FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (16th - 22nd AUGUST 1971)
This week's 18 stories include the Sutton woman who wanted compensation after being hurt at the St Helens Show, a big housing project is announced for Rainford, the St Helens fire chief warns of the danger of children playing in derelict houses, why the St Helens population was in decline and the Washway Lane / East Lancs tunnel is given the thumbs-up.
Knowsley Safari Park had opened six weeks earlier and owners Lord Derby and Jimmy Chipperfield had set a target of two million visitors for its first year. The reserve had received some poor publicity recently after one particularly hectic Sunday when many cars broke down within the park. One dissatisfied visitor wrote to the Echo: "No wonder there were nearly 150 breakdowns due to overheating, etc., when one considers the inhuman way in which the Park's authority jammed the reserve with cars and occupants as if they were packing sardines in a can."
Despite this park manager Laurence Tennant stated on the 16th that, following another busy weekend, they were well on their way to reaching their target. The total number of visitors to Knowsley had soared to nearly 400,000 with Sunday afternoons the peak period for the reserve. However the park staff was getting better at managing the traffic and there had been few delays on the previous day. Mr Tennant added: "The general running of the traffic system has improved a great deal."
On the 17th Beryl Bate told the Liverpool Echo that she was demanding compensation from St Helens Corporation after being injured at the St Helens Show three weeks earlier. The 30-year-old from Highfield Street in Sutton suffered an ankle injury when a member of the Red Devils skydiving team came down off-course. Mrs Bate said she wasn't actually struck by the paratrooper but had been hurt as she dashed out of his way.
"I could see the paratrooper coming towards me," she said. "As I turned, I fell and my leg went under me. I received treatment at the time from the St John Ambulance Brigade, but later my ankle began to get worse and I had to go into hospital. My leg is still in plaster and I have to use crutches." A spokesman for the organisers said they would be making inquiries into Mrs Bate's claim.
A BBC TV programme broadcast on the 17th featured an allegation that crooks had planted a turnstile operator at Saints' ground to work a fiddle. The man involved claimed he had used a screwdriver to fix the counter mechanism on a Knowsley Road turnstile. By doing so it provided a false reading of the number of supporters that passed through and he was able to pocket some of the cash without attracting suspicion. However the rugby league club dismissed the allegations – that had first appeared in a Sunday newspaper – as "fantastic" and "ridiculous".
On the same day the St Helens Chief Fire Officer issued a warning to parents not to allow their children to play in dangerous derelict buildings. The large-scale redevelopment programme in the town meant that hundreds of century-old terraced homes were being demolished. Many youngsters were playing in them and the situation had worsened during the school holidays.
Fire chief George Wilson added: "Children are in danger of being buried alive. The children are also lighting fires in the houses, and exposing firemen to unnecessary risk. When a derelict house is burning, we have to make sure that there are no children inside. Only recently, a Liverpool fireman was killed while searching for children in a derelict house. As it turned out, there were no children there. Parents should make a special effort to ensure that their children keep away from demolition sites."
In June I revealed that school canteen staff at Prescot faced redundancy because of a 20% drop in the number of children staying for school meals. The dramatic drop had occurred after the price of school dinners had risen from 9p to 12p a day. However it was revealed on the 17th that more children at Prescot were now staying for school meals, so the dinner ladies who faced redundancy could keep their jobs.
On the 18th Christopher Atherton died at his sister's home in Legh Street in Newton-le-Willows. The 14-year-old from Brookland Lane in Parr was believed to have been ironing the baize on a small billiard table when he was electrocuted. It was revealed at Christopher's inquest that a loose wire in the iron's plug had caused his death with the neutal and live strands coming into contact. This was, of course, the era before pre-fitted moulded plugs on appliances was the norm and the Coroner gave a stern warning that people should appreciate the dangers of electrical equipment in the home and ensure plugs on appliances are wired and earthed correctly.
On the same day a 46-year-old Moss Bank man told St Helens magistrates that his urge to drive a Mercedes had led him to steal a car off a garage forecourt in City Road. He was stopped by police in the early hours of the following morning while driving the car along Parr Stocks Road and in court was fined £50 and given a three-month driving ban.
The latest unemployment figures were released on the 19th and the jobless rate in St Helens continued its alarming rise. In the last two month the rate of unemployment in the town had risen from 3.6% to 4.4% and was now standing at 4.8%.
Provisional population figures from the 1971 census were released on the 19th and showed a considerable decline in inhabitants in the Lancashire towns and cities. Liverpool was losing its people faster than any other city in the country, with Manchester not far behind. The provisional people count for St Helens was 104,173, down from 112,521 in 1951 and 108,674 in 1961.
