FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 20 - 26 JANUARY 1975
This week's many stories include the opposition in St Helens to male midwives, comic Tom O’Connor returns to the Rael Brook factory in Rainhill, the Labour party votes to shut down Leathers, British Sidac admits to being in severe trouble and the Area Health Authority hits back at claims that dangerous criminals from top security mental hospitals would be coming to Rainhill Hospital.
We begin on the 20th with the Theatre Royal's Christmas panto with Tommy Trafford – known as "Uncle Tommy" – heading the cast of Dick Whittington and local actor Keith Hopkins playing the title role. Last year's show had been Goldilocks, which also had Tommy Trafford playing the pantomime dame and that had achieved a 97% capacity audience – that's about 13,000 people in attendance.
On the 21st Tom O’Connor (pictured above) returned to the Rael Brook factory in Rainhill to film a trailer for his new BBC television series. The Liverpool comic had visited the shirt factory just before Christmas to help judge their Miss Personality contests. Those include the "loveliest legs" competition, "Mr Knobbly Knees 1974" and the "Best Hat". When the producer of his TV series said they would need a group of friendly folk for the TV trailer, Tom had immediately thought of those in Rainhill.
The government had issued a White Paper on "Equality for Women" which contained a suggestion that men be allowed to become midwives. The topic was discussed at this week's meeting of the St Helens and Knowsley Community Health Council and some interesting views on the subject were aired! The representatives on the council heard an appeal for their views from the Royal College of Midwives who strongly felt that males should not be allowed into their profession – and the public, they claimed, would never accept men.
In summing up the College's stance, the Reporter wrote: "Husbands were likely to get hot under the collar about males visiting their wives on intimate matters, not only at births but before and afterwards." Community Health Council member Nan Chisnall felt that male midwives would require a chaperone and explained that as a doctor's wife, she had had to chaperone her husband when he'd examined pregnant women.
And Councillor Bill Jones said: "The female's mind works in such a way that the attendance of a male midwife could have an everlasting effect on her." In what way was not stated but Nancy Maddocks, Secretary of the Spina Bifida Association for St Helens and District, said: "A woman is never absolutely sane while in the nine months of her pregnancy. She could accuse a male midwife of all kinds of things." Male midwives were permitted from 1984, although in 2020 only 0.3% of the registered midwives in the UK were male.
At St Helens Council's Planning Committee meeting on January 14th, another unsuccessful attempt had been made to shut down Leathers Chemicals. Almost as long as I've been writing these "50 Years Ago" articles, the controversy over Leathers has been an ever-present theme.
The sulphuric acid manufacturer from Lancots Lane in Sutton had regularly been accused of discharging fumes into the atmosphere and endangering local residents – but a compulsory closure of the plant could result in millions of pounds of compensation having to be paid. A fortnight ago after revealing that another vote had gone in favour of retaining the plant, I wrote: "And so the Leathers saga continued…"
But in this week's Reporter that was published on the 24th, it was suggested that the long drawn-out debate could finally be drawing to a close. That was because a special meeting of the St Helens Labour Group had taken place and they had taken the decision to shut down the plant. And as Labour councillors dominated both the Planning Committee and the full Town Council, it was expected that at the next meetings of both bodies the closure decision would be confirmed.
It would be taken under Section 51 of the 1971 Town and Country Planning Act which gave local authorities the power to close factories on planning or amenity grounds. If Leathers was closed under that Section, the Department of the Environment said it would be the first time it had been used in that way.
But it would come at a price. The latest compensation payment estimate was £3 million, which is around £45 million in today's money. That could mean a rates increase of between 10p and 15p in the pound for one year, depending upon whether a government rate support grant was available.
British Sidac had been responsible for bringing their neighbours Leathers to Sutton in the first place and this week the cellulose wrappings firm reported that they were in financial trouble. Their director and general manager, Dr George Britton, said: "Our order intake has been drastically reduced. The fall-off in trade has been more rapid than our people have experienced. I think we're like everybody else, we have severe order difficulties."
The firm had begun in Lancots Lane in 1933 and now had 1,500 staff and, as a result of their lack of orders, were stockpiling some of their products. Dr Britton added: "It is a severe crisis. It's very concerning because one doesn't know what the future holds. The whole of industry is in danger of lay-offs in the present economic climate."
