FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (24th - 30th MAY 1971)
This week's many stories include the court appearance of the Eccleston church wrecker, the closure of Haydock's Wood Pit, an update on the militant mothers of Rainhill, the productive Bold Colliery miners, the Crank teacher's Bahamas hitch, a new St Helens mayor is installed and why a judge at Liverpool Assizes wished a young Newton couple well.
We begin with the new Knowsley Safari Park. This was still on schedule to open on July 1st and Lord Derby was attempting to raise the cash to pay for his grand 360-acre wildlife scheme. Earlier this year I wrote that the 18th earl was planning to sell off a number of his paintings, including a work by Van Dyck and a "priceless" miniature portrait of Sir Francis Drake. On the 25th of this week it was announced that the art sale would be held at Christie's on June 8th. And then three weeks later an auction of part of Lord Derby's valuable collection of botanical books – that dated from the 18th century – would take place.
Last week I described the shocking vandalism that had taken place inside Eccleston Parish Church. The Vicar, the Rev. James Hamilton, then said: "It is obvious the wreckers spent several hours inside the church." However it turned out that the senseless destruction had been the work of a solitary, disturbed teenager who appeared in St Helens Magistrates Court on the 25th. The tally of vandalism as declared in court was slightly less than had been originally reported but it was still appalling.
The 16-year-old youth was charged with causing malicious damage to 382 hymn and prayer books, 173 Bibles, 36 manuscripts, a piano, a carpet, an Eagle lectern, a Communion table, a pulpit lectern, a lamp diffuser, six flower vases, a wrought iron stand, a noticeboard and a tin of furniture cream. That was to the total value of £494.65, around £8,000 in today's money. The lad was also charged with stealing 11 bottles of Communion wine worth £9.
During the hearing it was revealed that St Luke's Parish Church in Knowsley Road had come close to receiving similar treatment. Superintendent William Murray described to the court how verger George Walker had gone into the church at 6.30pm on May 17th and found it to be in a "state of chaos". On the following day at 3pm a youth entered the church and the verger asked him why he was there. To that the boy replied: "I have come to clean up the mess." Mr Walker found his behaviour suspicious and after the lad had left he called the police.
A search was made of the area with the verger and they spotted the youth in the grounds of St Luke's. The boy admitted to the court that he had intended to enter the church with the intention of committing more damage. The solicitor representing the unnamed youth said the boy was educationally sub-normal but showed flashes of considerable intelligence. "He claimed he had been motivated by black magic in my interviews with him, but this morning he has admitted that he was not motivated by black magic at all. He cannot give me any reason why he did this." The youth was placed in the care of the Salford local authority with a view to going to Red Bank School at Newton-le-Willows for medical treatment.
This week a Crown Court judge sent two St Helens men to prison – one for 15 months – after they had attacked the owner of the Baccardi Club in Ormskirk Street. Michael Neary of Dentons Green Lane had had a row with the two customers. One man threw a glass at the club boss, which caused a bad gash to his face that needed twelve stitches.
Last week Jimmy Jewel of 'Nearest and Dearest' fame had been the comic actor performing at the Theatre Royal – and broke two toes on stage! Throughout this week it was the turn of Irene Handl, who was starring in a comedy thriller called "A Chorus of Murder". During her 50-year-long career, Irene appeared in over 100 British films.
On the 26th a judge at Liverpool Assizes gave his best wishes to a Newton-le-Willows couple that were planning to marry in September. That was after Mr Justice Nield had awarded the bridegroom £22,500 damages and costs for spinal injuries, which had left the 23-year-old permanently paralysed from the waist down. Gerald Thompson of Mill Lane in Newton had been injured when a metal cage fell on him while working at a factory in Winwick. The judge told the couple: "I hope the young man's health will improve and I extend my best wishes for your marriage."
On the 27th Councillor Charles Martin was enrolled as the new Mayor of St Helens. Although having first entered the council chamber in 1945, Cllr. Martin had subsequently been defeated five times in local elections but on each occasion had stood again as a candidate and won.
The Guardian described on that day how Bold Colliery (pictured above) had set a new North West productivity record of 42½ cwt per man shift, almost 9 cwt above the average for the region. The colliery was also now officially the safest in the country, having won the National Coal Board's national safety competition. The miners were awarded £8,000 for the fewest days lost through accidents and earned the best-improved safety record for pits employing over a thousand men.