What the census showed was not a decline in the birth rate in Lancashire but a redistribution of its population. So the village of Kirkby with just 3,210 residents in 1951 was now a bustling town housing 59,759 souls. Similarly Skelmersdale had shot up in 20 years from a population of 12,639 to 30,522. St Helens folk had been moving out to more rural parts – so Rainford's population had doubled in 20 years to 8,381 persons and Whiston (which included Eccleston) had increased almost 2½ times to 85,558.
On the same day the Echo revealed that St Helens Corporation had decided to proceed with its plan to convert the abandoned St Helens to Rainford railway line into a roadway running beneath the East Lancs Road. The £150,000 scheme (about 2½m in today's money) was intended to eliminate one of the worst accident black spots in St Helens. The quarter-mile long highway would run from Washway Lane to the Railway Hotel, where a large traffic island would be constructed. Motorists would only be able to turn left towards Liverpool – if travelling from St Helens – and left towards Manchester, if coming from Moss Bank.
The proposals had been on the table for some time as the council tried to persuade the Government to increase its share of the cost – and the Department of the Environment had now agreed to contribute £53,000. The Corporation was negotiating to buy narrow strips of land from British Oxygen Ltd. and the St Helens Co-operative Society Recreation Club, in order to make the plan possible. British Railways had already removed the old railway track and a start on the project was expected to happen early next year. The Echo wrote that once the road was opened, the dangerous Moss Bank crossroads on the East Lancashire Road would "virtually disappear".
The St Helens Reporter was published on the 20th and featured an announcement from local boxing trainer and manager Peter Fletcher that he was giving up the sport. The manager of Nigerian fighters Victor Paul and Ray Hassan had become disenchanted with boxing after losing money since becoming a promoter.
"Professional boxing is finished, outside London", Mr Fletcher told the Reporter. "Too many people in the game are putting money before sport. I have decided to pull out of it." The last straw for the 39-year-old from Orrell Street had been poor ticket sales for a planned boxing evening in aid of the Providence Hospital Fighting Fund. Fletcher had hoped to raise £1,000 – but only a dozen out of 600 tickets had been sold.
There was an adverting feature in the Reporter for Rainhill Service Station, which Jim Birch and Norman Case of Rainhill Motors had just opened in Warrington Road. There was also a feature on Ben Brooks of Duke Street, which the Reporter called a "veritable Aladdin's Cave full of treasures of the world of sport".
Advertisers included Chas. A. Critchley, Church Street ("We will take your old Hoovermatic as deposit on a new Hoovermatic – nothing to pay but your weekly instalments"); Derek Jones, Auto body repairs, Merton Bank Road ("Had a bump? Then get free recovery, estimate & claim advice"); Derbyshires, College Street ("Super savings – wallpapers from 25p) and Haywards, Westfield Street ("New winter collection of coats, dresses and trouser suits").
The days were numbered when Rainford had a local authority with some real powers – as a parish council would soon replace its urban district council. But for the present the Rainford councillors had responsibility for the many council houses that had been built in the village since WW1. The Reporter also described how Rainford UDC had this week announced a modernisation programme for 150 of their oldest homes. The 15-month-long project would begin next year and involve installing inside toilets and central heating in all of the homes.
The inquest on Ann Bolton of Hewitt Avenue in St Helens was held on the 20th in which an open verdict was returned. The 72-year-old's body had been recovered from Carr Mill Dam but the coroner said there was no evidence to show how or in what circumstances she came to be in the water. In fact it was a complete mystery, with Mrs Bolton found clutching a pair of spectacles with a large shopping bag left on the bank and no signs of a scuffle having taken place.
During the evening of the 20th, there was another disco at the home of St Helens RUFC at Moss Lane in Windle – admission was 15p. And two days later a brick was slung through the window of Unsworth's hairdressers in Duke Street and a black nylon wig and three electric razors taken. Thieves also broke into cars parked in Eccleston Street and Prescot Road and stole various items, including clothing and a transistor radio.
And finally, I wonder if in 50 years time people will consider the huge sums that some Premier League footballers earn today as ridiculously low? It seems unlikely but read this piece in the Echo published this week under the headline "When Top Footballers Earned £5 A Week" and you'll see what I mean:
"Whenever licensee Mr. Matthew Fitzsimons reads about top footballers' wages to-day, he has to smile about the days he played for Liverpool. For when he played as a professional at Anfield in the 1930s, his wage was nothing like the £100-plus of today's stars. He still treasures a letter sent to him by the club in 1938 about renewing his contract – at £4 a week when playing in the Central League Team, and £5 a week in the first team.
