FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (18th - 24th March 1969)
This week's 20 stories include the river of mud in Walkers Lane, Dirty Gert at the Geraldo, new baths for Scotchbarn Lane, the labour shortage in St Helens, criticism of the facilities at Hamblett Open Air School, a car wash for Carr Mill and the Prescot Road man who attacked his wife is only fined a fiver.
We begin at St Helens Juvenile Panel on the 18th when a 15-year-old boy admitted purchasing intoxicating liquor while under age and was handed a £2 fine. However the lad hadn't been buying beer. He'd instead been seen coming out of a pub carrying a half-bottle of sherry! The boy told the court that he'd bought the spirits as he felt like a drink.
There was more evidence of a labour shortage in St Helens on the 18th. The UD Engineering Company held a press conference to announce their plans to almost double the workforce at their Bold factory. The firm made bottle washing and handling equipment and over the last few months had received large orders from Australia, Brazil, South Africa, Poland and Thailand.
UDEC had immediate needs for 40 to 50 machinists, fitters and sheet metal workers but these workers were in short supply. The firm had a personnel of 200 and needed to increase this to 350 to cope with these orders, as well as deal with production previously located in London that had switched to Bold. However the company's managing director told the press conference that much of their plans for the future hinged on whether they could recruit staff.
The Geraldo Club in Lord Street held a 'Non Stop Variety Show' on the 18th featuring Tony Valance who was described as a "Giant of Song". In support was comedienne Gertie Almond, who liked to be known as "Dirty Gert". As well as playing the Northern clubs, Gertie was an actress and in 1979 would have a part in 'Yanks' with Richard Gere and Vanessa Redgrave.
The Council's Works Committee heard on the 19th that they would be going ahead with plans to build a link road between Knowsley Road and Burrows Lane / Millfields in Eccleston. This was after permission had been granted to borrow almost £50,000.
Newton and Ashton Ladies Circle held a fashion parade during the evening of the 19th at St Thomas Church Hall in Warrington Road in Ashton.
The fury over what was described as a river of mud in Walkers Lane was the lead story in the Reporter on the 21st. For two years residents had been complaining to the Corporation about the state of the road ever since the building of a new housing estate had begun.
They had signed a petition, filled in protest forms and two householders had withheld their rates in protest – which had led to court appearances. Residents claimed that the thick mud ruined their clothes, shoes and carpets.
Michael McGillicuddy told the Reporter that he had had to retrieve his car from the mud on many occasions. Last week it stuck fast outside his home and he had now decided to leave it there as a protest.
His wife Jean said a petition had been handed to Councillor Harry Williams about 18 months earlier but the council had told the residents that they would have to complete individual protest forms. Nothing further was heard, not even an acknowledgement, claimed Jean, who added: "It is impossible to make any complaints at the Town Hall. No-one wants to know about it."
However the council had slightly reduced some of the residents' rates because of the state of the road, although this would be wiped out by the one shilling in the pound rate rise announced last week.
Another unnamed resident who had lived in Walkers Lane for thirty years said: "This used to be a perfect road until they started building four years ago. Now it is impossible to keep anything clean.
"Our water was off for three days last week when workmen burst the main. They burst it again this week and the whole road was under water. It is terrible to see the kiddies going to school through the mud."
The Borough Engineer's department told the Reporter that the contractors had almost completed the installation of sewerage mains. Once that had been done they would begin surfacing the road with completion expected in a few months.
Kathleen McCabe from Longridge Avenue in Blackbrook complained in the paper that not enough was being done for disabled children in St Helens. Mrs McCabe's 9-year-old daughter Julie attended the Hamblett Open Air School for Physically Handicapped Children in Rainford Road. She was full of praise for the school but felt they were insufficiently resourced:
"The staff at the school do a wonderful job and are really dedicated but they are not given the facilities they need." However the council's Chief Education Welfare Officer felt that Hamblett had adequate facilities for its 100 pupils, although a consultant orthopaedic surgeon in St Helens agreed with Mrs McCabe.