Earlier in the month union officials at Rainhill Hospital had released a statement expressing concern that dangerous criminals from top security mental hospitals like Broadmoor were likely to be transferred to their institution. They said nurses and the public could be in serious danger of attack and claimed that a 20-bed ward had already been earmarked for such patients – but nurses had refused to run it.
In this week's Reporter the Area Health Authority hit back, accusing the nurses of being "alarmist". A spokesman insisted that those patients that would be coming to Rainhill were not violent criminals and there would be no danger to the public. He added: "It is possible that patients who may have received treatment at Broadmoor could come to Rainhill, but they would be people no longer considered to need the high security of a place like Broadmoor. Rainhill would act as a half-way house for their possible return to the community."
The Reporter also described how angry parents had formed an action group to fight plans for the secondary education of their children. The parents, whose youngsters attended St Bartholomew's Primary School in Rainhill, wanted them to go on to secondary schools in St Helens.
But at a meeting held this week, 200 parents were informed that although Rainhill now formed part of the St Helens District Council, St Bartholomew's schoolchildren would still be transferred to St Edmund Arrowsmith School in Whiston for their secondary schooling.
In another story the Reporter described how the Rev John Roberts, the Vicar of St Peter's in Parr, had banned burials in his churchyard for as soon as a gravedigger dug 5 feet down, the hole would fill up with water. And Rev Roberts said his church could not afford a new drainage system.
"It would cost an exorbitant amount. We should be spending our money on the living. We send a lot of cash overseas." The ban would come into effect when the 18 remaining spaces were filled and then parishioners would be invited to use the borough cemetery in Rainford Road to bury their dead.
In another even more grizzly report, the paper mentioned that workmen undertaking extension work at St Peter's Church in Newton had come across three skulls and several bones. The discovery was made by the vestry wall and work had to stop while the Coroner and Home Office were informed and enquiries were made. The Rev. Neil Meredith, the Vicar of St Peter's, said he thought the skulls and bones were about 150 years old.
Parr publican Tom Polding was featured in the Reporter after receiving the go-ahead from Greenall Whitley to convert the upper rooms of the Cherry Tree in Fleet Lane into what was described as a championship snooker arena, "where all the top games in the North will be played". The work would be completed by September and as well as a "splendid" new table, there would also be tiered tip-up seating to accommodate up to 120 spectators.
Last week I reported on a row at Saints Social Club in which a petition signed by 250 customers of the Knowsley Bar said they were "disgusted and annoyed" by the sacking of compere Frankie Barrow and demanding his return. Entertainments Manager Fred Shawcross had dismissed Frankie after accusing the 26-year-old newsagent from Virgil Street of being unreliable – which he denied. This week the Reporter said Frankie had written to Saints board of directors wanting the whole affair to be dropped and adding that he had been embarrassed by the publicity his leaving had caused.
World-famous violinist Yehudi Menuhin and his sister Hephzibah, a renowned pianist, returned to the Theatre Royal on the 26th. When the pair last came to St Helens in November 1972, stage manager Slim Ingram had been mightily impressed, telling the Reporter:
"I've never witnessed anything like it. It was a fantastic concert and they truly deserved the marvellous reception. They are a unique couple and their performance was something to see. They told me they had been very happy to play at the theatre and bring the music to St. Helens. Many of the audience came to me afterwards and said it had been wonderful to have had the opportunity of seeing them."
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Triplex workers' generous gesture, the anger caused by a delay in a vote to close Leathers, the periscope for a nosey parker in hospital and the burglaries in the new Tontine Market.
We begin on the 20th with the Theatre Royal's Christmas panto with Tommy Trafford – known as "Uncle Tommy" – heading the cast of Dick Whittington and local actor Keith Hopkins playing the title role. Last year's show had been Goldilocks, which also had Tommy Trafford playing the pantomime dame and that had achieved a 97% capacity audience – that's about 13,000 people in attendance.
The government had issued a White Paper on "Equality for Women" which contained a suggestion that men be allowed to become midwives. The topic was discussed at this week's meeting of the St Helens and Knowsley Community Health Council and some interesting views on the subject were aired! The representatives on the council heard an appeal for their views from the Royal College of Midwives who strongly felt that males should not be allowed into their profession – and the public, they claimed, would never accept men.