On the 28th campaigners who claimed to live in the dirtiest road in town held a meeting with local councillors at Peasley Cross Congregational Club. The street in question was Marshalls Cross Road and 70-year-old George Richardson told the meeting that he was often awakened at 4am by the crashing of car gears, adding: "They damn near shake us out of of bed." Ken Griffiths said: "Marshalls Cross is no longer a residential district, but a dust-covered ribbon in an industrial estate. We are living on a motorway and as such should be accorded the lowest rates." The 50-strong group were demanding a rates reduction but had been turned down and decided at the meeting to appeal against the decision.
Fr. William Cook from St Thomas of Canterbury Church in Greenfield Road was profiled in the Echo on the 28th, as he would soon be celebrating the 25th anniversary of his priesthood. The St Helens Reporter was published on the same day and its lead story was that 9,000 Pilkington workers were on the verge of clinching a new pay deal that would guarantee them a minimum wage of £20 per week.
Pictured in the paper with their trophy were the winners of the St Helens Junior Schools soccer competition – which was played on a regional league and knockout basis. After finishing in second place in the Sutton league, Robins Lane had beaten Allanson Street 3 - 1 in the quarter-final, SS Peter and Paul 4 - 2 in the semi-final and Thatto Heath 3 - 0 in the final.
Another prominent article bore the headline "Teacher's Itch For The Bahamas Meets Up With A Hitch". Globalisation was yet to become commonplace and so someone simply going to work abroad could be made into a big event. Cindy Walker a teacher at Crank School (pictured above) was leaving her job to work for three years at a "multi-racial school" in the Bahamas. And what was the hitch that the 23-year-old from Southerns Lane in Rainford had experienced? Well Cindy had learned that the "sun drenched island" had no public transport and so she would have to buy a car. Poor lamb!
Last week I reported how 300 "militant mothers" had blocked Warrington Road in Rainhill for the fourth time as part of their campaign to get the speed limit reduced and zebra crossings introduced. The protestors many pushing prams had blockaded the so-called "mad mile" twice more since then and on the 28th it was reported that sixth-formers at a local school were being asked to conduct a traffic census. The campaign group had also despatched letters of protest to Peter Walker, the Minister for the Environment, Lancashire County Council, Whiston Rural Council and the local parish council demanding action.
Also on the 28th Wood Pit dug its last coal after 105 years of mining in Haydock. At the time of the closure announcement last February, 483 men had been employed at the Vista Road mine and the National Coal Board had promised to find them all other jobs. At the time union branch secretary George Wills said: "The men will have mixed feelings on the closure, but generally it has not come as any great shock. The management haven't done anything to develop this pit for a long time. They said it would be uneconomical. They say there is not enough coal down there anyway. But there is nothing we can do about it."
Wood Pit will always be remembered for the terrible disaster of June 7th 1878 when 204 men and boys died in an explosion. Ninety-three widows were created, including Catherine Boon. The 43-year-old lost her husband and five of her sons down the pit.
The 29th was the annual gala and sports day of West Park Grammar School in Alder Hey Road, which raised £400 towards the building of a sixth-form extension. 13-year-old Christine Flaherty was pictured in the Reporter participating in one fun event.
And my final more general item underlines the massive contrast between today's TV-oriented football and the state of play fifty years ago. In 1971 attendances were down at games and so this week Everton submitted a 6-point plan to the Football League to address the situation. The decline was blamed mainly on football being shown on television, although there was then no live coverage of any league games.
'Match of the Day' used to be – as the name suggests – extended highlights of a single game (or perhaps two games) with ITV broadcasting highlights of another Saturday match around 2:30pm on Sunday afternoon. The chosen BBC game (or games) was supposed to be kept secret until shown on the Saturday night to deter spectators from staying at home. However a preview programme on Saturday lunchtime literally gave the game away, as it often featured interviews with players and managers that were involved in the chosen match.
Sometimes highlights of a mid-week game would also be broadcast. Three matches a week would hardly be seen as a surfeit of soccer today but the Goodison Park club was insistent that TV overkill was killing crowds. So Everton's key demands included a maximum of two matches to be screened per week (one lot of highlights on the BBC and one on ITV); no further extracts to be shown without permission of the clubs concerned; no interviews with players or managers involved in a televised match to be screened until transmission and no re-broadcasting of controversial incidents affecting players or referees. So any talking points – particularly embarrassing mistakes by referees – would never again see the light of day. Quite a contrast to how things are today!
