FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (15th - 21st NOVEMBER 1971)
This week's 18 stories include the soaring VD toll in St Helens, a police raid on the Wizard's Cave in North Road, the lengthy telephone waiting list in St Helens, a fundraising game is played in aid of Jack Pimblett's family, the 16-year-old Parr girl who lost most of her hand in a machine accident and more on the 11-year-old from Clock Face banned from playing football – because she is a girl.
We begin just after midnight on the 15th when a car skidded and collided with a lamp standard in Elton Head Road, near to its junction with Rainhill Road. Fifty-seven-year-old John Anders – a machine inspector from Cook Street in Whiston – died and the driver of the car, William Ralphson of Ash Grove in Prescot, was detained in Whiston Hospital with chest injuries.
Ernie Buckley was currently on bail after being charged with being in possession of "obscene literature for publication for gain". That was after the police had raided the Duke Street newsagent's shop in June and seized 425 books and magazines. This week seven police officers searched the premises of The Wizard's Cave in North Road.
Harry Brough, aka "The Wiz", ran what the Reporter had recently described as a "funhouse" that focussed mainly on prankster items – such as an exploding half-crown that detonated when the unsuspecting finder picked it up. However, Harry also sold some items of a more adult nature – but told the Reporter he was unconcerned: "I was very surprised when the police came in, but I have no reason to be worried. Many shops sell the same material. They're only the usual paper-back novels and magazines for men."
On the 16th there were reports of forged £5 notes having turned up in St Helens and Liverpool and neighbouring towns. One woman was reported as almost being caught in St Helens with a "bag full of fivers". A house in St James Road in Rainhill was broken into during the afternoon of the 16th and jewellery worth over £500 was taken. Prescot CID was attempting to trace two youths, aged about 18, who were in the vicinity at the time of the robbery.
During the evening there was the usual Tuesday dog racing at the St Helens Greyhound Track in Park Road. As I've mentioned on a few occasions, I like to look at the names of the dogs as they often reference TV shows, films and music of the time. Presumably the owner of 'Satchmo' was a Louis Armstrong fan. And John Lennon and Yoko Ono never seemed to be out of the news – which I expect gave rise to 'Yoko's' nomenclature.
The recent Space missions had no doubt led to the naming of 'In Orbit' and 'Cortina' may well have had its derivation from the Ford car that was then very popular. 'Maggie May' was another runner on the dog track – with the Rod Stewart song having topped the charts during the summer. And a film fan was probably the owner of 'Soldier Blue', which had just spent five weeks at the Capitol.
On the 17th the Guardian announced that production at British Sidac's cellulose wrapping factories in Lancots Lane in Sutton and Wigton in Cumbria was being cut to just over half the normal rate. That was because of a shortage of raw materials, caused by an explosion in a supplier's factory.
"A Funny Kind of Evening with David Kossoff" took place on the 18th at the Theatre Royal in St Helens. The actor was at that time actively involved in the Nationwide Festival of Light anti-permissiveness campaign and – after the death of his guitarist son Paul in 1976 – would become a firm anti-drugs campaigner.
Three years ago in one of these articles I wrote: "You had to wait a long time to have a telephone installed in 1968. The Postmaster General John Stonehouse promised this week that the 140,000 waiting list would be “largely eliminated” within 18 months." Of course, Stonehouse is remembered for his failed attempt at faking his own death in 1974 – and was later revealed as having been a paid Czech spy. So you could not necessarily take his word at face value!
There was still a lengthy waiting list in 1971 and on the 18th the Echo reported that those in St Helens who wanted a phone might have to wait until next summer: "The Post Office tells us that in the past few years there has been such a big demand for telephones in St. Helens that the exchange there is working to capacity, and there is a long list of people waiting.
"The present exchange is being extended and another is being built at Marshalls Cross at a total cost of £1,600,000, and in addition £1,000,000 is being spent on extensions to the underground cables. Projects of this order take time to complete, but the Post Office has made this promise: “By next summer all our customers who are waiting in St. Helens will have their telephones.”" That level of investment is equivalent to between £40 and £50 million in today's money.
A motorbike accident in Fleet Lane in Parr on the 18th led to two people being detained in St Helens Hospital. 19-year-old Ann Lynch of Berrys Lane had a broken right leg and Stephen Ward, aged 21, of Palm Avenue, North Ashton, received leg injuries.
