FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (23rd - 29th DECEMBER 1969)
This week's stories include the toy doctor from Nutgrove, Nevin's "drop-a-line-to Santa" campaign, a new shopping precinct for Fingerpost, the dark and dangerous mornings in Walkers Lane, the "one trip" beer bottles of Rockware Glass and there is a special feature on New Year babies in the Reporter.
We begin on the 23rd with the 100th birthday of Laura Turley who became St Helens' only centenarian and received the customary telegram from the Queen. Laura's husband had died as far back as 1903 and all her four children had predeceased her. The husband of her granddaughter now ran the family furnishing business of Turley and Sons in George Street.
A 16-year-old motorbike rider from Rainhill told St Helens Juvenile Court on the 23rd that he had been driving to a garage in Blackbrook Road to obtain his L-plates. However the police stopped him on the way and booked him for not having any plates and the magistrates fined him £3!
The first meeting of the Park Road greyhound course had taken place in 1932. There had been many meetings since then and during the evening of the 23rd forty dogs raced on the 487-yard course with names such as: Gay Dog, Batman, Tom Thumb, Chitty Bang, Indian Chief, Wee Girl, Pale Face, Jazz-Band and Totty.
The St Helens Education Department announced this week that they were hoping to make a start on building a new school within the next year. This would accommodate pupils from the old St. Thomas' School in Kirkland Street and the former St. Mary's Primary School in York Street.
There is not always a great deal of news at Christmas time. So the St Helens Reporter's main story on the 24th would probably not have had such prominence at other times of the year. The front-page splash concerned Ellen Cunliffe of Windermere Avenue in Clinkham Wood who had been turned down for a job with Moss Bank Labour Club. Mrs Cunliffe had been told that her rejection was for political reasons and was, she believed, because of her criticism of a labour candidate last May and her refusal to vote for him.
The Reporter had a special feature on New Year babies, with the first twelve born in St Helens after midnight on December 31st set to receive a 30-shilling gift from the paper. In addition Cholerton's of 166 Duke Street would present the mother of the first New Year's baby with a framed photo of her child and Practical Credit Services would give a £5 voucher.
Nevins would also be presenting £1 vouchers to the mothers of the first five babies and P. and H. Jolley were giving the same amount to the first three baby's mothers. £1 doesn't sound very much but in today's money it is worth almost £20. Other advertisers included Lesley's of Westfield Street, "babies and children's outfitters"; P. A. White, 56 - 58 North Road, "for baby foods"; Prestts 32 - 34 Duke Street, "1970 models of prams now on show" and Haywards, 33 Westfield Street, "the best buys for baby".
The Reporter also profiled "toy doctor" Douglas Side of Nutgrove Hall Drive who repaired thrown away and broken toys. Douglas began his enterprise by phoning up friends and relatives, advertising in magazines and he even hunted for discarded toys on rubbish tips. Those that came into his workshop included rusty old prams with wheels missing, dolls with dirty faces and no hair and toy cars without wheels or in need of a coat of paint. A toy surgery was opened in Douglas's garage and along with two helpers he set about mending them. These were then passed onto local under-privileged children who receive few gifts on Christmas Day.
The Reporter predicted that a one-acre shopping precinct that was set to open in Fingerpost next year would bring a new lease of life to a derelict area. The £60,000 scheme (around £1m in today's money) would include a supermarket, eight shops and a doctors' surgery, with parking for about 30 cars. There had been several enquiries from supermarkets but no decision had yet been made as to who would occupy the premises. This was one of several precincts that were being developed in St Helens, with others planned for Chester Lane and the Beth Avenue estate.
Between 1968 and 1971 GMT+1 was employed all year round which meant the mornings in the winter were very dark. There was a letter in the paper from A. Pugh of Tarvin Close in Sutton Manor complaining about the dangerous state of Walkers Lane in the early morning:
"It is absolutely criminal that another winter with the dark mornings has come along, and still we haven't got a pavement. Our children risk their lives every morning going to school. They have to walk along the dimly-lit lane that is covered in mud and pot-holes. It is now a busy lane with cars and lorries going in a couple of new estates and factories. As a parent, I am very worried and concerned for the safety of our children and so ought you, members of St. Helens Corporation."
