WHO was the last lamplighter in town? Could he have been a one-armed fellow called Wilf Arnold, a familiar character around the cobbled streets of St Helens around the middle of last century?

The question pops up from a letter sent in by Luke Corrigan of Sexton Avenue, Parr, who at 86 has a wealth of memories to draw upon.

In the early days of gas lighting, the maintaining and switching on and off of the streets lamps (at dusk and at dawn) entailed quite a ritual.

Luke recalls watching the old lamplighter trudging around his beat, with long, wooden igniting pole on his shoulder. If there was a fault, or the gas mantle or lamp glass became broken, a workman would arrive next day with a special v-shaped ladder. The narrow end of this was plonked across the arm of the iron gas lamp so the workman could climb up to fix the fault.

Our long-memoried chum has fond memories, too, of an era when people took a pride in their well-manicured parks and recreation areas. "A covered wooden bridge spanned the 'stinking brook' (Sankey Brook) on the outside perimeter of Recreation Park allotments".

The park itself was in pristine condition with well-kept bowling greens and the keeper's wooden hut. Close to this was another building containing tables and chairs and with a side room where all the sets of numbered bowls were kept. These could be hired for a copper or two.

As a kid, Luke would often be beckoned into the Merton Bank school kitchens to stir the porridge. His duties extended to turning the handle of the cast-iron potato-peeling machine as he grew bigger and stronger.

Says Luke: "I'll never forget headmaster Mr Henderson who sat in for freebie dinners under the guise of supervision". His old head is particularly remembered for his regular shouted command to the pupils: 'Eat your fat!'