Winter arrived suddenly to many parts of Britain on the 19th with snowfalls reported in St Helens. The Reporter was published on that day and described how a safety survey of the three-quarters-of-a-mile stretch of the East Lancs between Moss Bank and Carr Mill had revealed some serious failings. Huge volumes of traffic over a long period had given the road a slippery shine and consequently tyres were losing their grip. So a two-mile stretch of the road would now receive a facelift and brighter lights would be installed at accident blackspots, such as at Carr Mill.
Under the headline "The Price of Love", the Reporter also described how "free-loving teenagers" had boosted the "soaring VD toll" in St Helens. The number of men and women infected by venereal disease over the past three years had shot up by 800%, with a 10-year-old girl amongst those treated. Experts felt that sex lessons in school and the Pill could have contributed to what Welfare Officer Charles Watt called a "very alarming" rise in those attending the VD clinic.
"Pupils might be trying to experiment in what they have learned in class", explained Mr Watt and a doctor at the clinic said the Pill had increased promiscuity amongst women. But Dr Julian Baines, the town's Medical Officer of Health, stated that there was no firm evidence to support either theory – although there was no doubt that the average age of patients had reduced significantly.
On the 19th a man who had been employed as a joiner on a site at Lickers Lane in Whiston appeared before Prescot magistrates charged with stealing £519 from his employer. The 24-year-old had collected nineteen wage packets from his boss's home and later called at Prescot police station. There he told officers that a man had flagged him down, knocked him unconscious and robbed him of the money.
Roadblocks were set up and the police made a thorough search for the attacker but eventually the man admitted fabricating the whole story, saying: "All right, I have taken it. I have hidden it behind the bath panel at my home. I was intending to put the money down as a deposit on my new house." Inspector Roney told the court that by the time of the confession, 40 police officers, including men from the South West Lancashire Task Force at Knowsley, had spent 90 minutes on the search. "They were on a wild goose chase looking for a non-existent man in a non-existent car," he said. The joiner was fined £20.
The Echo reported on the 20th that Elizabeth Whittall of Clock Face Road had been told officially that she was banned from playing in the St Helens Juvenile Organisation Football League – because she is a girl. A fortnight earlier the eleven-year-old was called on as a late second half substitute for the Clock Face United under-12 team. Elizabeth scored a goal and her team walked off the pitch 5-1 winners over Chiltern Rovers. Afterwards there was a row between team and league officials over Elizabeth turning out for a boys' team. Following meetings of the St Helens League, they had now turned down her application for registration as a player.
Former St Helens Town trainer, Sam Cottington, who is chairman of the league, said: "It was decided to reject her application in the best interests of the league. Just one of the problems is that we do not have the changing room facilities for mixed teams. Personally, I think if girls want to play football they should start their own team." Said Elizabeth: "I am disappointed they will not let me play for the team but I will not give up the game. I will find some way to play. I would like to form a girls' team to play the boys and beat them."
The Echo also reported that a Prescot man who had formerly been a bin man and written two top songs had a new Christmas record out. This year composer and musician Harold "Lally" Stott had written 'Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep' and 'Tweedle Dum Tweedle Dee' for the group Middle of the Road. The compositions had earned him "something around £100,000" in worldwide royalties – about £1½m in today's money. Stott was now living in Rome with an Italian wife but his parents still lived in Shaw Lane. In 1977 the 32-year-old would lose his life after his motorbike was in collision with a car in Windy Arbour Road in Whiston.
A Parr firm was fined a total of £190 in St Helens Magistrates Court on the 20th after a 16-year-old girl had received severe hand injuries. Anne Brain of Fleet Lane told the court that while operating a pressing machine in September, she had lost all four fingers, part of her thumb and part of the palm of her left hand. A safety guard on a power press – that was capable of exerting pressure of 100 tons – hadn't closed properly and had trapped her hand.
The company was Parrpress Ltd of Fleet Lane and their 30 employees made components for the car industry. The firm pleaded guilty to eight charges, including not having a dangerous part of a machine fenced, not testing the press every six months as required and allowing a machine to be used when not fitted with safety devices.
During the evening of the 20th, the Madrid Flamenco Dance Company called El Sali performed at the Theatre Royal. The Echo's review of the show said the St Helens audience had been delighted by the "peerless portrayal of the art of Flamenco" presented by "dynamic dancer" Benito de Pablos and his talented company.
On 21st a team of former rugby league stars and the Salford "A" side played a game in aid of the family of Jack Pimblett. The 26-year-old captain of Pilkington Recs had died last month after his spine had been broken during a scrum collapse. Over £460 was raised at the match, taking the fund's total to £2,750. All the money went to Carol Pimblett of St Teresa's Road in St Helens and her two young sons.
