I was delighted to receive a preview copy of a new book, with the intriguing title, Page 99 by local author, Joe Bancroft, or is it?

The book which could be described as "factional" if there is such a word is by none other than, Martin O' Neill who is an internationally known photographer who achieved fame with his photos of Joy Division performing at Bowdon Vale Youth Club way back in March 1979 and many other bands including The Smiths.

Martin has now retired and runs a Gite in France with his partner, I caught up with him to ask a few questions about the book.

He said:

Quote

 

"I'd already written a children's adventure story, and written and illustrated a series of children's picture books, so I suppose my next idea was (like everybody) to write an autobiography. The only problem is .. I'm not famous .. and, these days, no agent or publisher will go near a biography that's not written by a famous person. 

So, my twist on this was to expand the idea, turning it into a fictional tale of .. guess what? .. a photographer who wants to write a book! To that end, a lot of my life is written down in these pages, but a lot is completely made up and fictional, hopefully, the reader will have realised that by the time they get to the end of the book.

It's part fiction, part autobiography, with humour, sadness and a layer of nostalgia for the 'old days' of Manchester in the 1970s, I would also hope it's of interest as it describes the day-to-day life of a press photographer back in those hazy pre-digital days and to me it was a really exciting introduction to the big, wide world, having come from such a secluded background on the Brookhouse  Estate"

 

I have read the book and found it to be a delight as we follow the trials and tribulations of young Joe Bancroft as he stumbles his way through adolescence as a shy, skinny Catholic boy whose life is turned upside down when his parents split up when he was aged 11.

His tales of bullying at school, crushes on girls, sexual awakening, the sheer confusion of a shy young boy growing up are beautifully and hilariously written and struck a chord with me and will no doubt may other readers.

Young Joe after leaving school gets a dream job as a Press photographer and this is where his life is to be changed forever, meeting football stars, celebrities of the screen and stage and a great insight in the culture of the newspaper world pre-digital days, marvellous stuff.

Don't be thinking it's all light hearted whimsy and fun though, Joe has a gnawing passion for revenge, murder possibly? but has the boy turned into a man...

The book accurately dovetails episodes of Martin's real life experiences and merged them into Joe's in this coming of age book, which will appeal to people growing up in those long hot summers of the 1970s, and have memories of a Manchester that has long gone but still a pleasant memory.

Personally I loved the book and can't recommend it highly enough, I can relate to so much that Martin has written about, a joy to read, go on treat yourself to Page 99.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Page-Joe-Bancroft-Martin-ONeill/dp/B0B4BHW66W/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1656505467&sr=1-1

If you are of Irish descent there is a very good chance that you may have heard of Kevin Barry or more likely heard the song, Kevin Barry which tells of his fate, a song covered by many, many people including Leonard Cohen.

The ballad tells of "just a lad of 18 summers" who was convicted for his part in an attack on a British Army lorry which resulted in the deaths of three British soldiers and was hung in Dublin's Mountjoy prison in November 1920.

Harold Washington was born on the 5th December 1901, and lived at 189 Regent Road, Salford, his father, George was a shoemaker by trade, he had two elder brothers, George who died in 1900 aged seven, and William who was killed fighting in France, October 1918 aged 19.

Harold joined the Duke of Wellingtons Regiment and gave a false date of birth saying he was 19 when in fact he was much younger.

These two young men's path would cross with tragic consequences on the morning of 20th September 1920, when a small group of British soldiers were sent to Monk's Bakery in Dublin city centre to pick up bread for the regiment.

Kevin Barry who was a medical student at the time had gained a reputation as being a dedicated volunteer in the IRA and had taken part in raids on the British Army in which rifles and ammunition  were stolen and that was the plan for the raid on the troops at Monk's Bakery.

What happened next is often disputed but the facts are that shots were fired and Harold Washington aged 15 lay dying from a gunshot wound, two other soldiers, Private Marshall Whitehead aged 20 and Private Thomas Humphries aged 19 would die from their gunshot wounds shortly after.

Barry was arrested hiding underneath the Army lorry, he was thrown into the same truck with the dying, Harold Washington and taken into custody for it has to be said, brutal interrogation from troops no doubt, outraged at the deaths of their comrades.

He faced an Army Court Martial rather than a Court of Law and was charged with the death of all three soldiers, a bullet was removed from Private Whitehead's body and was shown to have been fired from his Mauser pistol, this sealed his fate after much legal wrangling and he was sentenced to death by hanging.

Despite mass protests throughout Ireland the sentence was carried out on the 1st of November 1920 and his body was buried in the grounds of Mountjoy Prison where it remained until October 2001 when it was given a state funeral and reinterred in Glasnevin Cemetery.

As for poor Harold Washington, his name has been forgotten, no ballads, commemorative stamps, blocks of flats named after him, just a neat and tidy family grave in Weaste Cemetery, Salford, on the right hand side as you go in.

Four young men all under the age of 20, their lives all to be taken within a space of weeks and in Harold's case. minutes, the final irony is that Harold who had lied about his age to join the Army died weeks from his 16th Birthday despite his age being shown as 16 on his gravestone.

The pages of the Salford City Reporter newspaper from 1922 especially the Magistrates Court page is usually full of tales regarding drunken men, fights, thefts, drunken women, pick pockets, illegal gambling etc, so it was a pleasure to find this story, concerning a Mr Arthur Paine who lived at Park Place, which it has to be said had a reputation for cheap lodging houses, drunks and general misbehaviour.

Arthur appeared at the Magistrates Court in June 1922 charged with being drunk and disorderly in Park Place and when asked if this was true, he replied in loud tones, "Certainly not!"

Police Constable Crane told the Court that he visited the home of the accused just before midnight following a complaint made by the accused man's wife at Cross Lane police station, when he got there he saw Arthur who was drunk arguing with his wife and son and was told to behave.

Some thirty minutes later, Arthur turned up at Cross Lane police station and was abusive to the Sergeant who was in charge, who told him to go to bed and sleep it off, Arthur went back to his home but couldn't resist arguing with P.C. Crane yet again, who took him into custody.

