FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 22 - 28 DECEMBER 1975
This week's many stories include the Christmas Day babies, the vandalised Christmas crib at the Town Hall, the reduced need for students to deliver the Christmas mail, the vain attempt to save a baby's life in Sutton, a Christmas TV guide, a bigger mortuary is planned for the Town Hall and the shoppers that fell down the stairs in the Tontine Market are told they were wearing the wrong type of shoes.
Do you remember the days when students delivered the Christmas post? In 1974 as many as 240 temporary recruits were hired at Christmastime in St Helens, the majority of them students on holiday. However, in 1975 only 140 had been needed. That was through a reduction in the volume of Christmas mail, caused by a near doubling of postal charges.
Last Christmas first-class stamps cost 4½p and second-class 3½p. In 1975 first-class post cost 8½p and second-class 6½p (currently in 2025 it’s £1.70 and 87p!). The 1975 inflation rate of 24% had a lot to do with the price rise, which was attributed as the cause of a 20% drop in Christmas card posting in St Helens. The St Helens Postmaster Harry Hart said the 240 temps last year had been very responsible and added that he was very sorry that he had needed to cut back and disappoint 100 prospective posties.
A council meeting heard this week that the accidents that had been taking place on the central staircase of the new Tontine Market had been caused by shoppers wearing the "wrong type of footwear". Soon after the market had opened, there had been complaints of a number of people falling down the stairs and needing to be taken to hospital.
But Environmental Health Committee Chairman, Gerry Baxter, stated that since the steps had been covered in a non-slip material, four accidents had still taken place but most had not been attributed to the steps. Councillor Charlie Martin said: "There are a lot of elderly people using the market who are really afraid of that staircase. Wouldn't it be advisable to have a handrail up the middle?" But Councillor Baxter replied that the staircase wasn't wide enough and a central handrail would limit movement.
Schoolboy Philip Bailey spoke to the St Helens Reporter on the 23rd about how he had battled in vain to save the life of a 17-month-old baby in a Sutton house fire. The paper said the 15-year-old, speaking in a trembling voice, had told them how he had heard little Mark Thompson's cries but choking fumes and leaping flames had beaten him back from his bedroom.
Philip – who used to babysit for Mark – had raised the alarm at breakfast time on the previous Saturday by dashing to a telephone in New Street. The baby's father thought that one of his other children had caused the fire through playing with matches inside the baby's room. Margaret Darlington of Beth Avenue had set up a fund in aid of the Thompson family and already £150 had been collected for the baby's funeral, as well as Christmas presents for the three boys in the family.
Christmas Day was the diamond-wedding anniversary of William and Florence Swift. The couple were both aged 82 and lived in Martins Avenue in Windlehurst and the couple had met in Recreation Park. Florence told the Reporter, "I pinched his jacket". To which William quipped, "And I sentenced her to life by marrying her."
The paper described how fears of increased vandalism had forced Rainford Parish Council to request that a resident police sergeant be based in their village. Their MP Robert Kilroy-Silk was planning to question the Home Secretary about the matter and Councillor Audrey Berry was going to raise the question with the local police authority on Merseyside County Council.
The council had discussed the situation at a recent meeting where it was stated that the village once had a resident police sergeant when there was only a population of 2,000. But now it numbered over 9,000 and had to do without a sergeant. Rainford Police Station in Church Road was only manned from 7 pm to 8 pm each evening, although a constable did report to the station at 6 am, 2 pm and 10 pm. One councillor complained that he had tried to contact the station ten times one day before he could get hold of a policeman.
The Reporter had an extensive Christmas TV Guide and said the BBC had a "four-day bonanza" offering what was believed to be the most "concentrated line-up of talent" ever seen over the Christmas period. A highlight was the return of Morecambe and Wise on Christmas night (still shown above) with special guests Diana Rigg, Des O'Connor, Gordon Jackson, Robin Day and Pan's People. There were also special editions of Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em, Dad's Army, The Liver Birds, Are You Being Served, Bruce Forsyth and the Generation Game, The Mike Yarwood Show and the Dick Emery Show.