Next week's stories will include the couple who credited the St Helens air with becoming pregnant, the dangerous houses in Boundary Road, Pat Phoenix opens a new health food shop in Barrow Street and the attempts to save Prescot Town FC.
We begin just after midnight on the 15th when a car skidded and collided with a lamp standard in Elton Head Road, near to its junction with Rainhill Road. Fifty-seven-year-old John Anders – a machine inspector from Cook Street in Whiston – died and the driver of the car, William Ralphson of Ash Grove in Prescot, was detained in Whiston Hospital with chest injuries.
Ernie Buckley was currently on bail after being charged with being in possession of "obscene literature for publication for gain". That was after the police had raided the Duke Street newsagent's shop in June and seized 425 books and magazines. This week seven police officers searched the premises of The Wizard's Cave in North Road.
Harry Brough, aka "The Wiz", ran what the Reporter had recently described as a "funhouse" that focussed mainly on prankster items – such as an exploding half-crown that detonated when the unsuspecting finder picked it up. However, Harry also sold some items of a more adult nature – but told the Reporter he was unconcerned: "I was very surprised when the police came in, but I have no reason to be worried. Many shops sell the same material. They're only the usual paper-back novels and magazines for men."
On the 16th there were reports of forged £5 notes having turned up in St Helens and Liverpool and neighbouring towns. One woman was reported as almost being caught in St Helens with a "bag full of fivers". A house in St James Road in Rainhill was broken into during the afternoon of the 16th and jewellery worth over £500 was taken. Prescot CID was attempting to trace two youths, aged about 18, who were in the vicinity at the time of the robbery.
During the evening there was the usual Tuesday dog racing at the St Helens Greyhound Track in Park Road. As I've mentioned on a few occasions, I like to look at the names of the dogs as they often reference TV shows, films and music of the time. Presumably the owner of 'Satchmo' was a Louis Armstrong fan. And John Lennon and Yoko Ono never seemed to be out of the news – which I expect gave rise to 'Yoko's' nomenclature.
The recent Space missions had no doubt led to the naming of 'In Orbit' and 'Cortina' may well have had its derivation from the Ford car that was then very popular. 'Maggie May' was another runner on the dog track – with the Rod Stewart song having topped the charts during the summer. And a film fan was probably the owner of 'Soldier Blue', which had just spent five weeks at the Capitol.
"A Funny Kind of Evening with David Kossoff" took place on the 18th at the Theatre Royal in St Helens. The actor was at that time actively involved in the Nationwide Festival of Light anti-permissiveness campaign and – after the death of his guitarist son Paul in 1976 – would become a firm anti-drugs campaigner.
Three years ago in one of these articles I wrote: "You had to wait a long time to have a telephone installed in 1968. The Postmaster General John Stonehouse promised this week that the 140,000 waiting list would be “largely eliminated” within 18 months." Of course, Stonehouse is remembered for his failed attempt at faking his own death in 1974 – and was later revealed as having been a paid Czech spy. So you could not necessarily take his word at face value!
There was still a lengthy waiting list in 1971 and on the 18th the Echo reported that those in St Helens who wanted a phone might have to wait until next summer: "The Post Office tells us that in the past few years there has been such a big demand for telephones in St. Helens that the exchange there is working to capacity, and there is a long list of people waiting.
"The present exchange is being extended and another is being built at Marshalls Cross at a total cost of £1,600,000, and in addition £1,000,000 is being spent on extensions to the underground cables. Projects of this order take time to complete, but the Post Office has made this promise: “By next summer all our customers who are waiting in St. Helens will have their telephones.”" That level of investment is equivalent to between £40 and £50 million in today's money.
A motorbike accident in Fleet Lane in Parr on the 18th led to two people being detained in St Helens Hospital. 19-year-old Ann Lynch of Berrys Lane had a broken right leg and Stephen Ward, aged 21, of Palm Avenue, North Ashton, received leg injuries.
Winter arrived suddenly to many parts of Britain on the 19th with snowfalls reported in St Helens. The Reporter was published on that day and described how a safety survey of the three-quarters-of-a-mile stretch of the East Lancs between Moss Bank and Carr Mill had revealed some serious failings. Huge volumes of traffic over a long period had given the road a slippery shine and consequently tyres were losing their grip. So a two-mile stretch of the road would now receive a facelift and brighter lights would be installed at accident blackspots, such as at Carr Mill.