The father of three-year-old Deborah Hall and her five-year-old sister Beverley was quoted in the Reporter appealing for help in finding the family's miniature white poodle. Six-month-old Candy had gone missing from their home in Newton Road in Billinge and the children were distraught.
The newspaper also revealed that plans to build swimming baths in Scotchbarn Lane in Prescot had moved up a gear. A draft plan had been accepted by a working party comprising members of Whiston and Prescot Councils, who were behind the project. The cost of building the 25-metre pool would be £200,000 (around £3m in today's money) and its catchment area would include Rainhill, Eccleston Park and Whiston.
The Reporter also wrote a quite long article about the new car wash at Carr Mill Motors in Carr Mill Road that created a "showroom shine in two minutes". They were highly impressed by the fully automatic machine that cost 5 shillings to use and also included a shampoo and quick drying facilities.
It was announced this week that Tom Wilcock from Moss Bank was to be the next Mayor of St Helens. At 42 it was believed that Tom would be the youngest ever first citizen of the town.
The entertainment for the Pilkington Gala Day on August 9th was also announced. A "spectacular" aerial acrobatic act from Belgium would be performing high above Ruskin Drive without the aid of a safety net. Marianna and Orsini's performance would include comedy acrobatics on a 100 ft high swaying mast, diagonal wire walking and a twist act.
It was also stated that St Helens Chief Constable, Archibald Atherton, was taking up a new position in April as an Assistant Chief Constable in the new Lancashire Police Force. The 55-year-old son of a Liverpool tobacconist had begun his police career as a humble clerk and had been in charge of the town's bobbies since 1964.
On the 21st Robins Lane Secondary School was advertising for a headmaster to take charge from September. The separate boys' and girls' secondary schools at Robins Lane were merging into a single school and so had to advertise for a head. In the event the boys' incumbent Joseph Woods got the job and Phyllis Cole became his deputy. Miss Cole had been the deputy headmistress of the girls' school after transferring from Rivington Secondary Modern.
A 22-year-old man from Prescot Road was fined just £5 at St Helens Magistrates Court on the 21st for assaulting his wife and occasioning her bodily harm. Detective Inspector McCall told the court that the woman had suffered a burst nose, bruised jaw and a badly bruised shoulder.
The couple were legally separated and when questioned by the police the man said: "I don't know why I did it, it's jealously, I suppose." He had also cut up his wife's clothes to try and stop her from going out. For that offence and damaging a gramophone record and stealing a packet of cigarettes the man was placed on probation.
"Go! Go! Go!" said the ad in the Reporter for a 'Soul Party' at St Helens Town Hall on the 21st, with "sensational soul sounds" from the Microbes and the Rubber Soul Band. The ad continued: "Don't miss this great show. Get your tickets now from Rothery's, St Helens & Prescot. Male persons of untidy appearance not admitted." Presumably women of untidy appearance would be allowed in! Would Dirty Gert have been admitted?
Late on the 21st a maroon Ford Cortina was stolen from a car park near to St Helens Town Hall. A few hours later the two men thought to have stolen the vehicle raped a 19-year-old from Speke, after offering the young woman a lift home from the Neptune Club in Preston Brook near Runcorn.
On the 22nd the St Helens YMCA held a youth club dance on their premises with "the fabulous" Shuffler Sound and the Overdrive. "No pass outs. Cost 5/-."
More than 300 members of three youth clubs – Broad Oak, Lowe House and the "Y" club in Parr – made a 40-mile trek to Southport on the 23rd. About £400 was raised to hire three minibuses that would be used to travel across Europe later in the year.
And finally on the 24th pupils at Marshalls Cross Infants School became the first recipients of the Cozens-Hardy Savings Trophy. The St Helens Savings Committee awarded this to the children considered the most regular savers. Almost all the pupils at Marshalls Cross took advantage of the savings scheme and Lady Pilkington presented them with their trophy.
