Murder thankfully is still a fairly rare occurrence in this country, this story from February 1920 tells of such a terrible deed and how the perpertrator paid the ultimate penalty, death by hanging.

Ida Prescott 44, was a widow with two children Irene aged 12 and William aged 10, who lived at 90 Manchester Road, Clifton.

On the evening of Monday, February 16, Irene was seen running from the house and screaming for help, her next door neighbour, Tom Haslam heard the commotion and raced out, a passing collier, Charles Penberthy also came to the assistance, armed with pokers they made their way into the house.

They were met with the sight of Ida lying on the floor in a pool of blood, her throat had been cut ear to ear.

Just then William Thomas Aldred came into the house from the back door, Haslam asked him if he had done this, to which he replied, "It was me, there is no need to get excited about it"

The police were summoned and P.C. Holden took Aldred into police custody, a search was made of the area and a blood stained cut throat razor was found on the roof of a neighbours outside toilet.

The local newspaper reported that Ida and William Aldred were, "keeping company", he was a widower who had lost a son in the war, and was employed at Bridgewater Mill, Pendlebury.

An inquest was held into her death at Clifton Parochial Offices the following day, were a large crowd, several hundred in number,mainly women had gathered in the hope of seeing Aldred and no doubt, injuring him.

He was bundled into a taxi with two constables and Inspector Holt to make sure no harm came to it as he was escorted from Clifton and Swinton to Strangeways prison.

The Coroner recorded a verdict of "Wilful Murder" on Ida and Aldred was sent for trial to the Manchester Assizes set for May 1920.

He pleaded not guilty at his trial but the jury were told that he was a jealous and possessive man, who drank a lot and often turned up at Ida's house causing trouble.

On the day of the murder Aldred missed work, and in the evening called at her house and took her son, William shopping for chips and tripe for their supper whilst he went in a nearby pub.

They both returned home and they all sat down in the kitchen to eat the meal he had bought them,things must have turned nasty for Ida told Irene to go to bed, she refused and sat in the other room.

The poor girl then heard screams and her mother staggered into the room with blood gushing from a gaping wound in her throat, this is when she ran out of the house looking for help.

Evidence was then heard that Aldred had been in the "Imbecile Ward" at Barton Hospital on Green Lane on two occasions, once in 1916 and again in 1919 for treatment to his nerves and a nervous breakdown.

The Medical Doctor at Strangeways, Dr Shannon told the court that, he had Aldred under observation at the prison and had not seen any obvious traits of insanity when he examined him.

The jury retired to consider their verdict and came back with a unanimous "Guilty"

He was asked if he had anything to say before sentence was passed upon him,

"All I can say is that I am sorry, I must have lost control of myself, that is all"

Mr Justice McCardle the placed the black cap on his head and passed the sentence of death upon him.

Aldred did appeal the sentence on the grounds of temporary insanity but this was turned down.

He was executed at Strangeways prison on Tuesday, June 22 by the public hangman, John Ellis.

It was stated that Aldred dies instantaneously and death was recorded as being due to dislocation of the neck.

Today I paid a visit to the Crown Theatre, Liverpool Road, Eccles after diggers were seen on the site, levelling the ground and generally making good the area.

I spoke to the site manager, Simon from Goodwins who told me that the digger was doing, "enabling work" a posh term for getting the ground ready for construction work, which will start in the next few months, and new safety barriers are being erected around the site.

I have a long term fascination with this building and it's rich and varied history, so I would like to share a few anecdotes about the performers who have played here and incidents at the theatre.

The building opened in February 1899 and was called the Lyceum Theatre and it originally put on Shakespeare productions and high brow revues, sadly the people of Eccles were not too enamoured with this and wanted good old fashioned music hall revues.

And so their wish was granted with top name artistes treading the boards here, including a young Charlie Chaplin in 1910, George Formby Senior and George Formby Junior, Frank Randle as one of the Bouncing Randles, trampoline artistes, Ted Ray, Linga Singh, Will Hay, Max Miller, Max Erard and countless others.

I came across some strange acts that performed here and I would like to share just a few with you.

In June 1900 a revue called, The "Klondyke Nugget" played here, a full Cowboys and Indians show complete with horses on stage, gunfights even a band called "The Alaska Brass band" even a shooting contest with local councillors taking part.

This revue was the work of Samuel S. F. Cody, no relation to Buffalo Bill, but he was an American who led an amazing life of his own.

He developed a man-lifting kite and sold the patent to the War Office in 1906, and in 1908 became the first man in Great Britain to build and fly his own plane in a sustained power flight and won £5,000 in a Round Britain air race in 1912, sadly he died when his plane crashed at Laffan Plains, Aldershot in August 1913.

A chap called Dr Walford Bodie appeared here in 1903 and he billed himself as being, "The World's Greatest Hypnotist, Electrician and Scientist" obviously a very modest man.

He claimed he could cure people with polio by giving them electric shocks with his "Royal Magnets" and on stage he allegedly cured two young boys of polio, James Bethell and Willie Davis, they arrived in wheelchairs and walked out of the Theatre.

Bodie led a fascinating life, he even introduced an electric chair into his act and would electrocute his female assistants, also hypnotising them so that they would sleep in a coffin in a shop window for several days, in Birmingham a deranged youth ran on stage and tried to kill him, to no avail.

In 1905 King Edward V11 was so impressed with his stage act in London that he visited him backstage to congratulate him!

He incurred the wrath of the medical profession with his use of the initials M.D, he said that they stood for Merry Devil not Medical Doctor and shrugged it off, however a large mob of medical students would turn up at his shows causing mayhem, pelting him with bricks and rotten fruit, causing him to flee the stage.

If you get the chance, look into Walford Bodie a truly remarkable man who could list Chaplin, Houdini, Harry Lauder. Marie Lloyd and many more as his friends.