The half-crown would cease to be legal currency in a few days time and the Rev. Gordon Smith was worried that church collections might suffer. The minister-in-charge of the Billinge Methodist Circuit was quoted in the Reporter as being concerned that churchgoers would downgrade their weekly donation from 2/6 to a florin. "Make it three shillings instead", was his advice.
Jack Nevin was pictured in the Reporter going through bundles of letters sent by St Helens' children to Father Christmas. The "drop-a-line-to Santa" campaign had been a promotion with KY Canned Fruit. In order to receive a reply from Father Christmas, a label from a can bought from Nevins had to be attached to the child's letter. The youngsters also received a "Kool Yule" lapel badge and the senders of the most amusing and interesting letters received model Koala bears. Almost 500 letters were received with some children asking Santa for dogs, ponies and even brothers and sisters!
"One trip" was the name given to non-returnable, no-deposit bottles, which had been recently pioneered in this country by Rockware Glass (pictured above). They were given that name because purchasers of bottled beer or soft drinks would usually have to make a second journey to the shop to return the empty bottle and retrieve their deposit. Rockware had designed a "turn off" crown cap that allowed the one trip bottle to be opened or resealed with a single twist.
The company that manufactured five million bottles and jars daily told the Reporter that last Christmas there were only four well-known brands of one trip bottled beer. However this year there were sixteen brands available through growing sales in supermarkets and a shortage of tinplate for cans caused by a strike at the Port Talbot steelworks. So it was expected that dustbins in St Helens would be overflowing with bottles after Christmas.
Most Christmas parties had been held earlier in the month. However some school parties were held last week, just before the kids broke up. So in the Reporter were happy faces of children from St Vincent's infants' school in Derbyshire Hill and from Thatto Heath Junior School. The Mayor had a fund that helped subsidise the cost of Christmas parties in schools but parents were usually asked to contribute as well.
The Liverpool Echo reported on Christmas Eve that the Prescot by-pass – which was being built at a cost of £500,000 – was expected to be ready to take its first traffic in the middle of January.
Christmas Day was very cold in 1969 but it doesn't appear to have snowed in St Helens. I expect many people will have stayed indoors during the evening and watched BBC1's 'Christmas Night With The Stars', followed by the 'Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show'. I imagine the six people that were injured in a three-vehicle pile-up on the East Lancs had wished they'd stayed in too. The accident occurred in thick fog near the traffic lights at Haydock. Amongst the injured was Edward Williams of Eccleston. All were taken to St Helens Hospital but later allowed home.
Saints enjoyed a sensational 11 - 53 win over Wigan on Boxing Day in front of 13,845 spectators at Central Park. Les Jones scored three tries and Alan Whittle, Jeff Heaton, Frank Wilson and Cliff Watson all scored a brace each. Saints secretary-manager Basil Lowe said he'd been inundated with phone calls after the game. These came from people who hadn't been to the match but had heard the score but couldn't believe their ears!
Thick freezing fog on Merseyside meant that many sporting fixtures planned for the 27th had to be cancelled. These included Saints vs. Leeds at Knowsley Road and Liverpool's Division 1 match against Sheffield Wednesday. However the Hillsiders appear to have been able to navigate their way through the fog to appear at the Theatre Royal during the evening.
The Christmas week films at the ABC Savoy were two Westerns, 'Shane' and 'Sons of Katie Elder', although there were no showings on Christmas Day. However from the 29th more traditional fare for holiday time was screened with a double-header of Walt Disney's 'One Hundred and One Dalmatians' and 'The Horse in the Grey Flannel Suit'.