And finally, finally, this snippet of news was also in the Echo: "Members of various political parties have united to set up a Merseyside branch of the European Movement to provide information about Britain's entry into the Common Market. Chairman is Mr. Robert Kilroy Silk, a 28-years-old Liverpool University lecturer." In 1974 he would become the MP for Ormskirk (which then included Rainford) and then twelve years later Kilroy Silk would become a daytime TV star.
Next week's stories will include the leafy break-ins in Rainhill, the end of RAF Haydock, the attractions planned for the third St Helens Show and the Newton boy who wanted six policemen and three dogs to search for his missing hen.
We begin with the new Knowsley Safari Park. This was still on schedule to open on July 1st and Lord Derby was attempting to raise the cash to pay for his grand 360-acre wildlife scheme. Earlier this year I wrote that the 18th earl was planning to sell off a number of his paintings, including a work by Van Dyck and a "priceless" miniature portrait of Sir Francis Drake. On the 25th of this week it was announced that the art sale would be held at Christie's on June 8th. And then three weeks later an auction of part of Lord Derby's valuable collection of botanical books – that dated from the 18th century – would take place.
Last week I described the shocking vandalism that had taken place inside Eccleston Parish Church. The Vicar, the Rev. James Hamilton, then said: "It is obvious the wreckers spent several hours inside the church." However it turned out that the senseless destruction had been the work of a solitary, disturbed teenager who appeared in St Helens Magistrates Court on the 25th. The tally of vandalism as declared in court was slightly less than had been originally reported but it was still appalling.
The 16-year-old youth was charged with causing malicious damage to 382 hymn and prayer books, 173 Bibles, 36 manuscripts, a piano, a carpet, an Eagle lectern, a Communion table, a pulpit lectern, a lamp diffuser, six flower vases, a wrought iron stand, a noticeboard and a tin of furniture cream. That was to the total value of £494.65, around £8,000 in today's money. The lad was also charged with stealing 11 bottles of Communion wine worth £9.
During the hearing it was revealed that St Luke's Parish Church in Knowsley Road had come close to receiving similar treatment. Superintendent William Murray described to the court how verger George Walker had gone into the church at 6.30pm on May 17th and found it to be in a "state of chaos". On the following day at 3pm a youth entered the church and the verger asked him why he was there. To that the boy replied: "I have come to clean up the mess." Mr Walker found his behaviour suspicious and after the lad had left he called the police.
A search was made of the area with the verger and they spotted the youth in the grounds of St Luke's. The boy admitted to the court that he had intended to enter the church with the intention of committing more damage. The solicitor representing the unnamed youth said the boy was educationally sub-normal but showed flashes of considerable intelligence. "He claimed he had been motivated by black magic in my interviews with him, but this morning he has admitted that he was not motivated by black magic at all. He cannot give me any reason why he did this." The youth was placed in the care of the Salford local authority with a view to going to Red Bank School at Newton-le-Willows for medical treatment.
This week a Crown Court judge sent two St Helens men to prison – one for 15 months – after they had attacked the owner of the Baccardi Club in Ormskirk Street. Michael Neary of Dentons Green Lane had had a row with the two customers. One man threw a glass at the club boss, which caused a bad gash to his face that needed twelve stitches.
Last week Jimmy Jewel of 'Nearest and Dearest' fame had been the comic actor performing at the Theatre Royal – and broke two toes on stage! Throughout this week it was the turn of Irene Handl, who was starring in a comedy thriller called "A Chorus of Murder". During her 50-year-long career, Irene appeared in over 100 British films.
On the 26th a judge at Liverpool Assizes gave his best wishes to a Newton-le-Willows couple that were planning to marry in September. That was after Mr Justice Nield had awarded the bridegroom £22,500 damages and costs for spinal injuries, which had left the 23-year-old permanently paralysed from the waist down. Gerald Thompson of Mill Lane in Newton had been injured when a metal cage fell on him while working at a factory in Winwick. The judge told the couple: "I hope the young man's health will improve and I extend my best wishes for your marriage."
On the 27th Councillor Charles Martin was enrolled as the new Mayor of St Helens. Although having first entered the council chamber in 1945, Cllr. Martin had subsequently been defeated five times in local elections but on each occasion had stood again as a candidate and won.
On the 28th campaigners who claimed to live in the dirtiest road in town held a meeting with local councillors at Peasley Cross Congregational Club. The street in question was Marshalls Cross Road and 70-year-old George Richardson told the meeting that he was often awakened at 4am by the crashing of car gears, adding: "They damn near shake us out of of bed." Ken Griffiths said: "Marshalls Cross is no longer a residential district, but a dust-covered ribbon in an industrial estate. We are living on a motorway and as such should be accorded the lowest rates." The 50-strong group were demanding a rates reduction but had been turned down and decided at the meeting to appeal against the decision.