"He was also to be paid £3 a week from May 9 to August 20, 1938, and £3 10 shillings a week from August 22 to May 6, 1939. “I was playing there at the same time as Matt Busby”, says Mr. Fitzsimons, who now runs the Lamb Hotel, Wavertree, “and even he only got £8 a week, plus £2 bonus.”
Next week's stories will include the disabled boy from North Road who played against John Toshack, admiration for the town's Theatre Royal, world snooker champion John Spencer comes to St Helens and Rainford is declared the best place to live.
Knowsley Safari Park had opened six weeks earlier and owners Lord Derby and Jimmy Chipperfield had set a target of two million visitors for its first year. The reserve had received some poor publicity recently after one particularly hectic Sunday when many cars broke down within the park. One dissatisfied visitor wrote to the Echo: "No wonder there were nearly 150 breakdowns due to overheating, etc., when one considers the inhuman way in which the Park's authority jammed the reserve with cars and occupants as if they were packing sardines in a can."
Despite this park manager Laurence Tennant stated on the 16th that, following another busy weekend, they were well on their way to reaching their target. The total number of visitors to Knowsley had soared to nearly 400,000 with Sunday afternoons the peak period for the reserve. However the park staff was getting better at managing the traffic and there had been few delays on the previous day. Mr Tennant added: "The general running of the traffic system has improved a great deal."
On the 17th Beryl Bate told the Liverpool Echo that she was demanding compensation from St Helens Corporation after being injured at the St Helens Show three weeks earlier. The 30-year-old from Highfield Street in Sutton suffered an ankle injury when a member of the Red Devils skydiving team came down off-course. Mrs Bate said she wasn't actually struck by the paratrooper but had been hurt as she dashed out of his way.
"I could see the paratrooper coming towards me," she said. "As I turned, I fell and my leg went under me. I received treatment at the time from the St John Ambulance Brigade, but later my ankle began to get worse and I had to go into hospital. My leg is still in plaster and I have to use crutches." A spokesman for the organisers said they would be making inquiries into Mrs Bate's claim.
A BBC TV programme broadcast on the 17th featured an allegation that crooks had planted a turnstile operator at Saints' ground to work a fiddle. The man involved claimed he had used a screwdriver to fix the counter mechanism on a Knowsley Road turnstile. By doing so it provided a false reading of the number of supporters that passed through and he was able to pocket some of the cash without attracting suspicion. However the rugby league club dismissed the allegations – that had first appeared in a Sunday newspaper – as "fantastic" and "ridiculous".
On the same day the St Helens Chief Fire Officer issued a warning to parents not to allow their children to play in dangerous derelict buildings. The large-scale redevelopment programme in the town meant that hundreds of century-old terraced homes were being demolished. Many youngsters were playing in them and the situation had worsened during the school holidays.
Fire chief George Wilson added: "Children are in danger of being buried alive. The children are also lighting fires in the houses, and exposing firemen to unnecessary risk. When a derelict house is burning, we have to make sure that there are no children inside. Only recently, a Liverpool fireman was killed while searching for children in a derelict house. As it turned out, there were no children there. Parents should make a special effort to ensure that their children keep away from demolition sites."
In June I revealed that school canteen staff at Prescot faced redundancy because of a 20% drop in the number of children staying for school meals. The dramatic drop had occurred after the price of school dinners had risen from 9p to 12p a day. However it was revealed on the 17th that more children at Prescot were now staying for school meals, so the dinner ladies who faced redundancy could keep their jobs.
On the 18th Christopher Atherton died at his sister's home in Legh Street in Newton-le-Willows. The 14-year-old from Brookland Lane in Parr was believed to have been ironing the baize on a small billiard table when he was electrocuted. It was revealed at Christopher's inquest that a loose wire in the iron's plug had caused his death with the neutal and live strands coming into contact. This was, of course, the era before pre-fitted moulded plugs on appliances was the norm and the Coroner gave a stern warning that people should appreciate the dangers of electrical equipment in the home and ensure plugs on appliances are wired and earthed correctly.
On the same day a 46-year-old Moss Bank man told St Helens magistrates that his urge to drive a Mercedes had led him to steal a car off a garage forecourt in City Road. He was stopped by police in the early hours of the following morning while driving the car along Parr Stocks Road and in court was fined £50 and given a three-month driving ban.
The latest unemployment figures were released on the 19th and the jobless rate in St Helens continued its alarming rise. In the last two month the rate of unemployment in the town had risen from 3.6% to 4.4% and was now standing at 4.8%.
What the census showed was not a decline in the birth rate in Lancashire but a redistribution of its population. So the village of Kirkby with just 3,210 residents in 1951 was now a bustling town housing 59,759 souls. Similarly Skelmersdale had shot up in 20 years from a population of 12,639 to 30,522. St Helens folk had been moving out to more rural parts – so Rainford's population had doubled in 20 years to 8,381 persons and Whiston (which included Eccleston) had increased almost 2½ times to 85,558.