Under the headline "The Price of Love", the Reporter also described how "free-loving teenagers" had boosted the "soaring VD toll" in St Helens. The number of men and women infected by venereal disease over the past three years had shot up by 800%, with a 10-year-old girl amongst those treated. Experts felt that sex lessons in school and the Pill could have contributed to what Welfare Officer Charles Watt called a "very alarming" rise in those attending the VD clinic.
"Pupils might be trying to experiment in what they have learned in class", explained Mr Watt and a doctor at the clinic said the Pill had increased promiscuity amongst women. But Dr Julian Baines, the town's Medical Officer of Health, stated that there was no firm evidence to support either theory – although there was no doubt that the average age of patients had reduced significantly.
On the 19th a man who had been employed as a joiner on a site at Lickers Lane in Whiston appeared before Prescot magistrates charged with stealing £519 from his employer. The 24-year-old had collected nineteen wage packets from his boss's home and later called at Prescot police station. There he told officers that a man had flagged him down, knocked him unconscious and robbed him of the money.
Roadblocks were set up and the police made a thorough search for the attacker but eventually the man admitted fabricating the whole story, saying: "All right, I have taken it. I have hidden it behind the bath panel at my home. I was intending to put the money down as a deposit on my new house." Inspector Roney told the court that by the time of the confession, 40 police officers, including men from the South West Lancashire Task Force at Knowsley, had spent 90 minutes on the search. "They were on a wild goose chase looking for a non-existent man in a non-existent car," he said. The joiner was fined £20.
The Echo reported on the 20th that Elizabeth Whittall of Clock Face Road had been told officially that she was banned from playing in the St Helens Juvenile Organisation Football League – because she is a girl. A fortnight earlier the eleven-year-old was called on as a late second half substitute for the Clock Face United under-12 team. Elizabeth scored a goal and her team walked off the pitch 5-1 winners over Chiltern Rovers. Afterwards there was a row between team and league officials over Elizabeth turning out for a boys' team. Following meetings of the St Helens League, they had now turned down her application for registration as a player.
Former St Helens Town trainer, Sam Cottington, who is chairman of the league, said: "It was decided to reject her application in the best interests of the league. Just one of the problems is that we do not have the changing room facilities for mixed teams. Personally, I think if girls want to play football they should start their own team." Said Elizabeth: "I am disappointed they will not let me play for the team but I will not give up the game. I will find some way to play. I would like to form a girls' team to play the boys and beat them."
The Echo also reported that a Prescot man who had formerly been a bin man and written two top songs had a new Christmas record out. This year composer and musician Harold "Lally" Stott had written 'Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep' and 'Tweedle Dum Tweedle Dee' for the group Middle of the Road. The compositions had earned him "something around £100,000" in worldwide royalties – about £1½m in today's money. Stott was now living in Rome with an Italian wife but his parents still lived in Shaw Lane. In 1977 the 32-year-old would lose his life after his motorbike was in collision with a car in Windy Arbour Road in Whiston.
A Parr firm was fined a total of £190 in St Helens Magistrates Court on the 20th after a 16-year-old girl had received severe hand injuries. Anne Brain of Fleet Lane told the court that while operating a pressing machine in September, she had lost all four fingers, part of her thumb and part of the palm of her left hand. A safety guard on a power press – that was capable of exerting pressure of 100 tons – hadn't closed properly and had trapped her hand.
The company was Parrpress Ltd of Fleet Lane and their 30 employees made components for the car industry. The firm pleaded guilty to eight charges, including not having a dangerous part of a machine fenced, not testing the press every six months as required and allowing a machine to be used when not fitted with safety devices.
On 21st a team of former rugby league stars and the Salford "A" side played a game in aid of the family of Jack Pimblett. The 26-year-old captain of Pilkington Recs had died last month after his spine had been broken during a scrum collapse. Over £460 was raised at the match, taking the fund's total to £2,750. All the money went to Carol Pimblett of St Teresa's Road in St Helens and her two young sons.
Next week's stories will include the couple who credited the St Helens air with becoming pregnant, the dangerous houses in Boundary Road, Pat Phoenix opens a new health food shop in Barrow Street and the attempts to save Prescot Town FC.
This week's 18 stories include the soaring VD toll in St Helens, a police raid on the Wizard's Cave in North Road, the lengthy telephone waiting list in St Helens, a fundraising game is played in aid of Jack Pimblett's family, the 16-year-old Parr girl who lost most of her hand in a machine accident and more on the 11-year-old from Clock Face banned from playing football – because she is a girl.