Fr. William Cook from St Thomas of Canterbury Church in Greenfield Road was profiled in the Echo on the 28th, as he would soon be celebrating the 25th anniversary of his priesthood. The St Helens Reporter was published on the same day and its lead story was that 9,000 Pilkington workers were on the verge of clinching a new pay deal that would guarantee them a minimum wage of £20 per week.
Pictured in the paper with their trophy were the winners of the St Helens Junior Schools soccer competition – which was played on a regional league and knockout basis. After finishing in second place in the Sutton league, Robins Lane had beaten Allanson Street 3 - 1 in the quarter-final, SS Peter and Paul 4 - 2 in the semi-final and Thatto Heath 3 - 0 in the final.
Last week I reported how 300 "militant mothers" had blocked Warrington Road in Rainhill for the fourth time as part of their campaign to get the speed limit reduced and zebra crossings introduced. The protestors many pushing prams had blockaded the so-called "mad mile" twice more since then and on the 28th it was reported that sixth-formers at a local school were being asked to conduct a traffic census. The campaign group had also despatched letters of protest to Peter Walker, the Minister for the Environment, Lancashire County Council, Whiston Rural Council and the local parish council demanding action.
Also on the 28th Wood Pit dug its last coal after 105 years of mining in Haydock. At the time of the closure announcement last February, 483 men had been employed at the Vista Road mine and the National Coal Board had promised to find them all other jobs. At the time union branch secretary George Wills said: "The men will have mixed feelings on the closure, but generally it has not come as any great shock. The management haven't done anything to develop this pit for a long time. They said it would be uneconomical. They say there is not enough coal down there anyway. But there is nothing we can do about it."
Wood Pit will always be remembered for the terrible disaster of June 7th 1878 when 204 men and boys died in an explosion. Ninety-three widows were created, including Catherine Boon. The 43-year-old lost her husband and five of her sons down the pit.
The 29th was the annual gala and sports day of West Park Grammar School in Alder Hey Road, which raised £400 towards the building of a sixth-form extension. 13-year-old Christine Flaherty was pictured in the Reporter participating in one fun event.
And my final more general item underlines the massive contrast between today's TV-oriented football and the state of play fifty years ago. In 1971 attendances were down at games and so this week Everton submitted a 6-point plan to the Football League to address the situation. The decline was blamed mainly on football being shown on television, although there was then no live coverage of any league games.
'Match of the Day' used to be – as the name suggests – extended highlights of a single game (or perhaps two games) with ITV broadcasting highlights of another Saturday match around 2:30pm on Sunday afternoon. The chosen BBC game (or games) was supposed to be kept secret until shown on the Saturday night to deter spectators from staying at home. However a preview programme on Saturday lunchtime literally gave the game away, as it often featured interviews with players and managers that were involved in the chosen match.
Sometimes highlights of a mid-week game would also be broadcast. Three matches a week would hardly be seen as a surfeit of soccer today but the Goodison Park club was insistent that TV overkill was killing crowds. So Everton's key demands included a maximum of two matches to be screened per week (one lot of highlights on the BBC and one on ITV); no further extracts to be shown without permission of the clubs concerned; no interviews with players or managers involved in a televised match to be screened until transmission and no re-broadcasting of controversial incidents affecting players or referees. So any talking points – particularly embarrassing mistakes by referees – would never again see the light of day. Quite a contrast to how things are today!
And finally, finally, this snippet of news was also in the Echo: "Members of various political parties have united to set up a Merseyside branch of the European Movement to provide information about Britain's entry into the Common Market. Chairman is Mr. Robert Kilroy Silk, a 28-years-old Liverpool University lecturer." In 1974 he would become the MP for Ormskirk (which then included Rainford) and then twelve years later Kilroy Silk would become a daytime TV star.
Next week's stories will include the leafy break-ins in Rainhill, the end of RAF Haydock, the attractions planned for the third St Helens Show and the Newton boy who wanted six policemen and three dogs to search for his missing hen.
This week's many stories include the court appearance of the Eccleston church wrecker, the closure of Haydock's Wood Pit, an update on the militant mothers of Rainhill, the productive Bold Colliery miners, the Crank teacher's Bahamas hitch, a new St Helens mayor is installed and why a judge at Liverpool Assizes wished a young Newton couple well.
