FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 16 - 22 MARCH 1976
This week's many stories include the woman who jumped on a car bonnet to try to stop robbers from getting away, the fake bomb found in Rainford, why it had to be socialism or soccer for Leslie Spriggs, the demolition of the troublesome Queen's Park toilets and the woman celebrating 25 years of being the Savoy's guiding light.
We begin on the 16th when Todd Steels of St Helens went into receivership after getting into financial trouble. The longstanding firm that employed about 100 people in the town was hoping to be sold.
On the same day Janet Buckley, the wife of Duke Street newsagent Ernie Buckley, was robbed of £600 of shop takings while inside the Westminster Bank in Hardshaw Street in St Helens. After a young man had snatched her bag of cash and ran off, Mrs Buckley gave chase, screaming, "Stop thief." The robber jumped into a getaway car and to try and stop the vehicle from getting away, Mrs Buckley leapt on its bonnet.
The 40-year-old banged on the car windscreen and grabbed its wipers to hold on. "The car went about 30 yards, then braked suddenly, and I was thrown off," explained Janet. "Then the car shot away at high speed." The stolen vehicle was found a short time later in Dentons Green but there was, of course, no trace of the money.
Last week the St Helens Reporter wrote: "Loitering homosexuals, who use an old public toilet as a rendezvous, are bringing protests from residents – and now, Emily Reynolds is campaigning to have the graffiti-daubed toilet pulled down." Mrs Reynolds from Lingholme Road had written to St Helens Council calling for the loo in Queens Park to be demolished.
This week the St Helens Leisure and Recreation Committee agreed to knock down the toilet. At a meeting of the committee, their Leisure Director, Ted Gallagher, said: "It's a very disgraceful job for my staff to keep it fit for use." Councillor Geoff Almond reported that he had paid a visit to the offending toilet block but had not gone inside in case he got "picked up" and added: "Since the article in the Reporter last week, the residents have not seen any cars about."
Leslie Spriggs, the St Helens MP, got himself into hot water with trade unions and the local Labour party this week. That was after he had bought a ticket for the FA Cup Final at Wembley, not knowing he would be invited to lead the St Helens Trades Council's May Day unemployment demonstration. But Mr Spriggs sparked fury by writing in his letter turning down the invitation to head the march: "I have a ticket for Wembley on the same date, and I intend to use it."
Gerry Caughey – who had been a leader of the Pilkington strike in 1970 – was now the secretary of the Society of Graphical and Allied Trades and told the Reporter that he was giving the MP an ultimatum: "Either Parliament or pleasure – socialism or soccer." And Marie Rimmer, who was then a councillor representing West Sutton, said she was furious over Spriggs' decision.
The Reporter this week also described how when Leslie McFarlane of Ormskirk Road in Rainford had opened his car door to go to work he had found what appeared to be a bomb inside. But when an army bomb squad was called out to deal with the device they discovered that it was a hoax, with the wires and battery connected to a small box that only contained iron filings, nails and salt.
The mechanics of the fake bomb had been planted between the covers of a rare book by the Victorian children's author G. A. Henty. But the Reporter felt that the hoaxer would probably now be kicking himself, "for if he had stopped and examined the book before hacking it to pieces, he might have been able to sell it and get more fun out of the cash than the thwarted “kick” he got out of scaring someone." A specialist Liverpool bookshop told the Reporter that the book could have attracted up to £30 (almost £500 in today's money).
Pupils of Sherdley County Primary School in Mill Lane in Sutton were pictured in the Reporter after performing their version of 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'. The cast and choir of 90 pupils spent nearly 3 months rehearsing the rock musical, which they performed in front of more than 500 people in their school hall.
Some of the pupils from Grange Park Secondary School were also pictured in the paper rehearsing for their first ever pantomime. Next week they would be performing their own version of 'Mother Goose', which had been written by Sam Hill, head of the Lower school, and directed by Keith Barnes, the head of English.
The Reporter described how bikes for beat bobbies were going to be reintroduced to save cash. St Helens Police reckoned that up to a dozen constables on bicycles could be put on the road for half the cost of a man in a panda car.
Agnes Blackhurst was celebrated in the Reporter after having been the "guiding light" for many thousands of St Helens' cinemagoers for the past 25 years. The paper wrote: "The beam from her red and white torch has led parents and children alike through the thrills, spills and heartbreak of a quarter of a century of the silver screen."
