Web Page 2008

14^th December 2013

Top Picture: Tommy Cooper on a baby elephant.

Bottom Picture: Mike Hawthorne

1959

This is just a year outside my normal time frame but a lot happened in 1959 which affected our lives in the 1960’s; so here a few short snippets of news from 1959.

It was a funny year and here are some of the highlights from the press some you will remember, some you will have forgotten and others will come as a surprise.

To start with one country magazine reported that Mr Ted Smith, a stockman on the Earl of Bathurst's estate, Cirencester Park, Gloucestershire, reportedly had the last two working oxen in Britain, they were called Jim and Joey,

This was the era of protests and Canon Lewis John Collins and Jacquetta Hawkes writer wife of novelist J B Priestley, headed a column of anti H-bomb demonstrators from Aldernaston to London and CND was born. Also campaigners, who believed they were helping to save the world from a modern form of crucifixion, gathered on Good Friday outside the gates of the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston for a rally.

The all-British prototype the SRN1 hovercraft, which had been designed by Christopher S. Cockerell and made by the Saunders Roe factory on the Isle of Wight undertook its first trials and demonstrations to the public at Cowes.

That summer was very hot and every London based newspaper seemed to feature a pretty girl in a bathing costume in or around The Serpentine in Hyde Park. 

Now two unusual official visits. Firstly the Queen Mother went into 174 Villiers Road in Willesden, London, where she visited it's garden. This was one of many gardens she visited that day all of them being within the Marylebone and Willesden areas of London. This particular garden was chosen as one of the brightest and best in the district by the London Garden's Society.

Another odd Visit was by President de Gaulle of France who donned specially prepared miners clothing (no coal dust in them!) to inspect the underground workings of a British coal mine. I am not sure why.

Now some news from the entertainment world.

One newspaper that year made a feature of Tommy Cooper riding a baby elephant outside the offices of the Pearl Assurance Company.

Brigitte Bardot arrived at a London Hotel and posed seductively on a four poster bed during a photocall. She had just arrived from Paris to start location shooting for her latest movie "Babette Goes to War".

Another entertainer from abroad was also in the news Liberace arrived at the Law Courts in London where he was suing the Daily Mirror. The Daily Mirror had implied that Liberace was gay. The Mirror denied that's what they were saying, Liberace denied that he was gay. Liberace won. 

Tommy Steele performed a traditional Russian Cossack dance on the tarmac at Heathrow Airport, on his arrival back from a tour in Moscow.

Hollywood actress Jayne Mansfield cut a tape as she opened the Chiswick Flyover, the last section of a £6 million trunk road scheme in London - the Cromwell Road Extension.

Talking about roads and motorways Ernest Marples, the Minister of Transport opened Britain’s motorway the M1. The first section was 72 miles long and stretched from London to Birmingham and was built by the construction company Marples Ridgeway a company owned by the Ministers wife!!

A vast circular building which was to form the main block of the British Broadcasting Corporation's 10 million Television Centre in Wood Lane was opened. The building, shaped like a giant question mark was designed by Mr Graham Dawbarn, FRIBA, and would become Europe's biggest TV centre. And now it is up for sale!!!!

Donald Campbell was watched by his wife, Belgian-born singer Tonia Bern, at Lake Coniston when he made his run of 265mph in his jet boat Bluebird. His run was nearly 17mph faster than his existing world water speed record.

On 9th October Harold Macmillan was returned as Prime Minister in a sweeping election win Mr MacMillan himself being returned for Bromley, Kent, with a majority increased by over 2,300.

Dense fog paralysed much of Britain

Cyprus was given independence.

Ballerina Margot Fonteyn was released from prison in Panama having been suspected of involvement in a planned coup against the government of president.

 Barclays become the first bank to install a computer.

 The first Mini goes on sale

Health enthusiast Dr. Barbara Moore walks from Edinburgh to London.

The iconic Bush TR82 transistor radio, is launched.

Well I told you it was going to be a round up of odds and ends.

Hope they stirred a few memories.

To end with who did we loose in 1959.

Jan 21st - Cecil B. DeMille, American director (b. 1881)
Jan 22nd - Mike Hawthorn, English race car driver and one-time F1 world champion (b. 1929) The evening he died he met his girlfriend from the IOW at Portsmouth and they drove to London. He went so fast that she refused to travel back with him so he decided to race the train to Portsmouth and meet her. He never made it!

Feb 3rd - Big Bopper dies in plane crash at 28
Feb 3rd - Buddy Holly  (That'll be the Day), dies in a plane crash at 22
Feb 3rd - Richie Valens,, killed in plane crash at 17
Mar 3^rd   Lou Costello, comedian/actor (Abbott & Costello), dies at 52
 Mar 26th - Raymond T Chandler, US detective writer (Long Goodbye), dies at 71
 May 14th - Sidney Bechet, US jazz clarinetist/saxophonist/bandleader, dies at 62
 May 24th - John Foster Dulles, US Secretary of State (1953-59), dies at 71
Jul 17^th     Billie Holiday, jazz singer, dies at Metropolitan Hospital in New York of cirrhosis of the liver at 44
 Sep 6th - Kay Kendall, British actress (Genevieve), dies of leukemia at 32
 Sep 28th - Gerard Hoffnung, artist/humorist/musician, dies
 Oct 7th - Mario Lanza, opera singer, dies at 38 of a heart attack
Oct 14th - Errol Flynn, US actor (Captain Blood), dies of heart attack at 50
Dec 18th - Dorothy L Sayers, writer, dies at 66

Quite a year!

Stay in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

You Write:

News and Views:

On this Day 14th December 1960-1965

On 14/12/1960 the number one single was It's Now Or Never - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was The Army Game (Granada) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.The big news story of the day was Bootsie & Snudge (Granada).

On 14/12/1961 the number one single was Tower of Strength - Frankie Vaughan and the number one album was Another Black & White Minstrell Show - George Mitchell Minstrels. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Grandma Moses dies.

On 14/12/1962 the number one single was Return to Sender - Elvis Presley and the number one album was On Stage with the Black & White Minstrels - George Mitchell Minstrels. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 14/12/63 the number one single was I Want to Hold Your hand - The Beatles and the number one album was With the Beatles - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 14/12/1964 the number one single was I Feel Fine - The Beatles and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 14/12/1965 the number one single was The Carnival is Over - Seekers and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.