On the same day the Echo revealed that St Helens Corporation had decided to proceed with its plan to convert the abandoned St Helens to Rainford railway line into a roadway running beneath the East Lancs Road. The £150,000 scheme (about 2½m in today's money) was intended to eliminate one of the worst accident black spots in St Helens. The quarter-mile long highway would run from Washway Lane to the Railway Hotel, where a large traffic island would be constructed. Motorists would only be able to turn left towards Liverpool – if travelling from St Helens – and left towards Manchester, if coming from Moss Bank.
The proposals had been on the table for some time as the council tried to persuade the Government to increase its share of the cost – and the Department of the Environment had now agreed to contribute £53,000. The Corporation was negotiating to buy narrow strips of land from British Oxygen Ltd. and the St Helens Co-operative Society Recreation Club, in order to make the plan possible. British Railways had already removed the old railway track and a start on the project was expected to happen early next year. The Echo wrote that once the road was opened, the dangerous Moss Bank crossroads on the East Lancashire Road would "virtually disappear".
The St Helens Reporter was published on the 20th and featured an announcement from local boxing trainer and manager Peter Fletcher that he was giving up the sport. The manager of Nigerian fighters Victor Paul and Ray Hassan had become disenchanted with boxing after losing money since becoming a promoter.
"Professional boxing is finished, outside London", Mr Fletcher told the Reporter. "Too many people in the game are putting money before sport. I have decided to pull out of it." The last straw for the 39-year-old from Orrell Street had been poor ticket sales for a planned boxing evening in aid of the Providence Hospital Fighting Fund. Fletcher had hoped to raise £1,000 – but only a dozen out of 600 tickets had been sold.
There was an adverting feature in the Reporter for Rainhill Service Station, which Jim Birch and Norman Case of Rainhill Motors had just opened in Warrington Road. There was also a feature on Ben Brooks of Duke Street, which the Reporter called a "veritable Aladdin's Cave full of treasures of the world of sport".
Advertisers included Chas. A. Critchley, Church Street ("We will take your old Hoovermatic as deposit on a new Hoovermatic – nothing to pay but your weekly instalments"); Derek Jones, Auto body repairs, Merton Bank Road ("Had a bump? Then get free recovery, estimate & claim advice"); Derbyshires, College Street ("Super savings – wallpapers from 25p) and Haywards, Westfield Street ("New winter collection of coats, dresses and trouser suits").
The days were numbered when Rainford had a local authority with some real powers – as a parish council would soon replace its urban district council. But for the present the Rainford councillors had responsibility for the many council houses that had been built in the village since WW1. The Reporter also described how Rainford UDC had this week announced a modernisation programme for 150 of their oldest homes. The 15-month-long project would begin next year and involve installing inside toilets and central heating in all of the homes.
During the evening of the 20th, there was another disco at the home of St Helens RUFC at Moss Lane in Windle – admission was 15p. And two days later a brick was slung through the window of Unsworth's hairdressers in Duke Street and a black nylon wig and three electric razors taken. Thieves also broke into cars parked in Eccleston Street and Prescot Road and stole various items, including clothing and a transistor radio.
And finally, I wonder if in 50 years time people will consider the huge sums that some Premier League footballers earn today as ridiculously low? It seems unlikely but read this piece in the Echo published this week under the headline "When Top Footballers Earned £5 A Week" and you'll see what I mean:
"Whenever licensee Mr. Matthew Fitzsimons reads about top footballers' wages to-day, he has to smile about the days he played for Liverpool. For when he played as a professional at Anfield in the 1930s, his wage was nothing like the £100-plus of today's stars. He still treasures a letter sent to him by the club in 1938 about renewing his contract – at £4 a week when playing in the Central League Team, and £5 a week in the first team.
"He was also to be paid £3 a week from May 9 to August 20, 1938, and £3 10 shillings a week from August 22 to May 6, 1939. “I was playing there at the same time as Matt Busby”, says Mr. Fitzsimons, who now runs the Lamb Hotel, Wavertree, “and even he only got £8 a week, plus £2 bonus.”
Next week's stories will include the disabled boy from North Road who played against John Toshack, admiration for the town's Theatre Royal, world snooker champion John Spencer comes to St Helens and Rainford is declared the best place to live.
This week's 18 stories include the Sutton woman who wanted compensation after being hurt at the St Helens Show, a big housing project is announced for Rainford, the St Helens fire chief warns of the danger of children playing in derelict houses, why the St Helens population was in decline and the Washway Lane / East Lancs tunnel is given the thumbs-up.