Arthur then took the stand and told the Court,

"I never knew a man who was was drunk, not go to sleep and I have been talking with another man in my cell all night. I asked the Sergeant if I could see a Doctor, I am in a Court of Justice and I expect justice, when people live in the environment of Park Place they get into a certain groove, they become uncontrollable.

"I had, had a little controversy with my wife and she told me to clear off, and so I told her to clear off, my son then took his mother to the police station to make a complaint against me, when the Constable arrived I told him that I had been chastising my son and his mother took his side which annoyed me".

He then gesticulated towards the Stipendiary Magistrate Mr Makin and told him, as if in confidence.

"You know some of the feminine gender are a bit irritable and bad tempered at times, she had worked herself up into one of those passions, on the way back from the police station I saw my wife making her way towards the canal, you know that she had an accident and that might have upset her, I told the Constable that she may have gone to the canal to drown herself, he grabbed my arm and dragged me to the police station and if that isn't the stone cold truth may I drop down dead.

"I don't suppose you want an Inquest here anyway but I have told the absolute truth and this is nothing but a planned job, there are dozens of  officers in this locality out to get me"

Constable Frame addressed the Court  and asked Arthur if he had been drinking and was told that he had only had a drop of whisky as he suffered from neurasthenia. also he had taken bromide of potassium which gave him depression.

The man who shared a cell with Arthur at the police station said that in his opinion that he was not sober, which was met with indignation by Arthur who called him a liar and then declared.

" I wasn't drunk they don't make stuff that would make me drunk"

Not certain that this helped his defence as the Magistrate fined him twelve shillings and sixpence or eleven days in prison.

I can remember Park Place as a boy growing up in that area of Cross Lane and it had a dodgy reputation even then, early photos show the houses to be large Georgian homes which over the years deteriorated and were converted into rooms to let.

Photo: Park Place in the 1950s.

Last month I told how a good friend of mine, Barry Calderwood who drives a mechanical digger unearthed a stone ginger beer bottle from Batty's of Walkden whilst removing the rubble from the now demolished Unicorn pub in Peel Green and kindly gave it me.

Barry knows I collect most things Salford related and said he would keep his eyes open for future finds and keep them for me, and this morning he kindly left a gift on my doorstep for me.

I was delighted to see a C. Wilhelm, Ardwick, Manchester, Ginger Beer bottle in mint condition which is well over a 100 years old which he excavated from a site on Salford Quays,

Also two glazed cream jugs, one from Hammersley's Creamery Broughton with the three hammers logo, the other from Hailwoods, Manchester Creamery, Broughton with a cow logo, again these are over 100 year old each.

I have several variations on the Broughton cream jug, some on a two coloured glaze and others without the cow logo and so they will make welcome additions to my collection of over 200 Ginger Beer bottles and cream jugs.

I started collecting in the mid 1970s when a Victorian tip was unearthed where I was working, Codd bottles, the one's that have a marble in as a closure, blue poison bottles, Dutch Gin Bottles, pot lids advertising toothpaste and the wonderful Bears Grease for your hair, wine bottles, beer bottles, clay pipes, ink wells etc came out in their hundreds, 

Sadly a chap who was digging there was killed when the trench he was in collapsed, a horrendous death, this incident stopped me from digging for many, years.

The hobby is still going strong though with local; diggers unearthing new tips all the time, some not as old as the Victorian one, but still yielding some treasures.

If you have unearthed any or collect them I would love to see them, more importantly if you have any lying about in your attic or garage and don't want them...I'm your man!

In this story from June 1922 we take a look at the long-gone Salford racecourse or to give it its proper name, Castle Irwell, which stood on Littleton Road and Cromwell Road and closed in November 1963.

The final race there was held on November 9, 1963, when  The Goodbye Consolation Plate was won by Fury Royal, steered across the finishing line by Lester Piggott, no less.

I refuse to call it the Manchester Racecourse as the history books call it, because and let's face facts here, the racecourse was set firmly in Salford, its the same with Salford Docks which was called Manchester Docks in the media, sorry but I refuse to accept that.

The following story from the pages of The Salford City Reporter, June 1922, tells of a bookmaker who rather foolishly tried to flee the racecourse without settling his debts, "Welshing" is the term I believe.

William Brown a bookmaker who gave his address as being, Gloucester Crescent, Regents Park, London, which is incidentally the same Crescent that Allan Bennett lived on when he wrote, The Lady in the Van and also the home of Charles Dickens in the 1850s, but I digress.

He had been on remand for a week and was charged with stealing a sum of £10, one sum of £3, and two sums of £1 by "welshing on the bets, he was defended by Mr Howard Flint.

First in the dock was Joseph Metcalfe who said that he was in the 2/6 ring and made a bet at 7/2 with the accused on a horse called North Waltham, the bet was £9 for a win and £1 for a place, when the horse won he went to collect his winnings and saw a large crowd around the accused who was paying out short, and one of his "confederates was bullying people".

Brown tried to escape in the crowd but was arrested by the police before Metcalfe could get his winnings from him and the shout of "welsher" was heard being shouted around the track.

Constable Noddle (what a great name!) told the Court that he had been keeping observations on Brown because of the odds on the race he was offering, higher than other bookies, and after the big race, The Manchester Cup, a crowd rushed the bookie who was seen to give a large bundle of notes to one of his friends who disappeared into the crowd with it, bottles were thrown and one hit the officer in the back, and an attempt to trip him up was made as he took Brown into custody.

Sergeant Wilkinson, said that he and P.C, Noddle had witnessed Brown counting out a bundle of notes, and when demanded payment he offered one man a £1 for a £5 return and told others to come back after the next race, he then attempted to escape without paying out.

Howard Flint said that his client had told him that he been on the course for two days at Whit and hadn't been offering extravagant odds on the big race, he had laid at 7/2 on a horse that returned at 3/1 and there was nothing suspicious about that, and after the race he had paid out as far as he could, and then finding himself short told the backers he would pay them after the next race, which was not an unusual thing to do.