ITV to my mind never seemed to make as much effort over Christmas as the BBC did to entertain viewers but they did have two one-hour "fun and song packed" specials hosted by Les Dawson that featured famous guest stars and personalities. And on Christmas morning, Jimmy Tarbuck visited St Luke's Hospital in Bradford.
I'm not sure whether Christmas is the right time for a news story about a mortuary. But the Reporter did say that the council's Environmental Health Committee had now approved plans to enlarge the mortuary opposite St Helens Town Hall. The improvements would include a 12-body storeroom, as opposed to the present three.
But as people die others come into this world. St Helens' first Christmas child was born at 4:50 am on the 25th to Rita Bamber at her home in Beth Avenue in Sutton, with the baby girl weighing 5 lb 8 oz. At Whiston Hospital five babies were born. The first was a little girl born at 7 am to Elizabeth Hull of Chadwick Road in St Helens.
Then at 4:30 pm, June Davock of O’Brien Grove in Parr gave birth to a girl weighing 6 lb 3 oz, with a boy born at 9:15 pm to Joan Bellgrove of Hawthorn Drive in Eccleston. The Reporter did not name the other two mothers or any of the children's names.
On Boxing Day a council workman who had taken his young daughter to see the Christmas crib outside St Helens Town Hall found it had been vandalised. Part of the wall had been ripped and the head of an ox and the legs of the figure representing the infant Jesus in the cradle had been hacked off.
Church leader Monsignor Hugh Fitzpatrick dubbed what happened "the mark of Satan" and said it was "utterly shameful. Those responsible have brought disgrace upon the town and offend people of all denominations. The crib is a constant reminder of the message of Christmas."
The Vicar of St Helens, the Rev Kenneth Coates, described the act as a total disgrace and St Helens Council officials were debating whether to take down the 25-year-old crib a week earlier than usual to prevent further destruction. It was thought likely that the damage had been done on Christmas Eve after Christmas celebrations in nearby pubs but wasn't noticed until Boxing Day.
Ray Wright who was part of the authority’s public relations team said: "This is absolutely outrageous. The crib is viewed by a tremendous number of children and adults, and we are very sorry for them to have such a well-loved feature of Christmas destroyed. This is the first time such wanton vandalism has been committed during the many years the crib has stood outside the Town Hall."
Boxing Day also saw Steven Spielberg's 'Jaws' come to St Helens. The thriller about a man-eating shark that attacked beachgoers began its run at the ABC Savoy and would last a record 8 weeks.
It was a tradition in the late 19th century and for much of the 20th for 'The Messiah' to be performed in St Helens every Christmas / New Year. The very first performance of Handel's oratorio had taken place in the town in January 1874 when it was presented in the Volunteer Hall. On the 27th The Messiah was again performed to a capacity-filled Town Hall and it received good reviews.
And at the Capitol Cinema from the 28th, the 1958 film 'The 7th Voyage of Sinbad' replaced 'The Land That Time Forgot' starring Doug McClure. With ABC owning both the Savoy and the Capitol, it appeared that they had decided not to offer any strong competition to Jaws.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the plague of thefts from council building sites, the sale of land to Pilks for a new access road, the road improvements in St Helens town centre and the over-addressed Christmas card that proved a poser for the postie.
Do you remember the days when students delivered the Christmas post? In 1974 as many as 240 temporary recruits were hired at Christmastime in St Helens, the majority of them students on holiday. However, in 1975 only 140 had been needed. That was through a reduction in the volume of Christmas mail, caused by a near doubling of postal charges.
Last Christmas first-class stamps cost 4½p and second-class 3½p. In 1975 first-class post cost 8½p and second-class 6½p (currently in 2025 it’s £1.70 and 87p!). The 1975 inflation rate of 24% had a lot to do with the price rise, which was attributed as the cause of a 20% drop in Christmas card posting in St Helens. The St Helens Postmaster Harry Hart said the 240 temps last year had been very responsible and added that he was very sorry that he had needed to cut back and disappoint 100 prospective posties.