We begin just after midnight on the 15th when a car skidded and collided with a lamp standard in Elton Head Road, near to its junction with Rainhill Road.
Fifty-seven-year-old John Anders – a machine inspector from Cook Street in Whiston – died and the driver of the car, William Ralphson of Ash Grove in Prescot, was detained in Whiston Hospital with chest injuries.
Ernie Buckley was currently on bail after being charged with being in possession of "obscene literature for publication for gain".
That was after the police had raided the Duke Street newsagent's shop in June and seized 425 books and magazines.
This week seven police officers searched the premises of The Wizard's Cave in North Road.
Harry Brough, aka "The Wiz", ran what the Reporter had recently described as a "funhouse" that focussed mainly on prankster items – such as an exploding half-crown that detonated when the unsuspecting finder picked it up.
However, Harry also sold some items of a more adult nature – but told the Reporter he was unconcerned:
"I was very surprised when the police came in, but I have no reason to be worried. Many shops sell the same material. They're only the usual paper-back novels and magazines for men."
On the 16th there were reports of forged £5 notes having turned up in St Helens and Liverpool and neighbouring towns.
One woman was reported as almost being caught in St Helens with a "bag full of fivers".
A house in St James Road in Rainhill was broken into during the afternoon of the 16th and jewellery worth over £500 was taken.
Prescot CID was attempting to trace two youths, aged about 18, who were in the vicinity at the time of the robbery.
During the evening there was the usual Tuesday dog racing at the St Helens Greyhound Track in Park Road.
As I've mentioned on a few occasions, I like to look at the names of the dogs as they often reference TV shows, films and music of the time.
Presumably the owner of 'Satchmo' was a Louis Armstrong fan. And John Lennon and Yoko Ono never seemed to be out of the news – which I expect gave rise to 'Yoko's' nomenclature.
The recent Space missions had no doubt led to the naming of 'In Orbit' and 'Cortina' may well have had its derivation from the Ford car that was then very popular.
'Maggie May' was another runner – with the Rod Stewart song having topped the charts during the summer.
And a film fan was probably the owner of 'Soldier Blue', which had just spent five weeks at the Capitol.
On the 17th the Guardian announced that production at British Sidac's cellulose wrapping factories in Lancots Lane in Sutton and Wigton in Cumbria was being cut to just over half the normal rate.
That was because of a shortage of raw materials, caused by an explosion in a supplier's factory.
"A Funny Kind of Evening with David Kossoff" took place on the 18th at the Theatre Royal in St Helens.
The actor was at that time actively involved in the Nationwide Festival of Light anti-permissiveness campaign and – after the death of his guitarist son Paul in 1976 – would become a firm anti-drugs campaigner.
Three years ago in one of these articles I wrote: "You had to wait a long time to have a telephone installed in 1968. The Postmaster General John Stonehouse promised this week that the 140,000 waiting list would be “largely eliminated” within 18 months."
Of course, Stonehouse is remembered for his failed attempt at faking his own death in 1974 – and was later revealed as having been a paid Czech spy. So you could not necessarily take his word at face value!
There was still a lengthy waiting list in 1971 and on the 18th the Echo reported that those in St Helens who wanted a phone might have to wait until next summer:
"The Post Office tells us that in the past few years there has been such a big demand for telephones in St. Helens that the exchange there is working to capacity, and there is a long list of people waiting.
"The present exchange is being extended and another is being built at Marshalls Cross at a total cost of £1,600,000, and in addition £1,000,000 is being spent on extensions to the underground cables.
"Projects of this order take time to complete, but the Post Office has made this promise: “By next summer all our customers who are waiting in St. Helens will have their telephones.”"
That level of investment is equivalent to between £40 and £50 million in today's money.
A motorbike accident in Fleet Lane in Parr on the 18th led to two people being detained in St Helens Hospital.
19-year-old Ann Lynch of Berrys Lane had a broken right leg and Stephen Ward, aged 21, of Palm Avenue, North Ashton, received leg injuries.
Winter arrived suddenly to many parts of Britain on the 19th with snowfalls reported in St Helens.
The Reporter was published on that day and described how a safety survey of the three-quarters-of-a-mile stretch of the East Lancs between Moss Bank and Carr Mill had revealed some serious failings.
Huge volumes of traffic over a long period had given the road a slippery shine and consequently tyres were losing their grip.
