Looking back on two St Helens MPs from the early 20th century

In 1910 barrister Rigby Swift was elected MP for St Helens. Quite a few of the town's MPs during the 20th century were in the legal profession – although Swift was the only one who became a judge. And what a judge he was!

In their 1937 obituary the Lancashire Evening Post described Sir Rigby Swift as "undoubtedly the most outspoken judge of his day" who as counsel or justice had taken part in "some of the most sensational criminal cases of this generation".

Born in St Helens in 1874 Rigby Philip Watson Swift was brought up at Hardshaw Hall.

Rigby Swift (Image: Stephen Wainwright)

He was the son of Thomas Swift, who was a very clever solicitor but had a reputation for being extremely rude in court.

It appears to have been "like father like son" to some extent, although Swift Jnr was highly personable in private. Both Thomas Glover – the man he defeated to take the St Helens seat for the Conservatives in 1910 – and James Sexton – who beat him at the 1918 election – had only positive things to say about Swift.

In Sexton's autobiography he describes Rigby Swift as his friend and on the election trail the pair embarrassed their supporters by having dinner together. But it was his legal career for which Swift took the headlines after becoming a barrister in 1912 and a judge at the young age of 46.

Knighted in 1920, Swift's many sayings in the matrimonial courts brought him much publicity. In many ways he was ahead of his time labelling the divorce laws "wicked and cruel" and making such statements as: "Wives cannot be treated as if they were pianos, and the husband say how much per leg he paid". "No one who was ever engaged to be married has ever come up to expectation".

James Sexton (Image: St Helens Star)

And: "Wives cannot be assessed on their cash value. They are not chattels."

On one occasion in court when a defence lawyer was attacking a female victim's character, Justice Swift said: "I don't care how disreputable a woman may be, she is entitled to the fullest protection which the law can give her in the case of an attack, such as is here alleged."

James Sexton served as the St Helens MP between 1918 and 1931 and probably had the most extraordinary background of any parliamentary member. Sexton's early life resembled something out of a "Boy's Own" adventure, as it included terrorist gun smuggling, running away to sea, involvement with sea rescues, a mutiny, pirates and shark attacks!

Born in Newcastle in 1856, Sexton's family moved to St Helens when he was a few months old and his father obtained a little umbrella repair shop in Tontine Street.

James attended Lowe House elementary school – sometimes in bare feet – but left to start work at the age of nine. His first job was punching holes in clog-irons for 1s 6d a week before spending three years at Pilkingtons often working 12-hour night shifts.

In his autobiography Sexton described how in the 1860s St Helens had been a hotbed of Irish republicanism and his own family had been involved in gunrunning. When only 13 he decided to run away to sea and stowed away in the hold of a ship at Liverpool, along with swarms of rats that devoured his food.

On the second day Jimmy showed himself to the windjammer's captain, who whipped him then set him to work. Thus began six years of amazing adventures sailing the high seas.

Sexton tried three times to enter Parliament and was only successful in December 1918 when winning the St Helens seat, the town he referred to as his "spiritual home".

In 1930 Sexton was knighted and he died peacefully in 1938. One lengthy St Helens newspaper obituary was very aptly titled "The Rich Life of a Poor Man".

Stephen Wainwright's new book The Hidden History Of St Helens Vol 4 is available from the St Helens Book Stop and online from eBay and Amazon with free delivery.

Price £12. Vols 1 to 3 are also still available