Grandad's Diary

From LindaB - 24 Jan 2007

My grandad who died in 1976 kept a diary in which he noted what he considered important events that happened in St Helens (Mainly) How many of them can you remember they started in 1936 - he worked at Pilks so some of the events were from there.

Last Tram to run in St Helens ... 1st march 1936, Mr Mills was driver

Pay office door jammed... 3/3/44

First pay as you earn stopped from wages ...7/7/44

Theatre roof fell off?...3/7/45

No 8 Tank lit ...30/11/46

First glass made in No 8 tank ...13/1/47

Big close down? Feb 10 1947

Doultons chimney dropped 31/8/47

No7 tank stopped 4/10/47

No 7 tank started 20/1/48 tuesday

Lord Derby died 4/2/48

Clothes rationing ended 14/3/49

Buses replace trams - Prescot route 26/6/49

Princess Margaret visit 28/3/1950

First £5 note in wages 27/5/54

Paper strike 25/3/55

First national paper after strike 21/4/55

Last Sunday Chronicle Nov 6 1955

Last Dispatch 19/11/55

Rollers in new Roller Room 1/12/55

Explosion in C Mixing room 9/2/56

First ITV 4/May 1956

UGB Shaws Warehouse fire 6/4/56

UGB Nuttals? Warehouse burned down 29/11/56

Blackpool Tower fire 14/12/56

Last Liverpool Tram ran 14/9/57

New Painted No 7 Tank lit 5/11/57

First Glass made in new painted no 7 tank 26/11.57

First income tax stopped out of Xmas box 1957

Manchester United air crash 7 Killed 6/2/58

Echo & Express joined as one newspaper 13/10/58?

Last Evening Express 11/10/58

121 Pubs in St Helens in 1958

First Diesel train St Helens to Liverpool 10.33 am 5/1/59

Big fire at Ravenhead Fibre Glass 10/12/59

Highway M1 opened 2/11/59

Alistair Maclean buried alive at Pilkington New Offices 3/11/59

First accident on M1 highway 4/11/59 - 2 killed

Oxley’s fire Barrow St.1/12/59

St Thomas’s Church fire 21/3/60

Lipton’s Bridge st collapsed 2 killed 18/5/60

Tyrers new shop opened 23/11/60

Queen & Prince Philip visit Plate works 25/5/61

New Bridge Runcorn to Widnes opens 21/7/61

Sand Bridge over East lancs road pulled down 3/12/61

New plate works chimney finished 234 ft high 23/11/61

St Helens Crematorium opened 8/2/62

Dual carriageway opened on East Lancs rd 3/6/62

Last workers returns ended on buses 8/9/62

First car made in Halewood 8/3/63

Theatre re opened by Sir h Pilkington – opened by K Horne 10/3/64

Colour TV started Dec 2 1967

Single decker buses on Prescot Rainhill route 17/11/68

Glassmakers strike started 4/4/70 Ended 22/5/70