A council meeting heard this week that the accidents that had been taking place on the central staircase of the new Tontine Market had been caused by shoppers wearing the "wrong type of footwear". Soon after the market had opened, there had been complaints of a number of people falling down the stairs and needing to be taken to hospital.
But Environmental Health Committee Chairman, Gerry Baxter, stated that since the steps had been covered in a non-slip material, four accidents had still taken place but most had not been attributed to the steps. Councillor Charlie Martin said: "There are a lot of elderly people using the market who are really afraid of that staircase. Wouldn't it be advisable to have a handrail up the middle?" But Councillor Baxter replied that the staircase wasn't wide enough and a central handrail would limit movement.
Schoolboy Philip Bailey spoke to the St Helens Reporter on the 23rd about how he had battled in vain to save the life of a 17-month-old baby in a Sutton house fire. The paper said the 15-year-old, speaking in a trembling voice, had told them how he had heard little Mark Thompson's cries but choking fumes and leaping flames had beaten him back from his bedroom.
Philip – who used to babysit for Mark – had raised the alarm at breakfast time on the previous Saturday by dashing to a telephone in New Street. The baby's father thought that one of his other children had caused the fire through playing with matches inside the baby's room. Margaret Darlington of Beth Avenue had set up a fund in aid of the Thompson family and already £150 had been collected for the baby's funeral, as well as Christmas presents for the three boys in the family.
Christmas Day was the diamond-wedding anniversary of William and Florence Swift. The couple were both aged 82 and lived in Martins Avenue in Windlehurst and the couple had met in Recreation Park. Florence told the Reporter, "I pinched his jacket". To which William quipped, "And I sentenced her to life by marrying her."
The paper described how fears of increased vandalism had forced Rainford Parish Council to request that a resident police sergeant be based in their village. Their MP Robert Kilroy-Silk was planning to question the Home Secretary about the matter and Councillor Audrey Berry was going to raise the question with the local police authority on Merseyside County Council.
The council had discussed the situation at a recent meeting where it was stated that the village once had a resident police sergeant when there was only a population of 2,000. But now it numbered over 9,000 and had to do without a sergeant. Rainford Police Station in Church Road was only manned from 7 pm to 8 pm each evening, although a constable did report to the station at 6 am, 2 pm and 10 pm. One councillor complained that he had tried to contact the station ten times one day before he could get hold of a policeman.
ITV to my mind never seemed to make as much effort over Christmas as the BBC did to entertain viewers but they did have two one-hour "fun and song packed" specials hosted by Les Dawson that featured famous guest stars and personalities. And on Christmas morning, Jimmy Tarbuck visited St Luke's Hospital in Bradford.
I'm not sure whether Christmas is the right time for a news story about a mortuary. But the Reporter did say that the council's Environmental Health Committee had now approved plans to enlarge the mortuary opposite St Helens Town Hall. The improvements would include a 12-body storeroom, as opposed to the present three.
But as people die others come into this world. St Helens' first Christmas child was born at 4:50 am on the 25th to Rita Bamber at her home in Beth Avenue in Sutton, with the baby girl weighing 5 lb 8 oz. At Whiston Hospital five babies were born. The first was a little girl born at 7 am to Elizabeth Hull of Chadwick Road in St Helens.
Then at 4:30 pm, June Davock of O’Brien Grove in Parr gave birth to a girl weighing 6 lb 3 oz, with a boy born at 9:15 pm to Joan Bellgrove of Hawthorn Drive in Eccleston. The Reporter did not name the other two mothers or any of the children's names.
On Boxing Day a council workman who had taken his young daughter to see the Christmas crib outside St Helens Town Hall found it had been vandalised. Part of the wall had been ripped and the head of an ox and the legs of the figure representing the infant Jesus in the cradle had been hacked off.
