture in December had controversially been abandoned after 37 minutes through frost. The evening attendance at Knowsley Road was down by 7,000 on Boxing Day. However the 13,000 spectators who turned out were able to see Saints beat the old enemy 13 - 3 with a brace of tries from Les Jones.
Those not keen on rugby league could instead have gone to Baldwin Street during the evening of the 14th. A 'Grand Holiday Film Show' was screened in Helena House with free tickets available from Webster's travel agents in Bridge Street.
There were two days of freezing fog in the Merseyside district from the 15th with a lorry jack-knifing on the East Lancs Road at Haydock Island, demolishing two sets of traffic lights. Four vehicles were also involved in a concertina crash on Southworth Road at Newton-le-Willows.
Whiston Council reconsidered its decision to close Chapel Lane in Eccleston on the 15th. They had taken the decision to close the road to all traffic for four weeks because of work on a new Eccleston drainage scheme. However the 27A bus service from Mill Brow along Chapel Lane would have had to be suspended, which might have caused hardship for elderly residents.
So the Corporation's Transport Department offered to run a shuttle service from other points in Eccleston. Whiston Council were told that they would have to pay for the replacement service, so instead decided to keep the road open just for buses during two of the four weeks.
A man that today we might consider a whistle-blower took his case to court on the 16th after being expelled from Grange Park and Portico Labour Club. John Thompson from Main Avenue in Grange Park claimed illegal expulsion at St Helens County Court in East Street and demanded damages.
The 60-year-old said he had been expelled from the club after alleging financial irregularities and trade union malpractices – including the employment of non-union labour at the Labour club. The problems had apparently begun after Mr Thompson had asked questions about the club's balance sheet at the 1963 annual meeting, including wondering why there had been a deficiency of £287. The explanation was that the sum (about £5,000 in today's money) was for breakages and spillages, which he considered excessive.
The judge ruled in favour of Mr Thompson saying that club rules for expelling a member had not been followed, although he was only awarded £5 damages (around £100 in today's money).
During the evening of the 16th the Hillsiders performed at Prescot Labour Club in Shaw Lane. It was also 'Dolly Night' at the Carnival Discotheque in the Royal Raven in Church Street. "Guys 2/6, Dollies Free" said their ad.
At the Capitol throughout the week "two new blood-curdling horrors" were screened. These were 'Revenge of the Vampire' and 'Sting of Death', with 'The Graduate' shown at the ABC in Bridge Street.
The Corporation's Water Engineer announced this week that an additional ¾ million gallons of water a day would soon be passing through the pipes of St Helens for industrial and domestic use. This was because permission had now been granted to extend the Knowsley water treatment works.
The Echo published a long article on St Helens-born Derek Swain on the 17th. The 25-year-old lived and worked as a barman at the Deane's House Hotel in Prescot. Derek was described as a self-taught expert in the intricate art of painting coats-of-arms, with the walls of the hotel colourfully emblazoned with his work on wooden shields.
During the evening of the 17th the St Helens snooker champion John Barker beat John Crompton from Kirkby by three frames to nil in the first round of the Liverpool and District amateur snooker championship.
Colour version of St Cuthbert's under 15s photo with the Schools Championship Shield - Contributed by Mel Moran
Colour version of St Cuthbert's under 15s with Schools Championship Shield
Colour version of St Cuthbert's under 15s
On the paper's letters page a person using the pseudonym "Robbery in Silence" attacked the council's plans for parking meters in St Helens: "One-armed bandits are a racket, but no bigger racket than parking meters which are placed there to rob the motorist still more. Of course, motorists will pay up and park their cars in front of one of these evils instead of keeping away like I would. They would soon take them away if no one used them."
There was also a letter from a Mrs D. Hunter from Campbell Street who was confused by the Mayor's Party Fund. Councillor Tom Forshaw's special fund paid for Christmas parties in schools and many residents and businesses sent in contributions. However Mrs Hunter wondered why two of her children had been asked to pay 2s 6d each for their recent parties if this money was available. Also why she and other mothers had been invited to contribute jellies, biscuits and cakes.
