Town's Sand of Time

CROSBYS rusty iron men stand tall and proud, partly-submerged in the sand, they appear to have been there since the beginning of time.

Future generations will look at these statues and find it hard to believe, but eighty years today ago the beach really was Another Place.

This photo of the beach was taken on the sands at the bottom of South Road in the 1930s, in the reign of King George V and when Britain had a National Government.

“It wasnt called the beach back then - it was called the shore,” said Crosby resident Arthur Simkins, 90.

“We used to have a clear beach instead of the iron men and the promenade that we have now. Hundreds of people used to pack out the beaches on a Sunday. We used to go to the Shore back then every week, things were different, there were a lot more shops for a start.

“People were also a lot more modest. They didnt wear costumes or shorts, they just wore normal every day clothes like dresses, pants and shirts - I suppose people were a lot more prude back then.

"My mother and father used to put up a beach tent. People also used to play around the old coast guard cottages as they used to supply you with water to make tea."

Brenda Riddick, 80, said: ”It was lovely to have a flat and clear beach instead of dunes and the iron men. You could tell when it was high tide as there was always ships sailing up and down.

"We used to built sand castles and boats, I suppose we took it for granted in a way. I remember we went down every day after school without our parents.

"It seems strange to imagine but there was never any parental control unlike today.“But that's because there was never any trouble or bad behaviour, we had the park keepers and their word was law!”

Rendezvous in Waterloo

IT WOULD only be natural to raise an eyebrow in disbelief at the thought of Barack Obama meeting up with American secret agents at a house on Waterloo Road.

That's because he hasn't - but if he did he would be following in the footsteps of former President Theodore Roosevelt some 150 years ago.

It all started around the American Civil War in 1861 when esteemed former-naval officer James Bulloch volunteered his services as a secret foreign representative in Liverpool. James had a brother called Irvine and the two were both uncles of the former US President Roosevelt.

He sailed with his family to Liverpool before taking lodgings at the 'Liver Inn' in Waterloo and then leased a Marine Terrace house, where he arranged and co-ordinated the building of the famous CSS Alabama, a secret American Confederate military ship built in Birkenhead ordered to prey on Union shipping.

During the Civil War, the Alabama boarded nearly 450 vessels, captured or burned 65 Union merchant ships, and took more than 2,000 prisoners without a single loss of life from either prisoners or her own crew.

When the Civil War ended, James was so comfortable in the area, he decided to stay at Waterloo in Wellington St where he made his fortune in the cotton trade. If you go down to St John's Church the first four names on the baptismal register are his children.

In 1869 one of the greatest US Presidents to-be, Theodore Roosevelt brought his family to Waterloo to meet James Bullock and family at 12 Wellington Street in an emotional reunion because they hadnt seen each other for some time.

Roosevelt mentioned his Waterloo-based uncles in his autobiography: “Both of my uncles lived in Liverpool after the war. Jimmy (James Bullock)was one of the best men I have ever known. He could discuss all phases of the Civil War with entire fairness and generosity.”

Local historian Bob Jones told the Champion: “I would like to see more people realise what actually happened on their doorstep in Waterloo and Crosby.

"When they walk the dog or go to the shops, they tread the exact same paths as these wonderful historic figures. When you think of it that way - the history just becomes alive to you.“

Plaza Cinema History

DID you know that the former American president Theodore Roosevelt stayed in Waterloo as a child? Or that Waterloo held the largest public library together with Crosby Civic Hall?

These are a number of revelations we have found out as the Champion delves into Crosby and Waterloo's past each week with help from Sefton Waterloo Inclusive Social History group and other local experts.

Nowadays with the internet, Crosby's teenagers have access to films at their fingertips but around seventy years ago - just before the Second World War, life was a much different story.

On a chilly morning on September 2 1939 residents crowded Crosby Road North wondering what the strange moving pictures shown behind the four walls of the new Odeon cinema would look like.

The children mainly went to the Saturday afternoon matinees where they were shown several short films like Laurel and Hardy or Charlie Chase.

“There was always a full-length Cowboys and Indians film plus a serial which would have a cliffhanger ending to ensure that you would be back next week,” one resident said.

“There were no cinema clubs back then, you just paid your money and took a seat. The film would last around two hours. It was always rowdy before the lights went out, but when they did everything went quiet.

People were all enthralled with the film! Usherettes would rush up and down the isles if we were noisy and tell us all to be quiet.

"The uniformed commissionaire would remind us that the badly-behaved would not be allowed in next time. No doubt it entered our minds that he wouldn't remember us!"

The cinema's name changed several times between 1943 and 1996 from Odeon Classic to Cannon and Apollo before finally re-opening as the Plaza.

Some years after the end of the Second World War televisions started to become more affordable and cinemas struggled to maintain their grip on reeling in a full audience.

The Queen's Cinema in South Road closed in 1959 with the running of the old black and white film 'I only asked' with Bernard Brislow on 22nd August.

The Wintergardens on Church Road closed in 1965 with the showing of 'The train' starring Bert Lancaster. But the Plaza Community Trust opened in 1997 and through the hard work of residents Janet Dunn and Jean Plant they managed to produce a new social venue for everyone.

The successful revival of the Plaza Cinema was a breath of fresh air for the local community as children from generations down the line now follow in their grandparents footsteps.

If you think you can contribute to the Waterloo and Crosby Chronicles contact The Champion on 01704 392407.