This week the Sutton usherette at the ABC Savoy was presented with a gold watch and the Chief Projectionist James Kavanagh also received a gold timepiece. Mrs Blackhurst had joined the cinema in Bridge Street back in March 1935 when it had first opened.
And apart from taking a few years off to have her daughter and care for her through her early childhood years, Agnes had been a fixture at the cinema for the whole time that it had opened. She said: "Obviously moving about the cinema we don't see much of a film, but there have been some wonderful pictures here at the Savoy."
On the 20th the St Helens Rotary Club held a Grand Spring Fair in the Town Hall, which was opened by compere and comedian Pete Price.
At the ABC Savoy for 7 days from the 21st, 'The Hindenburg' starring George C. Scott replaced 'The Street Fighter' starring Charles Bronson. And at the Capitol Cinema, Ken Russell's 'The Devils' replaced 'The Man From Hong Kong', starring George Lazenby.
And finally, at the Theatre Royal for a week commencing on the 22nd, the Rainhill Amateur Operatic Society performed 'Hello Dolly' as its 25th anniversary production. The show with a £3,000 budget starred Joan Roberts from Weaver Avenue in Rainhill who played the title role.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the campaign of destruction at St Nicholas Church, the rise in car parking charges, the rowdyism by patrons leaving the Geraldo Club and a decision is finally made on the proposed Elephant Lane redevelopment.
We begin on the 16th when Todd Steels of St Helens went into receivership after getting into financial trouble. The longstanding firm that employed about 100 people in the town was hoping to be sold.
On the same day Janet Buckley, the wife of Duke Street newsagent Ernie Buckley, was robbed of £600 of shop takings while inside the Westminster Bank in Hardshaw Street in St Helens. After a young man had snatched her bag of cash and ran off, Mrs Buckley gave chase, screaming, "Stop thief." The robber jumped into a getaway car and to try and stop the vehicle from getting away, Mrs Buckley leapt on its bonnet.
The 40-year-old banged on the car windscreen and grabbed its wipers to hold on. "The car went about 30 yards, then braked suddenly, and I was thrown off," explained Janet. "Then the car shot away at high speed." The stolen vehicle was found a short time later in Dentons Green but there was, of course, no trace of the money.
Last week the St Helens Reporter wrote: "Loitering homosexuals, who use an old public toilet as a rendezvous, are bringing protests from residents – and now, Emily Reynolds is campaigning to have the graffiti-daubed toilet pulled down." Mrs Reynolds from Lingholme Road had written to St Helens Council calling for the loo in Queens Park to be demolished.
This week the St Helens Leisure and Recreation Committee agreed to knock down the toilet. At a meeting of the committee, their Leisure Director, Ted Gallagher, said: "It's a very disgraceful job for my staff to keep it fit for use." Councillor Geoff Almond reported that he had paid a visit to the offending toilet block but had not gone inside in case he got "picked up" and added: "Since the article in the Reporter last week, the residents have not seen any cars about."
Leslie Spriggs, the St Helens MP, got himself into hot water with trade unions and the local Labour party this week. That was after he had bought a ticket for the FA Cup Final at Wembley, not knowing he would be invited to lead the St Helens Trades Council's May Day unemployment demonstration. But Mr Spriggs sparked fury by writing in his letter turning down the invitation to head the march: "I have a ticket for Wembley on the same date, and I intend to use it."
Gerry Caughey – who had been a leader of the Pilkington strike in 1970 – was now the secretary of the Society of Graphical and Allied Trades and told the Reporter that he was giving the MP an ultimatum: "Either Parliament or pleasure – socialism or soccer." And Marie Rimmer, who was then a councillor representing West Sutton, said she was furious over Spriggs' decision.
The Reporter this week also described how when Leslie McFarlane of Ormskirk Road in Rainford had opened his car door to go to work he had found what appeared to be a bomb inside. But when an army bomb squad was called out to deal with the device they discovered that it was a hoax, with the wires and battery connected to a small box that only contained iron filings, nails and salt.
The mechanics of the fake bomb had been planted between the covers of a rare book by the Victorian children's author G. A. Henty. But the Reporter felt that the hoaxer would probably now be kicking himself, "for if he had stopped and examined the book before hacking it to pieces, he might have been able to sell it and get more fun out of the cash than the thwarted “kick” he got out of scaring someone." A specialist Liverpool bookshop told the Reporter that the book could have attracted up to £30 (almost £500 in today's money).