Next week's stories will include the long-gone Westfield Street shops, the state of the footpaths in Sutton, the electric Rainhill clothes line, Candy the poodle is back in Billinge, there's bad news for Saints fans, old Cowleians are in the Echo and it's the end of the road for the St Helens Police.
We begin at St Helens Juvenile Panel on the 18th when a 15-year-old boy admitted purchasing intoxicating liquor while under age and was handed a £2 fine. However the lad hadn't been buying beer. He'd instead been seen coming out of a pub carrying a half-bottle of sherry! The boy told the court that he'd bought the spirits as he felt like a drink.
There was more evidence of a labour shortage in St Helens on the 18th. The UD Engineering Company held a press conference to announce their plans to almost double the workforce at their Bold factory. The firm made bottle washing and handling equipment and over the last few months had received large orders from Australia, Brazil, South Africa, Poland and Thailand.
UDEC had immediate needs for 40 to 50 machinists, fitters and sheet metal workers but these workers were in short supply. The firm had a personnel of 200 and needed to increase this to 350 to cope with these orders, as well as deal with production previously located in London that had switched to Bold. However the company's managing director told the press conference that much of their plans for the future hinged on whether they could recruit staff.
The Geraldo Club in Lord Street held a 'Non Stop Variety Show' on the 18th featuring Tony Valance who was described as a "Giant of Song". In support was comedienne Gertie Almond, who liked to be known as "Dirty Gert". As well as playing the Northern clubs, Gertie was an actress and in 1979 would have a part in 'Yanks' with Richard Gere and Vanessa Redgrave.
The Council's Works Committee heard on the 19th that they would be going ahead with plans to build a link road between Knowsley Road and Burrows Lane / Millfields in Eccleston. This was after permission had been granted to borrow almost £50,000.
Newton and Ashton Ladies Circle held a fashion parade during the evening of the 19th at St Thomas Church Hall in Warrington Road in Ashton.
The fury over what was described as a river of mud in Walkers Lane was the lead story in the Reporter on the 21st. For two years residents had been complaining to the Corporation about the state of the road ever since the building of a new housing estate had begun.
They had signed a petition, filled in protest forms and two householders had withheld their rates in protest – which had led to court appearances. Residents claimed that the thick mud ruined their clothes, shoes and carpets.
Michael McGillicuddy told the Reporter that he had had to retrieve his car from the mud on many occasions. Last week it stuck fast outside his home and he had now decided to leave it there as a protest.
His wife Jean said a petition had been handed to Councillor Harry Williams about 18 months earlier but the council had told the residents that they would have to complete individual protest forms. Nothing further was heard, not even an acknowledgement, claimed Jean, who added: "It is impossible to make any complaints at the Town Hall. No-one wants to know about it."
However the council had slightly reduced some of the residents' rates because of the state of the road, although this would be wiped out by the one shilling in the pound rate rise announced last week.
Another unnamed resident who had lived in Walkers Lane for thirty years said: "This used to be a perfect road until they started building four years ago. Now it is impossible to keep anything clean.
"Our water was off for three days last week when workmen burst the main. They burst it again this week and the whole road was under water. It is terrible to see the kiddies going to school through the mud."
The Borough Engineer's department told the Reporter that the contractors had almost completed the installation of sewerage mains. Once that had been done they would begin surfacing the road with completion expected in a few months.
Kathleen McCabe from Longridge Avenue in Blackbrook complained in the paper that not enough was being done for disabled children in St Helens. Mrs McCabe's 9-year-old daughter Julie attended the Hamblett Open Air School for Physically Handicapped Children in Rainford Road. She was full of praise for the school but felt they were insufficiently resourced:
"The staff at the school do a wonderful job and are really dedicated but they are not given the facilities they need." However the council's Chief Education Welfare Officer felt that Hamblett had adequate facilities for its 100 pupils, although a consultant orthopaedic surgeon in St Helens agreed with Mrs McCabe.