Knowsley Safari Park had opened six weeks earlier and owners Lord Derby and Jimmy Chipperfield had set a target of two million visitors for its first year.
The reserve had received some poor publicity recently after one particularly hectic Sunday when many cars broke down within the park. One dissatisfied visitor wrote to the Echo:
"No wonder there were nearly 150 breakdowns due to overheating, etc., when one considers the inhuman way in which the Park's authority jammed the reserve with cars and occupants as if they were packing sardines in a can."
Despite this park manager Laurence Tennant stated on the 16th that, following another busy weekend, they were well on their way to reaching their target.
The total number of visitors to Knowsley had soared to nearly 400,000 with Sunday afternoons the peak period for the reserve.
However the park staff was getting better at managing the traffic and there had been few delays on the previous day. Mr Tennant added: "The general running of the traffic system has improved a great deal."
On the 17th Beryl Bate told the Liverpool Echo that she was demanding compensation from St Helens Corporation after being injured at the St Helens Show three weeks earlier.
The 30-year-old from Highfield Street in Sutton suffered an ankle injury when a member of the Red Devils skydiving team came down off-course.
Mrs Bate said she wasn't actually struck by the paratrooper but had been hurt as she dashed out of his way.
"I could see the paratrooper coming towards me," she said. "As I turned, I fell and my leg went under me. I received treatment at the time from the St John Ambulance Brigade, but later my ankle began to get worse and I had to go into hospital. My leg is still in plaster and I have to use crutches."
A spokesman for the organisers said they would be making inquiries into Mrs Bate's claim.
A BBC TV programme broadcast on the 17th featured an allegation that crooks had planted a turnstile operator at Saints' ground to work a fiddle.
The man involved claimed he had used a screwdriver to fix the counter mechanism on a Knowsley Road turnstile.
By doing so it provided a false reading of the number of supporters that passed through and he was able to pocket some of the cash without attracting suspicion.
However the rugby league club dismissed the allegations – that had first appeared in a Sunday newspaper – as "fantastic" and "ridiculous".
On the same day the St Helens Chief Fire Officer issued a warning to parents not to allow their children to play in dangerous derelict buildings.
The large-scale redevelopment programme in the town meant that hundreds of century-old terraced homes were being demolished.
Many youngsters were playing in them and the situation had worsened during the school holidays.
Fire chief George Wilson added: "Children are in danger of being buried alive. The children are also lighting fires in the houses, and exposing firemen to unnecessary risk.
"When a derelict house is burning, we have to make sure that there are no children inside.
"Only recently, a Liverpool fireman was killed while searching for children in a derelict house. As it turned out, there were no children there.
"Parents should make a special effort to ensure that their children keep away from demolition sites."
In June I revealed that school canteen staff at Prescot faced redundancy because of a 20% drop in the number of children staying for school meals.
The dramatic drop had occurred after the price of school dinners had risen from 9p to 12p a day.
However it was revealed on the 17th that more children at Prescot were now staying for school meals, so the dinner ladies who faced redundancy could keep their jobs.
On the 18th Christopher Atherton died at his sister's home in Legh Street in Newton-le-Willows.
The 14-year-old from Brookland Lane in Parr was believed to have been ironing the baize on a small billiard table when he was electrocuted.
It was revealed at Christopher's inquest that a loose wire in the iron's plug had caused his death with the neutal and live strands coming into contact.
This was, of course, the era before pre-fitted moulded plugs on appliances was the norm and the Coroner gave a stern warning that people should appreciate the dangers of electrical equipment in the home and ensure plugs on appliances are wired and earthed correctly.
On the same day a 46-year-old Moss Bank man told St Helens magistrates that his urge to drive a Mercedes had led him to steal a car off a garage forecourt in City Road.
He was stopped by police in the early hours of the following morning while driving the car along Parr Stocks Road and in court was fined £50 and given a three-month driving ban.
The latest unemployment figures were released on the 19th and the jobless rate in St Helens continued its alarming rise.
In the last two month the rate of unemployment in the town had risen from 3.6% to 4.4% and was now standing at 4.8%.
Provisional population figures from the 1971 census were released on the 19th and showed a considerable decline in inhabitants in the Lancashire towns and cities.
Liverpool was losing its people faster than any other city in the country, with Manchester not far behind.
The provisional people count for St Helens was 104,173, down from 112,521 in 1951 and 108,674 in 1961.
What the census showed was not a decline in the birth rate in Lancashire but a redistribution of its population.
So the village of Kirkby with just 3,210 residents in 1951 was now a bustling town housing 59,759 souls. Similarly Skelmersdale had shot up in 20 years from a population of 12,639 to 30,522.