Pupils of Sherdley County Primary School in Mill Lane in Sutton were pictured in the Reporter after performing their version of 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'. The cast and choir of 90 pupils spent nearly 3 months rehearsing the rock musical, which they performed in front of more than 500 people in their school hall.
Some of the pupils from Grange Park Secondary School were also pictured in the paper rehearsing for their first ever pantomime. Next week they would be performing their own version of 'Mother Goose', which had been written by Sam Hill, head of the Lower school, and directed by Keith Barnes, the head of English.
The Reporter described how bikes for beat bobbies were going to be reintroduced to save cash. St Helens Police reckoned that up to a dozen constables on bicycles could be put on the road for half the cost of a man in a panda car.
This week the Sutton usherette at the ABC Savoy was presented with a gold watch and the Chief Projectionist James Kavanagh also received a gold timepiece. Mrs Blackhurst had joined the cinema in Bridge Street back in March 1935 when it had first opened.
And apart from taking a few years off to have her daughter and care for her through her early childhood years, Agnes had been a fixture at the cinema for the whole time that it had opened. She said: "Obviously moving about the cinema we don't see much of a film, but there have been some wonderful pictures here at the Savoy."
On the 20th the St Helens Rotary Club held a Grand Spring Fair in the Town Hall, which was opened by compere and comedian Pete Price.
At the ABC Savoy for 7 days from the 21st, 'The Hindenburg' starring George C. Scott replaced 'The Street Fighter' starring Charles Bronson. And at the Capitol Cinema, Ken Russell's 'The Devils' replaced 'The Man From Hong Kong', starring George Lazenby.
And finally, at the Theatre Royal for a week commencing on the 22nd, the Rainhill Amateur Operatic Society performed 'Hello Dolly' as its 25th anniversary production. The show with a £3,000 budget starred Joan Roberts from Weaver Avenue in Rainhill who played the title role.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the campaign of destruction at St Nicholas Church, the rise in car parking charges, the rowdyism by patrons leaving the Geraldo Club and a decision is finally made on the proposed Elephant Lane redevelopment.
This week's many stories include the woman who jumped on a car bonnet to try to stop robbers from getting away, the fake bomb found in Rainford, why it had to be socialism or soccer for Leslie Spriggs, the demolition of the troublesome Queen's Park toilets and the woman celebrating 25 years of being the Savoy's guiding light.
We begin on the 16th when Todd Steels of St Helens went into receivership after getting into financial trouble.
The longstanding firm that employed about 100 people in the town was hoping to be sold.
On the same day Janet Buckley, the wife of Duke Street newsagent Ernie Buckley, was robbed of £600 of shop takings while inside the Westminster Bank in Hardshaw Street in St Helens.
After a young man had snatched her bag of cash and ran off, Mrs Buckley gave chase, screaming, "Stop thief."
The robber jumped into a getaway car and to try and stop the vehicle from getting away, Mrs Buckley leapt on its bonnet.
The 40-year-old banged on the car windscreen and grabbed its wipers to hold on.
"The car went about 30 yards, then braked suddenly, and I was thrown off," explained Janet. "Then the car shot away at high speed."
The stolen vehicle was found a short time later in Dentons Green but there was, of course, no trace of the money.
Last week the St Helens Reporter wrote: "Loitering homosexuals, who use an old public toilet as a rendezvous, are bringing protests from residents – and now, Emily Reynolds is campaigning to have the graffiti-daubed toilet pulled down."
Mrs Reynolds from Lingholme Road had written to St Helens Council calling for the loo in Queens Park to be demolished.
This week the St Helens Leisure and Recreation Committee agreed to knock down the toilet.
At a meeting of the committee, their Leisure Director, Ted Gallagher, said: "It's a very disgraceful job for my staff to keep it fit for use."
Councillor Geoff Almond reported that he had paid a visit to the offending toilet block but had not gone inside in case he got "picked up" and added:
"Since the article in the Reporter last week, the residents have not seen any cars about."
Leslie Spriggs, the St Helens MP (pictured above), got himself into hot water with trade unions and the local Labour party this week.
That was after he had bought a ticket for the FA Cup Final at Wembley, not knowing he would be invited to lead the St Helens Trades Council's May Day unemployment demonstration.