In summing up the College's stance, the Reporter wrote: "Husbands were likely to get hot under the collar about males visiting their wives on intimate matters, not only at births but before and afterwards." Community Health Council member Nan Chisnall felt that male midwives would require a chaperone and explained that as a doctor's wife, she had had to chaperone her husband when he'd examined pregnant women.
And Councillor Bill Jones said: "The female's mind works in such a way that the attendance of a male midwife could have an everlasting effect on her." In what way was not stated but Nancy Maddocks, Secretary of the Spina Bifida Association for St Helens and District, said: "A woman is never absolutely sane while in the nine months of her pregnancy. She could accuse a male midwife of all kinds of things." Male midwives were permitted from 1984, although in 2020 only 0.3% of the registered midwives in the UK were male.
At St Helens Council's Planning Committee meeting on January 14th, another unsuccessful attempt had been made to shut down Leathers Chemicals. Almost as long as I've been writing these "50 Years Ago" articles, the controversy over Leathers has been an ever-present theme.
The sulphuric acid manufacturer from Lancots Lane in Sutton had regularly been accused of discharging fumes into the atmosphere and endangering local residents – but a compulsory closure of the plant could result in millions of pounds of compensation having to be paid. A fortnight ago after revealing that another vote had gone in favour of retaining the plant, I wrote: "And so the Leathers saga continued…"
But in this week's Reporter that was published on the 24th, it was suggested that the long drawn-out debate could finally be drawing to a close. That was because a special meeting of the St Helens Labour Group had taken place and they had taken the decision to shut down the plant. And as Labour councillors dominated both the Planning Committee and the full Town Council, it was expected that at the next meetings of both bodies the closure decision would be confirmed.
It would be taken under Section 51 of the 1971 Town and Country Planning Act which gave local authorities the power to close factories on planning or amenity grounds. If Leathers was closed under that Section, the Department of the Environment said it would be the first time it had been used in that way.
But it would come at a price. The latest compensation payment estimate was £3 million, which is around £45 million in today's money. That could mean a rates increase of between 10p and 15p in the pound for one year, depending upon whether a government rate support grant was available.
The firm had begun in Lancots Lane in 1933 and now had 1,500 staff and, as a result of their lack of orders, were stockpiling some of their products. Dr Britton added: "It is a severe crisis. It's very concerning because one doesn't know what the future holds. The whole of industry is in danger of lay-offs in the present economic climate."
Earlier in the month union officials at Rainhill Hospital had released a statement expressing concern that dangerous criminals from top security mental hospitals like Broadmoor were likely to be transferred to their institution. They said nurses and the public could be in serious danger of attack and claimed that a 20-bed ward had already been earmarked for such patients – but nurses had refused to run it.
In this week's Reporter the Area Health Authority hit back, accusing the nurses of being "alarmist". A spokesman insisted that those patients that would be coming to Rainhill were not violent criminals and there would be no danger to the public. He added: "It is possible that patients who may have received treatment at Broadmoor could come to Rainhill, but they would be people no longer considered to need the high security of a place like Broadmoor. Rainhill would act as a half-way house for their possible return to the community."
The Reporter also described how angry parents had formed an action group to fight plans for the secondary education of their children. The parents, whose youngsters attended St Bartholomew's Primary School in Rainhill, wanted them to go on to secondary schools in St Helens.
But at a meeting held this week, 200 parents were informed that although Rainhill now formed part of the St Helens District Council, St Bartholomew's schoolchildren would still be transferred to St Edmund Arrowsmith School in Whiston for their secondary schooling.
In another story the Reporter described how the Rev John Roberts, the Vicar of St Peter's in Parr, had banned burials in his churchyard for as soon as a gravedigger dug 5 feet down, the hole would fill up with water. And Rev Roberts said his church could not afford a new drainage system.
"It would cost an exorbitant amount. We should be spending our money on the living. We send a lot of cash overseas." The ban would come into effect when the 18 remaining spaces were filled and then parishioners would be invited to use the borough cemetery in Rainford Road to bury their dead.
