Church youth activities were strongly encouraged with groups such as the Church Life Brigade, Catholic Lads Brigade, Jewish Lads Brigade, Boy Scouts and the Band of Hope. Their ethos was to instill "obedience, reverence, discipline, self-respect and all that lends towards a true Christian manliness". The photograph above shows the Sutton Church Lads Brigade founded in 1891 as the Anglican version of the Boys Brigade, which had been founded some eight years earlier as an interdominational faith youth group.

Fireman Tommy Waring surrounded by the Sutton Bug Saturday matinee gang

In 1913 a new form of entertainment came to Sutton, the picture palace or cinema. Although a number of Sutton's citizens would already have been familiar with moving pictures, having perhaps ventured into St.Helens town centre and watched films at the Hippodrome in Corporation Street which began exhibiting them from 1903; or visited the top floor of the Co-op building in Baldwin Street which started a cinema in 1907; or even popped into the Town Hall or YMCA which both regularly screened films from around 1910; or sat in the first purpose-built cinema in St.Helens, the Electric Theatre (or Scala as it became) in Ormskirk Street which began its life in September 1911.

Behind the two members of staff of this shop at 8 Junction Lane is a poster for the Scala cinema - on the right is a Sutton Empire poster for a film called 'Thunder God' which was released in 1928

But to have their own cinema in Junction Lane was something that Sutton locals seemed to have been particularly proud of. It was named the Sutton Empire but was known locally as the "Sutton Bug’". Mr. Bates was a well known manager and Tommy Waring was the fireman who was said to have been quite a character. It closed in 1957. The owner of this website interviewed a number of former Sutton Bug cinema-goers and operators (projectionists) in 1993 and here are some choice extracts from their reminiscences:

Vera Bryant lived in Sutton during her childhood and regularly visited Sutton 'Bug':

  It was so easy going and such a happy place in Sutton Empire. Mr Bates {the manager} was a very pleasant man but he liked going in the Prince of Wales for a drink. We didn't see much of him only when we were coming in and going out. But we had a fireman and his name was Mr. Waring and he used to have the uniform of a fireman and a big belt and in it he used to have an axe hanging down, presumably to chip a door down if we had to get out in a hurry. Now and again he'd come round with disinfectant and spray it over everywhere which smelt very pleasant. It was a nice, very nice place. All the seats were red but there was about three rows at the back which were blue. They were twopence, you see, at the back and a penny at the front. If you felt you could spare twopence instead of a penny you went in the front door and the seats had arms on and you thought that you were somebody because you went in first.

I had a sister, older than me and she wanted to go in the pictures at night and there was a lady who lived in the next street. And in those days everybody was friendly with one another and you could trust everybody. And so she said "Mrs. Malkin can I come in with you because Mr. Bates won't let me in" as it was an A Certificate. And so she lifted up her very full black skirt of her frock, put it over my sister's head and they both walked in and our Edna was underneath the skirt walking in front of her!   

Children queuing outside the Sutton 'Bug' Empire in Junction Lane

Eric Coffey worked at St.Helens Junction station during WW11 and often was often given the responsibility of delivering films to Sutton Empire on his push bike:

  I'd meet the train at quarter past two and rush it down to the Empire cinema in Junction Lane, that lovingly we called the 'Bug'. They would queue up outside the Empire and as soon as they caught sight of me peddling like fury up Junction Lane, I'd wave to them and they'd let out a cheer that they were going to see a film that afternoon.   

Relating their Sutton Bug anecdotes in interview in 1993-4, Jim Brunskill, Eric Coffey and Vera Bryant

Jim Brunskill joined Sutton Empire in 1940 only to discover that all the other operators (or projectionists) had left and he was on his own with a packed house:

  Just imagine a lad of 15 and a cinema full of people. I was a bit terrified. They had a fellow with the name of Jim Bates. He was only a doorman and he'd wandered up during the programmes in the past and he said "I've seen them do this... bring it around here". So I had to fathom it out. To cut a long story short, that was my baptism. I got the show over with two programmes that night. I'd hate to think what they was like because I didn't have a clue on cues, the four little dots that appear in the top right hand corner. Well I didn't know and I thought as soon as that film gets far enough down, I'll change over to the next projector. There must have been some jumping that night!

Tommy Waring he was a character. 'Old Tom' - as he's fondly remembered - he liked his ale. There's lads who'll tell you that he'd let them in free on condition that they slipped up to the pub for a quart of ale and while the programme was on he'd be in the cellar supping it up.

Roy Rogers, he'd beat John Wayne hands down any day of the week. And dare I say it, Gracie Fields. I've seen near pandemonium in Junction Lane when we showed Gracie Fields' Shipyard Sally {1940}. And then the biggest one of all without a doubt, there were crowds and crowds in Junction Lane trying to get in for the last night of The Jolson Story {1947} with Larry Parks.  

A WW11 Victory Party in Oxley Street off Robins Lane in 1945 - click for full hi-res image

Oxley Street is located off Robins Lane and not far from the old Sutton Empire in Junction Lane. Ken Whittaker has kindly supplied Sutton Beauty & Heritage with a photograph of a WW11 Victory party that he attended as a small boy in 1945. He writes that his father had just left Sutton Oak sheds where he'd been a goods guard and bought the newsagents at 28 Waterdale Crescent, just opposite Oxley Street. Ken comments on the photograph:

  In these affluent days, when people who can’t afford a holiday abroad consider themselves poor, it is interesting to note the state of the clothes which were being worn, and the seating accommodation, taking into consideration that this was a special celebration and everybody was dressed in their best clothes for the occasion.   

The Times' report published May 12th, 1960

We've described the sporting pursuits of Sutton miners during the nineteenth century in our Sutton Sport page and explained how at times they could be quite violent. However, during the twentieth century the more refined leisure pursuit of billiards and snooker became increasingly popular which led to a curious incident in 1960 with the Sutton Manor miners' newly constructed welfare club. This had been built in 1959 from a grant from the Lancashire miners' welfare fund of which the Coal Board contributed halfpenny for every ton of coal produced at Lancashire pits. However, within a year part of the new club at the colliery had to be torn down and rebuilt. It wasn't through subsidence or shoddy workmanship, it was through lack of elbow room in the snooker room!

Soon after the welfare club had been built, the miners began complaining of cramped conditions inside the snooker room. The club's committee limited the number of spectators, rearranged the furniture and even bought shorter snooker cues. But it was all to know avail and so three walls of the newly-built club were knocked down and it was rebuilt with much more elbow room. The story of 'Miners Snookered!' even made it into the Times!