Continuing with the bizarre a chap called Samson appeared here in 1921 and his act consisted of him performing feats of strength such as bending iron girders, catching a 200lb canonball fired from a cannon 20 feet away and the highlight of the act was to have a motor car drive over him on stage, Follow that!

If you think that was strange, consider, "Fred Ropers Midget Company" this consisted of a troupe of midgets who each did a novelty act, such as singing, dancing or juggling, he even put adverts in the Eccles Journal to let people know that would be arriving at Eccles Train Station and then taking afternoon tea in the Furnishing Department at Eccles Co-op Stores.

The Crown became a cinema in 1932 and carried on showing films until 1963 when it became a bingo hall, this too closed in the mid 1990s.

Finally no story is complete without a ghost in it, is there? spare a thought for Fred Mason a decorative painter who was killed  shortly before the grand opening when part of the scaffolding he was working on collapsed and he fell 45 feet to his death into the auditorium.

Obviously many,many more stories can be told about the Crown Theatre and I am certain you have your own, so feel free to share them with me.

I have been compiling stories from Salford’s past for many years and in the court cases from 100 years ago it seemed that the same old bobbies turned up time and time again.

There used to be a joke that went, “A policeman gets assaulted every 15 minutes in England, and he is getting tired off it”

The following Salford bobbies, P.C.s, Lamb, Neary, McDonald, Jaggard, Bennett, Gleeson, Newton, Ryan and Pitt were charged with patrolling Cross Lane and Trafford Road, an area known locally as The Barbary Coast which was popular with foreign sailors and ladies of the night who used to ply their “trade” in the many public houses there.

Here are just a few which I have gleaned over the years and have published in my, Cross Lane book or on SalfordOnline or Salford History, so take a walk on the wild side with me.

I have mentioned P.C. Lamb later to be Sergeant Lamb in many stories including one this week when he sorted out a house of ill repute on Treble Street, however I came this story about him which I found interesting.

In November 1923, Sergeant John Lamb who lived at Cross Lane police station with his wife and children was put in charge of escorting twenty Bolshevik Russian sailors from Salford Docks to Tilbury Docks in Essex. where they were to be deported to Petrograd.

Sadly he had a heart attack at Tilbury and died, his body was returned to Salford for burial in Southern Cemetery. Manchester.

At his funeral 100 policemen accompanied the coffin from Cross lane police station and the funeral cortege was half a mile long and witnessed by thousands of people who lined Cross Lane and Trafford Road.

June 1917 and two brothers  James and Dennis O’Neill from Belfast had come to England to work in munitions for the war effort, but seemed 

intent on causing their own war on Cross Lane.

They were seen standing in the road shouting and swearing and were asked by P.C.s Lamb and Neary to move along. quietly.

James O’Neill was having none of it and shouted out, “This is a free county and we shall stand where we like!”

Not to be outdone his brother,Dennis O’ Neill in a fit of confused patriotism shouted out. “We are not Prussianised in England yet!”

A large crowd gathered as the men were taken to Cross Lane police station, police reinforcements were sent for who broke up the angry mob gathered outside.
The O’Neill brothers were given six months hard labour for their troubles.

Perhaps the most serious example of public disorder came in July 1917 when Thomas Bright a discharged soldier was seen with a friend and two female companions  talking to a soldier from the nearby Drill Hall,

He told them he was going back to France with his unit, Bright shouted out,

“You are not going back to fight for those ********* policeman there are you” and pointed at PCs  McDonald and Neary.

He then took the rifle from the soldiers shoulder and said,

“You are not going back to fight for those ********* policeman there are you” and pointed at PCs  McDonald and Neary.

He then took the rifle from the soldiers shoulder and said,

“If I had two rounds of ammunition in this rifle I would blow their ********heads off!”

The constables arrested Bright but the situation escalated as a large mob gathered intent on causing trouble.

P.C.s Lamb and Howard arrived on the scene but they were attacked by the crowd and they all retreated into the safety of the Cross lane police station.

The mob by know had grown to some three or four thousand strong and some were threatening to wreck the police station if Bright wasn’t released and fighting broke out again.

Amongst those arrested  was a Mrs Hannah Henshall who was shouting.

“You ****** rotten dogs, you ought to be in the army, where my husband is!”

James Larkin, presumably not the same one, was heard to shout,

“Come on, let’s get him out, there are only two ********policemen!”

William Forsyth was encouraging the mob and shouted out, 

“Come on, we won’t let them take our wounded soldiers, lets bash them with a bottle!”

The mob eventually broke up but police reinforcements guarded the police station overnight in case the mob returned.

The next day the accused appeared at Salford Magistrates Court Bright was fined £1 and was told by the Stipendary Magistrate MrAtkin that if hadn’t have had a good army record, he would have been sent to gaol.

The others received fines ranging from five shillings to a £1, only James Larkin received a prison sentence, he was given seven days hard labour.

It was interesting to read that a large crowd had gathered in Bexley Square outside the courts and afterwards had a collection for the people who had received fines, so they could be paid!

I should imagine that, the above headline has caught your attention, it did mine when I first read it, because it comes from the pages of the Salford City Reporter, February 1920 and is a shocking example of the casual racism that was bandied  about in the press those days.

The story was about a man who got stabbed by a black seaman on Broadway, just off Trafford Road, following an altercation it also carried the strapline, "Nigger Stated To Have Cut Three Men"

I make no excuse for using those words, I am hoping to show how black people were perceived at the time and the use of the N word was prevalent, sadly.

Archie Samuel Gittens 27, appeared at Salford Magistrates Court charged with maliciously wounding Joseph Dewhurst who lived at Bemsley Street, Salford.

Astonishingly he was described as being, "A frizzy haired, lynx-eyed nigger" that description is beyond belief.

Inspector Clarke told the packed court that at 11.30pm the previous Thursday evening, Dewhurst and a couple of his friends were walking along Trafford Road and had reached the corner of Tatton Street when two coloured seaman rushed up to them and without provocation, one stabbed him in the face, and then ran away.

