Horrendous crimes in Southport recalled in new book

Posted by Robert Alcock on August 29, 2008 8:58 AM

A GRIM catalogue of killings and suspicious deaths that have darkened 130 years of Southport history is laid bare in a new book.
From a fatal brawl outside The Shakespeare Hotel in 1870 to the horrific murder of two men in Derby Road in 2002, author Geoff Wright explores 10 infamous episodes in Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths Around Southport.
Together these represent part of the "darker side of the 'sleepy' holiday resort", writes the local historian and former member of the Southport Visiter editorial team.

'Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths Around Southport' has been written by former 'Southport Visiter' editorial staff member Geoff Wright

While his case studies are united by a common thread of violence, Mr Wright draws out the unique human stories lying within each.
And although some of the murders recounted in the book are mainly of local infamy, others have captivated a national and even international media audience.
Firmly in the latter category is the 1947 case of the suave Dr Robert Clements, who murdered his fourth wife, Amy Victoria, before committing suicide.
This was highlighted by a past author as representing "one of the classic examples of murder by poison".
While never actually brought to trial, Dr Clements was found by a Southport inquest jury to have murdered Amy Victoria at their luxury Promenade flat.

The jurors outside Southport Magistrates' Court in the infamous Dr Clements murder case of 1947

The doctor and socialite, who had been regularly photographed for the pages of the Visiter during the war years, also allegedly poisoned his previous three, wealthy wives, recounts Mr Wright.
A half-century after the Clements case, it was the death of another Southport woman at the hands of her husband that stands as what Mr Wright describes as "the most horrific crime to hit the resort".
That was the murder of 21- year-old mother-of-two Lynsey Quy by her then 24-year-old unemployed husband Mitchell Quy in December, 1998.
Mitchell claimed Lynsey had run away from their home in Stamford Road, Birkdale, on Christmas Day.
Detectives honed in on the former croupier as their prime suspect, yet during a period of more than a year he managed to evade being charged with her murder.

Mitchell Quy, who eventually pleaded guilty to Lynsey's murder, photographed making a false appeal for her return

He was even able to make a chilling on-screen denial of the crime in an interview with presenters Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan on ITV's This Morning. Finally, in June 2000, Mitchell was charged with murder and, days later, Lynsey's devastated parents were told of the discovery of her dismembered body.

Lynsey Quy, a former Ainsdale High student who was murdered in 1998

Mitchell was eventually sentenced to life imprisonment - and was branded "evil" by trial judge Mr Justice Brian Leveson for how he had told Lynsey's children their mother had abandoned them.
Packed with painstaking archival research and a wealth of photographs, Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths Around Southport provides a fascinating read - although a sometimes deeply unsettling one.
A further volume of Foul Deeds, featuring more 19th century murders, is set to appear next year.
Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths Around Southport is available now, priced £10.99.

PARTLY due to the passage of time, not all of the incidents covered by Geoff Wright are now so widely remembered as the murder of Lynsey Quy.
One such case was the killing of 69- year-old Maura McAndrew in her Derby Road bedsit in 1971, by her then 25-year-old neighbour, Brendan Leech.
During Leech's murder trial, prosecuting counsel Mr Michael Maguire stated that a "religious war of words" had escalated to the point that Leech strangled Miss McAndrew with the flex of her electric kettle.
While Leech and Mitchell Quy ended up behind bars, Southport has seen macabre cases in which justice has not been served.
The brutal 1986 murder of Nigel Bostock in his home in Abram's Fold, Banks, is described by Mr Wright as "probably the most baffling murder mystery in Southport's history".

Nigel Bostock, whose 1986 murder remains unsolved

The owner of a Wesley Street shoe store, Mr Bostock was found dead in his bathtub after being strangled and stabbed following his hosting of a Christmas party.
Despite more than 5,000 people being interviewed and more than 2,000 lines of enquiry, the case today remains unsolved.
As recently as March 2005 a man was arrested after he failed to volunteer a DNA sample being taken as part of the investigation into Mr Bostock's death.