We begin with the new Knowsley Safari Park. This was still on schedule to open on July 1st and Lord Derby was attempting to raise the cash to pay for his grand 360-acre wildlife scheme.
Earlier this year I wrote that the 18th earl was planning to sell off a number of his paintings, including a work by Van Dyck and a "priceless" miniature portrait of Sir Francis Drake.
On the 25th of this week it was announced that the art sale would be held at Christie's on June 8th.
And then three weeks later an auction of part of Lord Derby's valuable collection of botanical books – that dated from the 18th century – would take place.
Last week I described the shocking vandalism that had taken place inside Eccleston Parish Church.
The Vicar, the Rev. James Hamilton, then said: "It is obvious the wreckers spent several hours inside the church."
However it turned out that the senseless destruction had been the work of a solitary, disturbed teenager who appeared in St Helens Magistrates Court on the 25th.
The tally of vandalism as declared in court was slightly less than had been originally reported but it was still appalling.
The 16-year-old youth was charged with causing malicious damage to 382 hymn and prayer books, 173 Bibles, 36 manuscripts, a piano, a carpet, an Eagle lectern, a Communion table, a pulpit lectern, a lamp diffuser, six flower vases, a wrought iron stand, a noticeboard and a tin of furniture cream.
That was to the total value of £494.65, around £8,000 in today's money. The lad was also charged with stealing 11 bottles of Communion wine worth £9.
During the hearing it was revealed that St Luke's Parish Church in Knowsley Road had come close to receiving similar treatment.
Superintendent William Murray described to the court how verger George Walker had gone into the church at 6.30pm on May 17th and found it to be in a "state of chaos".
On the following day at 3pm a youth entered the church and the verger asked him why he was there. To that the boy replied: "I have come to clean up the mess."
Mr Walker found his behaviour suspicious and after the lad had left he called the police.
A search was made of the area with the verger and they spotted the youth in the grounds of St Luke's.
The boy admitted to the court that he had intended to enter the church with the intention of committing more damage.
The solicitor representing the unnamed youth said the boy was educationally sub-normal but showed flashes of considerable intelligence.
"He claimed he had been motivated by black magic in my interviews with him, but this morning he has admitted that he was not motivated by black magic at all. He cannot give me any reason why he did this."
The youth was placed in the care of the Salford local authority with a view to going to Red Bank School at Newton-le-Willows for medical treatment.
This week a Crown Court judge sent two St Helens men to prison – one for 15 months – after they had attacked the owner of the Baccardi Club in Ormskirk Street.
Michael Neary of Dentons Green Lane had had a row with the two customers. One man threw a glass at the club boss, which caused a bad gash to his face that needed twelve stitches.
Last week Jimmy Jewel of 'Nearest and Dearest' fame had been the comic actor performing at the Theatre Royal – and broke two toes on stage!
Throughout this week it was the turn of Irene Handl, who was starring in a comedy thriller called "A Chorus of Murder". During her 50-year-long career, Irene appeared in over 100 British films.
On the 26th a judge at Liverpool Assizes gave his best wishes to a Newton-le-Willows couple that were planning to marry in September.
That was after Mr Justice Nield had awarded the bridegroom £22,500 damages and costs for spinal injuries, which had left the 23-year-old permanently paralysed from the waist down.
Gerald Thompson of Mill Lane in Newton had been injured when a metal cage fell on him while working at a factory in Winwick.
The judge told the couple: "I hope the young man's health will improve and I extend my best wishes for your marriage."
On the 27th Councillor Charles Martin was enrolled as the new Mayor of St Helens.
Although having first entered the council chamber in 1945, Cllr. Martin had subsequently been defeated five times in local elections but on each occasion had stood again as a candidate and won.
The Guardian described on that day how Bold Colliery (pictured above) had set a new North West productivity record of 42½ cwt per man shift, almost 9 cwt above the average for the region.
The colliery was also now officially the safest in the country, having won the National Coal Board's national safety competition.
The miners were awarded £8,000 for the fewest days lost through accidents and earned the best-improved safety record for pits employing over a thousand men.
On the 28th campaigners who claimed to live in the dirtiest road in town held a meeting with local councillors at Peasley Cross Congregational Club.
The street in question was Marshalls Cross Road and 70-year-old George Richardson told the meeting that he was often awakened at 4am by the crashing of car gears, adding: "They damn near shake us out of of bed."
Ken Griffiths said: "Marshalls Cross is no longer a residential district, but a dust-covered ribbon in an industrial estate. We are living on a motorway and as such should be accorded the lowest rates."