Flint then stated that an angry mob had rushed Brown and made an attack on his Clerk who was knocked off his stool and man handled by them, and it was perhaps fortunate that the police arrived or he may have sustained personal injury.

William Brown took the stand and told the Magistrates that after the big race he had paid out about £40 and to others he paid them smaller amounts and promised to pay out after the next race, when he was rushed by angry punters and had to be rescued by the police, he stated that he had his satchel with him at all times and denied handing over money to one of his associates.

Constable Noddle asked Brown why had his Clerk not returned his book to him after a weeks absence, and was told that he had expected him to be in Court today, he also denied handing over a large sum of notes to a friend and gave this somewhat hilarious explanation.

"I was simply straightening the notes out, because it is impossible to pay out, unless the notes are counted out and in something like order"

The Magistrates retired for a few minutes to consider their verdict and found him Guilty.

Inspector Mitchell told the Magistrates that Brown had a bad record and had served sentences of three years and five years penal servitude for false pretences.

Howard Flint pointed out that Brown had kept a clean record for the past five years and was making an effort to make an honest living.

He was sentenced to six months imprisonment with hard labour, also the £67 found in his satchel was confiscated and paid out to those who had come forward to claim their winnings.

Quite a few questions to be asked, how on earth was Brown given a bookmakers licence with that criminal record and would he have been warned off by the relevant authorities/

Also, who absconded with the roll of notes and did he receive it when he got out prison, finally how on earth could he afford to live in such splendour in a huge house in London? always been told no such thing as a poor bookie and so it seems.

Finally there is an oil painting by Isaac Cullin called The Manchester Cup 1922, showing two horses at the finishing post in what looks like a photo finish, which shows how close to pulling off his bold gamble, William Brown came.

A few weeks ago we visited the site of the Unicorn pub in Peel Green, many of you will remember it as The Jules Verne, as we filmed the demolition of this iconic, landmark building.

We were kindly allowed into the fenced off area on Harrison Street and allowed to use the drone for aerial footage as the bulldozers razed it to the ground.

I am delighted to say that, today I was on Barton Lane when a van drove past and flashed it's lights and the driver got out.

It was a very good friend of mine, Barry Calderwood who was working one of the heavy plant machinery on the demolition of the pub.

Barry said to me:

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"I have something for you I rescued from the pub cellars, God knows how it has survived because we had crashed the pub walls into the cellars and were digging the rubble out last week, and I somehow spotted this amongst the rubble, so I stopped the machine and retrieved this for you, as I know you like your local history and collect these bottles"

It was a, J.H, Batty, Extra Quality Stone Ginger Beer, Walkden bottle in superb condition, which dates from around 1890 - 1910, and it is very possible that this bottle has lain in the cellar of the pub since it opened in 1899, which is remarkable and the fact that it survived the wrecking ball, makes it that bit more special for me, and will have pride of place in my collection.

If any readers have similar bottles from the local area please feel free to publish them and if you have any, you don't want... then obviously I'm yer Man.

So, once again many. many thanks Barry for being so eagle eyed and thinking of me and rescuing this small part of our local history.

With the sudden price rise in Gas and Electricity from the energy suppliers and warning that we are in for a grim winter, this is a cautionary tale from the pages of The Salford City Reporter from May 1922 as local lads fall foul of the law.

They were named as, Peter Hanlon aged 15, George Rosamond aged 15, John Smith aged 14 and Thomas Martin aged 17.

Following reports of the theft of coal from the railway sidings at Ordsall Lane, Salford, the police set up observations and waited for any potential thief to fall into their trap and they didn't have to wait long.

Inspector Mitchell told Salford Juvenile Court that Inspector Coloran from the Railway Police and three police constables, hid on the embankment and at 6,45am and saw the four defendants climb the wall into the sidings and fill three bags of coal from a truck.

When the police made their presence known the boys fled, Hanlon was caught at the scene, Rosamond and Smith were later arrested at their homes, whilst Martin turned himself in at Regent Road police station.

The Stipendiary Magistrate, Mr P.W. Atkin asked if anything was known about the boys, Inspector Mitchell said that, Martin in 1920 had been placed on probation for the theft of oranges in Manchester and that the other three boys had not been in trouble.

Inquiry Officer Walton told the Court that Martin was the eldest of a family of six children, when he left school he was employed at a paper mill but was sacked for falling asleep when at work, and he had done no work in the last twelve months despite his fathers attempts to make him.

Walton then said that he was convinced that Martin was the ring leader of this gang of boys, who had admitted to him that, they had each stolen coal from the sidings before.

The Stipendiary Magistrate told Hanlon, Rosamond and Smith that this was the first time they had appeared before him, but not the first time you ought to have appeared here and in that they were fortunate.

He then bound them over in the sum of £5 and placed them on probation for 12 months.

Turning his attention to Martin, he said,

"I believe you are the leader of these boys, you have been in trouble before and have, had the chances to do better for yourself.

You will go to prison for 14 day with Hard Labour"

I have some sympathy for Thomas Martin, he must have had a hard life being the eldest of six children, being born into hardship at virtually the turn of the century when poverty was rife in Salford and education was basic to say the least and job options were usually in a Mill or possibly the pit.

Was he stealing the coal to keep his family warm? I'd like to think so, however a prison sentence with hard labour at that young age could so easily drive him to a life of crime, fingers crossed he saw the errors of his ways and led a quiet and respectable life.

Photo shows Oldfield Road railway sidings in 1948.

A tale of political unrest on the streets of Salford if not the pavements is the following story from the pages of The Salford City Reporter, May 1922.

Ronald Hicks who resided at Peacock Street, Pendleton appeared at Salford Magistrates Court charged with "chalking an announcement on the pavement at Oldfield Road, in contradiction of a Corporation bye-law"

Alongside him was, Yetta Israelite (her real name) from Halliwell Street, Cheetham charged with aiding and abetting.

It was stated that the offence consisted of a chalked advertisement on the pavement for a Communist meeting.

Police Constable Deakin told the Magistrate, Mr F.W, Atkin that he believed that the defendant was the Chairman of the Young Communist Party, Hicks smiled at this at this suggestion and said it was the first time he had heard of such an organisation.