• add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

• Post to:
•  del.icio.us
•  Digg
•  Newsvine
•  Nowpublic
•  Reddit

Southport writer's book explores the Old School House on Talbot Street, where she now lives

Posted by Robert Alcock on August 22, 2008 8:48 AM

A DECADE of discoveries lies behind a new book telling the story of a landmark Southport building, written by the woman who lives there.
Jean Ireland spent six months compiling for print some of the fruits of her explorations within the Old School House on Talbot Street, which she moved into in May 1998.
Her book - called simply 'Old School House' - relies on personal recollections, archival research and a wealth of photographs to trace the development of her home since it was built by John Fernley in 1864.
A previous resident of Southport before spending time away, Jean once admired her future home while passing it daily - but writes that "never in my wildest dreams had I imagined I would ever live in it".
When that once unimaginable prospect came true, Jean described her first tour of its interior as "so magical and interesting".
It was during a year of decorating work that she began to delve into the past of the school house that had once accompanied Trinity Hall School and Trinity Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, which were demolished to make way for housing in 1981.

Jean Ireland signs copies of her book on the Old School House at Broadhurst's Bookshop. With her is Julie Bentham from Broadhurst's

John Ruskin, the esteemed Victorian essayist, once described Trinity Chapel as "the most beautiful church in Methodism".
The first great finds were a set of sermon notes dated 1888 and signed by LB Dalby - a theological student who went on to become a Methodist minister - plus a photograph, tiles and other papers.
In 2001, the Southport Visiter featured the news of the unearthing of the long-forgotten artefacts, which led to a surge of interest in what else lay hidden in the former headmaster's home.
Jean writes: "Paul Blackham was a visitor, a local Methodist who felt there were more finds.
"We donned old clothes, crawled into the loft space and documents began to be unearthed: Methodist magazines, Practical Teacher, collars and cuffs, old pieces of newspapers, all dated late 1800s."
Jean told LookBack that the copy of the 1881 manual Practical Teacher was her favourite find, along with a 1904 photograph of Annie Birkett-Dalby, a teacher at the school and sister of Leonard.
Covering an array of subjects from natural history to personal hygiene, Practical Teacher included such curious advice as: "The use of grease for the hair should be strictly prohibited.
"Hair-oil and pomades have certain uses among dirty people, but they are out of place for children who are clean in their persons."
As well as conducting talks on the rich history of her home, Jean has been a campaigner for Southport Dialysis Unit Fund since 2003 and has hosted a number of fundraising events at the Old School House for the cause.
Of her book, Jean said: "People's reactions have been wonderful, to see the all the parts now in print."
'Old School House' is available from Pritchard's bookshop in Formby, Broadhurst's in Market Street, Southport, Southport Christian Book Centre in Wesley Street, SKB News in Eastbank Street and Southport Tourist Information Centre on Lord Street.
You can also buy it directly from Jean Ireland on 01704- 537386.

DEVOUT Methodist John Fernley - one of Southport's great benefactors - built the Old School House in 1864 for £4,000.
It was one of three houses, along with the adjoining Trinity Chapel, that Fernley built that year but is the only one still to stand.
The 1944 Education Act meant that Trinity Hall ceased to be a day school, its pupils left and only the Sunday School continued.
In 1962 the Old School House was put into the private sector for £1,950, while all the other parts of the great complex built by Fernley were demolished in 1981.
Fernley, a man of wealth, left a string of other significant marks on Southport.
It was he who constructed the meteorological observatory in Hesketh Park, which has now been refurbished.
Fernley was also a committee member of the RNLI and donated the Eliza Fernley lifeboat (named in honour of his late wife) to the town.
The boat would later be lost with nearly all its crew in the great Mexico Disaster of 1886.
Born in Stockport in 1796, Fernley dedicated his life to spreading the principles of Wesleyan Methodism and moved with Eliza to Southport in 1856.
Upon Fernley's death in 1873, the Reverend W B Pope wrote in memorial: "Mr Fernley was as resolute and tenacious carrying out his plans as he was large minded in framing them.
"Nothing ever turned him aside from a single project that he had well considered and finally determined on."