In another even more grizzly report, the paper mentioned that workmen undertaking extension work at St Peter's Church in Newton had come across three skulls and several bones. The discovery was made by the vestry wall and work had to stop while the Coroner and Home Office were informed and enquiries were made. The Rev. Neil Meredith, the Vicar of St Peter's, said he thought the skulls and bones were about 150 years old.
Parr publican Tom Polding was featured in the Reporter after receiving the go-ahead from Greenall Whitley to convert the upper rooms of the Cherry Tree in Fleet Lane into what was described as a championship snooker arena, "where all the top games in the North will be played". The work would be completed by September and as well as a "splendid" new table, there would also be tiered tip-up seating to accommodate up to 120 spectators.
Last week I reported on a row at Saints Social Club in which a petition signed by 250 customers of the Knowsley Bar said they were "disgusted and annoyed" by the sacking of compere Frankie Barrow and demanding his return. Entertainments Manager Fred Shawcross had dismissed Frankie after accusing the 26-year-old newsagent from Virgil Street of being unreliable – which he denied. This week the Reporter said Frankie had written to Saints board of directors wanting the whole affair to be dropped and adding that he had been embarrassed by the publicity his leaving had caused.
World-famous violinist Yehudi Menuhin and his sister Hephzibah, a renowned pianist, returned to the Theatre Royal on the 26th. When the pair last came to St Helens in November 1972, stage manager Slim Ingram had been mightily impressed, telling the Reporter:
"I've never witnessed anything like it. It was a fantastic concert and they truly deserved the marvellous reception. They are a unique couple and their performance was something to see. They told me they had been very happy to play at the theatre and bring the music to St. Helens. Many of the audience came to me afterwards and said it had been wonderful to have had the opportunity of seeing them."
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Triplex workers' generous gesture, the anger caused by a delay in a vote to close Leathers, the periscope for a nosey parker in hospital and the burglaries in the new Tontine Market.
This week's many stories include the opposition in St Helens to male midwives, comic Tom O’Connor returns to the Rael Brook factory in Rainhill, the Labour party votes to shut down Leathers, British Sidac admits to being in severe trouble and the Area Health Authority hits back at claims that dangerous criminals from top security mental hospitals would be coming to Rainhill Hospital.
We begin on the 20th with the Theatre Royal's Christmas panto with Tommy Trafford – known as "Uncle Tommy" – heading the cast of Dick Whittington and local actor Keith Hopkins playing the title role.
Last year's show had been Goldilocks, which also had Tommy Trafford playing the pantomime dame and that had achieved a 97% capacity audience – that's about 13,000 people in attendance.
On the 21st Tom O’Connor (pictured above) returned to the Rael Brook factory in Rainhill to film a trailer for his new BBC television series.
The Liverpool comic had visited the shirt factory just before Christmas to help judge their Miss Personality contests.
Those include the "loveliest legs" competition, "Mr Knobbly Knees 1974" and the "Best Hat".
When the producer of his TV series said they would need a group of friendly folk for the TV trailer, Tom had immediately thought of those in Rainhill.
The government had issued a White Paper on "Equality for Women" which contained a suggestion that men be allowed to become midwives.
The topic was discussed at this week's meeting of the St Helens and Knowsley Community Health Council and some interesting views on the subject were aired!
The representatives on the council heard an appeal for their views from the Royal College of Midwives who strongly felt that males should not be allowed into their profession – and the public, they claimed, would never accept men.
In summing up the College's stance, the Reporter wrote:
"Husbands were likely to get hot under the collar about males visiting their wives on intimate matters, not only at births but before and afterwards."
Community Health Council member Nan Chisnall felt that male midwives would require a chaperone and explained that as a doctor's wife, she had had to chaperone her husband when he'd examined pregnant women.
And Councillor Bill Jones said: "The female's mind works in such a way that the attendance of a male midwife could have an everlasting effect on her."
In what way was not stated but Nancy Maddocks, Secretary of the Spina Bifida Association for St Helens and District, said:
"A woman is never absolutely sane while in the nine months of her pregnancy. She could accuse a male midwife of all kinds of things."
Male midwives were permitted from 1984, although in 2020 only 0.3% of the registered midwives in the UK were male.
At St Helens Council's Planning Committee meeting on January 14th, another unsuccessful attempt had been made to shut down Leathers Chemicals.