St Helens folk had been moving out to more rural parts – so Rainford's population had doubled in 20 years to 8,381 persons and Whiston (which included Eccleston) had increased almost 2½ times to 85,558.
On the same day the Echo revealed that St Helens Corporation had decided to proceed with its plan to convert the abandoned St Helens to Rainford railway line into a roadway running beneath the East Lancs Road.
The £150,000 scheme (about 2½m in today's money) was intended to eliminate one of the worst accident black spots in St Helens.
The quarter-mile long highway would run from Washway Lane to the Railway Hotel, where a large traffic island would be constructed.
Motorists would only be able to turn left towards Liverpool – if travelling from St Helens – and left towards Manchester, if coming from Moss Bank.
The proposals had been on the table for some time as the council tried to persuade the Government to increase its share of the cost – and the Department of the Environment had now agreed to contribute £53,000.
The Corporation was negotiating to buy narrow strips of land from British Oxygen Ltd. and the St Helens Co-operative Society Recreation Club, in order to make the plan possible.
British Railways had already removed the old railway track and a start on the project was expected to happen early next year.
The Echo wrote that once the road was opened, the dangerous Moss Bank crossroads on the East Lancashire Road would "virtually disappear".
The St Helens Reporter was published on the 20th and featured an announcement from local boxing trainer and manager Peter Fletcher that he was giving up the sport.
The manager of Nigerian fighters Victor Paul and Ray Hassan had become disenchanted with boxing after losing money since becoming a promoter.
"Professional boxing is finished, outside London", Mr Fletcher told the Reporter. "Too many people in the game are putting money before sport. I have decided to pull out of it."
The last straw for the 39-year-old from Orrell Street had been poor ticket sales for a planned boxing evening in aid of the Providence Hospital Fighting Fund.
Fletcher had hoped to raise £1,000 – but only a dozen out of 600 tickets had been sold.
There was an adverting feature in the Reporter for Rainhill Service Station, which Jim Birch and Norman Case of Rainhill Motors had just opened in Warrington Road.
There was also a feature on Ben Brooks of Duke Street, which the Reporter called a "veritable Aladdin's Cave full of treasures of the world of sport".
Advertisers included Chas. A. Critchley, Church Street ("We will take your old Hoovermatic as deposit on a new Hoovermatic – nothing to pay but your weekly instalments"); Derek Jones, Auto body repairs, Merton Bank Road ("Had a bump? Then get free recovery, estimate & claim advice"); Derbyshires, College Street ("Super savings – wallpapers from 25p) and Haywards, Westfield Street ("New winter collection of coats, dresses and trouser suits").
The days were numbered when Rainford had a local authority with some real powers – as a parish council would soon replace its urban district council.
But for the present the Rainford councillors had responsibility for the many council houses that had been built in the village since WW1.
The Reporter also described how Rainford UDC had this week announced a modernisation programme for 150 of their oldest homes.
The 15-month-long project would begin next year and involve installing inside toilets and central heating in all of the homes.
The inquest on Ann Bolton of Hewitt Avenue in St Helens was held on the 20th in which an open verdict was returned.
The 72-year-old's body had been recovered from Carr Mill Dam but the coroner said there was no evidence to show how or in what circumstances she came to be in the water.
In fact it was a complete mystery, with Mrs Bolton found clutching a pair of spectacles with a large shopping bag left on the bank and no signs of a scuffle having taken place.
During the evening of the 20th, there was another disco at the home of St Helens RUFC at Moss Lane in Windle – admission was 15p.
And two days later a brick was slung through the window of Unsworth's hairdressers in Duke Street and a black nylon wig and three electric razors taken.
Thieves also broke into cars parked in Eccleston Street and Prescot Road and stole various items, including clothing and a transistor radio.
And finally, I wonder if in 50 years time people will consider the huge sums that some Premier League footballers earn today as ridiculously low?
It seems unlikely but read this piece in the Echo published this week under the headline "When Top Footballers Earned £5 A Week" and you'll see what I mean:
"Whenever licensee Mr. Matthew Fitzsimons reads about top footballers' wages to-day, he has to smile about the days he played for Liverpool.
"For when he played as a professional at Anfield in the 1930s, his wage was nothing like the £100-plus of today's stars.
"He still treasures a letter sent to him by the club in 1938 about renewing his contract – at £4 a week when playing in the Central League Team, and £5 a week in the first team.
"He was also to be paid £3 a week from May 9 to August 20, 1938, and £3 10 shillings a week from August 22 to May 6, 1939.
"“I was playing there at the same time as Matt Busby”, says Mr. Fitzsimons, who now runs the Lamb Hotel, Wavertree, “and even he only got £8 a week, plus £2 bonus.”
