ALAN WHALLEY'S WORLD

I THOUGHT they looked a rum lot!

It turns out that the rough-and-ready members of an old-time St Helens rugby team known as the NIBS were blessed with a lively sense of humour. For their title stood for New Inn Boozing Society.

The arm-bending explanation, following publication (Sept. 11) of a flashback photo of the NIBS in casual dress and with everyone sporting headgear, ranging from battered bowler to an old army cap, comes from Bob Parry of Sefton Street, Newton-le-Willows.

He recognised his grandad, George Parry, shown extreme right among the flurry of boaters, flat caps, serge waistcoats and collar-less union shirts.

Says Bob: "I'd say the year the picture was taken would most likely be 1920-21, as he served with the South Lancs until 1919."

Bob also picks up on another sporty theme (this page, Sept. 25) in which an Earlestown reader asked for any details about a one-time schoolboy billiards champion.

It was thought that this was the son of legendary local batsman Frank Watson, who helped set an opening wicket record for Lancashire which stood for 70 years up to last season. But Bob claims that Frank, once mine host of the Griffin at Earlestown, had only two daughters.

"The young champion," he adds, "was Charlie Haseldine, the son of an earlier Griffin landlord." And he was so small when he hit the big time that Charlie had to stand on a beer crate to reach some of his shots.

Bob tells us that a plaque was created to commemorate the boy wonder's achievements which, along with a photograph of him, once graced an upstairs room at the Griffin. Our Newton chum wonders whether these two mementoes still exist.

And he signs off with a little yedscratter: "Why did most of the population of Newton turn out one summer evening in the mid-1930s, with their ears and eyes cocked to the skies?"

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.