Almost as long as I've been writing these "50 Years Ago" articles, the controversy over Leathers has been an ever-present theme.
The sulphuric acid manufacturer from Lancots Lane in Sutton had regularly been accused of discharging fumes into the atmosphere and endangering local residents – but a compulsory closure of the plant could result in millions of pounds of compensation having to be paid.
A fortnight ago after revealing that another vote had gone in favour of retaining the plant, I wrote: "And so the Leathers saga continued…"
But in this week's Reporter that was published on the 24th, it was suggested that the long drawn-out debate could finally be drawing to a close.
That was because a special meeting of the St Helens Labour Group had taken place and they had taken the decision to shut down the plant.
And as Labour councillors dominated both the Planning Committee and the full Town Council, it was expected that at the next meetings of both bodies the closure decision would be confirmed.
It would be taken under Section 51 of the 1971 Town and Country Planning Act which gave local authorities the power to close factories on planning or amenity grounds.
If Leathers was closed under that Section, the Department of the Environment said it would be the first time it had been used in that way.
But it would come at a price. The latest compensation payment estimate was £3 million, which is around £45 million in today's money.
That could mean a rates increase of between 10p and 15p in the pound for one year, depending upon whether a government rate support grant was available.
British Sidac had been responsible for bringing their neighbours Leathers to Sutton in the first place and this week the cellulose wrappings firm reported that they were in financial trouble.
Their director and general manager, Dr George Britton, said:
"Our order intake has been drastically reduced. The fall-off in trade has been more rapid than our people have experienced. I think we're like everybody else, we have severe order difficulties."
The firm had begun in Lancots Lane in 1933 and now had 1,500 staff and, as a result of their lack of orders, were stockpiling some of their products. Dr Britton added:
"It is a severe crisis. It's very concerning because one doesn't know what the future holds. The whole of industry is in danger of lay-offs in the present economic climate."
Earlier in the month union officials at Rainhill Hospital had released a statement expressing concern that dangerous criminals from top security mental hospitals like Broadmoor were likely to be transferred to their institution.
They said nurses and the public could be in serious danger of attack and claimed that a 20-bed ward had already been earmarked for such patients – but nurses had refused to run it.
In this week's Reporter the Area Health Authority hit back, accusing the nurses of being "alarmist".
A spokesman insisted that those patients that would be coming to Rainhill were not violent criminals and there would be no danger to the public. He added:
"It is possible that patients who may have received treatment at Broadmoor could come to Rainhill, but they would be people no longer considered to need the high security of a place like Broadmoor. Rainhill would act as a half-way house for their possible return to the community."
The Reporter also described how angry parents had formed an action group to fight plans for the secondary education of their children.
The parents, whose youngsters attended St Bartholomew's Primary School in Rainhill, wanted them to go on to secondary schools in St Helens.
But at a meeting held this week, 200 parents were informed that although Rainhill now formed part of the St Helens District Council, St Bartholomew's schoolchildren would still be transferred to St Edmund Arrowsmith School in Whiston for their secondary schooling.
In another story the Reporter described how the Rev John Roberts, the Vicar of St Peter's in Parr, had banned burials in his churchyard for as soon as a gravedigger dug 5 feet down, the hole would fill up with water.
And Rev Roberts said his church could not afford a new drainage system.
"It would cost an exorbitant amount. We should be spending our money on the living. We send a lot of cash overseas."
The ban would come into effect when the 18 remaining spaces were filled and then parishioners would be invited to use the borough cemetery in Rainford Road to bury their dead.
In another even more grizzly report, the paper mentioned that workmen undertaking extension work at St Peter's Church in Newton had come across three skulls and several bones.
The discovery was made by the vestry wall and work had to stop while the Coroner and Home Office were informed and enquiries were made.
The Rev. Neil Meredith, the Vicar of St Peter's, said he thought the skulls and bones were about 150 years old.
Parr publican Tom Polding was featured in the Reporter after receiving the go-ahead from Greenall Whitley to convert the upper rooms of the Cherry Tree in Fleet Lane into what was described as a championship snooker arena, "where all the top games in the North will be played".
The work would be completed by September and as well as a "splendid" new table, there would also be tiered tip-up seating to accommodate up to 120 spectators.