But Mr Spriggs sparked fury by writing in his letter turning down the invitation to head the march: "I have a ticket for Wembley on the same date, and I intend to use it."
Gerry Caughey – who had been a leader of the Pilkington strike in 1970 – was now the secretary of the Society of Graphical and Allied Trades and told the Reporter that he was giving the MP an ultimatum:
"Either Parliament or pleasure – socialism or soccer."
And Marie Rimmer, who was then a councillor representing West Sutton, said she was furious over Spriggs' decision.
The Reporter this week also described how when Leslie McFarlane of Ormskirk Road in Rainford had opened his car door to go to work he had found what appeared to be a bomb inside.
But when an army bomb squad was called out to deal with the device they discovered that it was a hoax, with the wires and battery connected to a small box that only contained iron filings, nails and salt.
The mechanics of the fake bomb had been planted between the covers of a rare book by the Victorian children's author G. A. Henty.
But the Reporter felt that the hoaxer would probably now be kicking himself, "for if he had stopped and examined the book before hacking it to pieces, he might have been able to sell it and get more fun out of the cash than the thwarted “kick” he got out of scaring someone."
A specialist Liverpool bookshop told the Reporter that the book could have attracted up to £30 (almost £500 in today's money).
Pupils of Sherdley County Primary School in Mill Lane in Sutton were pictured in the Reporter after performing their version of 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'.
The cast and choir of 90 pupils spent nearly 3 months rehearsing the rock musical, which they performed in front of more than 500 people in their school hall.
Some of the pupils from Grange Park Secondary School were also pictured in the paper rehearsing for their first ever pantomime.
Next week they would be performing their own version of 'Mother Goose', which had been written by Sam Hill, head of the Lower school, and directed by Keith Barnes, the head of English.
The Reporter described how bikes for beat bobbies were going to be reintroduced to save cash.
St Helens Police reckoned that up to a dozen constables on bicycles could be put on the road for half the cost of a man in a panda car.
Agnes Blackhurst was celebrated in the Reporter after having been the "guiding light" for many thousands of St Helens' cinemagoers for the past 25 years. The paper wrote:
"The beam from her red and white torch has led parents and children alike through the thrills, spills and heartbreak of a quarter of a century of the silver screen."
This week the Sutton usherette at the ABC Savoy was presented with a gold watch and the Chief Projectionist James Kavanagh also received a gold timepiece.
Mrs Blackhurst had joined the cinema in Bridge Street back in March 1935 when it had first opened.
And apart from taking a few years off to have her daughter and care for her through her early childhood years, Agnes had been a fixture at the cinema for the whole time that it had opened. She said:
"Obviously moving about the cinema we don't see much of a film, but there have been some wonderful pictures here at the Savoy."
On the 20th the St Helens Rotary Club held a Grand Spring Fair in the Town Hall, which was opened by compere and comedian Pete Price.
At the ABC Savoy for 7 days from the 21st, 'The Hindenburg' starring George C. Scott replaced 'The Street Fighter' starring Charles Bronson.
And at the Capitol Cinema, Ken Russell's 'The Devils' replaced 'The Man From Hong Kong', starring George Lazenby.
And finally, at the Theatre Royal for a week commencing on the 22nd, the Rainhill Amateur Operatic Society performed 'Hello Dolly' as its 25th anniversary production.
The show with a £3,000 budget starred Joan Roberts from Weaver Avenue in Rainhill who played the title role.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the campaign of destruction at St Nicholas Church, the rise in car parking charges, the rowdyism by patrons leaving the Geraldo Club and a decision is finally made on the proposed Elephant Lane redevelopment.
We begin on the 16th when Todd Steels of St Helens went into receivership after getting into financial trouble.
The longstanding firm that employed about 100 people in the town was hoping to be sold.
On the same day Janet Buckley, the wife of Duke Street newsagent Ernie Buckley, was robbed of £600 of shop takings while inside the Westminster Bank in Hardshaw Street in St Helens.
After a young man had snatched her bag of cash and ran off, Mrs Buckley gave chase, screaming, "Stop thief."
The robber jumped into a getaway car and to try and stop the vehicle from getting away, Mrs Buckley leapt on its bonnet.
The 40-year-old banged on the car windscreen and grabbed its wipers to hold on.
"The car went about 30 yards, then braked suddenly, and I was thrown off," explained Janet. "Then the car shot away at high speed."
The stolen vehicle was found a short time later in Dentons Green but there was, of course, no trace of the money.