The Capitol during Christmas week was showing the drama 'Run Wild, Run Free' starring John Mills and Mark Lester. From the 29th 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' starring Dick Van Dyck began a six-day run. The Cap also had a Minors Matinee every Saturday at 2pm for children aged 5 - 15. It cost just 1 shilling for a seat in the stalls and 1/6 in the circle. Cartoons and comedy films were the order of the day.
Next week's stories will include the increasing number of pets put down after Christmas, the London woman who asked St Helens Police to buy her a pie, the guard dog in Walkers Lane that was a friendly witness, a robbery at Duggie Greenall's pub and how cleaners averted a serious fire at St Alban's school.
We begin on the 23rd with the 100th birthday of Laura Turley who became St Helens' only centenarian and received the customary telegram from the Queen. Laura's husband had died as far back as 1903 and all her four children had predeceased her. The husband of her granddaughter now ran the family furnishing business of Turley and Sons in George Street.
A 16-year-old motorbike rider from Rainhill told St Helens Juvenile Court on the 23rd that he had been driving to a garage in Blackbrook Road to obtain his L-plates. However the police stopped him on the way and booked him for not having any plates and the magistrates fined him £3!
The first meeting of the Park Road greyhound course had taken place in 1932. There had been many meetings since then and during the evening of the 23rd forty dogs raced on the 487-yard course with names such as: Gay Dog, Batman, Tom Thumb, Chitty Bang, Indian Chief, Wee Girl, Pale Face, Jazz-Band and Totty.
The St Helens Education Department announced this week that they were hoping to make a start on building a new school within the next year. This would accommodate pupils from the old St. Thomas' School in Kirkland Street and the former St. Mary's Primary School in York Street.
There is not always a great deal of news at Christmas time. So the St Helens Reporter's main story on the 24th would probably not have had such prominence at other times of the year. The front-page splash concerned Ellen Cunliffe of Windermere Avenue in Clinkham Wood who had been turned down for a job with Moss Bank Labour Club. Mrs Cunliffe had been told that her rejection was for political reasons and was, she believed, because of her criticism of a labour candidate last May and her refusal to vote for him.
The Reporter had a special feature on New Year babies, with the first twelve born in St Helens after midnight on December 31st set to receive a 30-shilling gift from the paper. In addition Cholerton's of 166 Duke Street would present the mother of the first New Year's baby with a framed photo of her child and Practical Credit Services would give a £5 voucher.
Nevins would also be presenting £1 vouchers to the mothers of the first five babies and P. and H. Jolley were giving the same amount to the first three baby's mothers. £1 doesn't sound very much but in today's money it is worth almost £20. Other advertisers included Lesley's of Westfield Street, "babies and children's outfitters"; P. A. White, 56 - 58 North Road, "for baby foods"; Prestts 32 - 34 Duke Street, "1970 models of prams now on show" and Haywards, 33 Westfield Street, "the best buys for baby".
The Reporter also profiled "toy doctor" Douglas Side of Nutgrove Hall Drive who repaired thrown away and broken toys. Douglas began his enterprise by phoning up friends and relatives, advertising in magazines and he even hunted for discarded toys on rubbish tips. Those that came into his workshop included rusty old prams with wheels missing, dolls with dirty faces and no hair and toy cars without wheels or in need of a coat of paint. A toy surgery was opened in Douglas's garage and along with two helpers he set about mending them. These were then passed onto local under-privileged children who receive few gifts on Christmas Day.
The Reporter predicted that a one-acre shopping precinct that was set to open in Fingerpost next year would bring a new lease of life to a derelict area. The £60,000 scheme (around £1m in today's money) would include a supermarket, eight shops and a doctors' surgery, with parking for about 30 cars. There had been several enquiries from supermarkets but no decision had yet been made as to who would occupy the premises. This was one of several precincts that were being developed in St Helens, with others planned for Chester Lane and the Beth Avenue estate.