The Magistrate then asked a strange question by asking the Constable if the writing was in English or hieroglyphics? he was assured that it was in English.

Hicks was proving to quite a character, he said he took exception to the Constable saying he was impertinent and asked him, 

"During my questioning you said that you were ignorant and hadn't had a college education like we had, if you are ignorant or an ignoramus, how can you define impertinence?"

Leaping to the Constables defence, the Magistrate said,

" The Constable is not an expert in law, only in that section of the law which concerns police duties, although he may not have had a college education as you say you have, he was carrying out his duty"

Hicks then asked him why he had carried out violence on him by knocking the blue chalk from his hand, which the Constable denied.

Police Constable Wood took the stand and told the Court that he went to the assistance of P. C. Deakin and as they were taking names and addresses, Hicks became abusive and that Yetta Israelite said that her parents were from Russia and that she was born in London adding for good measure, 

"It is only the young Communists who have saved this country from ruin"

I'll bet that went down well with the Court.

No doubt getting tired of the bickering the Magistrate asked Hicks if he wished to provide witnesses to show that the police used violence and that he couldn't say that he used violence on the chalk as that was just silly.

Hicks was just getting into his stride and said the reason he chalked on the pavement was to announce a meeting and at this time he didn't know it infringed a law and that he had been to the libraries and perused certain of the Corporations Acts but could not find any regulation dealing with this matter and that announcements had been chalked on the footpaths, he thought he had good ground for doing so.

Clearly getting annoyed the Magistrate told him that it was a pity he couldn't find the bye-law and perhaps the authorities will in future make such arrangements so that in future inquiring minds will be able to satisfy themselves on points of law.....

Yetta then took the stand and denied aiding and abetting Hicks and that she had met him with a view for going for a walk and that the police hadn't warned them properly and had no idea what they were going to say in Court.

Summing up the Magistrate clearly tired of the case told them.

"You two children must not do this, you were told to stop and being in possession of that most dangerous thing, a little knowledge you were rather offensive to P,C, Deakin, as you proceed to your respective University careers, you may be able to find out what I am doing now may be wrong in law, in which case I give you every facility to appeal against my decision and take me to the High Court to set me right"

He then bound them over in the sum of 15 shillings each to keep the peace for the next 12 months or forfeit the money.

The back story to this is that in Salford at this time there were several meetings at the nearby Hyndman Hall on Liverpool Street which was the headquarters of several left wing societies which was under constant observation by the Salford police.

The Russian revolution had taken place only five years previously and the threat of the same happening here was a constant worry to the authorities, the proverbial Red Menace as it was known and still is by some.

I wonder what happened to Ronald Hicks and Yetta Israelite did they go on to finish their education and become political firebrands?

The newspapers are often warning us of bogus workmen, policemen, home visitors etc who call at peoples homes with false credentials whose aim is to simply fleece you out of your money.

The following story from April 1922 shows that there is nothing new under the sun and bogus conmen were at it, 100 years ago in Salford.

Leo McManus who resided at Morpeth Terrace, Salford appeared at Salford magistrates Court charged with obtaining six shillings by pretences and attempting to obtain a further £2 - 3 shillings from Daisy Mather by similar means.

Daisy was a married woman who lived in Brook Street, Pendleton, she also had a lock up shop in Rigby Street which traded as a fried fish and potato dealer.. a chip shop to you and me.

The Friday just passed she was surprised to receive a visit from a chap calling himself, Mr Jackson from the "Health Office" who told her he was inspecting the premises and was soon finding faults, in the yard he noticed that she had no bin, she told him that the landlord of the property had applied for one, he told her that he would have to check with the Town Hall.

He returned shortly afterwards and told her that there was no application for a bin, however he had sorted it out and the bin which would cost 11 shillings would be delivered on the Monday, and asked her for the money, she told him that she had only six shillings on her, which he took and told her that the landlord would reimburse the 11 shillings.

He then inspected the shop and pointed to an oil lamp, she told him that she was using that as the gas hadn't been reconnected, he looked at the gas meter and told her that it was useless and she would need a quarterly payment meter, and getting very confident he assured her that she needed a new gas stove which  would cost £2 - 3 shillings, again he would need the cash to sort it out at the Town Hall for her, she said she had no further money and he would have to call at her house in Pendleton and see her husband the next day at 12pm.

Amazingly, Jackson turned up at the house at 11am asking for the money, the husband wasn't in and was told by Daisy's Mother in Law to call back at 12pm, he told her he had to attend an inquest at 12pm but stressed that he needed the money tonight as he had paid for it out of his own pocket and would call in the shop at 5pm for it.

Alarm bells were ringing and so, Daisy informed the police and two police constables, Edwards and Howard concealed themselves in the shop and awaited the slippery "Mr Jackson".

True to form he did turn up at 8.15pm  and told Daisy that he had got everything fixed up and the gas man with the stove would be arriving on Monday morning she would get a receipt and asked her for the money...big mistake.

The police constables came out of the back of the shop, he immediately fled from the shop pursued by our boys in blue who dragged him to the floor and then to the police station where he was charged.

In the dock he pleaded guilty but was "exceedingly sorry" for what he had done, explaining that he had been released from prison a month ago and had been unable to obtain any kind of employment.

Inspector Mitchell told the Court that McManus had previous convictions for theft, and that he was a married man, separated from his wife.

The Magistrate sentenced him to three months in jail on each charge a total of six months, with hard labour.. Ouch!

Mr McManus certainly had some front but I fear his greed got too much for him and he pushed his luck just that bit to far.

Time for another look into the pages of The Salford City Reporter and see what was happening on the mean streets of Salford in April 1922, the dust is settling and I can bring you the following story of theft, violence and bad language...

Harry Johnstone who was residing at White Street, Hulme appeared at Salford Magistrates Court charged with theft of a bicycle and police assault.