The 50-strong group were demanding a rates reduction but had been turned down and decided at the meeting to appeal against the decision.
Fr. William Cook from St Thomas of Canterbury Church in Greenfield Road was profiled in the Echo on the 28th, as he would soon be celebrating the 25th anniversary of his priesthood.
The St Helens Reporter was published on the same day and its lead story was that 9,000 Pilkington workers were on the verge of clinching a new pay deal that would guarantee them a minimum wage of £20 per week.
Another prominent piece on the front-page bore the headline "Teacher's Itch For The Bahamas Meets Up With A Hitch".
Globalisation was yet to become commonplace and so someone simply going to work abroad could be made into a big event.
Cindy Walker a teacher at Crank School (pictured above) was leaving her job to work for three years at a "multi-racial school" in the Bahamas.
And what was the hitch that the 23-year-old from Southerns Lane in Rainford had experienced?
Well Cindy had learned that the "sun drenched island" had no public transport and so she would have to buy a car. Poor lamb!
Pictured in the Reporter with their trophy were the winners of the St Helens Junior Schools soccer competition – which was played on a regional league and knockout basis.
After finishing in second place in the Sutton league, Robins Lane had beaten Allanson Street 3 - 1 in the quarter-final, SS Peter and Paul 4 - 2 in the semi-final and Thatto Heath 3 - 0 in the final.
Last week I reported how 300 "militant mothers" had blocked Warrington Road in Rainhill for the fourth time as part of their campaign to get the speed limit reduced and zebra crossings introduced.
The protestors many pushing prams had blockaded the so-called "mad mile" twice more since then and on the 28th it was reported that sixth-formers at a local school were being asked to conduct a traffic census.
The campaign group had also despatched letters of protest to Peter Walker, the Minister for the Environment, Lancashire County Council, Whiston Rural Council and the local parish council demanding action.
Also on the 28th Wood Pit dug its last coal after 105 years of mining in Haydock.
At the time of the closure announcement last February, 483 men had been employed at the Vista Road mine and the National Coal Board had promised to find them all other jobs.
At the time union branch secretary George Wills said: "The men will have mixed feelings on the closure, but generally it has not come as any great shock.
"The management haven't done anything to develop this pit for a long time. They said it would be uneconomical. They say there is not enough coal down there anyway. But there is nothing we can do about it."
Wood Pit will always be remembered for the terrible disaster of June 7th 1878 when 204 men and boys died in an explosion.
Ninety-three widows were created, including Catherine Boon. The 43-year-old lost her husband and five of her sons down the pit.
The 29th was the annual gala and sports day of West Park Grammar School in Alder Hey Road, which raised £400 towards the building of a sixth-form extension. 13-year-old Christine Flaherty was pictured in the Reporter participating in one fun event.
And my final more general item underlines the massive contrast between today's TV-oriented football and the state of play fifty years ago.
In 1971 attendances were down at games and so this week Everton submitted a 6-point plan to the Football League to address the situation.
The decline was blamed mainly on football being shown on television, although there was then no live coverage of any league games.
'Match of the Day' used to be – as the name suggests – extended highlights of a single game (or perhaps two games) with ITV broadcasting highlights of another Saturday match around 2:30pm on Sunday afternoon.
The chosen BBC game (or games) was supposed to be kept secret until shown on the Saturday night to deter spectators from staying at home.
However a preview programme on Saturday lunchtime literally gave the game away, as it often featured interviews with players and managers that were involved in the chosen match.
Sometimes highlights of a mid-week game would also be broadcast. Three matches a week would hardly be seen as a surfeit of soccer today but the Goodison Park club was insistent that TV overkill was killing crowds.
So Everton's key demands included a maximum of two matches to be screened per week (one lot of highlights on the BBC and one on ITV); no further extracts to be shown without permission of the clubs concerned; no interviews with players or managers involved in a televised match to be screened until transmission and no re-broadcasting of controversial incidents affecting players or referees.
So any talking points – particularly embarrassing mistakes by referees – would never again see the light of day. Quite a contrast to how things are today!
And finally, finally, this snippet of news was also in the Echo:
"Members of various political parties have united to set up a Merseyside branch of the European Movement to provide information about Britain's entry into the Common Market.
"Chairman is Mr. Robert Kilroy Silk, a 28-years-old Liverpool University lecturer."
In 1974 he would become the MP for Ormskirk (which then included Rainford) and then twelve years later Kilroy Silk would become a daytime TV star.
