By Stephen Wainwright

ONE HUNDRED years ago today, December 14, a momentous general election was held in St Helens in which 15,000 women were allowed to vote for the first time.

According to one local paper it was a day when "womankind came into her own in more senses than one", as the borough's 45 polling stations also employed a large number of "lady clerks" to run the election.

Advice was offered to the first-time female voter on how to cast their ballot. One party worker was repeatedly heard saying: "Don't make a mistake, missus. Put a big cross like you did with your love letters!"

In the North Windle ward a widow of seventy-four voted for the first time in her life and there was a new novelty in an election – men and women were seen walking to the polling station together.

However the newspapers described how some wives were refusing to tell their inquisitive husbands which candidate they'd voted for.

One lady coming out of a polling station was reported as looking very proud of herself and surprised at the simplicity of voting, saying: "I didn't think it was so easy".

However an elderly woman was confused by the new democracy and was heard asking a policeman standing outside a polling station which candidate she should be voting for.

"I daren't tell you who to vote for, missus," came the bobby's reply. "But I want to know", insisted the woman. "I've come here to vote and I want to know who to vote for".

Realising he wasn't going to win the argument, the policeman passed the buck onto the election officials, saying: "Well, go inside, missus, they'll tell you."

The woman would have been told that she had to choose between two candidates. The incumbent MP was Rigby Swift, a St Helens-born barrister who had been brought up at Hardshaw Hall. Although a Conservative, he was standing on a Coalition party ticket comprising the Tories and most Liberals.

Swift's rival was Labour candidate James Sexton, who'd been brought up in his poor Irish family's shop in Tontine Street. As well as repairing umbrellas they also secretly ran guns for the Irish Republican Brotherhood!

At the age of nine Sexton left Lowe House School to work at Pilkington's before running away to sea where he enjoyed some remarkable adventures.

It was proving to be a difficult contest to predict, with many women and all working class men now entitled to vote. Also the Dentons Green district – which had formerly been in the Newton Division – was now included in the St Helens count.

As a result the town's register of Parliamentary voters had swollen from 13,500 at the last election to 44,379.

As well as being described as a momentous election, it was also considered to have been one of the quietest in the history of St Helens. The usual sandwich board men were absent from the streets, few people were wearing party colours and there were "no swollen heads or black eyes next morning"!

More than half the votes cast on the day were by women, although it was reported that the majority of these were middle class, with the working class women who were qualified to vote showing less interest.

However the results would not be declared for a fortnight to allow time for soldiers' postal votes to arrive, so both candidates would have had a nervous Christmas.

During the morning of December 28 the 27,272 ballot papers were counted in the large Assembly Room of St Helens Town Hall.

The mayor then announced from the Town Hall steps that the Labour candidate James Sexton had won by 3,894 votes on a 61 per cent turnout.

In two years time Evelyn Pilkington would become the town's first female councillor and in 1928 women would receive the vote on the same terms as men.

The 1918 election may well have been when womankind came into her own; however it would take almost 100 more years before a female MP would represent St Helens in Parliament.