Inspector Mitchell told the Court that Johnstone had been locked up on suspicion of being in possession of a bicycle, believed to have been stolen, although it had since been ascertained that the bicycle had been stolen in Manchester, it was not proposed to proceed with that charge, but to confine the hearing to that of the assault.

Inspector Hulmes said that as a consequence of a telephone message being received at the Pendleton Police Office, giving the description of a man who was riding a bicycle towards Pendleton on Broad Street, he stepped in to the road and put his hands up telling the man to stop.

However the man then turned into Hankinson Street and tried to cycle away, he was eventually stopped and told the Inspector that he was the owner of the bicycle, he was told that he would be detained for further questioning, Johnstone then punched the Inspector in an effort to escape and both men fell on the floor.

Inspector Hulmes blew his whistle for police assistance and P.C.Calbo was first on the scene and attempted to put the "snips" (handcuffs) on him, Johnstone got hold of his hand and tried to bite his thumb and first finger off, happily for him Inspector Hulmes throttled the man until he released his jaws from the Constables hand

Constable Calbo said that the accused "kicked and fought like a madman" adding that he fought and struggled violently all the way to the station, where he no doubt received a warm welcome.

In his defence, Johnstone admitted assaulting the officers but said that he had only been released from Strangeways Gaol that morning after serving four months for larceny.

Unimpressed by his honesty, the Chairman of the Bench said that members of the police force must be protected from such ferocious attacks and sent him to gaol for six months with hard labour.

Would appear that Harry Johnstone hadn't learnt his lesson and would be back in his old cell a lot quicker than he had wanted.

Photo: Hankinson Street, Pendleton

Like me did you think the only thing that came down chimneys was Father Christmas, Victorian child chimney sweeps and soot?

The following story from the Salford City Reporter, April 1922 tells of a young chap who also came down the chimney, albeit with a little help from several police constables.

James Smith aged 22 who was residing at Ordsall Lane appeared at Salford Magistrates Court charged with assaulting James Swindell outside the Gloucester pub on Regent Road by kicking him in the stomach.

Police Constable Fisher told the Court that acting on information received, they went to James Smith's house, were he was found hiding up the cellar chimney adding that it was a considerable amount of time before he would come down, and when he did he was wearing only his shirt.

James, father told the Magistrate a different story, saying six policemen came banging on his door and windows and they became "very abusive" when he asked who they were, he asked them:

"How do I know you are not a lot of Sinn Feiners, come to kill me?"

The Magistrate asked if they frightened him? 

"They demanded to be let in and said that they didn't need a warrant, and if James didn't dress himself they would drag him through the streets, as he was"

He eventually let them in the house and said he was sleeping downstairs in the cellar and gave them a candle, and told them to search where they liked.

After a struggle James was pulled out the chimney protesting his innocence and was taken to Regent Road Station, fully clothed I hope and charged with Assault.

In the dock James protested his innocence and claimed that he was attacked by James Swindells and several of his friends, and ran away not wanting to get into any trouble.. he then added that he had joined the Army when he was 15 years of age.

Inspector Mitchell took the stand and gave a damning testimony, saying that James had eleven previous convictions against him in Salford and Warrington. since August 1914, including disorderly conduct, obscene language, unlawfully  military decorations, assault and larceny.

Inquiry Officer, Walton then put the proverbial boot in saying that he had know James for 14 years,

"And I haver known him to be anything but a scoundrel, I believe he has been in the Army but he is a man who is always seeking trouble, who associates with bad characters and has no hesitation in using his hands or his feet, he is a scoundrel and a dangerous man"

James rather cheekily asked Walton if they had gone to school together? he replied, that he was pleased to say that he didn't..

Having had his mind up for him the Magistrate sentenced him to, two months in jail with hard labour.

James Smith certainly sounds a bit of a livewire to say the least and still only 22, would be interesting to read his Army service record though.

The, Before The Bench pages in the defunct Salford City Reporter was often the first page many readers turned to, and why? because the names and addresses of the people in the dock were published and it was a tradition to scan the page in the hope of finding a name they knew.

The stories were more often than not of men, drunk and arguing with the odd passer-by, publicans, policeman and other trades beginning with the letter P and the felons were not always men as the following story from April 1922 shows,

Detective Sergeant Blakeley told a shocked court that women in Salford were drinking methylated spirits when the pubs had shut and acting in a shocking manner not becoming a woman...

Margaret Wilson who lived in Islington Square appeared before the court charged with being drunk on Chapel Street, Constable Dentith said that he saw her drunk at 10 minutes past six on Monday evening and that she had been drinking methylated spirits, she was taken to Chapel Street police station.

In her defence she said she was upset that her son had joined the army and had kept off the drink for several months.

Sergeant Blakeley was in charge when she was brought in, and he considered her to be very drunk and smelt of methylated spirits, which she denied, he added that she had six previous convictions the last occasion was a year ago.

Mrs Wilford a Probation Officer explained that Margaret was a war widow with four children and received a pension of £2 and four shillings a week.

The Magistrate told her that the pension money wasn't for getting drunk on and if you do, you risk losing it, she asked for leniency and was told if she appeared before him again, he would see to it she would lose the pension and bound her over for 12 months to keep the peace.

Next up was Mary Courtney  who "appeared dazed" in the dock who had been found drunk in Dudley Street, Broughton.

The Magistrate said that she wasn't fit to plead and remanded her in custody for a week, it was pointed out to him that she had a permanent address in Fildes Street, Broughton, he fined her 10 shillings.

The last to appear was Mary Cartwright of Islington Square who was charged with being drunk and disorderly on Chapel Street.

Constable Matthews said that he saw Mary dancing to the tune of a barrel organ on New Bailey Street, he told her to move on, and was then seen dancing around a group of people on Chapel Street, when he tried to take her into custody she became violent and threw herself to the ground, in her possession was a bottle that had once contained methylated spirits.

Inspector Mitchell said that Mary had 15 previous convictions for being drunk, the last occasion being six months ago.

She was fined 15 shillings or 21 days in prison.

I have heard many stories about people drinking methylated spirits but mainly men, it is Ethanol and has terrible side effects one being presumably death, a cheap way of getting drunk and numbing your sorrows I suppose, a sad choice for many people though.