Next week's stories will include the disabled boy from North Road who played against John Toshack, admiration for the town's Theatre Royal, world snooker champion John Spencer comes to St Helens and Rainford is declared the best place to live.
Knowsley Safari Park had opened six weeks earlier and owners Lord Derby and Jimmy Chipperfield had set a target of two million visitors for its first year.
The reserve had received some poor publicity recently after one particularly hectic Sunday when many cars broke down within the park. One dissatisfied visitor wrote to the Echo:
"No wonder there were nearly 150 breakdowns due to overheating, etc., when one considers the inhuman way in which the Park's authority jammed the reserve with cars and occupants as if they were packing sardines in a can."
Despite this park manager Laurence Tennant stated on the 16th that, following another busy weekend, they were well on their way to reaching their target.
The total number of visitors to Knowsley had soared to nearly 400,000 with Sunday afternoons the peak period for the reserve.
However the park staff was getting better at managing the traffic and there had been few delays on the previous day. Mr Tennant added: "The general running of the traffic system has improved a great deal."
On the 17th Beryl Bate told the Liverpool Echo that she was demanding compensation from St Helens Corporation after being injured at the St Helens Show three weeks earlier.
The 30-year-old from Highfield Street in Sutton suffered an ankle injury when a member of the Red Devils skydiving team came down off-course.
Mrs Bate said she wasn't actually struck by the paratrooper but had been hurt as she dashed out of his way.
"I could see the paratrooper coming towards me," she said. "As I turned, I fell and my leg went under me. I received treatment at the time from the St John Ambulance Brigade, but later my ankle began to get worse and I had to go into hospital. My leg is still in plaster and I have to use crutches."
A spokesman for the organisers said they would be making inquiries into Mrs Bate's claim.
A BBC TV programme broadcast on the 17th featured an allegation that crooks had planted a turnstile operator at Saints' ground to work a fiddle.
The man involved claimed he had used a screwdriver to fix the counter mechanism on a Knowsley Road turnstile.
By doing so it provided a false reading of the number of supporters that passed through and he was able to pocket some of the cash without attracting suspicion.
However the rugby league club dismissed the allegations – that had first appeared in a Sunday newspaper – as "fantastic" and "ridiculous".
On the same day the St Helens Chief Fire Officer issued a warning to parents not to allow their children to play in dangerous derelict buildings.
The large-scale redevelopment programme in the town meant that hundreds of century-old terraced homes were being demolished.
Many youngsters were playing in them and the situation had worsened during the school holidays.
Fire chief George Wilson added: "Children are in danger of being buried alive. The children are also lighting fires in the houses, and exposing firemen to unnecessary risk.
"When a derelict house is burning, we have to make sure that there are no children inside.
"Only recently, a Liverpool fireman was killed while searching for children in a derelict house. As it turned out, there were no children there.
"Parents should make a special effort to ensure that their children keep away from demolition sites."
In June I revealed that school canteen staff at Prescot faced redundancy because of a 20% drop in the number of children staying for school meals.
The dramatic drop had occurred after the price of school dinners had risen from 9p to 12p a day.
However it was revealed on the 17th that more children at Prescot were now staying for school meals, so the dinner ladies who faced redundancy could keep their jobs.
On the 18th Christopher Atherton died at his sister's home in Legh Street in Newton-le-Willows.
The 14-year-old from Brookland Lane in Parr was believed to have been ironing the baize on a small billiard table when he was electrocuted.
It was revealed at Christopher's inquest that a loose wire in the iron's plug had caused his death with the neutal and live strands coming into contact.
This was, of course, the era before pre-fitted moulded plugs on appliances was the norm and the Coroner gave a stern warning that people should appreciate the dangers of electrical equipment in the home and ensure plugs on appliances are wired and earthed correctly.
On the same day a 46-year-old Moss Bank man told St Helens magistrates that his urge to drive a Mercedes had led him to steal a car off a garage forecourt in City Road.
He was stopped by police in the early hours of the following morning while driving the car along Parr Stocks Road and in court was fined £50 and given a three-month driving ban.
The latest unemployment figures were released on the 19th and the jobless rate in St Helens continued its alarming rise.
In the last two month the rate of unemployment in the town had risen from 3.6% to 4.4% and was now standing at 4.8%.
Liverpool was losing its people faster than any other city in the country, with Manchester not far behind.
The provisional people count for St Helens was 104,173, down from 112,521 in 1951 and 108,674 in 1961.
What the census showed was not a decline in the birth rate in Lancashire but a redistribution of its population.
So the village of Kirkby with just 3,210 residents in 1951 was now a bustling town housing 59,759 souls. Similarly Skelmersdale had shot up in 20 years from a population of 12,639 to 30,522.
