TRAFFIC was thin on the ground during the glorious heyday of street games. Just as well, really, because there was precious little room to accommodate a serious flow of vehicles on the child-crammed tarmac.

A number of readers have helped to crank the clock back to the 'forties and early 'fifties when almost every back alley and side-street in town was packed, kerb-to-kerb with kiddies at play.

The astonishing range of games were bounded by 'seasons.' A season for gable-end Cricket and handball, for knock-about games of rugby with a screwed up newspaper for a ball, and for the more unusual games with strange titles such as piggy, tin-can bung-off and pussy four-corners.

Reader Kevin Heneghan of North Road, St Helens, initially got the ball rolling by listing some of the favourite street games of his childhood. And others, warmed by the nbostalgia of it all, came quick on his heels.

Latest to pick up on this fascinating topic are Allan Morris of Dinorben Avenue, Sutton, and Bill Rigby of Brookside Avenue, Rainford.

Allan explains that he was reared in Manville Street, Peasley Cross, where he and his young mates regularly played one of the previously-mentioned games, Weak Horses. This featured two teams who took turns to jump, leap-frog style, on to the bent-over backs of a crocodile-file of opponents, striving to collapse them into a heap.

"The only difference was that we called the game Pie Crusty, because when a lad was running up to jump on the backs of the other team, he would shout out, "Pie, Crusty Pie ,Coming..."

Allan read a recent magazine article about a street game played in the East End of London, called Oi, Jimmy Knacker and this turned out to be exactly the same as Pie Crusty. One fellow was reported to have played the game in Karachi in the 1940s under the obscure title of Jumping Eggs.

And Allan provides an impressive list of other names given to this rough and tumble game throughout Britain. In Brighton it was known as Monty Kitty; the Middlesex version was Olly Olly Winkle; Bristolians knew the game as Hi Cock-a-Lorumo; Dundee called it Mucky Duck and Southgate, Dicky Dia-Do. And yet, the rules of the game appeared to have been identical in all these far-flung places.

And Allan provides another bit of memory-jerking by bringing back to mind other old-time street games such as Tin-can Bung-off, Skilly, Lamp to Lamp, Ducky Stones, Hop Scotch, French Cricket, Matchbox Rugby, Tic-Tac-Toe, Marbles, Top and Whip, Hop-scotch and all the ball-to-wall games popular in those times.

Bill Rigby says that during his Thatto Heath childhood he also knew the leaping game as Pie Crust. "I'm not surprised at the world-wide spread of this game," he says, "as I've played it myself while in Bomber Command, serving among Australians and other Dominion servicemen."

He adds: "A form of rugby was also played by youngsters with a rolled newspaper for a ball and the field of play restricted to the width of the pavements. Very few tries were scored at this game, I might say!"

Bill also touches on the flashback photo (June 8) featuring the St Helens Recs of bygone seasons, with whom he played. And he names the only unidentified player in the cup-winning line-up as being Alan Davies.

"These days , all are well into pension age, myself being 75 this year," Bill adds. "In these days of full-time professionals, perhaps the wages of the semi-pros in those days put things into perspective. On joining Liverpool City, it was £9 for a win and £4 losing pay -- the latter being the usual amount."

And he signs off with a nice compliment. "Thanks for your weekly article. It often brings to mind almost-forgotten names and incidents from the past."