The answer was provided by Councillor Forshaw who said the cash donated each year averaged £250. However there were 18,000 schoolchildren in St Helens and the fund was only able to subsidise parties and not pay for them in their entirety.
There was good news for Gertrude Corbett from Epsom Street (off Broad Oak Road) in the Reporter. The 72-year-old widow had won a Vauxhall Victor worth about £1,000 in the newspaper's 'Find the Ball' football competition. Mrs Corbett was a serial entrant of competitions in newspapers and magazines, having been posting entries for forty-five years.
The Reporter's weekly page on St Helens' many societies called 'Notes From All Quarters About The Town's Organisations' described how the St Helens Mountaineering Club had held its annual dinner at the Royal Raven in Church Street. Then on the following weekend its members had visited Patterdale in the Lake District with two parties reaching the summit of Helvellyn. The club's secretary was Arthur Halliwell from Massey Street in Sutton and weekly meetings were held at the White Hart in Church Street.
The Budgerigar Society had recently held its annual meeting and a "full and instructive programme" had been arranged for the coming season. The budgie lovers met monthly in the Clarendon Hotel in College Street.
The English Folk Dance and Song Society were looking forward to their Anglo Scottish dance at the Dodd Memorial Hall in Dentons Green Lane in a couple of weeks. They met weekly at Grange Park School.
The St Helens Rambling Club had held their Christmas party at the Eagle and Child in Rainford and had recently been walking on the limestone moors and uplands in Yorkshire, as well as the woodlands and meadows on the Wirral.
The Manchester United Supporters Club for St Helens held their annual dance on the 18th at the Town Hall. The driving force behind the club was John Halsall from Carnegie Crescent, with meetings held at the nearby Victoria Hotel (a.k.a. 'Little Pig') in Ellamsbridge Road.
The St Helens Angling Association held their annual meeting at the Globe Hotel in Hardshaw Street on the 18th in which members were told that a stock of bream had arrived to restock Lennon's side of the canal. Anglers were asked not to fish that length of the waterway for some weeks to "allow the fish to settle down" prior to the closed season. It was hoped that in three or four years time the spawn from the bream would give their members "some decent sport".
The Reporter also revealed that parishioners at St Matthews in Thatto Heath had so far raised £625 towards their £2,000 target to buy a new church organ. Some of the fundraising came from selling goods that they'd made.
At the Geraldo Club in Lord Street, St Helens, on the 19th was Terry Combo, who was described as being "of Sutton Manor miners". Presumably that name was a take on Perry Como. Accompanying Terry was Bill on the organ and Ron on the drums.
The reputation of those living on a "gypsy" caravan site off Reginald Road was further dented on the 20th when three of their residents appeared in court. All were scrap metal dealers with two 18-year-olds accused of wounding PC Ernest Robinson with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. There were also charges of attempting to break into Roto-dynamics on the Reginald Road Industrial Estate. All three were remanded in custody for seven days.
'The Magic Lamp and Jack and the Beanstalk' was a "puppet spectacular" performed at the Theatre Royal from the 20th. It was a follow-up to 'Snow White and the Seven Musical Dwarfs', which had been performed in St Helens last June by Ray and Joan DaSilva's company.
Their 20-foot high puppet stage was claimed to be the largest in the country and allowed for simultaneous operation of marionettes from above and glove and rod-type puppets from below. What was described as an "innovation" was a special Saturday morning performance in which children could be left alone in the theatre while their parents went shopping. I don't think they'd offer that today!
Also from that day 'Carry On Up The Khyber' was being screened at the ABC Bridge Street in which cinema-goers were promised "gales of laughter". The supporting film was 'King Kong Escapes'. Meanwhile at the Capitol the saucy Austrian film 'The Sweet Sins of Sexy Susan', supported by 'Strip Poker', began playing for six days.
Next week's stories include plans for a "mini-Manhattan" town centre skyline, proposals for the Beth Avenue estate in Sutton, Rainford's railway rubbish, a scheme to modernise 5,000 St Helens council homes, good news for the town's bin men, a robbery of an elderly Newton shopkeeper, a new hostel for the Sally Army and a new baby clinic for Rainford.