Between 1968 and 1971 GMT+1 was employed all year round which meant the mornings in the winter were very dark. There was a letter in the paper from A. Pugh of Tarvin Close in Sutton Manor complaining about the dangerous state of Walkers Lane in the early morning:
"It is absolutely criminal that another winter with the dark mornings has come along, and still we haven't got a pavement. Our children risk their lives every morning going to school. They have to walk along the dimly-lit lane that is covered in mud and pot-holes. It is now a busy lane with cars and lorries going in a couple of new estates and factories. As a parent, I am very worried and concerned for the safety of our children and so ought you, members of St. Helens Corporation."
The half-crown would cease to be legal currency in a few days time and the Rev. Gordon Smith was worried that church collections might suffer. The minister-in-charge of the Billinge Methodist Circuit was quoted in the Reporter as being concerned that churchgoers would downgrade their weekly donation from 2/6 to a florin. "Make it three shillings instead", was his advice.
Jack Nevin was pictured in the Reporter going through bundles of letters sent by St Helens' children to Father Christmas. The "drop-a-line-to Santa" campaign had been a promotion with KY Canned Fruit. In order to receive a reply from Father Christmas, a label from a can bought from Nevins had to be attached to the child's letter. The youngsters also received a "Kool Yule" lapel badge and the senders of the most amusing and interesting letters received model Koala bears. Almost 500 letters were received with some children asking Santa for dogs, ponies and even brothers and sisters!
The company that manufactured five million bottles and jars daily told the Reporter that last Christmas there were only four well-known brands of one trip bottled beer. However this year there were sixteen brands available through growing sales in supermarkets and a shortage of tinplate for cans caused by a strike at the Port Talbot steelworks. So it was expected that dustbins in St Helens would be overflowing with bottles after Christmas.
Most Christmas parties had been held earlier in the month. However some school parties were held last week, just before the kids broke up. So in the Reporter were happy faces of children from St Vincent's infants' school in Derbyshire Hill and from Thatto Heath Junior School. The Mayor had a fund that helped subsidise the cost of Christmas parties in schools but parents were usually asked to contribute as well.
The Liverpool Echo reported on Christmas Eve that the Prescot by-pass – which was being built at a cost of £500,000 – was expected to be ready to take its first traffic in the middle of January.
Saints enjoyed a sensational 11 - 53 win over Wigan on Boxing Day in front of 13,845 spectators at Central Park. Les Jones scored three tries and Alan Whittle, Jeff Heaton, Frank Wilson and Cliff Watson all scored a brace each. Saints secretary-manager Basil Lowe said he'd been inundated with phone calls after the game. These came from people who hadn't been to the match but had heard the score but couldn't believe their ears!
Thick freezing fog on Merseyside meant that many sporting fixtures planned for the 27th had to be cancelled. These included Saints vs. Leeds at Knowsley Road and Liverpool's Division 1 match against Sheffield Wednesday. However the Hillsiders appear to have been able to navigate their way through the fog to appear at the Theatre Royal during the evening.
The Christmas week films at the ABC Savoy were two Westerns, 'Shane' and 'Sons of Katie Elder', although there were no showings on Christmas Day. However from the 29th more traditional fare for holiday time was screened with a double-header of Walt Disney's 'One Hundred and One Dalmatians' and 'The Horse in the Grey Flannel Suit'.
The Capitol during Christmas week was showing the drama 'Run Wild, Run Free' starring John Mills and Mark Lester. From the 29th 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' starring Dick Van Dyck began a six-day run. The Cap also had a Minors Matinee every Saturday at 2pm for children aged 5 - 15. It cost just 1 shilling for a seat in the stalls and 1/6 in the circle. Cartoons and comedy films were the order of the day.
Next week's stories will include the increasing number of pets put down after Christmas, the London woman who asked St Helens Police to buy her a pie, the guard dog in Walkers Lane that was a friendly witness, a robbery at Duggie Greenall's pub and how cleaners averted a serious fire at St Alban's school.