Despite bleeding heavily he ran after his assailant but when he caught up with him, he was stabbed again this time in the arm, the blow caused him to fall to the floor.

His friends called for an ambulance and he was taken to Salford Royal Hospital were Dr Ellis inserted 13 stitches to his wounds, none of which were life threatening.

The next day Detective Sergeants Norman and Coates were assigned the case and were soon guided to a Spanish merchant ship, berthed at Salford Docks.

They boarded the boat and questioned Gittens about the stabbing, and he was quite open and frank to to them, he is alleged to have said,

"I will tell you about the fight, I went into a chip-potato shop on Trafford Road for some food, a mob in there demanded that I buy them all food.

"I told them that I would not do so and walked out, straight into another mob of men who called me names and shouted at me and my friend.

"I did cut the man and I cut three more more, I ran off down Broadway and threw the knife away"

He was arrested and taken to to the Trafford Road police station and charged with the offence mentioned.

Back in court Inspector Clarke added that police enquiries had failed to find the three other men that Gittens had alleged to have cut and no complaints had been received by the police.

The Stipendary Magistrate having weighed up the evidence told Gittens that only cowards fight with knives and sentenced him to six months imprisonment with hard labour.

Obviously Gittens got the punishment he deserved but I can't help wondering if the press han't made things worse with such inflammatory statements and I am certain they would not have helped race relations in Salford which was developing foreign communities including Black, Maltese, Chinese etc mainly seaman from the docks who had decided to stay in Salford and make a new life here.

Happily I have seen very few stories that are directly related to race hate in Salford and lets keep it that way.

I mentioned a few weeks ago about the discovery of some beautiful tiles by workmen renovating a shop on Church Street, Eccles, which will shortly be transformed into a Ladies hairdressers.

Research showed that the tiles belonged to a confectionery shop called, Bowdens Limited, hence the monogram.

The shop was listed in the 1923 Trades Directory but by 1939 it had been taken over by Meeson's Limited another well known confectionery company.

Today I passed and looked into the shop, sadly but inevitably the tiles have been covered with plasterboard and skimmed over, hiding them from the public view forever.

I was hoping that they could have been left in-situ as a reminder of the shops heritage, sadly not to be.

Possibly it would have been a nigh on impossible task to remove them and clean them up, they were firmly cemented to the wall and some damage was inevitable.

We can only take consolation from the fact that we were allowed to see them and record them for posterity and in a strange way they have been preserved and who knows in another 70 years they may be revealed again and this time perhaps kept?

One of the more serious charges to be held against a woman was to be convicted of running a disorderly house, or as I like to call it, a brothel.

There was an obvious stigma attached to this kind of woman, "the talk of the wash house", "a fallen woman". "lady of the night" etc but this "profession" still carries on.

This story from the Salford City Reporter, February 1920, tells of two sisters, Mabel Tomlinson and May Brown who appeared at Salford Magistrates Court accused of running a disorderly house and assisting in the management, respectively.

P.C. Lamb, who was a well known and feared beat bobby in Salford had been keeping his beady eye on their house in Treble Street, off Trafford Road, close to Salford Docks, possibly a little too close.

On two separate occasions he had seen the ladies in question escorting gentlemen back to the house, they would go in the front door and the men would be let in by the back door, possibly to avoid detection.

No doubt morally outraged he decided that enough was enough and decided to put a stop to their shenanigans and banged on the door.

Mabel answered the door, he demanded to know who the gentleman was she had just brought home, to which she replied rather cheekily, "you find out".

No doubt enraged by her answer he along with P.C.Walton burst into the house were they saw a Norwegian seaman in the kitchen with May Brown, he asked him if he knew the woman,

"Yes I know the Missus, I met her in a hotel we had a few drinks"

They turned their attention back to Mabel and told her that the police had received numerous complaints about her conduct, she wasn't happy with that,

"I'll bring back as many gentlemen as I like, my husband doesn't keep me"

A stern woman to say the least, talking back to the police like that, I have a grudging admiration for her,

Then for some reason, she rather foolishly offered P.C. Lamb a ten shilling note saying, "take that and say no more about it", he declined her offer as they say, she then offered it to P.C. Walton who also refused to take it.

Our boys in blue had seen enough and chucked the Norwegian seaman out and carted the women off to the police station were they were charged with the above offences.

The ladies had Mr Howard Flint defending them and he asked P.C. Lamb how many men he had seen go into the house, he replied 14 but admitted that he had seen no actual impropriety taking place,

Mabel took the stand and told the court that Mr Tomlinson was her second husband but they were separated and that her younger sister, May was staying with her because she and her husband were not seeing eye to eye.

May was described as being, "a pleasant looking girl" she told the court she and her husband, Albert had agreed to separate because, "they could not agree", -  not sure what that means - but that he did call and see her at her new address.

Alfred Brown for some reason told the court that he still visited his wife and gave her money when he could afford it? not sure what for though.

The Stipendary Magistrate turned his anger on the two women and really blasted into them as he witheringly told them,

"May Brown, do not for a moment think that I disbelieve anything that has been told me by the prosecution, I believe every word of it, but I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt of your husband giving you money.

I hope that you have not gone so far that you cannot turn around and go back home to your husband, You are discharged"

"Mabel Tomlinson, I blame you entirely, I think you are a very immoral woman, unfortunately as I have given your sister another chance, I cannot convict you"

Both women left the court, rather quickly I should imagine if they had any sense just in case he changed his mind, in cases like this it usually carried a custodial sentence,

One thing still puzzles me, Albert Brown giving his wife money, surely not for services rendered!

Aren't the kids of today little terrors, needlessly smashing things up, stealing other people's property and generally running wild, not like when I was..(insert own age group here).

Actually they have always been like that , just look through any old newspapers as I often do, and its the same old story of bored teenagers getting up to no good as this court case from February 1920 shows only too clearly, only the weren't even in their teens!