So a two-mile stretch of the road would now receive a facelift and brighter lights would be installed at accident blackspots, such as at Carr Mill.
Under the headline "The Price of Love", the Reporter also described how "free-loving teenagers" had boosted the "soaring VD toll" in St Helens.
The number of men and women infected by venereal disease over the past three years had shot up by 800%, with a 10-year-old girl amongst those treated.
Experts felt that sex lessons in school and the Pill could have contributed to what Welfare Officer Charles Watt called a "very alarming" rise in those attending the VD clinic.
"Pupils might be trying to experiment in what they have learned in class", explained Mr Watt and a doctor at the clinic said the Pill had increased promiscuity amongst women.
But Dr Julian Baines, the town's Medical Officer of Health, stated that there was no firm evidence to support either theory – although there was no doubt that the average age of patients had reduced significantly.
On the 19th a man who had been employed as a joiner on a site at Lickers Lane in Whiston appeared before Prescot magistrates charged with stealing £519 from his employer.
The 24-year-old had collected nineteen wage packets from his boss's home and later called at Prescot police station.
There he told officers that a man had flagged him down, knocked him unconscious and robbed him of the money.
Roadblocks were set up and the police made a thorough search for the attacker but eventually the man admitted fabricating the whole story, saying:
"All right, I have taken it. I have hidden it behind the bath panel at my home. I was intending to put the money down as a deposit on my new house."
Inspector Roney told the court that by the time of the confession, 40 police officers, including men from the South West Lancashire Task Force at Knowsley, had spent 90 minutes on the search.
"They were on a wild goose chase looking for a non-existent man in a non-existent car," he said. The joiner was fined £20.
The Echo reported on the 20th that Elizabeth Whittall of Clock Face Road had been told officially that she was banned from playing in the St Helens Juvenile Organisation Football League – because she is a girl.
A fortnight earlier the eleven-year-old was called on as a late second half substitute for the Clock Face United under-12 team. Elizabeth scored a goal and her team walked off the pitch 5-1 winners over Chiltern Rovers.
Afterwards there was a row between team and league officials over Elizabeth turning out for a boys' team.
Following meetings of the St Helens League, they had now turned down her application for registration as a player.
Former St Helens Town trainer, Sam Cottington, who is chairman of the league, said:
"It was decided to reject her application in the best interests of the league. Just one of the problems is that we do not have the changing room facilities for mixed teams.
"Personally, I think if girls want to play football they should start their own team."
Said Elizabeth: "I am disappointed they will not let me play for the team but I will not give up the game. I will find some way to play. I would like to form a girls' team to play the boys and beat them."
The Echo also reported that a Prescot man who had formerly been a bin man and written two top songs had a new Christmas record out.
This year composer and musician Harold "Lally" Stott had written 'Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep' and 'Tweedle Dum Tweedle Dee' for the group Middle of the Road.
The compositions had earned him "something around £100,000" in worldwide royalties – about £1½m in today's money.
Stott was now living in Rome with an Italian wife but his parents still lived in Shaw Lane.
In 1977 the 32-year-old would lose his life after his motorbike was in collision with a car in Windy Arbour Road in Whiston.
A Parr firm was fined a total of £190 in St Helens Magistrates Court on the 20th after a 16-year-old girl had received severe hand injuries.
Anne Brain of Fleet Lane told the court that while operating a pressing machine in September, she had lost all four fingers, part of her thumb and part of the palm of her left hand.
A safety guard on a power press – that was capable of exerting pressure of 100 tons – hadn't closed properly and had trapped her hand.
The company was Parrpress Ltd of Fleet Lane and their 30 employees made components for the car industry.
The firm pleaded guilty to eight charges, including not having a dangerous part of a machine fenced, not testing the press every six months as required and allowing a machine to be used when not fitted with safety devices.
During the evening of the 20th, the Madrid Flamenco Dance Company called El Sali performed at the Theatre Royal.
The Echo's review of the show said the St Helens audience had been delighted by the "peerless portrayal of the art of Flamenco" presented by "dynamic dancer" Benito de Pablos and his talented company.
On 21st a team of former rugby league stars and the Salford "A" side played a game in aid of the family of Jack Pimblett.
The 26-year-old captain of Pilkington Recs had died last month after his spine had been broken during a scrum collapse.
Over £460 was raised at the match, taking the fund's total to £2,750. All the money went to Carol Pimblett of St Teresa's Road in St Helens and her two young sons.
