FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (22nd - 28th July 1969)
This week's stories include good news for the people of Parr, a St Helens' man's involvement with Apollo 11, water is pumped into the dry Sutton Mill Dam, an increase in false fire alarms, the Ministry of Defence give up Billinge Beacon, a new summer scheme for kids and new homes for the elderly in Rainford.
We begin on the 22nd when Pauline Hassingham from Blackdown Grove in Parr and John Tye from Windleshaw Road got married at Gretna Green. The age of marriage without parental consent was then 21. As John's parents considered the 19-year-old too young to get wed, the pair eloped to Gretna to do the deed. Pauline and John had been courting for three years and were happy to tell their story on the front page of the Reporter. I wonder what their parents made of that?
At Rainford Council's Housing Committee meeting on the 22nd it was decided to build homes for the elderly on the site of 100-year-old houses in Victoria Street and Alfred Street. "Some development should certainly be carried out here", said Councillor Tom Wainwright (my Dad!). "The place as it now stands is an eye-sore. It is not fair to the people living nearby." Cllr. Mike Samuel described it as "one of the worst spots in Rainford" and called for the new development to be a "show place".
A new initiative got underway on the 23rd at the Tolver Street Youth Club and the premises of the YWCA in Nunn Street in Parr. The 366 Group – an offshoot of the Christian Life Movement – launched a scheme to keep youngsters occupied during the summer holidays.
Children between the ages of seven and eleven were able to play football and other supervised activities to give parents the peace of mind of knowing where their kids were. The Group only made a small charge for each child and they appealed for the public to donate pencils, paper, paint, orange juice and biscuits.
During the 1960s many firms in St Helens provided outings and Christmas parties for their retired employees. This week three coaches of pensioners – who had formerly worked for Manweb and the Gas Board – left for a day out in Blackpool accompanied by their wives. The trip including a meal and going to watch the 'Val Doonican Show' at the Opera House, that also included Arthur Askey. That was just one of fourteen summer shows in Blackpool that were said to feature a total of thirty-nine stars.
On the 23rd thousands of gallons of water was pumped back into the Sutton Mill Dam (pictured above), much to the relief of local fishermen. Some time ago Sidac Angling Club opened a sluice gate to feed some water from the Mill Dam to the Monastery Dam in Gerards Lane via Sutton Brook. The gate jammed and the Mill Dam dried up almost completely which killed nearly ten thousand fish. Two pumps were now taking water from one of the clay holes belonging to Roughdale's Brickworks and feeding it into the Pendlebury Brook that runs into the Mill Dam.
By October or November, once the water had settled, it would be restocked with thousands of fish. The Angling Club secretary, John Stott, was delighted with the operation saying: "We have one of our own pumps working. Roughdale's were kind enough to loan us one and they say we can take as much water as we want." The club would not be removing the rotting fish, however. "We shall leave them and if they float we will take them out", said Mr Stott. "We just can't get to them on the mud."
At what was described as an emergency meeting of the St Helens RLFC board of directors on the 23rd, approval was granted for the signing of Ken Irvine. The Australian Test wing threequarter had agreed to play for Saints as a guest player for 14 weeks during the coming season while on holiday. Chairman Harry Cook sent a telegram to North Sydney, Irvine's club, saying: "Irvine offer definitely accepted. Arrival here as soon as possible. Our first game August 16."
There was good news for the people of Parr in the St Helens Reporter on the 25th as they described how the council had changed its mind over the provision of swimming baths. A few weeks ago the Reporter had said the council's decision to install a 9-hole golf course in Sherdley Park rather than the long-promised pool had sent a "wave of bitterness" through Parr. The reason was claimed to be financial, with the golf course estimated at £63,000 but new swimming baths would have cost £500,000 (around £9m in today's money).
There had been a protest march and petition against the decision with people claiming that the council had got its priorities wrong. So the councillors had buckled under public pressure and set up a sub-committee to draw up plans for a smaller scheme costing £250,000. Protest leader Richard Coulburn from Cherry Tree Drive told the paper: "We are pleased, but shan't be satisfied until we see the plans in black and white. The half-million pounds estimate was for an Olympic-style pool, but we will be happy with a smaller one."
The Apollo 11 Lunar Module had landed on the Moon on the 20th and the Reporter described how a St Helens' man had been involved in the historic mission. John Fletcher had been employed at the NASA HQ in Bermuda tracking the command module and passing the data onto Mission Control. The former West Park pupil's parents lived in Kiln Lane and he had worked on radio communications for Cable and Wireless for several years.
The Reporter also described how the Ministry of Defence had given up their interest in Billinge Beacon and passed responsibility onto a local charity board that owned the land. The Ministry had controlled the beacon since the war with the Royal Observer Corps using it as a spotter site. Billinge Council was now considering taking over the upkeep of the stone beacon, which needed repairs and protection against vandals.