I came across the following story from the pages of The Salford City Reporter, April 1922 and I have to admit that I was shocked when I read it, however having re-read it several times I felt a twinge of sympathy for the accused man in this story and for the sake of decency i chosen not to name the families concerned.

The accused man appeared at Salford Magistrates Court before the Chairman, Mr. F.P. Nathan, Mrs Shutt and Mr Cannon charged with stealing from a dead body, a pair of boots valued at 15 shillings.

Inspector Mitchell told the Court that the deceased lived in Whit Lane, Salford and had fell into the River Irwell some, seven weeks earlier and that the body had been recovered close to the Princes Bridge, Salford by the accused man and others.

After it had been placed on the towpath the accused man, was seen to take the boots of the dead man and tie his old boots to the body,

When the deceased man's father came to the mortuary to identify the body he had misgivings about the body being that of his son, no doubt being in the River Irwell for that length of time would cause the body to decompose and worse, the keys in the pockets confirmed that the body was that of his son but was concerned about the shabby boots tied to the body, he stated that his son was wearing new boots when he vanished.

Inspector Mitchell said that the accused man's actions could have caused the body to have been buried unidentified.

Police investigations were made by the police concerning the missing footwear and on the Sunday past, Detective Sergeant Blakeley saw the prisoner in Edmund Street, Salford wearing what appeared to match the description of those alleged to have been stolen, when questioned he denied all knowledge but later admitted the offence.

When asked in Court what he had to say he replied, 

"I have not been in work for a long time and I was in need of a pair of boots,and I didn't think there was any harm in taking them from a dead man"

Detective Sergeant Blakeley told the Bench that the accused man was married with two children, they rented rooms in a house, and his wife was clean and hard working.

The accused man had served in the !5th Lancashire Fusiliers throughout the war and was demobbed in February 1920, he received 38 shillings a week from the Guardians and unemployment donation.

The Chairman told the accused man that the theft was, "particularly disgusting" and sentenced him to three weeks hard labour in Strangeways Gaol.

Yes it is a shocking crime and hard to forgive but the accused man must have been in dire straits to swap his shabby boots with a man's whose body had been in the filthy polluted water of the River Irwell for nearly two months.

He had served his country in the Great War, had no criminal record and had come back to the proverbial, "Homes fit for Heroes" as promised by the Prime Minister David Lloyd George , to find no regular employment, a shared house and a bleak future.

I do have sympathies for both families and this cautionary tale speaks volumes about the lives and conditions of the working class in Salford at this time.

Horseshoes have long been considered lucky, they were originally made of iron, a material that was believed to ward off evil spirits, and traditionally were held in place with seven nails, seven being the luckiest number, however if used in a domestic argument the luck soon wears thin as Nelly Clay was to find out, in this cautionary tale from March 1922.

Nelly appeared at Salford Magistrates Court charged with being drunk and disorderly and causing criminal damage at John Wilkinson's butchers shop on Regent Road by smashing his plate glass window.

Constable Mochan told the Court that he was on duty on the Saturday morning, when he saw Nelly creating a disturbance outside the butchers shop, where her husband worked, she was heard to shout, "I will have justice!" before hurling the horseshoe through the shop window valued at £7 and ten shillings. 

He added that Nelly was using language that she would not have used if she had been sober.

Nelly took the stand and gave her explanation for her behaviour but denied being drunk as she had only drank two bottles of stout.

Then followed her, heartfelt plea.

"When I said I will have justice, I was alluding to my husband, I meant to get at him, last week I was walking along Regent Road, when the woman my husband is living with, pulled me up and aske me, how many men I was going with.

I spoke to my husband but he looked away, if I hadn't have done the window, I would have done him, it is my honour that is at stake, I have to fight against it"

Warrant Officer Stear told the Magistrate that Nelly was separated from her husband and he was living with a recently divorced woman, and that she had been in Court last week in an attempt to get an increase under the separation order.

The Magistrate bound Nelly over for six months in the sum of £10 to keep the peace for six months or he would not be so lenient next time if she appeared in Court.

Poor Nelly, hell hath no fury as a woman scorned as the saying goes, she does sound if she had a right temper, but she was provoked by the "other woman" perhaps she should have used the horseshoe on her instead of the butchers window, also did Mr Clay keep his job and who did eventually pay for the damage?

Sadly every remnant of Regent Road, which was possibly the busiest thoroughfare in Salford with hundreds of shops, pubs, cinemas, a swimming baths, library etc has long gone in the name of progress.

We have all heard stories of alleged police brutality upon prisoners once they are in custody, some possibly true, others possibly made up, but the following story is just that bit different, instead of the police administering the kicking, it's a fellow prisoner, which makes a change I suppose.

The following story is from the pages of The Salford City Reporter, March 1922 and tells the sad story of James Meechan who had appeared at Salford Magistrates Court charged with being drunk and disorderly on Chapel Street and fined seven shillings and sixpence, the day before.

He was now attempting to bring assault charges against, Peter Tracey who is described as being, " a powerful looking young man, of no fixed abode" who was also charged with being drunk and disorderly on Chapel Street on the same evening as Meechan.

Police Constable Howard, told the Magistrate that, he saw Tracey shouting loudly and acting in an an aggressive manner,, when he  told him to be quiet and behave, Tracey replied, "I have shot better policemen than you in Ireland!" hardly likely to endear him to the police.

He was taken into custody but on the way started lashing out and swearing, at the police station he refused to answer any questions and with great difficulty he was put into a cell, sadly his cellmate was James Meechan.

Meechan took the stand and told his tale of woe, he said that he was in the cell and Tracey was thrown in, Tracey then became violent and kicked him in the abdomen and punched him in the face several times, he was taken to the nearby Salford Royal Hospital for treatment to his injuries.

Police Constable Brain then told the Court that he was in charge at the Chapel Street police station when Tracey was brought in for being drunk and disorderly, he was then placed in a cell with Meechan, he then heard shouts and screams coming from the cell, he saw Tracey punching and kicking the unfortunate Meechan.