Mr Dyson who owned a chemist shop on Marlborough Road, Higher Broughton was in for a rude shock when he returned from his dinner break and found a window at the back had been smashed and somebody had been in the shop.

To his horror he found his shelves had been ransacked and the following items were missing, four tins of pastilles, one pound of cachous, four bars of soap, two tooth brushes, three boxes of cinnamon tablets, seven bottles of perfume, one dozen safety razor blades, three pounds of Spanish and five tins of boiled sweets, with a total value of £4 and ten shillings.

The police were called and Detectives Bird and Hodgson were assigned the case and they quickly made a lead thanks to a tip-off, always the way.

They visited an unnamed school and questioned two young boys, Harold Dunn aged 12 and Michael Earley also aged 12, they soon cracked and confessed with Dunn saying, "I'll tell you the truth, we both broke into Dyson's but we didn't take anything we threw it all away"

However once he got in the swing of confessing to things, he wouldn't shut up and confessed that they had both broke into a confectioners on Waterloo Road the day before and caused, "some damage inside" a slight understatement as you will see.

They were both charged with breaking and entering into the two shops and causing criminal damage and appeared at Salford Magistrates Court the following day.

Detective Hodgson told the court about the "some damage" inside the confectioners shop and it sounds a right mess, but I could imagine these two young boys getting carried away once they had started.

Eggs had been thrown up and down the floor, at the walls and the ceiling, four cases of chocolate were opened and trampled into the mass of egg yolks and shells.

On top of this they poured the contents of bottles of cordials, then they took from the shop window a dummy wedding cake and poured into it a mix of eggs, chocolate and cordial followed by a large bag of mixed sweetmeats.

He then said that the damage was "simply wanton" and when the "outrage" was discovered it took a spade to clear the mess from the floor..stop laughing!

The Stipendary told the boys it was a, "thoroughly naughty thing to do" and sentenced Dunn to receive six strokes of the birch whilst Early was remanded in custody for a week with a view to sending him to a reformatory.

When Mrs Dunn was informed she could witness the birching of her boy she said she did not wish to do so, but hoped that, "they would give it him very severely"

So there we go nothing has been learnt and nothing has changed apart from the birch being banned, however I fear there are a minority of people who would welcome it back.

Many of you hopefully have had a stroll through the grounds of Eccles Parish Church and enjoyed the pleasant greenery of the gardens, with cherry blossoms trees and weeping willows helping create a tranquil setting to enjoy the 12th Century church.

Until 1965 headstones were still on display with over 4,000 people buried there when the headstones were removed and the area grassed over.

Dotted around the eastern wall of the church are about 20 headstones one chosen from each century to show the different designs used throughout the years.

A few years ago I was admiring the Eccles mural, the original painted by Ed Povey in 1980, which in turn was painted over in 2012, at the side of the mural are a set of steps which lead to the back of the Grapes pub.

I walked up the stairs and was amazed to make out part of a headstone protruding from the churchyard but now being used used as part of a flagged pathway, with very little lettering showing to give any clues as to whose it was.

Today I was passing and revisited the spot and was pleased to the headstone still showing but overgrown with moss, grass and weeds.

I spotted the Eccles Precinct security staff, Mark and Alex and asked if they would kindly give me a hand to clean away the rubbish and hopefully reveal some more clues, the temptation to call them Burke and Hare was overwhelming I must admit.

They very kindly shovelled away the grass and poured water on the stone and slowly we were able to make out some lettering which was barely legible.

More water and a stiff brushing revealed even more of the lettering, which appears to read,

"In Memory of John son of William....Harrison...Departed"

Sadly the rest of the headstone goes under a fence and into the churchyard and we were unable to clear away any more grass without trespassing onto church ground.

The mystery is, Who were the Harrison family, I do know it is quite a common name in the Eccles area, we even have a Harrison Street in Peel Green.

Why is the headstone in such an incongruous setting, was it one of the headstones that was removed in 1965 and has somehow ended up as part of footpath, there are slabs of stone  there but they don't appear to be headstones to me.

Obviously more research is needed but the whole gravestone if it is intact, needs to be exposed and cleaned before we can find out who the people are.

Hard to believe but the Conservative Party once held sway in Salford and held the majority of seats on Salford Council and their members were considered to be the respectable, upstanding pillars of the community.

This story from January 1920 shows some of them in a somewhat different light and obviously not all Tories behave like this.

The steward of the North Conservative Club in Broughton was having his usual quiet night, serving members and was preparing to close for the night when his reverie was rudely shattered by the arrival of six men led by Frank Nolan.

They marched to the bar and demanded to be served beer, it goes without saying that all of them were under the influence of drink and used threats of violence to members of the club and bar staff, some people were so alarmed that they ran upstairs and hid.

The steward tried to reason with the men, saying that the bar was closed and if they didn't leave he would be forced to summon the police.

Sadly this appeal fell on deaf ears as they demanded to be served and once again threatened him with violence if they didn't get their drinks, he became so scared that he fled from the club and went looking for a constable.

When he returned a few minutes later with a passing beat bobby, to his horror he found six empty beer glasses with dregs floating in the bottom, the bounders had helped themselves!

He demanded to know who drawn the beer only to be told by Nolan, "Me"

His chum Richard Laithwaite then casually chucked a half crown coin onto the bar and said,

"I'm paying for it, keep the change"

I love a generous drunk.

Laithwaite strolled into the lobby and saw the policeman and told him.

"I am in charge of this gang, Fall in: right turn, quick march"

They marched out of the club and into a waiting taxi and drove off into the night.

Detective Sergeants Cheetham and Birds were assigned the case, they soon tracked down the good companions at their home addresses and arrested them.

They appeared at Salford Magistrates Court before, Mr P.W. Atkin with Major Parker Morris prosecuting, and Mr Gilman Jones acting for their defence.