Last week I reported on a row at Saints Social Club in which a petition signed by 250 customers of the Knowsley Bar said they were "disgusted and annoyed" by the sacking of compere Frankie Barrow and demanding his return.
Entertainments Manager Fred Shawcross had dismissed Frankie after accusing the 26-year-old newsagent from Virgil Street of being unreliable – which he denied.
This week the Reporter said Frankie had written to Saints board of directors wanting the whole affair to be dropped and adding that he had been embarrassed by the publicity his leaving had caused.
World-famous violinist Yehudi Menuhin and his sister Hephzibah, a renowned pianist, returned to the Theatre Royal on the 26th.
When the pair last came to St Helens in November 1972, stage manager Slim Ingram had been mightily impressed, telling the Reporter:
"I've never witnessed anything like it. It was a fantastic concert and they truly deserved the marvellous reception. They are a unique couple and their performance was something to see.
"They told me they had been very happy to play at the theatre and bring the music to St. Helens. Many of the audience came to me afterwards and said it had been wonderful to have had the opportunity of seeing them."
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Triplex workers' generous gesture, the anger caused by a delay in a vote to close Leathers, the periscope for a nosey parker in hospital and the burglaries in the new Tontine Market.
We begin on the 20th with the Theatre Royal's Christmas panto with Tommy Trafford – known as "Uncle Tommy" – heading the cast of Dick Whittington and local actor Keith Hopkins playing the title role.
Last year's show had been Goldilocks, which also had Tommy Trafford playing the pantomime dame and that had achieved a 97% capacity audience – that's about 13,000 people in attendance.
The Liverpool comic had visited the shirt factory just before Christmas to help judge their Miss Personality contests.
Those include the "loveliest legs" competition, "Mr Knobbly Knees 1974" and the "Best Hat".
When the producer of his TV series said they would need a group of friendly folk for the TV trailer, Tom had immediately thought of those in Rainhill.
The government had issued a White Paper on "Equality for Women" which contained a suggestion that men be allowed to become midwives.
The topic was discussed at this week's meeting of the St Helens and Knowsley Community Health Council and some interesting views on the subject were aired!
The representatives on the council heard an appeal for their views from the Royal College of Midwives who strongly felt that males should not be allowed into their profession – and the public, they claimed, would never accept men.
In summing up the College's stance, the Reporter wrote:
"Husbands were likely to get hot under the collar about males visiting their wives on intimate matters, not only at births but before and afterwards."
Community Health Council member Nan Chisnall felt that male midwives would require a chaperone and explained that as a doctor's wife, she had had to chaperone her husband when he'd examined pregnant women.
And Councillor Bill Jones said: "The female's mind works in such a way that the attendance of a male midwife could have an everlasting effect on her."
In what way was not stated but Nancy Maddocks, Secretary of the Spina Bifida Association for St Helens and District, said:
"A woman is never absolutely sane while in the nine months of her pregnancy. She could accuse a male midwife of all kinds of things."
Male midwives were permitted from 1984, although in 2020 only 0.3% of the registered midwives in the UK were male.
At St Helens Council's Planning Committee meeting on January 14th, another unsuccessful attempt had been made to shut down Leathers Chemicals.
Almost as long as I've been writing these "50 Years Ago" articles, the controversy over Leathers has been an ever-present theme.
The sulphuric acid manufacturer from Lancots Lane in Sutton had regularly been accused of discharging fumes into the atmosphere and endangering local residents – but a compulsory closure of the plant could result in millions of pounds of compensation having to be paid.
A fortnight ago after revealing that another vote had gone in favour of retaining the plant, I wrote: "And so the Leathers saga continued…"
But in this week's Reporter that was published on the 24th, it was suggested that the long drawn-out debate could finally be drawing to a close.
That was because a special meeting of the St Helens Labour Group had taken place and they had taken the decision to shut down the plant.
And as Labour councillors dominated both the Planning Committee and the full Town Council, it was expected that at the next meetings of both bodies the closure decision would be confirmed.
It would be taken under Section 51 of the 1971 Town and Country Planning Act which gave local authorities the power to close factories on planning or amenity grounds.
If Leathers was closed under that Section, the Department of the Environment said it would be the first time it had been used in that way.