Church leader Monsignor Hugh Fitzpatrick dubbed what happened "the mark of Satan" and said it was "utterly shameful. Those responsible have brought disgrace upon the town and offend people of all denominations. The crib is a constant reminder of the message of Christmas."
The Vicar of St Helens, the Rev Kenneth Coates, described the act as a total disgrace and St Helens Council officials were debating whether to take down the 25-year-old crib a week earlier than usual to prevent further destruction. It was thought likely that the damage had been done on Christmas Eve after Christmas celebrations in nearby pubs but wasn't noticed until Boxing Day.
Ray Wright who was part of the authority’s public relations team said: "This is absolutely outrageous. The crib is viewed by a tremendous number of children and adults, and we are very sorry for them to have such a well-loved feature of Christmas destroyed. This is the first time such wanton vandalism has been committed during the many years the crib has stood outside the Town Hall."
Boxing Day also saw Steven Spielberg's 'Jaws' come to St Helens. The thriller about a man-eating shark that attacked beachgoers began its run at the ABC Savoy and would last a record 8 weeks.
It was a tradition in the late 19th century and for much of the 20th for 'The Messiah' to be performed in St Helens every Christmas / New Year. The very first performance of Handel's oratorio had taken place in the town in January 1874 when it was presented in the Volunteer Hall. On the 27th The Messiah was again performed to a capacity-filled Town Hall and it received good reviews.
And at the Capitol Cinema from the 28th, the 1958 film 'The 7th Voyage of Sinbad' replaced 'The Land That Time Forgot' starring Doug McClure. With ABC owning both the Savoy and the Capitol, it appeared that they had decided not to offer any strong competition to Jaws.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the plague of thefts from council building sites, the sale of land to Pilks for a new access road, the road improvements in St Helens town centre and the over-addressed Christmas card that proved a poser for the postie.
This week's many stories include the Christmas Day babies, the vandalised Christmas crib at the Town Hall, the reduced need for students to deliver the Christmas mail, the vain attempt to save a baby's life in Sutton, a Christmas TV guide, a bigger mortuary is planned for the Town Hall and the shoppers that fell down the stairs in the Tontine Market are told they were wearing the wrong type of shoes.
Do you remember the days when students delivered the Christmas post?
In 1974 as many as 240 temporary recruits were hired at Christmastime in St Helens, the majority of them students on holiday. However, in 1975 only 140 had been needed.
That was through a reduction in the volume of Christmas mail, caused by a near doubling of postal charges.
Last Christmas first-class stamps cost 4½p and second-class 3½p. In 1975 first-class post cost 8½p and second-class 6½p (currently in 2025 it’s £1.70 and 87p!).
The 1975 inflation rate of 24% had a lot to do with the price rise, which was attributed as the cause of a 20% drop in Christmas card posting in St Helens.
The St Helens Postmaster Harry Hart said the 240 temps last year had been very responsible and added that he was very sorry that he had needed to cut back and disappoint 100 prospective posties.
A council meeting heard this week that the accidents that had been taking place on the central staircase of the new Tontine Market had been caused by shoppers wearing the "wrong type of footwear".
Soon after the market had opened, there had been complaints of a number of people falling down the stairs and needing to be taken to hospital.
But Environmental Health Committee Chairman, Gerry Baxter, stated that since the steps had been covered in a non-slip material, four accidents had still taken place but most had not been attributed to the steps.
Councillor Charlie Martin said: "There are a lot of elderly people using the market who are really afraid of that staircase. Wouldn't it be advisable to have a handrail up the middle?"
But Councillor Baxter replied that the staircase wasn't wide enough and a central handrail would limit movement.
Schoolboy Philip Bailey spoke to the St Helens Reporter on the 23rd about how he had battled in vain to save the life of a 17-month-old baby in a Sutton house fire.
The paper said the 15-year-old, speaking in a trembling voice, had told them how he had heard little Mark Thompson's cries but choking fumes and leaping flames had beaten him back from his bedroom.
Philip – who used to babysit for Mark – had raised the alarm at breakfast time on the previous Saturday by dashing to a telephone in New Street.