They were charged with, "Consuming beer on the premises of North Salford Conservative Club in contravention of Section 2 of the Central Boards Control"

I think that means that they nicked their beer after time,

Mr Gilman Jones in their defence said that it was a "silly escapade" for which all the men have apologised and deeply regret.

Major Morris pointed out that Laithwaite has been earlier expelled from the club and Nolan had been refused membership of the club.

The Stipendiary fined Laithwaite £10 and the other accused £5 each saying.

"There is nothing a political club is as jealous as, as it's good name"

I get the impression that Laithwaite and Nolan had been earlier hooved out of the club and they had returned drunk making a nuisance of themselves in some form of petty revenge.

Tories don't you just love them.

The legendary American pioneer, William Frederick Cody better known as Buffalo Bill who was at one time was  a Pony Express rider, Army scout, buffalo hunter and in later life  the owner of the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show which toured Europe with genuine Native American from the Sioux and Oglala tribes, cowboy sharpshooters, stage coaches, wagon trains and even a herd of buffalo!

Bill rolled into Salford in early December 1887 and set up camp on the Salford Racecourse at New Barnes, later to be the site of the Number Nine Dock at Salford Docks.

As can be imagined 1,00's of visitors flocked to see this show and Bill ever the showman was only  to eager to please his adoring public with exhibitions of rifle shooting, mock ups of famous battles including Little Big Horn and plenty of blood curdling action guaranteed.

The Wild West Show ran from 14th December until 30th April 1888 and was seen by everyone from MP's, Mayors, Magistrates, merchants, traders and the people of Salford who must have been transfixed by the spectacle unfolding before them.

There were a couple of incidents on the Salford leg of the tour, firstly one of the troupe a Native American Indian, called, "Surrounded" died of a chest infection, this was seen as being a curse on the show by some, rumours of his burial have been circulating for some time, he was allegedly buried in Weaste Cemetery, which proved to be untrue, then in Brompton Cemetery in London, but no records exist to show this internment, there is speculation that that he was secretly buried on the showground by his friends, possible?

The second incident is that a baby girl was born to "Goodrobe" and "Little Chief" the first ever Native American child to be born overseas, this caused much excitement not only in the camp but in the local press.

The little girl was baptised in St Clement's Church in Ordsall, and was given the name, "Overseas" and the English name of Frances, Victoria, Alexander, the names were for Frances Cleveland who was the wife of the American President, Grover Cleveland, Queen Victoria and The Princess of Wales, Alexander,

For me the best story involving the visit to Salford concerned a court case which involved Buffalo Bill, which I came across whilst researching for my Cross Lane book (still available in all good bookshops!)

On the day before was due to leave to Salford with the show he went out drinking in several pubs and naturally decided to visit a few of the pubs on Cross Lane, I'll bet that was a sight to behold.

On the 1st May 1888, he went in the Buck Hotel to have a farewell drink with the Landlord, a chap called Thomas Twist, after a few drinks a hansom cab was called to take Bill back to his lodgings in nearby Howard Street, which shattered my illusions about Bill sleeping underneath the starry, Salford skies in a tent.

The cabdriver Mr Broadhurst duly arrived and Bill was waved off, however when they arrived at his address, Bill refused to pay saying that Broadhurst had taken him the long way round, that old trick then!

Bill went into the house and slammed the door, Broadhurst, brave chap, banged on the door and demanded his money - wrong move - Bill came out grabbed him by the neck and punched him in the face and promptly went back in the house.

Broadhurst went to the police and demanded that Bill be arrested, now this put the police in a dilemma because Salford Council had mooted the idea of naming Broadway, Buffalo Bill Way and possibly the Freedom of Salford for him, for all the charitable work he had done during his stay here.

A summons was issued and Mr Twist turned up at Court in his place, whilst Buffalo Bill sent his apologies, and pleaded Guilty but under provocation and was prepared to accept whatever the Magistrate thought fit.

The Stipendiary Mr Makinson fined Bill £3 plus costs which included ten shillings for Mr Broadhurst and his cab fare, which was paid at once by Mr Twist.

Buffalo Bill did return to Manchester but not Salford, in 1891 and 1902, perhaps he had, had enough of our cab drivers?

Pigeon's we all all love them right? feathered flying rats, wartime heroes (Dickins Medal the animal VC) a table delicacy, (Speckled Jim) a much loved creature of fanciers and breeders? Take your pick.

I do know that racing and breeding pigeons was and is an extremely popular sport with strong working class roots, birds have been known to change hands for as much as for a staggering £1.07 million and with prize money as high as £30, 000 competition is fierce.

What has this got to do with your usual local history stories I almost hear you ask, well settle down, don't ruffle your feathers and all will be explained.

January 1920 saw a strange case at the Salford Magistrates Court when Daniel Harman 23, who resided at Irlam Square. Pendleton appeared charged with theft of a racing pigeon.

Samuel Corbett who lived at Bolton Road, Irlams O' Th' Height was a collier at Agecroft Colliery and was described as having an excellent collection of birds, and had been quite successful in winning a number of sweepstakes and prize money in the local area.

He had one fine specimen which was sadly unnamed he valued at £5 a not inconsiderable sum, which he had prepared for a forthcoming race which had a prize of £25.

Obviously Sam loved his pigeon and one can only imagine his horror when he went to the cote to feed his beloved bird, only to find to his horror that the bird was missing, the cote had been safely locked when he left and he flew to the conclusion that his bird hadn't flown but had been stolen!

His suspicions were aroused and he decided to keep watch on neighbouring cotes to find his beloved bird, going as far as hiding in bushes and sleeping overnight to catch the bird burglar.

Two nights later his labours were rewarded when he spotted Hardman holding his pigeon, he leapt from his hiding place and demanded.

"What are you doing with my bird?"

Hardly phased he casually replied,

"Oh take your bird"

Corbett took hold of it and to his consternation found that the feathers on one side of it's wing had been clipped off , "in a most shameful manner leaving the quills bare"

He furiously demanded what he had one to his beloved pigeon only to be told that he wanted some eggs from the bird and with that breezed off.

