January 1921

John Hay Cumberpatch was accused of the attempted murder of Catherine Jones on 2nd December 1920.  The lady recovered slowly. Cumberpatch was subsequently sentenced to 15 years penal servitude.

Purchase of Premises near The Green were purchased by the Temperance Institute – in existence for 21 years.  £600.00 was required.

At a special meeting of the RUDC it was agreed that Spencer Park should be levelled by the unemployed at the rate of 1/3d per hour.

50,000 pairs of boots were to be made by the 9th February 1921 by 20 firms in Rushden – the destination was the Continent.

February 1921

Advert:            Whitings: 70 guineas cash for pianos.  An ideal piano – tone and touch perfect!

The Rushden & District Motor Cycling Club was re‑started.

Rushden Town Cricket Club’s AGM initiated the beginning of a Thursday Club.

Rushden Choral Society’s rendition of Handel’s ‘Messiah’ had an audience of several hundred.

At the AGM of the Rushden & District Association of the N.U.T. help was requested in providing a better education for the children of ex‑servicemen.  Tea was provided and a whist drive followed.

March 1921

Rev. Ian Carroll, Vicar of St.Peters, was denounced at the Temperance Society meeting for publicly reprimanding a Temperance lecturer for extravagant remarks.

Advert:            H.Cartwright, 121 High Street – Have you used our flash point dyes?

Three Rushden shoehands in their early teens were summoned for stealing a 4lb box of caramels.  They were placed on probation for 12 months.

AGM Free Church Council – Why America has gone dry – A Burning Question at Rushden over prohibition.

Rushden pressed for a Petty Sessional Court.  It was inconvenient and a loss of time at work for residents who had to travel to Wellingborough for minor offences.  It had long been a grievance for Rushden people.

April 1921

A performance of Gilbert & Sullivan’s “Patience” was performed at the Royal Theatre, Rushden, in aid of Warriors Day for ex‑servicemen in distress.

The first concert of the season by the Rushden Temperance Band was held in Spencer Park in bitterly cold weather.

Special Easter Services held at Succoth Baptist Church were conducted by Pastor T.Benstead of Whittlesey.

The famous journalist, W.Llewellyn Williams, formerly editor of “The Sunday Strand”, visited Rushden.

RUDC levied rates at 4/4d in the pound, per half‑year.  This was a slight reduction.

May 1921

The War Memorial erected in the main entrance of the Athletic Club, containing 296 names, was dedicated by the Rector, Rev. P.G.Robson.

G.H.Lenton, baker, was fined £4 at Wellingborough Police Court for selling loaves which did not weigh 1 lb.

Advert:            Word to the Wise. Give Simpson your order, you will find it worth-while.  He will give you the value as well as the style.  He’ll make you a costume or a smart suit.  The price you will find is beyond all dispute.  F.Simpson, High-class Tailor, 53, High Street, Rushden.

Miss B.C.Allsop was appointed Matron of Rushden House Sanatorium.

The boot and shoe trade was feeling the effects of unemployment.  2,000,000 were currently unemployed in the country.

Echo readers and the Free Church Council drew attention to the abominable language used in Spencer Park.

Northamptonshire County Council agreed to spend a further £1,600 on Rushden Sanatorium.

Death occurred of Rushden’s last remaining Crimean War veteran at 92 years.  Mr George Bacon was serving in the army before some people attending the service were born.  He had been admitted to Chelsea Hospital in 1919.

June 1921

At a talk given by Mr Charles Fisher he gave the following speech mannerisms: Quarkened – choked by gas or powder.  Kissing-crust – the bottom crust that touched the oven floor.  Mort – Plenty.  Whemble – to turn a bowl upside down

Commercial travellers and others who came to Rushden on Monday morning by the first train arrived 2 hours late, owing to the engines on the line unable to maintain steam.

Mr A.W.Morris, a school teacher at Alfred Street, was in a motor cycle accident at Chowns Mill.

J.H.Lockie, electrician, was summoned for driving a motor cycle not fitted with a silencer or other contrivance to reduce noise.  He was fined £4.

July 1921

A retirement presentation was made at the BWTA Hall by the Rector, Rev Percy Robson, to Rushden’s Nurse Tinney and Nurse Tipping.

A new train time-table was published and showed 12 trains per day were leaving Rushden for Wellingborough.

Advert:            T.Swindall arranges emigration to any part of world.  Assisted passages for farm labourers and domestics, to Canada.

There was a shocking fatality at Rushden.  Frederick Carl Bailey, aged 28, from Portland Road, was at C.W.Horrell’s shoe factory cleaning out the gas plant scrubber.  He climbed in to pack the coke down tighter and was overcome by fumes.

There was a fire at the General Store in High Street South.  The Fire Brigade arrived on the scene in 5 minutes. It was thought the heat of the sun through the plate glass window caused the fire.

Police arrested several people at two houses in Pemberton Street.  They were charged with using the houses unlawfully for betting.

There were 204 deaths from Tuberculosis in Rushden and Higham Ferrers in 1920.

August 1921

Jaques & Son Ltd, Station Road factory was gutted.  They ran to Jaques & Clark Ltd on the opposite side of the road to telephone the Fire Brigade.

The War Memorial was in the process of being erected on the Green.  The Council debated if a fence should be placed around it.  The market stalls could be moved to College Street.

September 1921

A Rushden boy fractured both wrists when he climbed into a tree at Ditchford.  The Doctor was called to the boy’s house where he set both fractures on the spot.

Police investigated after the body of a baby was found at the sewage works.  The child had apparently been carried there and thrown into the sludge.

Boys damaged trees in Spencer Park and on the approach to the Cemetery.  They were caught and reported.  The Police were happy that the parents had dealt severely with them.

Four Rushden men were caught stealing apples from Colworth.  Two were sent for one month’s hard labour and two were fined 21 shillings or 21 days in prison.

The War Memorial was unveiled on Sunday 25th September by Sir Arthur de Capell Brooke, Bart, and was dedicated by the Rector, Rev P.E.Robson MA.

Miss W.M.Cunnington left Rushden to become an educational missionary in India.  She had attended Park Road Methodist Church.

The men’s hairdressers at the bottom of Fitzwilliam Street was wrecked by a runaway Ford van owned by W.W.Chamberlain. The van was parked outside C.W.Horrell’s factory and ran down the hill kept steady by the kerb.  The barber had just finished shaving a customer or more injuries would have been inflicted.

October 1921

The tragic death was reported of former Rushden Curate, Rev J.G.Forrest.  He was found drowned in the river near Tewkesbury.

To celebrate the 21st Anniversary of Rushden Adult School a parade went through the High Street with the Mission Band.  Tea for 200 was provided at the Co‑op Hall.

November 1921

A woman took a 4 year old child out but returned home without her.  The child was found three days later crouching under a hedge between Knotting and Newton Road.  The mother was charged and sent to the asylum, but the child was unharmed.

December 1921

A performance of “The Messiah” was given at Park Road Baptist Church. Miss Adah Berrill, soprano, had been taken ill prior to the performance and was replaced by Madam Mallenson who was a friend of Bernard Tompkins who had recently come to reside in Rushden.  An excellent performance was given by all.