"Come and Learn the St. Helens Wiggle", said The Court School of Dancing of Prescot Road in their advert in the paper. "Also the waltz, quickstep, cha cha, etc. – Find the fun in learning to dance with us." Meanwhile the Hippodrome was advertising their new late night bingo sessions on Thursday and Friday evenings with "eyes down" at 10pm and admission 1/6 with books costing 2 shillings.
The Chief Fire Officer published his biennial report this week in which he revealed that of the 1,183 calls received by the St Helens Fire Brigade between April 1968 and March 1969, 266 of them had been false alarms. Statistics showed that the percentage of false alarms had increased markedly over the years with 192 such calls having been made between 1964 and ’65.
During 1918 the St Helens Fire Brigade only received eighteen calls in total, partly through electrical appliances not yet making a big impression in households. In that year there was only one, well-intended, false alarm with few people having telephones and phone kiosks not introduced until the 1920s.
Last week a hosepipe ban had been introduced in St Helens after the collapse of part of a road in Ashton that carried the Rivington Aqueduct. This led to a massive leak which had now been repaired and water was flowing again into the Brown Edge reservoirs. However it takes time to build up levels and the town had been going through a dry spell, which was not helping matters.
On the 28th St Helens Corporation's Water Engineer E. K. Astin told the Liverpool Echo that the hosepipe ban would remain in force until the end of August. Although there had finally been some rain it was unlikely to make much difference to the present water shortage as the land was so dry. However Mr Astin said there had been a far better response to the Corporation's appeal to conserve water than expected, although people being away on holiday had also helped.
Surprisingly the expanding village of Rainford only had one pillar box. This was claimed at a council meeting on the 28th when permission was granted for the installation of a second box in Ormskirk Road. Rainford Council also decided that a sub-committee should meet Lancashire County Council to discuss possible sites for a new fire station to replace the existing one in Cross Pit Lane. In addition the councillors decided to make "strong objections" to the Traffic Commissioners over proposals from St Helens Corporation and the Ribble Motor Company to withdraw certain services.
And finally a film guide. From the 28th the musical 'Finian's Rainbow' starring Fred Astaire and Petula Clark was screened at the ABC Savoy in Bridge Street. Meanwhile the Capitol was showing an 11-year-old Korean War film starring Robert Mitchum called 'The Hunters' coupled with a sci-fi film called 'Destination Inner Space'.
Next week's stories will include the hooligans in St Peter's churchyard, the Reginald Road householders who burnt their rates demands, a driving test centre for St Helens, the Mormons plan to build a chapel at Four Acre, a temporary reprieve for town centre parking charges and a claim that Shakespeare appeared at Bold Hall.
We begin on the 22nd when Pauline Hassingham from Blackdown Grove in Parr and John Tye from Windleshaw Road got married at Gretna Green. The age of marriage without parental consent was then 21. As John's parents considered the 19-year-old too young to get wed, the pair eloped to Gretna to do the deed. Pauline and John had been courting for three years and were happy to tell their story on the front page of the Reporter. I wonder what their parents made of that?
At Rainford Council's Housing Committee meeting on the 22nd it was decided to build homes for the elderly on the site of 100-year-old houses in Victoria Street and Alfred Street. "Some development should certainly be carried out here", said Councillor Tom Wainwright (my Dad!). "The place as it now stands is an eye-sore. It is not fair to the people living nearby." Cllr. Mike Samuel described it as "one of the worst spots in Rainford" and called for the new development to be a "show place".
A new initiative got underway on the 23rd at the Tolver Street Youth Club and the premises of the YWCA in Nunn Street in Parr. The 366 Group – an offshoot of the Christian Life Movement – launched a scheme to keep youngsters occupied during the summer holidays.
Children between the ages of seven and eleven were able to play football and other supervised activities to give parents the peace of mind of knowing where their kids were. The Group only made a small charge for each child and they appealed for the public to donate pencils, paper, paint, orange juice and biscuits.
During the 1960s many firms in St Helens provided outings and Christmas parties for their retired employees. This week three coaches of pensioners – who had formerly worked for Manweb and the Gas Board – left for a day out in Blackpool accompanied by their wives. The trip including a meal and going to watch the 'Val Doonican Show' at the Opera House, that also included Arthur Askey. That was just one of fourteen summer shows in Blackpool that were said to feature a total of thirty-nine stars.
By October or November, once the water had settled, it would be restocked with thousands of fish. The Angling Club secretary, John Stott, was delighted with the operation saying: "We have one of our own pumps working. Roughdale's were kind enough to loan us one and they say we can take as much water as we want." The club would not be removing the rotting fish, however. "We shall leave them and if they float we will take them out", said Mr Stott. "We just can't get to them on the mud."