The police were called and Detective Sergeant McNee was summoned to investigate the fowl deed.

He arrested Hardman at home and asked him why he had done it, and was told,

"Yes I did steal it, I did it for spite"

The Stipendary Magistrate heard the evidence and said, 

"it is about as mean a thing as I have heard in years"

He then fined £20 or go to prison for 51 days, yes we all thought he deserved bird.

Not a lot I can say really as I have run out of pigeon/bird puns but I can assure you that it is a true story! 

I'll get my cote.

Salford Docks was an amazing place, I can remember as a youngster going to Old Trafford cutting through Mode Wheel Locks over the Ship Canal, past the Dry Docks and marvelling at the ocean going boats lined up in the docks.

As we know the docks finally closed in 1982 with the loss of 3,000 jobs, a hammer blow to the to the local economy and workforce.

At one time nearly every family in Salford had s family member employed there or at least knew somebody employed there, such was it's size.

As can be expected with all the goods being transported through the docks, it was often the case that certain goods were often "mislaid" to put it politely, we have to remember that that the surrounding area was one of the poorest in Salford, I can't frown upon the the actions of a dock worker who would take food home to feed his family.

This tale from January 1920 tells just such a story and I do have to admit feeling sorry for this poor chap.

John Kelly 32, described as being, "a crippled dock labourer" appeared at Salford Magistrates Court charged with being in Unlawful Possession of a tin of jam, 18 pounds of sugar and two packets of grape nuts, alleged to have been stolen from Salford Docks and assaulting Sergeant Rowlands of the Dock Police.

The full story unfolded before the Stipendiary Magistrate and Court officials.

Sgt Rowlands told the court that he saw Kelly acting suspiciously and asked him what was in his pockets, instead of replying, "my hands", an old joke" he produced a two pound tin of jam which he said he had bought outside the docks earlier.

When questioned as to which shop he had purchased it from, Kelly rather cheekily replied,

"That's for you to find out"

In my some what limited experience I have found that sarcasm and wit don't go down to well with the Salford Police and I should imagine it was the case then.

Sgt Rowlands collared Kelly and proceeded to drag him to the Docks Police Office.

He then said that Kelly became violent, tripped him up and kicked him as he lay on the floor, undeterred he got up and gave chase, Kelly ducked underneath some railway wagons and once again tripped him up and started fighting again.

I have to sat Kelly was a very nimble, "cripple" outrunning the Sergeant and ripping him up twice.

More police were summoned and he was dragged out from underneath the wagons taken into police custody and charged with the offences.

Inspector Carrol tool the stand  and said he saw both men fighting together on the floor, adding that "they were both exhausted and looked like chimney sweeps"

A search was made of Kelly's house in nearby Howard Street were the sugar and grape nuts were found.

Defending Kelly was a Mr F. Lewis-Jones who asked Sgt Rowlands if it was true he pushed Kelly to the floor because he wasn't walking fast enough,which was obviously denied.

The Stipendiary heard all the evidence such as it was and sentenced Kelly to prison for seven days for the theft and one months imprisonment with hard labour for police assault.

On a more humane note he said there was no evidence that the sugar and grape nuts found in Kelly's house was stolen and ordered them to be returned to him.

A strange and sad case because Kelly once released from prison would never again be able to work at the docks and as a cripple would find it hard to find suitable employment.

I was delighted to be contacted last night by Stephen Saleh who told me a very interesting story and did I have any information?

Workmen refurbishing a premises on Church Street, Eccles had revealed a large tiled mural with the monogram BL set in the centre which had been hidden from view for many, many years covered up by a studded wall.

Using my so called "archive" I did a bit of research and discovered that the premised used to be a confectionery shop called, Bowdens Limited, hence the monogram.

The shop was listed in the 1923 Trades Directory but by 1939 it had been taken over by Meeson's Limited another well known confectionery company.

It has has gone through many owners over the years including, Minton Wallpaper, Smiths Cleaners and Quinns Electrical Store who sold expensive stereos and Hi-Fi equipment.

The Booth family are the present owners who will be letting the premises to Adam and James Hairdressers who have a smaller premises on Church Street at present.

I do hope that the tiles are left in situ and used as a feature in the shop, I believe they are an important reminder of Eccles's  social history and should be preserved, fingers crossed!

Another story of when love breaks down and young lovers fall apart, happily most relationships don't end  so dramatically as this one.

Letitia Worthington 19, (what a lovely first name) lived in Foster Street, Weaste and had been courting Arthur Dunn 20, who resided at Morpeth Terrace, Salford for a mere six weeks.

On a Sunday evening in January 1920, Dunn called at Letitia's home and asked if she would marry him, she declined his offer and after a few choice words, slammed the door shut in his face,

The next morning she was on Eccles New Road when the persistent suitor once again approached her and said,

"So, what have you decided to do then?"

To which she replied

"I have given you up, I am marrying James Smith"

She had kept him quiet until now, but not the answer young Mr Dunn wished to hear.

He then took out a cut throat razor from inside his jacket, wiped it over his handkerchief and said,

"Neither Smith nor anyone else will have you, I will do you in myself"

Fortunately for Letitia she spotted P.C. Hartley and D.C. Coates walking down the road, always there when you need them aren't they?

She told them what Dunn had said and threatened, he was arrested and taken into custody were he told the constable,

"I intended doing her in, I'm sorry I didn't do it last night, if you don't arrest me I will do it later"

Hardly making it easy for himself is he, I thought you were supposed to say nothing in the police station...

The next day he appeared at Salford Magistrates Court charged with making threats against her.

Stepping into the witness box, Letitia was described by the journalist as being,

"A tall, slim sharp featured girl".  Is that a compliment?

She told the Stipendiary that she had been seeing Dunn for only a few weeks and when he knocked on her door asking her to marry him, she told him that she had no intention and was staying at home looking after her invalid mother, furthermore she intended marrying James Smith.