Next week's stories will include the couple who credited the St Helens air with becoming pregnant, the dangerous houses in Boundary Road, Pat Phoenix opens a new health food shop in Barrow Street and the attempts to save Prescot Town FC.
We begin just after midnight on the 15th when a car skidded and collided with a lamp standard in Elton Head Road, near to its junction with Rainhill Road.
Fifty-seven-year-old John Anders – a machine inspector from Cook Street in Whiston – died and the driver of the car, William Ralphson of Ash Grove in Prescot, was detained in Whiston Hospital with chest injuries.
Ernie Buckley was currently on bail after being charged with being in possession of "obscene literature for publication for gain".
That was after the police had raided the Duke Street newsagent's shop in June and seized 425 books and magazines.
This week seven police officers searched the premises of The Wizard's Cave in North Road.
Harry Brough, aka "The Wiz", ran what the Reporter had recently described as a "funhouse" that focussed mainly on prankster items – such as an exploding half-crown that detonated when the unsuspecting finder picked it up.
However, Harry also sold some items of a more adult nature – but told the Reporter he was unconcerned:
"I was very surprised when the police came in, but I have no reason to be worried. Many shops sell the same material. They're only the usual paper-back novels and magazines for men."
On the 16th there were reports of forged £5 notes having turned up in St Helens and Liverpool and neighbouring towns.
One woman was reported as almost being caught in St Helens with a "bag full of fivers".
A house in St James Road in Rainhill was broken into during the afternoon of the 16th and jewellery worth over £500 was taken.
Prescot CID was attempting to trace two youths, aged about 18, who were in the vicinity at the time of the robbery.
During the evening there was the usual Tuesday dog racing at the St Helens Greyhound Track in Park Road.
As I've mentioned on a few occasions, I like to look at the names of the dogs as they often reference TV shows, films and music of the time.
Presumably the owner of 'Satchmo' was a Louis Armstrong fan. And John Lennon and Yoko Ono never seemed to be out of the news – which I expect gave rise to 'Yoko's' nomenclature.
The recent Space missions had no doubt led to the naming of 'In Orbit' and 'Cortina' may well have had its derivation from the Ford car that was then very popular.
'Maggie May' was another runner – with the Rod Stewart song having topped the charts during the summer.
And a film fan was probably the owner of 'Soldier Blue', which had just spent five weeks at the Capitol.
That was because of a shortage of raw materials, caused by an explosion in a supplier's factory.
"A Funny Kind of Evening with David Kossoff" took place on the 18th at the Theatre Royal in St Helens.
The actor was at that time actively involved in the Nationwide Festival of Light anti-permissiveness campaign and – after the death of his guitarist son Paul in 1976 – would become a firm anti-drugs campaigner.
Three years ago in one of these articles I wrote: "You had to wait a long time to have a telephone installed in 1968. The Postmaster General John Stonehouse promised this week that the 140,000 waiting list would be “largely eliminated” within 18 months."
Of course, Stonehouse is remembered for his failed attempt at faking his own death in 1974 – and was later revealed as having been a paid Czech spy. So you could not necessarily take his word at face value!
There was still a lengthy waiting list in 1971 and on the 18th the Echo reported that those in St Helens who wanted a phone might have to wait until next summer:
"The Post Office tells us that in the past few years there has been such a big demand for telephones in St. Helens that the exchange there is working to capacity, and there is a long list of people waiting.
"The present exchange is being extended and another is being built at Marshalls Cross at a total cost of £1,600,000, and in addition £1,000,000 is being spent on extensions to the underground cables.
"Projects of this order take time to complete, but the Post Office has made this promise: “By next summer all our customers who are waiting in St. Helens will have their telephones.”"
That level of investment is equivalent to between £40 and £50 million in today's money.
A motorbike accident in Fleet Lane in Parr on the 18th led to two people being detained in St Helens Hospital.
19-year-old Ann Lynch of Berrys Lane had a broken right leg and Stephen Ward, aged 21, of Palm Avenue, North Ashton, received leg injuries.
Winter arrived suddenly to many parts of Britain on the 19th with snowfalls reported in St Helens.
The Reporter was published on that day and described how a safety survey of the three-quarters-of-a-mile stretch of the East Lancs between Moss Bank and Carr Mill had revealed some serious failings.
Huge volumes of traffic over a long period had given the road a slippery shine and consequently tyres were losing their grip.
So a two-mile stretch of the road would now receive a facelift and brighter lights would be installed at accident blackspots, such as at Carr Mill.