The baby's father thought that one of his other children had caused the fire through playing with matches inside the baby's room.
Margaret Darlington of Beth Avenue had set up a fund in aid of the Thompson family and already £150 had been collected for the baby's funeral, as well as Christmas presents for the three boys in the family.
Christmas Day was the diamond-wedding anniversary of William and Florence Swift.
The couple were both aged 82 and lived in Martins Avenue in Windlehurst and the couple had met in Recreation Park.
Florence told the Reporter, "I pinched his jacket". To which William quipped, "And I sentenced her to life by marrying her."
The paper described how fears of increased vandalism had forced Rainford Parish Council to request that a resident police sergeant be based in their village.
Their MP Robert Kilroy-Silk was planning to question the Home Secretary about the matter and Councillor Audrey Berry was going to raise the question with the local police authority on Merseyside County Council.
The council had discussed the situation at a recent meeting where it was stated that the village once had a resident police sergeant when there was only a population of 2,000. But now it numbered over 9,000 and had to do without a sergeant.
Rainford Police Station in Church Road was only manned from 7 pm to 8 pm each evening, although a constable did report to the station at 6 am, 2 pm and 10 pm.
One councillor complained that he had tried to contact the station ten times one day before he could get hold of a policeman.
The Reporter had an extensive Christmas TV Guide and said the BBC had a "four-day bonanza" offering what was believed to be the most "concentrated line-up of talent" ever seen over the Christmas period.
A highlight was the return of Morecambe and Wise on Christmas night (still shown above) with special guests Diana Rigg, Des O'Connor, Gordon Jackson, Robin Day and Pan's People.
There were also special editions of Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em, Dad's Army, The Liver Birds, Are You Being Served, Bruce Forsyth and the Generation Game, The Mike Yarwood Show and the Dick Emery Show.
ITV to my mind never seemed to make as much effort over Christmas as the BBC did to entertain viewers but they did have two one-hour "fun and song packed" specials hosted by Les Dawson that featured famous guest stars and personalities.
And on Christmas morning, Jimmy Tarbuck visited St Luke's Hospital in Bradford.
I'm not sure whether Christmas is the right time for a news story about a mortuary. But the Reporter did say that the council's Environmental Health Committee had now approved plans to enlarge the mortuary opposite St Helens Town Hall.
The improvements would include a 12-body storeroom, as opposed to the present three.
But as people die others come into this world. St Helens' first Christmas child was born at 4:50 am on the 25th to Rita Bamber at her home in Beth Avenue in Sutton, with the baby girl weighing 5 lb 8 oz.
At Whiston Hospital five babies were born. The first was a little girl born at 7 am to Elizabeth Hull of Chadwick Road in St Helens.
Then at 4:30 pm, June Davock of O’Brien Grove in Parr gave birth to a girl weighing 6 lb 3 oz, with a boy born at 9:15 pm to Joan Bellgrove of Hawthorn Drive in Eccleston.
The Reporter did not name the other two mothers or any of the children's names.
On Boxing Day a council workman who had taken his young daughter to see the Christmas crib outside St Helens Town Hall found it had been vandalised.
Part of the wall had been ripped and the head of an ox and the legs of the figure representing the infant Jesus in the cradle had been hacked off.
Church leader Monsignor Hugh Fitzpatrick dubbed what happened "the mark of Satan" and said it was "utterly shameful. Those responsible have brought disgrace upon the town and offend people of all denominations. The crib is a constant reminder of the message of Christmas."
The Vicar of St Helens, the Rev Kenneth Coates, described the act as a total disgrace and St Helens Council officials were debating whether to take down the 25-year-old crib a week earlier than usual to prevent further destruction.
It was thought likely that the damage had been done on Christmas Eve after Christmas celebrations in nearby pubs but wasn't noticed until Boxing Day.
Ray Wright who was part of the authority’s public relations team said:
"This is absolutely outrageous. The crib is viewed by a tremendous number of children and adults, and we are very sorry for them to have such a well-loved feature of Christmas destroyed.