St Helens folk had been moving out to more rural parts – so Rainford's population had doubled in 20 years to 8,381 persons and Whiston (which included Eccleston) had increased almost 2½ times to 85,558.
On the same day the Echo revealed that St Helens Corporation had decided to proceed with its plan to convert the abandoned St Helens to Rainford railway line into a roadway running beneath the East Lancs Road.
The £150,000 scheme (about 2½m in today's money) was intended to eliminate one of the worst accident black spots in St Helens.
The quarter-mile long highway would run from Washway Lane to the Railway Hotel, where a large traffic island would be constructed.
Motorists would only be able to turn left towards Liverpool – if travelling from St Helens – and left towards Manchester, if coming from Moss Bank.
The proposals had been on the table for some time as the council tried to persuade the Government to increase its share of the cost – and the Department of the Environment had now agreed to contribute £53,000.
The Corporation was negotiating to buy narrow strips of land from British Oxygen Ltd. and the St Helens Co-operative Society Recreation Club, in order to make the plan possible.
British Railways had already removed the old railway track and a start on the project was expected to happen early next year.
The Echo wrote that once the road was opened, the dangerous Moss Bank crossroads on the East Lancashire Road would "virtually disappear".
The St Helens Reporter was published on the 20th and featured an announcement from local boxing trainer and manager Peter Fletcher that he was giving up the sport.
The manager of Nigerian fighters Victor Paul and Ray Hassan had become disenchanted with boxing after losing money since becoming a promoter.
"Professional boxing is finished, outside London", Mr Fletcher told the Reporter. "Too many people in the game are putting money before sport. I have decided to pull out of it."
The last straw for the 39-year-old from Orrell Street had been poor ticket sales for a planned boxing evening in aid of the Providence Hospital Fighting Fund.
Fletcher had hoped to raise £1,000 – but only a dozen out of 600 tickets had been sold.
There was an adverting feature in the Reporter for Rainhill Service Station, which Jim Birch and Norman Case of Rainhill Motors had just opened in Warrington Road.
There was also a feature on Ben Brooks of Duke Street, which the Reporter called a "veritable Aladdin's Cave full of treasures of the world of sport".
Advertisers included Chas. A. Critchley, Church Street ("We will take your old Hoovermatic as deposit on a new Hoovermatic – nothing to pay but your weekly instalments"); Derek Jones, Auto body repairs, Merton Bank Road ("Had a bump? Then get free recovery, estimate & claim advice"); Derbyshires, College Street ("Super savings – wallpapers from 25p) and Haywards, Westfield Street ("New winter collection of coats, dresses and trouser suits").
The days were numbered when Rainford had a local authority with some real powers – as a parish council would soon replace its urban district council.
But for the present the Rainford councillors had responsibility for the many council houses that had been built in the village since WW1.
The Reporter also described how Rainford UDC had this week announced a modernisation programme for 150 of their oldest homes.
The 15-month-long project would begin next year and involve installing inside toilets and central heating in all of the homes.
The inquest on Ann Bolton of Hewitt Avenue in St Helens was held on the 20th in which an open verdict was returned.
In fact it was a complete mystery, with Mrs Bolton found clutching a pair of spectacles with a large shopping bag left on the bank and no signs of a scuffle having taken place.
During the evening of the 20th, there was another disco at the home of St Helens RUFC at Moss Lane in Windle – admission was 15p.
And two days later a brick was slung through the window of Unsworth's hairdressers in Duke Street and a black nylon wig and three electric razors taken.
Thieves also broke into cars parked in Eccleston Street and Prescot Road and stole various items, including clothing and a transistor radio.
And finally, I wonder if in 50 years time people will consider the huge sums that some Premier League footballers earn today as ridiculously low?
It seems unlikely but read this piece in the Echo published this week under the headline "When Top Footballers Earned £5 A Week" and you'll see what I mean:
"Whenever licensee Mr. Matthew Fitzsimons reads about top footballers' wages to-day, he has to smile about the days he played for Liverpool.
"For when he played as a professional at Anfield in the 1930s, his wage was nothing like the £100-plus of today's stars.
"He still treasures a letter sent to him by the club in 1938 about renewing his contract – at £4 a week when playing in the Central League Team, and £5 a week in the first team.
"He was also to be paid £3 a week from May 9 to August 20, 1938, and £3 10 shillings a week from August 22 to May 6, 1939.
"“I was playing there at the same time as Matt Busby”, says Mr. Fitzsimons, who now runs the Lamb Hotel, Wavertree, “and even he only got £8 a week, plus £2 bonus.”
Next week's stories will include the disabled boy from North Road who played against John Toshack, admiration for the town's Theatre Royal, world snooker champion John Spencer comes to St Helens and Rainford is declared the best place to live.