With the assistance of another Constable they managed to subdue Tracey and took Meechan to the hospital for medical treatment, I wonder what they meant by subdue? I don't think they asked him politely to refrain.

The Magistrate fined Tracey, twenty shillings or 13 days in prison for being drunk and disorderly, and a further two months with hard labour in prison for assaulting James Meechan.

In a nice gesture, the Magistrate told Meechan that he was scrubbing his fine of seven shillings and sixpence from the night before, saying that he had been sufficiently punished, no doubt for the kicking he had received.

Poor Mr Meechan sat in his cell contemplating his fate and this violent brute is chucked in with him, dearie me...

The police station closed in the 1930s but is still standing, it was a printers supplies shop for many years and if you look closely you can see the words Police Station carved into the brickwork above the doorway as this modern photo shows.

Cocaine as we all know is probably the most misused drug in Great Britain today, it was once considered to be the drug of the pop star or the filthy rich, sadly no longer as the streets are literally awash with it.

Cocaine isn't a new drug by any means and before the Great War was a common ingredient in medicines used for treating hay fever as it cleansed the respiratory track by reducing the swelling of mucus and the nasal discharge....snot to you and me. and was put on the Dangerous Drugs Register in 1920.

The following story comes from the pages of the Salford City Reporter, March 1922 and tells of a Cuban seaman, Aurelio Perez who hadn't quite got the hang of selling drugs and appeared at Salford Magistrates Court charged with being in unlawful possession of cocaine

Detective Inspector Mitchell told the Court that, the police had been told that Perez had been seen on Trafford Road, Salford asking people if they wished to purchase any cocaine, and had put two of his detectives on the case.

Detectives Squire and McPhail took up observations and saw Perez approach several people and ask them if they wanted any cocaine, they decided to arrest him and took him to Regent Road, Police Station, a search revealed that he had four bottles in each was ten grammes of cocaine, 40 grammes in total.

He told the officers that he had found the drugs outside the shipping offices on Trafford Road, that old chestnut.. he was charged with unlawful possession, he replied that he was going to take the drugs home.

Further enquiries into Perez revealed that he had failed to register himself as required by The Alien's Order of 1920.

A witness by the name of William Walker gave evidence and told the Court that he was in the Shipping Office when Perez called him outside and asked if he wanted to buy some cocaine, which he naturally refused.

As to the offence under The Aliens Order Act, Sergeant Smith told the court that Perez had been living on Trafford Road since November 1921 but had failed to register with the police, he then suggested that Perez had refrained from signing the register because of his trafficking in the drug.

Detective McPhail said that he had ascertained that Perez had paid frequent visits to Liverpool where it was believed he had obtained the drugs, but it was thought it had come from Rotterdam originally.

The Stipendiary Magistrate, Mr W.P. Atkin imposed a fine of £20 on him or the alternative of 51 days imprisonment, and for failing to register he was fined £1 or a further 13 days imprisonment.

Inspector Mitchell told the Magistrate that he had been given an order for the prisoners deportation for being an undesirable alien, as he had been engaged in serious drug trafficking.

Perez was then taken into custody with a recommendation that he be deported granted by the Magistrate, and an order for the seizure of the drugs was granted.

So, Mr Perez was bundled onto a ship and sent back to Cuba to live a quiet and normal life, which I somehow think he didn't.

Who would have thought it drugs close to Salford Docks....

Yet another story of mischief and naughty deeds in Salford from the pages of the Salford City Reporter, February 1922, which tells of a house of ill repute close to Salford Docks and it's customers and staff.

Thomas Chippendale (no, not the 18th century cabinet maker, hopefully) aged 30 appeared at Salford Magistrates Court, charged with unlawfully keeping a disorderly house in Melbourne Street, Ordsall.

Alongside him in the dock, were three young ladies, Kathleen Connor, Margaret Hodgson and Emily Wright charged with the management of the house.

Constable Howard told the Court that Chippendale was a married man, who was separated from his wife, and had lived at the house in Melbourne Street, for the past nine years, a dwelling of two rooms upstairs and two rooms downstairs for which he paid eight shillings and fourpence a week.

Howard along with P.C, Edwards and Sergeant Lamb had been keeping the house under observation from January 27th until January 30th, on the evening of Friday 27th, he saw one of the women accused on Trafford Road, she then took a Chinaman back to Chippendales house.

Later still the same evening, the other two women accused were seen taking men back to the house, no doubt for a hot meal and a chat.

"Detailed information" was then given to the Stipendiary Magistrate. Mr P. W. Atkin with regards to activities at the house on the other named dates,

Chippendale asked P.C. Howard if he could prove that any of the women in the dock gave him any money? to which he replied, "I can"

Possibly thinking he was on a sticky wicket he asked if he could get a remand so that he could obtain legal assistance, which was granted to him.

Kathleen Connor said to the Court that Chippendale had asked her, to take men back to the house, she also admitted that she had eight previous convictions, she was sentenced to 14 days, hard labour, Margaret Hodgson who had six previous convictions was sentenced to seven days hard labour, Emily Wright was bound over for the sum of £5 and was placed on probation for six months.

A week later Chippendale reappeared at the Court and said that he had been unable to get a solicitor to defend him, but would defend himself.

He said that his wife had left him and he had taken Margaret Hodgson as a housekeeper, and that she invited her friends to the house, she had her own key, when he visited he saw six people there but no signs of impropriety.

The Stipendiary Magistrate told him that this was "a very bad case and you will go to prison for three months, with hard labour.

It has to be said that the Magistrate was keen on tagging on, hard labour along with a prison sentence as a deterrent, but did it work?

Eccles Wharf on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal situated at the bottom of Davis Street and Boardman Street, was once a busy unloading destination for ships delivering goods to the local area, and sadly was the scene of several fatalities, usually involving alcohol and drunken seamen,

This story from the pages of The Eccles Journal, February 1922 tells of the tragic death of a Norwegian sailor, Nils Anthon Nilson aged 27.