"This is the first time such wanton vandalism has been committed during the many years the crib has stood outside the Town Hall."
Boxing Day also saw Steven Spielberg's 'Jaws' come to St Helens. The thriller about a man-eating shark that attacked beachgoers began its run at the ABC Savoy and would last a record 8 weeks.
It was a tradition in the late 19th century and for much of the 20th for 'The Messiah' to be performed in St Helens every Christmas / New Year.
The very first performance of Handel's oratorio had taken place in the town in January 1874 when it was presented in the Volunteer Hall.
On the 27th The Messiah was again performed to a capacity-filled Town Hall and it received good reviews.
And at the Capitol Cinema from the 28th, the 1958 film 'The 7th Voyage of Sinbad' replaced 'The Land That Time Forgot' starring Doug McClure.
With ABC owning both the Savoy and the Capitol, it appeared that they had decided not to offer any strong competition to Jaws.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the plague of thefts from council building sites, the sale of land to Pilks for a new access road, the road improvements in St Helens town centre and the over-addressed Christmas card that proved a poser for the postie.
Do you remember the days when students delivered the Christmas post?
In 1974 as many as 240 temporary recruits were hired at Christmastime in St Helens, the majority of them students on holiday. However, in 1975 only 140 had been needed.
That was through a reduction in the volume of Christmas mail, caused by a near doubling of postal charges.
Last Christmas first-class stamps cost 4½p and second-class 3½p. In 1975 first-class post cost 8½p and second-class 6½p (currently in 2025 it’s £1.70 and 87p!).
The 1975 inflation rate of 24% had a lot to do with the price rise, which was attributed as the cause of a 20% drop in Christmas card posting in St Helens.
The St Helens Postmaster Harry Hart said the 240 temps last year had been very responsible and added that he was very sorry that he had needed to cut back and disappoint 100 prospective posties.
A council meeting heard this week that the accidents that had been taking place on the central staircase of the new Tontine Market had been caused by shoppers wearing the "wrong type of footwear".
Soon after the market had opened, there had been complaints of a number of people falling down the stairs and needing to be taken to hospital.
But Environmental Health Committee Chairman, Gerry Baxter, stated that since the steps had been covered in a non-slip material, four accidents had still taken place but most had not been attributed to the steps.
Councillor Charlie Martin said: "There are a lot of elderly people using the market who are really afraid of that staircase. Wouldn't it be advisable to have a handrail up the middle?"
But Councillor Baxter replied that the staircase wasn't wide enough and a central handrail would limit movement.
Schoolboy Philip Bailey spoke to the St Helens Reporter on the 23rd about how he had battled in vain to save the life of a 17-month-old baby in a Sutton house fire.
The paper said the 15-year-old, speaking in a trembling voice, had told them how he had heard little Mark Thompson's cries but choking fumes and leaping flames had beaten him back from his bedroom.
Philip – who used to babysit for Mark – had raised the alarm at breakfast time on the previous Saturday by dashing to a telephone in New Street.
The baby's father thought that one of his other children had caused the fire through playing with matches inside the baby's room.
Margaret Darlington of Beth Avenue had set up a fund in aid of the Thompson family and already £150 had been collected for the baby's funeral, as well as Christmas presents for the three boys in the family.
Christmas Day was the diamond-wedding anniversary of William and Florence Swift.
The couple were both aged 82 and lived in Martins Avenue in Windlehurst and the couple had met in Recreation Park.
Florence told the Reporter, "I pinched his jacket". To which William quipped, "And I sentenced her to life by marrying her."
The paper described how fears of increased vandalism had forced Rainford Parish Council to request that a resident police sergeant be based in their village.
Their MP Robert Kilroy-Silk was planning to question the Home Secretary about the matter and Councillor Audrey Berry was going to raise the question with the local police authority on Merseyside County Council.