• add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

• Post to:
•  del.icio.us
•  Digg
•  Newsvine
•  Nowpublic
•  Reddit

Holy Trinity cricket team from the 1940s was in a league of its own

Posted by Robert Alcock on August 15, 2008 8:39 AM

THIS photograph of the Holy Trinity 'B' Cricket XI, which dates from 1945, was sent in by former Southport resident Valerie Robb.
Mrs Robb, who now lives in Edinburgh, played tennis and hockey at The Rookery in Roe Lane, which was the home ground of the Holy Trinity team.
Featured on this line-up shot is her late husband Barry Morris, while The Rookery remains the home of Southport Trinity Cricket Club to this day.
Mrs Robb remembers Barry telling her that the 'B' team was "such a happy team none of the players wanted to be promoted to the first team".

The 1945 line-up of Holy Trinity 'B' Cricket XI. From left: J Mawdsley, R Pitman, S Hoyle, R Duckworth, L Braithwaite, L Watson, J Green (captain), the late Barry Morris, J 'Scotty' Russell, B Mighall, R Stokes and Peter Marrow

Peter Marrow, who appears on the photo, still lives in Southport and he recounted how cricket enthusiasts would play the game for the sheer love of it.
He said: "There were not sufficient players in Southport to have a competitive league.
"In those days it was impossible to play for your county and the next step up was to play for Southport & Birkdale in the Liverpool Competition.
"The spirit of the team was fantastic and it was played within the laws of the game. It was a healthy way to spend a Saturday afternoon."

• add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

• Post to:
•  del.icio.us
•  Digg
•  Newsvine
•  Nowpublic
•  Reddit

Memories of Southport's Model Village

Posted by Robert Alcock on August 15, 2008 8:35 AM

HIS 1970s photo shows Southport's Famous Model Village, for decades a popular attraction for day-trippers from across the North West.
Opened in 1957, the Land of the Little People, as it was also known, was a detailed scale model of an English town set in two acres of beautiful landscaped gardens.
A favourite childhood haunt of many, the Lord Street attraction enchanted visitors with its miniature hospital, school, castle, airport, farms shops, thatched village and tiny model railway.
But by the end of the 1980s, it had been demolished to make way for a new shopping and leisure complex - a project eventually abandoned - and the site is now occupied by a Morrisons supermarket.
Pat and Barry Dodd from Kew sent in this snap of their daughter Natalie, then aged four, on a visit to the village in 1972.
She was with classmates from Mountwood Preparatory School in Ainsdale, which has also since been knocked down.
Pat, 66, said: "The village was a magical place for children and my two daughters went each year and loved it. "There were a lot of objections when it was demolished. It was such a shame."

Pupils of Mountwood Preparatory School in Ainsdale visit the Famous Model Village in 1972

The original owners, Harry, Tom and Bill Dobbins, opened two more model villages in the 1960s - Babbacombe Model Village in Torquay, Devon and Merrivale Model Village in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk - which are still going today.
Yet Southport has not lost out, as local businessman Ray Jones points out.
In 1996, Ray set in motion his plans for a new model village in Kings Gardens, over the road from the site of the old village.
"The current Model Railway Village has no connection to the old model village, other than we did consult with the original owners, the Dobbins family," explained Ray.
"The old village was very popular in its heyday, but I remember it became quite decayed and the whole lot was scrapped."
The Model Railway Village features one-and-a-half acres of scenic miniature landscape with a country village scene and one of the largest garden railway systems in the UK, with five trains continuously running on 500 metres of track.
For more information call 01704 538001 or visit www.southportmodelrailwayvillage.co.uk

• add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

• Post to:
•  del.icio.us
•  Digg
•  Newsvine
•  Nowpublic
•  Reddit

Southport's cinematic history is subject of illustrated talk

Posted by Robert Alcock on August 1, 2008 8:07 AM

THE story of the silver screen in Southport will be told in a talk next week tracing the rise and fall the town's cinemas.
Cinema enthusiast and former Warner Brothers worker Don Geldard will guide his audience through a history that began with the opening of The PictureDrome in 1910, next to The Prince of Wales Hotel in Lord Street.
By the 1950s, cinema played such a large part in people's lives that there were 13 picture houses in Southport, with no less than nine on or near Lord Street.
Away from the town centre, there were cinemas such as The Plaza in Ainsdale and The Savoy (later The Regent) in Churchtown.