But it would come at a price. The latest compensation payment estimate was £3 million, which is around £45 million in today's money.
That could mean a rates increase of between 10p and 15p in the pound for one year, depending upon whether a government rate support grant was available.
Their director and general manager, Dr George Britton, said:
"Our order intake has been drastically reduced. The fall-off in trade has been more rapid than our people have experienced. I think we're like everybody else, we have severe order difficulties."
The firm had begun in Lancots Lane in 1933 and now had 1,500 staff and, as a result of their lack of orders, were stockpiling some of their products. Dr Britton added:
"It is a severe crisis. It's very concerning because one doesn't know what the future holds. The whole of industry is in danger of lay-offs in the present economic climate."
Earlier in the month union officials at Rainhill Hospital had released a statement expressing concern that dangerous criminals from top security mental hospitals like Broadmoor were likely to be transferred to their institution.
They said nurses and the public could be in serious danger of attack and claimed that a 20-bed ward had already been earmarked for such patients – but nurses had refused to run it.
In this week's Reporter the Area Health Authority hit back, accusing the nurses of being "alarmist".
A spokesman insisted that those patients that would be coming to Rainhill were not violent criminals and there would be no danger to the public. He added:
"It is possible that patients who may have received treatment at Broadmoor could come to Rainhill, but they would be people no longer considered to need the high security of a place like Broadmoor. Rainhill would act as a half-way house for their possible return to the community."
The Reporter also described how angry parents had formed an action group to fight plans for the secondary education of their children.
The parents, whose youngsters attended St Bartholomew's Primary School in Rainhill, wanted them to go on to secondary schools in St Helens.
But at a meeting held this week, 200 parents were informed that although Rainhill now formed part of the St Helens District Council, St Bartholomew's schoolchildren would still be transferred to St Edmund Arrowsmith School in Whiston for their secondary schooling.
In another story the Reporter described how the Rev John Roberts, the Vicar of St Peter's in Parr, had banned burials in his churchyard for as soon as a gravedigger dug 5 feet down, the hole would fill up with water.
And Rev Roberts said his church could not afford a new drainage system.
"It would cost an exorbitant amount. We should be spending our money on the living. We send a lot of cash overseas."
The ban would come into effect when the 18 remaining spaces were filled and then parishioners would be invited to use the borough cemetery in Rainford Road to bury their dead.
In another even more grizzly report, the paper mentioned that workmen undertaking extension work at St Peter's Church in Newton had come across three skulls and several bones.
The discovery was made by the vestry wall and work had to stop while the Coroner and Home Office were informed and enquiries were made.
The Rev. Neil Meredith, the Vicar of St Peter's, said he thought the skulls and bones were about 150 years old.
Parr publican Tom Polding was featured in the Reporter after receiving the go-ahead from Greenall Whitley to convert the upper rooms of the Cherry Tree in Fleet Lane into what was described as a championship snooker arena, "where all the top games in the North will be played".
The work would be completed by September and as well as a "splendid" new table, there would also be tiered tip-up seating to accommodate up to 120 spectators.
Last week I reported on a row at Saints Social Club in which a petition signed by 250 customers of the Knowsley Bar said they were "disgusted and annoyed" by the sacking of compere Frankie Barrow and demanding his return.
Entertainments Manager Fred Shawcross had dismissed Frankie after accusing the 26-year-old newsagent from Virgil Street of being unreliable – which he denied.
This week the Reporter said Frankie had written to Saints board of directors wanting the whole affair to be dropped and adding that he had been embarrassed by the publicity his leaving had caused.
World-famous violinist Yehudi Menuhin and his sister Hephzibah, a renowned pianist, returned to the Theatre Royal on the 26th.
When the pair last came to St Helens in November 1972, stage manager Slim Ingram had been mightily impressed, telling the Reporter:
"I've never witnessed anything like it. It was a fantastic concert and they truly deserved the marvellous reception. They are a unique couple and their performance was something to see.
"They told me they had been very happy to play at the theatre and bring the music to St. Helens. Many of the audience came to me afterwards and said it had been wonderful to have had the opportunity of seeing them."
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Triplex workers' generous gesture, the anger caused by a delay in a vote to close Leathers, the periscope for a nosey parker in hospital and the burglaries in the new Tontine Market.