The council had discussed the situation at a recent meeting where it was stated that the village once had a resident police sergeant when there was only a population of 2,000. But now it numbered over 9,000 and had to do without a sergeant.
Rainford Police Station in Church Road was only manned from 7 pm to 8 pm each evening, although a constable did report to the station at 6 am, 2 pm and 10 pm.
One councillor complained that he had tried to contact the station ten times one day before he could get hold of a policeman.
The Reporter had an extensive Christmas TV Guide and said the BBC had a "four-day bonanza" offering what was believed to be the most "concentrated line-up of talent" ever seen over the Christmas period.
There were also special editions of Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em, Dad's Army, The Liver Birds, Are You Being Served, Bruce Forsyth and the Generation Game, The Mike Yarwood Show and the Dick Emery Show.
ITV to my mind never seemed to make as much effort over Christmas as the BBC did to entertain viewers but they did have two one-hour "fun and song packed" specials hosted by Les Dawson that featured famous guest stars and personalities.
And on Christmas morning, Jimmy Tarbuck visited St Luke's Hospital in Bradford.
I'm not sure whether Christmas is the right time for a news story about a mortuary. But the Reporter did say that the council's Environmental Health Committee had now approved plans to enlarge the mortuary opposite St Helens Town Hall.
The improvements would include a 12-body storeroom, as opposed to the present three.
But as people die others come into this world. St Helens' first Christmas child was born at 4:50 am on the 25th to Rita Bamber at her home in Beth Avenue in Sutton, with the baby girl weighing 5 lb 8 oz.
At Whiston Hospital five babies were born. The first was a little girl born at 7 am to Elizabeth Hull of Chadwick Road in St Helens.
Then at 4:30 pm, June Davock of O’Brien Grove in Parr gave birth to a girl weighing 6 lb 3 oz, with a boy born at 9:15 pm to Joan Bellgrove of Hawthorn Drive in Eccleston.
The Reporter did not name the other two mothers or any of the children's names.
On Boxing Day a council workman who had taken his young daughter to see the Christmas crib outside St Helens Town Hall found it had been vandalised.
Part of the wall had been ripped and the head of an ox and the legs of the figure representing the infant Jesus in the cradle had been hacked off.
Church leader Monsignor Hugh Fitzpatrick dubbed what happened "the mark of Satan" and said it was "utterly shameful. Those responsible have brought disgrace upon the town and offend people of all denominations. The crib is a constant reminder of the message of Christmas."
The Vicar of St Helens, the Rev Kenneth Coates, described the act as a total disgrace and St Helens Council officials were debating whether to take down the 25-year-old crib a week earlier than usual to prevent further destruction.
It was thought likely that the damage had been done on Christmas Eve after Christmas celebrations in nearby pubs but wasn't noticed until Boxing Day.
Ray Wright who was part of the authority’s public relations team said:
"This is absolutely outrageous. The crib is viewed by a tremendous number of children and adults, and we are very sorry for them to have such a well-loved feature of Christmas destroyed.
"This is the first time such wanton vandalism has been committed during the many years the crib has stood outside the Town Hall."
Boxing Day also saw Steven Spielberg's 'Jaws' come to St Helens. The thriller about a man-eating shark that attacked beachgoers began its run at the ABC Savoy and would last a record 8 weeks.
It was a tradition in the late 19th century and for much of the 20th for 'The Messiah' to be performed in St Helens every Christmas / New Year.
The very first performance of Handel's oratorio had taken place in the town in January 1874 when it was presented in the Volunteer Hall.
On the 27th The Messiah was again performed to a capacity-filled Town Hall and it received good reviews.
And at the Capitol Cinema from the 28th, the 1958 film 'The 7th Voyage of Sinbad' replaced 'The Land That Time Forgot' starring Doug McClure.
With ABC owning both the Savoy and the Capitol, it appeared that they had decided not to offer any strong competition to Jaws.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the plague of thefts from council building sites, the sale of land to Pilks for a new access road, the road improvements in St Helens town centre and the over-addressed Christmas card that proved a poser for the postie.