At what was described as an emergency meeting of the St Helens RLFC board of directors on the 23rd, approval was granted for the signing of Ken Irvine. The Australian Test wing threequarter had agreed to play for Saints as a guest player for 14 weeks during the coming season while on holiday. Chairman Harry Cook sent a telegram to North Sydney, Irvine's club, saying: "Irvine offer definitely accepted. Arrival here as soon as possible. Our first game August 16."
There was good news for the people of Parr in the St Helens Reporter on the 25th as they described how the council had changed its mind over the provision of swimming baths. A few weeks ago the Reporter had said the council's decision to install a 9-hole golf course in Sherdley Park rather than the long-promised pool had sent a "wave of bitterness" through Parr. The reason was claimed to be financial, with the golf course estimated at £63,000 but new swimming baths would have cost £500,000 (around £9m in today's money).
There had been a protest march and petition against the decision with people claiming that the council had got its priorities wrong. So the councillors had buckled under public pressure and set up a sub-committee to draw up plans for a smaller scheme costing £250,000. Protest leader Richard Coulburn from Cherry Tree Drive told the paper: "We are pleased, but shan't be satisfied until we see the plans in black and white. The half-million pounds estimate was for an Olympic-style pool, but we will be happy with a smaller one."
The Apollo 11 Lunar Module had landed on the Moon on the 20th and the Reporter described how a St Helens' man had been involved in the historic mission. John Fletcher had been employed at the NASA HQ in Bermuda tracking the command module and passing the data onto Mission Control. The former West Park pupil's parents lived in Kiln Lane and he had worked on radio communications for Cable and Wireless for several years.
The Reporter also described how the Ministry of Defence had given up their interest in Billinge Beacon and passed responsibility onto a local charity board that owned the land. The Ministry had controlled the beacon since the war with the Royal Observer Corps using it as a spotter site. Billinge Council was now considering taking over the upkeep of the stone beacon, which needed repairs and protection against vandals.
"Come and Learn the St. Helens Wiggle", said The Court School of Dancing of Prescot Road in their advert in the paper. "Also the waltz, quickstep, cha cha, etc. – Find the fun in learning to dance with us." Meanwhile the Hippodrome was advertising their new late night bingo sessions on Thursday and Friday evenings with "eyes down" at 10pm and admission 1/6 with books costing 2 shillings.
The Chief Fire Officer published his biennial report this week in which he revealed that of the 1,183 calls received by the St Helens Fire Brigade between April 1968 and March 1969, 266 of them had been false alarms. Statistics showed that the percentage of false alarms had increased markedly over the years with 192 such calls having been made between 1964 and ’65.
During 1918 the St Helens Fire Brigade only received eighteen calls in total, partly through electrical appliances not yet making a big impression in households. In that year there was only one, well-intended, false alarm with few people having telephones and phone kiosks not introduced until the 1920s.
Last week a hosepipe ban had been introduced in St Helens after the collapse of part of a road in Ashton that carried the Rivington Aqueduct. This led to a massive leak which had now been repaired and water was flowing again into the Brown Edge reservoirs. However it takes time to build up levels and the town had been going through a dry spell, which was not helping matters.
On the 28th St Helens Corporation's Water Engineer E. K. Astin told the Liverpool Echo that the hosepipe ban would remain in force until the end of August. Although there had finally been some rain it was unlikely to make much difference to the present water shortage as the land was so dry. However Mr Astin said there had been a far better response to the Corporation's appeal to conserve water than expected, although people being away on holiday had also helped.
Surprisingly the expanding village of Rainford only had one pillar box. This was claimed at a council meeting on the 28th when permission was granted for the installation of a second box in Ormskirk Road. Rainford Council also decided that a sub-committee should meet Lancashire County Council to discuss possible sites for a new fire station to replace the existing one in Cross Pit Lane. In addition the councillors decided to make "strong objections" to the Traffic Commissioners over proposals from St Helens Corporation and the Ribble Motor Company to withdraw certain services.
And finally a film guide. From the 28th the musical 'Finian's Rainbow' starring Fred Astaire and Petula Clark was screened at the ABC Savoy in Bridge Street. Meanwhile the Capitol was showing an 11-year-old Korean War film starring Robert Mitchum called 'The Hunters' coupled with a sci-fi film called 'Destination Inner Space'.
Next week's stories will include the hooligans in St Peter's churchyard, the Reginald Road householders who burnt their rates demands, a driving test centre for St Helens, the Mormons plan to build a chapel at Four Acre, a temporary reprieve for town centre parking charges and a claim that Shakespeare appeared at Bold Hall.