Next week's stories will include the leafy break-ins in Rainhill, the end of RAF Haydock, the attractions planned for the third St Helens Show and the Newton boy who wanted six policemen and three dogs to search for his missing hen.
We begin with the new Knowsley Safari Park. This was still on schedule to open on July 1st and Lord Derby was attempting to raise the cash to pay for his grand 360-acre wildlife scheme.
Earlier this year I wrote that the 18th earl was planning to sell off a number of his paintings, including a work by Van Dyck and a "priceless" miniature portrait of Sir Francis Drake.
On the 25th of this week it was announced that the art sale would be held at Christie's on June 8th.
And then three weeks later an auction of part of Lord Derby's valuable collection of botanical books – that dated from the 18th century – would take place.
Last week I described the shocking vandalism that had taken place inside Eccleston Parish Church.
The Vicar, the Rev. James Hamilton, then said: "It is obvious the wreckers spent several hours inside the church."
However it turned out that the senseless destruction had been the work of a solitary, disturbed teenager who appeared in St Helens Magistrates Court on the 25th.
The tally of vandalism as declared in court was slightly less than had been originally reported but it was still appalling.
The 16-year-old youth was charged with causing malicious damage to 382 hymn and prayer books, 173 Bibles, 36 manuscripts, a piano, a carpet, an Eagle lectern, a Communion table, a pulpit lectern, a lamp diffuser, six flower vases, a wrought iron stand, a noticeboard and a tin of furniture cream.
That was to the total value of £494.65, around £8,000 in today's money. The lad was also charged with stealing 11 bottles of Communion wine worth £9.
During the hearing it was revealed that St Luke's Parish Church in Knowsley Road had come close to receiving similar treatment.
Superintendent William Murray described to the court how verger George Walker had gone into the church at 6.30pm on May 17th and found it to be in a "state of chaos".
On the following day at 3pm a youth entered the church and the verger asked him why he was there. To that the boy replied: "I have come to clean up the mess."
Mr Walker found his behaviour suspicious and after the lad had left he called the police.
A search was made of the area with the verger and they spotted the youth in the grounds of St Luke's.
The boy admitted to the court that he had intended to enter the church with the intention of committing more damage.
The solicitor representing the unnamed youth said the boy was educationally sub-normal but showed flashes of considerable intelligence.
"He claimed he had been motivated by black magic in my interviews with him, but this morning he has admitted that he was not motivated by black magic at all. He cannot give me any reason why he did this."
The youth was placed in the care of the Salford local authority with a view to going to Red Bank School at Newton-le-Willows for medical treatment.
This week a Crown Court judge sent two St Helens men to prison – one for 15 months – after they had attacked the owner of the Baccardi Club in Ormskirk Street.
Michael Neary of Dentons Green Lane had had a row with the two customers. One man threw a glass at the club boss, which caused a bad gash to his face that needed twelve stitches.
Last week Jimmy Jewel of 'Nearest and Dearest' fame had been the comic actor performing at the Theatre Royal – and broke two toes on stage!
Throughout this week it was the turn of Irene Handl, who was starring in a comedy thriller called "A Chorus of Murder". During her 50-year-long career, Irene appeared in over 100 British films.
On the 26th a judge at Liverpool Assizes gave his best wishes to a Newton-le-Willows couple that were planning to marry in September.
That was after Mr Justice Nield had awarded the bridegroom £22,500 damages and costs for spinal injuries, which had left the 23-year-old permanently paralysed from the waist down.
Gerald Thompson of Mill Lane in Newton had been injured when a metal cage fell on him while working at a factory in Winwick.
The judge told the couple: "I hope the young man's health will improve and I extend my best wishes for your marriage."
On the 27th Councillor Charles Martin was enrolled as the new Mayor of St Helens.
Although having first entered the council chamber in 1945, Cllr. Martin had subsequently been defeated five times in local elections but on each occasion had stood again as a candidate and won.
The colliery was also now officially the safest in the country, having won the National Coal Board's national safety competition.
The miners were awarded £8,000 for the fewest days lost through accidents and earned the best-improved safety record for pits employing over a thousand men.
On the 28th campaigners who claimed to live in the dirtiest road in town held a meeting with local councillors at Peasley Cross Congregational Club.
The street in question was Marshalls Cross Road and 70-year-old George Richardson told the meeting that he was often awakened at 4am by the crashing of car gears, adding: "They damn near shake us out of of bed."
Ken Griffiths said: "Marshalls Cross is no longer a residential district, but a dust-covered ribbon in an industrial estate. We are living on a motorway and as such should be accorded the lowest rates."