P.C. Hartley took the stand and told the court that he saw Letitia in a distressed state and when he asked Dunn what was the matter, he told him that he intended, "doing her in".

D.C. Coates then took the stand and said that Dunn had never been in trouble with the police before.

Strangely enough he told the court that Dunn had left school aged 11 because of "a little mental deficiency" from which he had recovered and now worked for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company.

What on earth is "a little mental deficiency"?

Then even more bizarrely the Stipendiary bound Dunn over for 12 months with a surety of £20 or if in default 14 days imprisonment!

Now that is a remarkably lenient sentence, he had admitted that he wanted to kill her and would do so in the future, yet was allowed to walk free.

Can you imagine the uproar if Dunn had carried out his threats at a later date, who would the finger of blame point at then, and possibly to late to save Letitia's life, a strange case.

Hopefully you are all aware that Eccles did at one time have a wharf on the Manchester Ship Canal where ships could load and unload their cargo, this was at the bottom of Alma Street/Boardman Street area.

This story from December 1919 concerns this wharf but also tells of the misfortunes of a couple of Japanese seamen who fell foul of the law and and local mob justice.

Trouble had been brewing for several days in Eccles with news that local girls who worked at Nickels and Nagel Starch Works, which later became Brown and Polson's, had to get a ferry from the wharf to get to work and the same return trip back to Eccles.

Japanese seaman were moored there unloading a supply of timber and the girls soon became a focus of their attention.

On the Monday evening two girls had made the trip across the canal and were walking along Barton Lane, towards the town centre at 10.30pm.

They passed a group of the seaman who whistled and shouted at them, one of the girls then was tripped up by them, possibly innocent horseplay, they called the police but they couldn't see any of the alleged assailants.

The next evening, six of the seaman were seen drinking in various public houses in Eccles, word had quickly gone round that these were the men who had offended the girls the previous evening, not only that but were rumoured to be carrying knives and firearms.

P.C. Berry saw saw one of the men, worse for wear with the drink, who was singing and urging people to fight him, he was taken into custody possibly for his own safety as it turns out.

The other sailors dispersed and made their way back to the ship, however one of them wasn't to make it.

He was found on nearby Irwell Grove, bleeding from from the head, with a group of men stood around him, his attackers?

The police took him to Eccles and Patricroft Hospital were he was detained although his injuries were described as being, "not serious" they consisted of a "large bruise to his face, a deep cut on the head and suffering from concussion"

Presumably with that medical diagnosis  if you were in a coma you would be described as being "stable".

Wednesday morning saw the arrested Japanese sailor at Eccles Magistrates Court, charged with drunkeness, on the Bench were Messrs E.C. Adams and G. Brooks.

The man couldn't speak English so the court case was a bit dodgy to start with, however the case went ahead.

Inspector Swaits of the Eccles Constabulary asked the man how much whisky he had drunk, to which he replied in "Good English" as the Eccles Journal reported, 

"No whisky, five beers"

Five pints of Holts or Boddingtons was no doubt a strong pint 100 years ago, and Eccles had quite a few of those pubs, or had he been in the "Stinking Stocking", the Albert Edward to you more refined readers, the pub allegedly got this nickname from the ladies of the night who plied their trade in there, but I digress.

He was fined ten shillings and sixpence or 14 days imprisonment.

There are no further reports of trouble between locals and the Japanese sailors, so they would have to wait until December 1941 before hostilities could begin again.

We are often told that a policeman's lot is not a happy one and this cautionary tale from November 1919 backs this theory up.

P.C. Gleeson was making his way along Bolton Street  in no doubt an orderly fashion, when he noticed a head suddenly peer out from around the corner of nearby Gore Street and as quickly vanish.

Our brave boy in blue made his way to the corner to investigate who the mystery person was, and what he saw ended up with Karl Christian Thomsen, a foreign seaman and Agnes Astall of Farm Street, Salford appearing at Salford Magistrates Court charged with being drunk and disorderly and police assault.

P.C. Gleeson a man no doubt of the highest morals told the court that he saw the couple,

"Conducting themselves in an improper manner"

And I think we can all guess what they were up to, the mucky pups.

He asked them what they were doing (honestly) and Agnes became abusive to him and proceeded to strike him about the head and body, he decided that enough was enough and he would arrest the amorous couple and take them to Chapel Street police station.

Agnes had other ideas and continued her assault on him kicking him about the legs and body, eventually she fell to the floor because the street was covered in mud.

P.C. Gleeson shouted for assistance, (I thought they blew their whistles?) and heard footsteps running to his rescue, sadly it wasn't a local hero, it was Thomsen who immediately punched him straight on the jaw.

No doubt cheesed off with this latest assault he turned his attention to Thomsen who he described to the court as 

"Being like one demented!"

A few restraining blows by the burly copper brought Thomsen to his senses, who threw his hands up and agreed to go the police station.

Agnes was being restrained on the floor by the boots of the policeman planted not on her throat but on her skirts to stop her running away, a crafty move.

Both were marched to the police station and charged with the offences.

At the Magistrates Court Mr Foyster asked the couple if they pleaded guilty, Thomsen nodded in agreement, whilst Agnes no doubt made of sterner stuff shouted,

"How could I assault a big man like him?"

For an answer P.C. Gleeson held up a large, swollen disjointed thumb as evidence.

The Magistrate found them both guilty and fined them £1 or 14 days in prison for being drunk and disorderly, he then fined them both £2, five shillings for police assault or 21 days in prison.

It is recorded that the couple paid their fines on the spot and left the court free to continue with their dalliance.

I assume that Thomsen being a foreign seaman was moored at Salford docks and had met Agnes, no doubt a shy, sweet, retiring young girl for a glass of beer and things got out of hand as they say.

They say a Mother's love for her son or daughter is unconditional, all lasting, a bond that will never be broken and she will do anything to protect them.