The father of three-year-old Deborah Hall and her five-year-old sister Beverley was quoted in the Reporter appealing for help in finding the family's miniature white poodle. Six-month-old Candy had gone missing from their home in Newton Road in Billinge and the children were distraught.
The newspaper also revealed that plans to build swimming baths in Scotchbarn Lane in Prescot had moved up a gear. A draft plan had been accepted by a working party comprising members of Whiston and Prescot Councils, who were behind the project. The cost of building the 25-metre pool would be £200,000 (around £3m in today's money) and its catchment area would include Rainhill, Eccleston Park and Whiston.
The Reporter also wrote a quite long article about the new car wash at Carr Mill Motors in Carr Mill Road that created a "showroom shine in two minutes". They were highly impressed by the fully automatic machine that cost 5 shillings to use and also included a shampoo and quick drying facilities.
It was announced this week that Tom Wilcock from Moss Bank was to be the next Mayor of St Helens. At 42 it was believed that Tom would be the youngest ever first citizen of the town.
The entertainment for the Pilkington Gala Day on August 9th was also announced. A "spectacular" aerial acrobatic act from Belgium would be performing high above Ruskin Drive without the aid of a safety net. Marianna and Orsini's performance would include comedy acrobatics on a 100 ft high swaying mast, diagonal wire walking and a twist act.
It was also stated that St Helens Chief Constable, Archibald Atherton, was taking up a new position in April as an Assistant Chief Constable in the new Lancashire Police Force. The 55-year-old son of a Liverpool tobacconist had begun his police career as a humble clerk and had been in charge of the town's bobbies since 1964.
Two photos of Joseph Woods, headmaster at Robins Lane School - on the left with referee Jim Finney
Two photos of Joseph Woods, headmaster at Robins Lane School
Joseph Woods headmaster at Robins Lane
A 22-year-old man from Prescot Road was fined just £5 at St Helens Magistrates Court on the 21st for assaulting his wife and occasioning her bodily harm. Detective Inspector McCall told the court that the woman had suffered a burst nose, bruised jaw and a badly bruised shoulder.
The couple were legally separated and when questioned by the police the man said: "I don't know why I did it, it's jealously, I suppose." He had also cut up his wife's clothes to try and stop her from going out. For that offence and damaging a gramophone record and stealing a packet of cigarettes the man was placed on probation.
"Go! Go! Go!" said the ad in the Reporter for a 'Soul Party' at St Helens Town Hall on the 21st, with "sensational soul sounds" from the Microbes and the Rubber Soul Band. The ad continued: "Don't miss this great show. Get your tickets now from Rothery's, St Helens & Prescot. Male persons of untidy appearance not admitted." Presumably women of untidy appearance would be allowed in! Would Dirty Gert have been admitted?
Late on the 21st a maroon Ford Cortina was stolen from a car park near to St Helens Town Hall. A few hours later the two men thought to have stolen the vehicle raped a 19-year-old from Speke, after offering the young woman a lift home from the Neptune Club in Preston Brook near Runcorn.
On the 22nd the St Helens YMCA held a youth club dance on their premises with "the fabulous" Shuffler Sound and the Overdrive. "No pass outs. Cost 5/-."
More than 300 members of three youth clubs – Broad Oak, Lowe House and the "Y" club in Parr – made a 40-mile trek to Southport on the 23rd. About £400 was raised to hire three minibuses that would be used to travel across Europe later in the year.
And finally on the 24th pupils at Marshalls Cross Infants School became the first recipients of the Cozens-Hardy Savings Trophy. The St Helens Savings Committee awarded this to the children considered the most regular savers. Almost all the pupils at Marshalls Cross took advantage of the savings scheme and Lady Pilkington presented them with their trophy.
Next week's stories will include the long-gone Westfield Street shops, the state of the footpaths in Sutton, the electric Rainhill clothes line, Candy the poodle is back in Billinge, there's bad news for Saints fans, old Cowleians are in the Echo and it's the end of the road for the St Helens Police.