The 50-strong group were demanding a rates reduction but had been turned down and decided at the meeting to appeal against the decision.
Fr. William Cook from St Thomas of Canterbury Church in Greenfield Road was profiled in the Echo on the 28th, as he would soon be celebrating the 25th anniversary of his priesthood.
The St Helens Reporter was published on the same day and its lead story was that 9,000 Pilkington workers were on the verge of clinching a new pay deal that would guarantee them a minimum wage of £20 per week.
Another prominent piece on the front-page bore the headline "Teacher's Itch For The Bahamas Meets Up With A Hitch".
Globalisation was yet to become commonplace and so someone simply going to work abroad could be made into a big event.
And what was the hitch that the 23-year-old from Southerns Lane in Rainford had experienced?
Well Cindy had learned that the "sun drenched island" had no public transport and so she would have to buy a car. Poor lamb!
Pictured in the Reporter with their trophy were the winners of the St Helens Junior Schools soccer competition – which was played on a regional league and knockout basis.
After finishing in second place in the Sutton league, Robins Lane had beaten Allanson Street 3 - 1 in the quarter-final, SS Peter and Paul 4 - 2 in the semi-final and Thatto Heath 3 - 0 in the final.
Last week I reported how 300 "militant mothers" had blocked Warrington Road in Rainhill for the fourth time as part of their campaign to get the speed limit reduced and zebra crossings introduced.
The protestors many pushing prams had blockaded the so-called "mad mile" twice more since then and on the 28th it was reported that sixth-formers at a local school were being asked to conduct a traffic census.
The campaign group had also despatched letters of protest to Peter Walker, the Minister for the Environment, Lancashire County Council, Whiston Rural Council and the local parish council demanding action.
Also on the 28th Wood Pit dug its last coal after 105 years of mining in Haydock.
At the time of the closure announcement last February, 483 men had been employed at the Vista Road mine and the National Coal Board had promised to find them all other jobs.
At the time union branch secretary George Wills said: "The men will have mixed feelings on the closure, but generally it has not come as any great shock.
"The management haven't done anything to develop this pit for a long time. They said it would be uneconomical. They say there is not enough coal down there anyway. But there is nothing we can do about it."
Wood Pit will always be remembered for the terrible disaster of June 7th 1878 when 204 men and boys died in an explosion.
Ninety-three widows were created, including Catherine Boon. The 43-year-old lost her husband and five of her sons down the pit.
The 29th was the annual gala and sports day of West Park Grammar School in Alder Hey Road, which raised £400 towards the building of a sixth-form extension. 13-year-old Christine Flaherty was pictured in the Reporter participating in one fun event.
And my final more general item underlines the massive contrast between today's TV-oriented football and the state of play fifty years ago.
In 1971 attendances were down at games and so this week Everton submitted a 6-point plan to the Football League to address the situation.
The decline was blamed mainly on football being shown on television, although there was then no live coverage of any league games.
'Match of the Day' used to be – as the name suggests – extended highlights of a single game (or perhaps two games) with ITV broadcasting highlights of another Saturday match around 2:30pm on Sunday afternoon.
The chosen BBC game (or games) was supposed to be kept secret until shown on the Saturday night to deter spectators from staying at home.
However a preview programme on Saturday lunchtime literally gave the game away, as it often featured interviews with players and managers that were involved in the chosen match.
Sometimes highlights of a mid-week game would also be broadcast. Three matches a week would hardly be seen as a surfeit of soccer today but the Goodison Park club was insistent that TV overkill was killing crowds.
So Everton's key demands included a maximum of two matches to be screened per week (one lot of highlights on the BBC and one on ITV); no further extracts to be shown without permission of the clubs concerned; no interviews with players or managers involved in a televised match to be screened until transmission and no re-broadcasting of controversial incidents affecting players or referees.
So any talking points – particularly embarrassing mistakes by referees – would never again see the light of day. Quite a contrast to how things are today!
And finally, finally, this snippet of news was also in the Echo:
"Members of various political parties have united to set up a Merseyside branch of the European Movement to provide information about Britain's entry into the Common Market.
"Chairman is Mr. Robert Kilroy Silk, a 28-years-old Liverpool University lecturer."
In 1974 he would become the MP for Ormskirk (which then included Rainford) and then twelve years later Kilroy Silk would become a daytime TV star.
Next week's stories will include the leafy break-ins in Rainhill, the end of RAF Haydock, the attractions planned for the third St Helens Show and the Newton boy who wanted six policemen and three dogs to search for his missing hen.