Perhaps Edith Rigby who was residing on Wellington Road, Eccles was being a tad over protective of her daughter, as this court case from November 1919 shows when she appeared at Manchester Assize Court charged with Unlawfully wounding, Thomas Livesey on October 17th, 1919.

The court heard that Thomas Livesey was employed at Lockett's Finishing Works, on Bazaar Street, Salford just behind Pendleton Church.

On the 17th October, Edith called at the works asking for Mr Livesey, she found him working in a room, in a stooped position, she went behind him and put her hand on his shoulder and drew a cut throat razor across his face.

Having doing this she walked calmly into Mr Lockett's office and told him, 

"I have marked him for life for my daughters honour".

She was quickly arrested and taken into custody by Detective Sergeant McNee.

Livesey was taken to hospital with a wound to his face from his chin to his left ear and a slight wound to his scalp.

At the police station Edith told the police that her daughter was pregnant by Livesey and this was the reason for the attack to defend her honour.

At the Assize Court she was defended by Mr St John Yates who advised her to plead guilty to the offence as charged.

He told the court that he could not disguise the seriousness of the offence in using a razor, then added that if she had wanted to commit Grievous Bodily Harm she could have easily done so, however she had,

"Merely drew the razor across his face and obviously without much force"

Getting on his moral high horse he told the court that,

"This woman's daughter was employed at the same works as the complainant, and in due course she met him, a married man who under the pretence of being single seduced the girl

"The mother upon learning of her daughter's condition and without thinking what she was doing picked up a razor, went to his works and committed this offence.

"I understand she is very sorry now for what she has done and wishes me to express her sorrow for this act and whilst in prison has been under constant medical attention"

 Strangeways prison doctor, Allan Pearson told the court that she had been in his care since her arrest and at first she was nervous, agitated and not sleeping well, however her condition has improved and she is now eating well but full of remorse for he actions.

Sir H.A. McArdie in passing sentence said,

"You only meant to mark him , your phrase was to, "mark him for life" but one twist of the hand, a little moreforce and this man would have been dead and you would have been in the dock today charged with the offence of murder.

"I recognise the provocation you have suffered and the deep grief you felt when you learned what he had done to your daughter.

"You are a woman too, but if omitted to to punish you I should omit to indicate the law which I am here to see carried out to the full.

"The sentence of this court is that you must go to prison for four months"

That is what I call a result, she had made her way some three miles from Eccles to Pendleton to carry out this attack, never mind "without thinking what she was doing picked up a razor" and presumably got public transport there which gave her plenty of time to reconsider what she had planned out.

Also one slip and poor old Livesey was dead, it was lucky he didn't get his throat cut.

I suppose this story gives some indication of the moral outrage that must have been felt in those times, a married man getting a young, single girl pregnant, obviously not the thing to do, and on reflection not a thing to do in these more modern liberated times.

As I have written in earlier articles there was a spate of racial tension in Salford around the Greengate and Adelphi areas, these areas were populated by a lot of black seaman, mainly from Africa who had been paid off at Salford Docks and continued to reside here.

The Salford City Reporter often carried out stories about these new residents and sadly often in in offensive terms, which was par for the course, 100 years ago and happily no longer the case.

This story is from October 1919 and concerns four black men, none of whom resided in Salford who appeared at the Magistrates Court charged with, "Behaving in a manner likely to cause a breach of of the peace" and more seriously one of the men, Thomas Momo was charged with threatening to shoot Elizabeth Donohue and Mary Ellen Jones, also with assaulting Inspector Kelly and carrying a pistol without a licence.

Again the Salford City Reporter used inflammatory headlines when they covered this story, Threatening Nig**r scare in the Adelphi area, "Will Kill All Whites"

The Court was told that John Momo, Thomas O'Koro, Richard Dixon and James Andrews who all resided at Carter Street, Manchester were seen in Artillery Street, Adelphi and Momo was brandishing a revolver.

A strange case then unravelled before the Court as the witnesses and accused told their side of the story.

Mrs Donohue told the Court that she was on her doorstep talking to a neighbour when John Momo walked up to her and said, "You ------if you say anything, I'll put this pistol through you!"

Momo denied saying this but a witness by the name of Ellen O' Brien stated that she did hear Momo make these threats.

She then told the Court that she saw the four men accused walking down her street and remarked to a neighbour,

"We've got Dixieland back"

Momo approached her, drew his revolver from his pocket and said that he would shoot her, adding,

"I will kill all whites"

Things got heated when Momo said that as they passed young boys in the street, they began jeering him and throwing stones, he admitted pulling his revolver out but it was only to scare them he said.

P.C. Foden took the stand and said that he was on duty at the corner of Adelphi Street and Chapel Street when he heard a commotion and went to investigate.

He saw Momo walking quickly away and when asked if he was carrying a pistol, he denied this, but then showed him a pistol and said he didn't want to shoot anybody, he was then taken into custody along with the three other men to Chapel Street police station.

When he was searched the pistol was taken from him and it was found to be fully loaded with six bullets in it's chambers.

He then became violent and struck Inspector Kelly in the face and chest, he was so violent that it took four men to subdue him and put him in the cells.

The Magistrate then dealt with Momo separately, he was bound over for £100 with two sureties of £50 each for 12 months or in default, three months imprisonment, and for carrying the pistol with no licence he was fined £5 or 26 days imprisonment.

Sadly there is no mention of what sentences the other three accused men received.

Obviously Momo was provoked by the Dixieland slurs and the children throwing stones but there is no justification for brandishing a loaded revolver in the street and threatening to, "Kill all Whites"

The fine he received amounted to over £200 an amount these days which comes to almost £9,000!

Perhaps the Magistrate used his discretion in not sending Momo to prison considering the provocation he received, but decided to hammer him with a massive fine.

We'll never know if Momo managed to pay this fine and avoid jail, hopefully so, however Adelphi is a more peaceful place to live these days.