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Birkenhead Scandal, 1916. bert1 14th Jun 2025 7:17am The Birkenhead local authorities had to make arrangements after yielding to strong public opinion and pressure to end the scandal of deceased British soldiers and servicemen being interred in paupers graves.
The Town Clerk and Cemetery committee considered the matter and instructed the cemeteries to provide free spaces in the 3 divisions of the cemeteries.

The Town Clerk reported the burials of a private nature were never charged for the grave but relatives were charged 30s for the excavation and filling in of the graves. Permission had to be granted from the Home Secretary to exhume those buried in paupers graves and this was a lengthy process.
It was also reported Liverpool authorities had never charged a penny.

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Temporary Hospitals (WW1) bert1 6th Jun 2025 4:42am I came across 3 poor quality photographs with the title,

"Wounded Belgian and British soldiers being nursed back to health at Shrewsbury Rd and Devonshire Place"

Shrewsbury Rd was a convalescent home (number not yet known)

25 Devonshire Place was an annexe of the Borough Hospital

It appears the driving force behind this hospital was Roy Laird and supported by many generous local people who bought beds at £6 each and bedside lockers and tables at 38s each.
Miss Alice Laird donated £21 towards the setting up of the operating theatre.

63 Hamilton Square was offered by the Laird family to be used for whatever was thought fit towards the war effort.

Other hospitals' including Auxiliary. (not complete yet)

RAMC, Palm Grove
Manor Hill
Bidston Ave
Mersey Park
Hemingford St
Temple Rd

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Asda Ambrosia Rice Pudding. BultacoAstro 3rd Jun 2025 12:45pm Jethro Tull We Used To Know.

Hi noticed a week ago Asda selling the above for £1.60 a tin but the offer is buy 2 for £2.
I took I walk down a few hour's ago and noticed there was Not one offer on the shelf for anything. Thoe if Google Asda app there are multi offer's on a lot of rice pudding stuff but nothing in store.
After getting the manager down I bought 10 since I got ill again. So make sure you check your phone app for discount's incase they haven't put tag's up.

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Birkenhead Fever Hospital, 1847. bert1 3rd Jun 2025 12:12pm A letter to the editor, Liverpool Mercury, 1847, a portion below which was effectively a complaint. Headed, Birkenhead Fever Hospital.

" When the houses in Parkfield, the properties of Mr Pim were taken by the overseers of the poor for a fever hospital, it created the greatest alarm to the residents"

Can't say I've ever heard of this hospital.

The 1841 census has Mr Joseph Pim at Parkfield House, it includes, Parkfield Lodge, Parkfield Stables and Parkfield Back Lodge.

Other roads enumerated close by were Exmouth St, Price St, Cleveland St though in 1841 the properties were well spread out.

Modern map shows a Parkfield Ave and Parkfield Place, so it could have been close to those.

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Anti Cigarette League bert1 31st May 2025 6:35am I research family history and I came across a relative of the wife Patrick Croal who at the age of 11 in 1901 died of nicotine poisoning. Newspaper reports said he had been an excessive smoker from a very early age.

The editor of the Sunday School Chronicle, Rev Frank Johnson after Patrick's death took up the fight to have tobacconists to stop displaying cigarettes packed in bright colours next to sweets and to stop selling cigarettes to young boys. He wanted sweet shops not to be able to sell tobacco at all.

Writing in his Chronicle he threatened all tobacconists if they didn't change their ways he would start an organisation called the Anti Cigarette League.
This he did and for a fee of one and a half pennies you could enrol and effectively take up the fight. The organisation went international.

Here in Wirral many joined the League and one school in New Ferry had 200 members.

The Shaftsbury Boys Club gave up a room so the Anti Cigarette League could hold weekly meetings but the meetings were for boys under 9 years old and was heavily attended each week.

The problem eventually reached parliament, proposals put forward was to tax cigarettes, at the time you could buy 10 for one penny and if you looked around you could buy 10 for a half penny. The proposer wanted to put cigarettes out of the reach of children through pricing.

Another proposal was to ban the sale of tobacco to anyone under the age of 16, which eventually happened.

Reasons given, at 16 the body is more mature and tobacco has less affect.

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Mad Dogs at Large bert1 29th May 2025 6:30pm April 1874 Superintendent Egerton reported mad dogs or dogs going mad were at large in Birkenhead and Claughton. 3 mad dogs suffering from Hydrophobia (Rabies) had all ready been destroyed and its known they had bitten many other dogs and 2 men. He proposed that all dogs in the borough be chained up and restricted for a period of at least 2 months.

The Birkenhead Commissioners and the Watch Committee met to discuss the matter. A couple of commissioners argued if a dog was on a lead with its owners it was under control and could cause no harm. The proposal was passed and all dogs had to be confined for period of 2 months, failure to do so, the dogs would be dealt with.

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Birkenhead Union Workhouse bert1 28th May 2025 12:50pm There's plenty on here about the Workhouse history, this just a few snippets that may be of interest.

At a meeting in 1862 concern was raised over the price of the land it was to be built on, gone from £6000 to £8000.
There was opposition to paying this amount and proposals were put forward to build the workhouse on Bidston Hill.
Reasons being, cheaper, healthier and it wouldn't upset the town folk.

In 1866 the workhouse accepted 40 Emigrants form the cholera ridden steamer Helvetia, mainly German and Swiss bound for America.
They were taken in to stop the spread of the disease amongst the town.

In 1887 an inquiry was held in to the cost of alcohol used in the workhouse. It cost the Birkenhead workhouse 7s-2d per inmate per annum as opposed to the Liverpool workhouse which cost
2s-0d per inmate per annum.
They accepted they had to try and reduce the cost but accepted the Doctor used it on inmates as a stimulant.

1920 a cinema was introduced.

In 1873 a new Governor and Master was hired, Thomas Williams, 1831-1887 who had previously been Master of the workhouse in Barton upon Irwell.
Thomas was Pvt Thomas Williams, 11th Hussars and took part in the charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava.

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Tranmere Bridge bert1 26th May 2025 8:50am A couple of Newspaper snippets,
Man found drowned in the water by Tranmere Bridge.
Lifejacket demonstration at Tranmere Bridge.

Map is where I think it might have been, anything further?

https://www.oldmapsonline.org/en/Li...n=15.2309/53.43313/-3.0346&year=1897

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Tranmere Baby Farmers bert1 24th May 2025 12:54pm How they got away without hanging, God Knows.

https://www.old-merseytimes.co.uk/tranmerebabyfarmers.html

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Mobile mechanic wanted. phillhere 24th May 2025 12:43pm Looking for a decent mechanic who won't charge the earth, to swap out a turbo. Half way there but the remaining bolts are proving difficult to get moving. Any recs?

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