Last week the St Helens Reporter wrote: "Loitering homosexuals, who use an old public toilet as a rendezvous, are bringing protests from residents – and now, Emily Reynolds is campaigning to have the graffiti-daubed toilet pulled down."
Mrs Reynolds from Lingholme Road had written to St Helens Council calling for the loo in Queens Park to be demolished.
This week the St Helens Leisure and Recreation Committee agreed to knock down the toilet.
At a meeting of the committee, their Leisure Director, Ted Gallagher, said: "It's a very disgraceful job for my staff to keep it fit for use."
Councillor Geoff Almond reported that he had paid a visit to the offending toilet block but had not gone inside in case he got "picked up" and added:
"Since the article in the Reporter last week, the residents have not seen any cars about."
That was after he had bought a ticket for the FA Cup Final at Wembley, not knowing he would be invited to lead the St Helens Trades Council's May Day unemployment demonstration.
But Mr Spriggs sparked fury by writing in his letter turning down the invitation to head the march: "I have a ticket for Wembley on the same date, and I intend to use it."
Gerry Caughey – who had been a leader of the Pilkington strike in 1970 – was now the secretary of the Society of Graphical and Allied Trades and told the Reporter that he was giving the MP an ultimatum:
"Either Parliament or pleasure – socialism or soccer."
And Marie Rimmer, who was then a councillor representing West Sutton, said she was furious over Spriggs' decision.
The Reporter this week also described how when Leslie McFarlane of Ormskirk Road in Rainford had opened his car door to go to work he had found what appeared to be a bomb inside.
But when an army bomb squad was called out to deal with the device they discovered that it was a hoax, with the wires and battery connected to a small box that only contained iron filings, nails and salt.
The mechanics of the fake bomb had been planted between the covers of a rare book by the Victorian children's author G. A. Henty.
But the Reporter felt that the hoaxer would probably now be kicking himself, "for if he had stopped and examined the book before hacking it to pieces, he might have been able to sell it and get more fun out of the cash than the thwarted “kick” he got out of scaring someone."
A specialist Liverpool bookshop told the Reporter that the book could have attracted up to £30 (almost £500 in today's money).
Pupils of Sherdley County Primary School in Mill Lane in Sutton were pictured in the Reporter after performing their version of 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'.
The cast and choir of 90 pupils spent nearly 3 months rehearsing the rock musical, which they performed in front of more than 500 people in their school hall.
Some of the pupils from Grange Park Secondary School were also pictured in the paper rehearsing for their first ever pantomime.
Next week they would be performing their own version of 'Mother Goose', which had been written by Sam Hill, head of the Lower school, and directed by Keith Barnes, the head of English.
The Reporter described how bikes for beat bobbies were going to be reintroduced to save cash.
St Helens Police reckoned that up to a dozen constables on bicycles could be put on the road for half the cost of a man in a panda car.
"The beam from her red and white torch has led parents and children alike through the thrills, spills and heartbreak of a quarter of a century of the silver screen."
This week the Sutton usherette at the ABC Savoy was presented with a gold watch and the Chief Projectionist James Kavanagh also received a gold timepiece.
Mrs Blackhurst had joined the cinema in Bridge Street back in March 1935 when it had first opened.
And apart from taking a few years off to have her daughter and care for her through her early childhood years, Agnes had been a fixture at the cinema for the whole time that it had opened. She said:
"Obviously moving about the cinema we don't see much of a film, but there have been some wonderful pictures here at the Savoy."
On the 20th the St Helens Rotary Club held a Grand Spring Fair in the Town Hall, which was opened by compere and comedian Pete Price.
At the ABC Savoy for 7 days from the 21st, 'The Hindenburg' starring George C. Scott replaced 'The Street Fighter' starring Charles Bronson.
And at the Capitol Cinema, Ken Russell's 'The Devils' replaced 'The Man From Hong Kong', starring George Lazenby.
And finally, at the Theatre Royal for a week commencing on the 22nd, the Rainhill Amateur Operatic Society performed 'Hello Dolly' as its 25th anniversary production.
The show with a £3,000 budget starred Joan Roberts from Weaver Avenue in Rainhill who played the title role.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the campaign of destruction at St Nicholas Church, the rise in car parking charges, the rowdyism by patrons leaving the Geraldo Club and a decision is finally made on the proposed Elephant Lane redevelopment.