Southport's first cinema, The PictureDrome opened almost a century ago in 1910

Don, 67, of Scarisbrick New Road, has given regular talks on the history of cinematic Southport for the past two years.
He said: "It's a nostalgic thing. People do remember the old cinemas, particularly people over 60 as by the 1960s a lot of the picture houses had gone."
The talk will take place at the home of Southport Blind Aid Society at Paton House, 22 Wright Street, on Tuesday, August 5, at 2pm.
There will be a charge of £1.50, including tea and coffee, with all proceeds going to Southport Blind Aid Society.
Seats are limited and anyone interest in coming should ring Don as soon as possible on 01704-532880 to check on availability.

CAPTION

-- Photo
Southport's first cinema, The PictureDrome opened almost a century ago in 1910 @Code NA

• add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

• Post to:
•  del.icio.us
•  Digg
•  Newsvine
•  Nowpublic
•  Reddit

Southport Army veteran Leonard Foulds, 103, recalls his fascinating wartime service

Posted by Robert Alcock on August 1, 2008 9:01 AM

N the 103 years of his life so far, Leonard Foulds has seen milestones including becoming a wartime Army major, a company director and a great-grandfather.
Born in March 1905, that life has taken him from a simple home in Stockport with one cold water tap to retirement in Southport.
Hard work and ability propelled the great-grandfather of three from an initial apprenticeship as a printing engineer to a directorship with an automotive firm.
Amid all this richness of experience, LookBack's interview with Leonard focused on just one fascinating chapter of his life-story - his Second World War service, in which he went from Burscough in West Lancashire to a secret mission in East Persia.
"I'm a civilian normally - When war was imminent I thought I'd get a commission in the Ordnance Corps," said Leonard, who received the Territorial Decoration in 1946.
"This was easily obtainable because of my technical qualifications as a mechanical engineer."

Maj Leonard Foulds during his wartime service

Then employed as service manager for engineers C. A. Britten & Co in Liverpool, Leonard joined the Territorial Army in July 1939 and was sent on a week's training in Wales.
He recollected: "On the last day of the camp a message came through from the War Office to say that war had broken out. So I ceased to be a civilian and was immediately in the Army."
As a member of the 55th Division Ordnance Corps, Leonard was initially sent to its base at Ormskirk Drill Hall.
From there he went to Burscough Ordnance Depot, where he was put in charge of vehicle repairs.
A string of postings followed for Leonard, who rose through the ranks to become a Major in The Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers.
One important attachment within the division was responsibility for the coastal defence of England.
Leonard, who was posted in East Anglia during the Battle of Britain in 1940, described the nation's coastal armaments as seriously insufficient and said it was a "good job" that Adolf Hitler had not launched a naval invasion of the country.
A key deployment came in December 1943, when Leonard was selected to command the 601 Combined Workshops in Karachi, present-day Pakistan, with responsibility for all mechanical vehicles and guns going through to the Burma campaign.

The men Maj Foulds commanded at 601 Combined Workshops in Karachi, present-day Pakistan

Based at the workshops were around 150 men, drawn from diverse religious communities and collectively speaking about 10 different languages.
"I got on very well with the Indians," said Leonard.
But he added there was plenty of friction between the workforce and some of his fellow officers.
"On more than one occasion I had to escort one of them through the side entrance of the workshops to stop them [the workers] getting at him," he said.
After Karachi, Leonard headed up another workshop in Rawalpindi, before being summoned for a secret mission in East Persia during the final days of the war in Europe.
That involved winding up the 'Aid to Russia' route by which Red Cross food and equipment had been flooding into the Soviet Union through present-day Iran and Iraq.
During the operation, Leonard and his fellow officers were invited to several parties thrown by the Russians.

Leonard Foulds (second left) with comrades at Ormskirk Drill Hall, soon after the outbreak of the Second World War

After demobilisation from the military, Leonard returned to the C. A. Britten's works, which were later sold to Hollingdrake Automobile Co Ltd.
Living in Greasby in Wirral with his wife Ethel, he served as a company director until he retired in 1970, with golf among his leisure pursuits.
Leonard moved into Alexandra House in Lord Street - which is owned by BEN, the automotive industry charity - after Ethel passed away in 1984.
"I think I have had quite an interesting life," he added.

Major Leonard Foulds, 103, with a wartime service medal

• add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

• Post to:
•  del.icio.us
•  Digg
•  Newsvine
•  Nowpublic
•  Reddit