An inquest was held into his death with the Manchester District Coroner, Mr G.S. Leresche listening to evidence given to him, so he could decide a verdict.

P.C. Hewitt told the inquest that he and a dock policeman, named Duggan, recovered the body from the Manchester Ship Canal at 11.45 am on the previous Friday, the body was identified by a fellow seaman, Johnson.

It was Johnson who raised the alarm, the previous Monday and he told P.C. Hewitt that that he and Nilson were granted shore leave on the Monday evening and at 7pm went into the Royal Oak Hotel on Barton Lane and had two pints of beer each.

They then strolled around Eccles town centre and had a few more pints, before returning to the Royal Oak Hotel, where they had more drink before making their way to their ship on the wharf, he said that they crossed the railway lines and went around some coal waggons, it was dark and windy.

Nilson was walking ahead of him, when he suddenly disappeared, and then he heard a loud splash, he climbed down a ladder at the side of the canal but couldn't see him in the water, he hurried back to the ship and informed the ships Watchman of the incident.

The ships Chief Officer told P.C. Hewitt that Nilson was was of good character and that he had advanced him ten shillings on the Saturday and doubted that he would have had much money left to spend on alcohol.

P.C. Duggan told the inquest that there was a powerful light about 80 yards from where the accident occurred but the two sailors went around the dark side of the waggons, probably under the impression that there was a set of safety rails on the other side.

The P.C. Hewitt told the Coroner that he had warned Johnson that he had to appear at this inquest and that he had promised to do so, however the ship sailed that morning with him on it and would not return for another 12 months.

The Coroner asked that representation be sent to the Norwegian Consul requesting that the men's contempt of court in not being present.

He then returned a verdict of, Accidental Death.

I don't think there is anything sinister in the men not being at the inquest. And it would seem that poor Mr Nilson wasn't used to the strong beer in the Royal Oak, Joseph Holt's brew and in a drunken state fell into the canal and drowned.

The Irwell Wharf has long gone and the Royal Oak has closed down recently for anyone interested, signs of the times.

Another story from the pages of the Salford City Reporter, February 1922 which tells of a rather cocksure chap who got his just desserts from the Magistrate.

Sarah Rawlingson, described as a smartly dressed maid employed at The Trafford Park Hotel and Andrew Doherty, a waiter at the same establishment appeared at Salford Magistrates Court , charged with being drunk and disorderly on Trafford Road, Salford, Doherty was also charged with assaulting Constable Callan by biting his finger.

The bandaged Constable told the court that he was called to the Clowes Hotel, Trafford Road, where Sarah Rawlingson had complained that she had a gold bracelet stolen from her wrist, he asked her to search her pockets and the missing bracelet was found.

They were both asked to leave the premises but they began arguing and shouting at customers, with Doherty shouting that Sarah was his wife and nobody must manhandle her or else.

Constable Callan then asked them politely to leave the pub and get on a passing tram back to Trafford Park, they both started pushing him and Doherty bit him on his finger, so he took them both into custody.

Sarah pleaded guilty to the offence, whilst Doherty said he did not recollect biting Constable Callan.

Mrs Wilford a Probation Officer told the court that Sarah was a married woman with two children, living apart from her husband, making Doherty's claim that she was his wife, wishful thinking.

An inquiry officer by the name of Walton, said that Doherty was aged 28, who had treated this offence lightly and had boasted that he could always get his friends to pay his fine.

Sarah was fined seven shillings and sixpence and Doherty 20 shillings.

The newspaper then reported that Doherty with a smile on his face attempted to make a hasty departure from the dock, when the Stipendiary Magistrate, shouted out, "Come back I haven't finished with you yet, you will go to prison for for 14 days with hard labour for biting the Constable and I can't but help think you have led this girl astray"

I should imagine the gate arrest wiped the smile off his face, he shouldn't have been so cocky, boasting about his friends, none of them could do his hard labour in Strangeways for him, so be warned!

Last week we attended a memorial service for the coal miners killed at Agecroft Pit, Salford, when new names were added to those previously listed, with ages ranging from 10 years of age to 70.

I came across this story from the Salford City Reporter, February 1922 the inquest report into the death of Daniel Allam aged 17, a colliery wagoner at Pendleton Colliery who lived in Ann Street, Pendleton.

The inquest was held at Pendleton Town Hall with the Coroner, Mr Holmes, Mr G. B. Harrison, H.M Inspector for mining for Swinton and Mr Sutton representing the Lancashire and Cheshire, Miners Federation.

Mr Benjamin Hole, told the inquest that the deceased was his stepson, who left home at 6 am the previous Thursday to go to work, and at 11 am he received information from the colliery that Daniel had been involved in a serious accident, he went to the pit and was told that he had been taken home in an ambulance, upon reaching home he found that the boy was dead.

John Powell a wagoner at the pit told the inquest that about 10 am he saw Daniel pushing an empty coal waggon, when a steel rope attached to a full waggon of coal, snapped, sending the full waggon down an incline some 30 yards long, smashing into the empty waggon, jamming him against it, he went to his assistance but he was already dead.

The Coroner asked him if he had ever seen the steel ropes tested and was told that it was frequently inspected by the fireman, he then suggested that had become slack, and then suddenly tightened, and could take a strain of four and five tons under ordinary circumstances.

Walter White a collier who resided at Bradshaw Street, Pendleton, said that the rope was taut when the waggon was a yard from the incline, there was no control over the truck when the rope snapped, and the only chance that Allam had of survival was if the waggon had come off the rails but it kept on the track all the way down the incline,

White then took the body to the surface and then home in the ambulance.

The Coroner in summing up, said that he was satisfied that the ropes were tested regularly, but it was difficult to understand how the rope broke.

A verdict of Accidental Death was recorded.

Such a sad story, a young life snuffed out in such horrific circumstances, I can't understand why they took his body home in an ambulance, it was obvious that he was dead, surely the nearest hospital mortuary was the place to take him?

Hopefully this young boys name will be added to any further memorials in the future.

The Pendleton Colliery was located on Whit Lane, Salford and was mined from the 1830s until it's closure in 1939.