Under the headline "The Price of Love", the Reporter also described how "free-loving teenagers" had boosted the "soaring VD toll" in St Helens.
The number of men and women infected by venereal disease over the past three years had shot up by 800%, with a 10-year-old girl amongst those treated.
Experts felt that sex lessons in school and the Pill could have contributed to what Welfare Officer Charles Watt called a "very alarming" rise in those attending the VD clinic.
"Pupils might be trying to experiment in what they have learned in class", explained Mr Watt and a doctor at the clinic said the Pill had increased promiscuity amongst women.
But Dr Julian Baines, the town's Medical Officer of Health, stated that there was no firm evidence to support either theory – although there was no doubt that the average age of patients had reduced significantly.
On the 19th a man who had been employed as a joiner on a site at Lickers Lane in Whiston appeared before Prescot magistrates charged with stealing £519 from his employer.
The 24-year-old had collected nineteen wage packets from his boss's home and later called at Prescot police station.
There he told officers that a man had flagged him down, knocked him unconscious and robbed him of the money.
Roadblocks were set up and the police made a thorough search for the attacker but eventually the man admitted fabricating the whole story, saying:
"All right, I have taken it. I have hidden it behind the bath panel at my home. I was intending to put the money down as a deposit on my new house."
Inspector Roney told the court that by the time of the confession, 40 police officers, including men from the South West Lancashire Task Force at Knowsley, had spent 90 minutes on the search.
"They were on a wild goose chase looking for a non-existent man in a non-existent car," he said. The joiner was fined £20.
The Echo reported on the 20th that Elizabeth Whittall of Clock Face Road had been told officially that she was banned from playing in the St Helens Juvenile Organisation Football League – because she is a girl.
A fortnight earlier the eleven-year-old was called on as a late second half substitute for the Clock Face United under-12 team. Elizabeth scored a goal and her team walked off the pitch 5-1 winners over Chiltern Rovers.
Afterwards there was a row between team and league officials over Elizabeth turning out for a boys' team.
Following meetings of the St Helens League, they had now turned down her application for registration as a player.
Former St Helens Town trainer, Sam Cottington, who is chairman of the league, said:
"It was decided to reject her application in the best interests of the league. Just one of the problems is that we do not have the changing room facilities for mixed teams.
"Personally, I think if girls want to play football they should start their own team."
Said Elizabeth: "I am disappointed they will not let me play for the team but I will not give up the game. I will find some way to play. I would like to form a girls' team to play the boys and beat them."
The Echo also reported that a Prescot man who had formerly been a bin man and written two top songs had a new Christmas record out.
This year composer and musician Harold "Lally" Stott had written 'Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep' and 'Tweedle Dum Tweedle Dee' for the group Middle of the Road.
The compositions had earned him "something around £100,000" in worldwide royalties – about £1½m in today's money.
Stott was now living in Rome with an Italian wife but his parents still lived in Shaw Lane.
In 1977 the 32-year-old would lose his life after his motorbike was in collision with a car in Windy Arbour Road in Whiston.
A Parr firm was fined a total of £190 in St Helens Magistrates Court on the 20th after a 16-year-old girl had received severe hand injuries.
Anne Brain of Fleet Lane told the court that while operating a pressing machine in September, she had lost all four fingers, part of her thumb and part of the palm of her left hand.
A safety guard on a power press – that was capable of exerting pressure of 100 tons – hadn't closed properly and had trapped her hand.
The company was Parrpress Ltd of Fleet Lane and their 30 employees made components for the car industry.
The firm pleaded guilty to eight charges, including not having a dangerous part of a machine fenced, not testing the press every six months as required and allowing a machine to be used when not fitted with safety devices.
The Echo's review of the show said the St Helens audience had been delighted by the "peerless portrayal of the art of Flamenco" presented by "dynamic dancer" Benito de Pablos and his talented company.
On 21st a team of former rugby league stars and the Salford "A" side played a game in aid of the family of Jack Pimblett.
The 26-year-old captain of Pilkington Recs had died last month after his spine had been broken during a scrum collapse.
Over £460 was raised at the match, taking the fund's total to £2,750. All the money went to Carol Pimblett of St Teresa's Road in St Helens and her two young sons.
Next week's stories will include the couple who credited the St Helens air with becoming pregnant, the dangerous houses in Boundary Road, Pat Phoenix opens a new health food shop in Barrow Street and the attempts to save Prescot Town FC.