Web Page  No 2144

29^th March 2015

Top Picture: The Laughing Policeman Machine

 Middle Picture: Metal name tape machine

 Lower Picture:  Steamer timetable from South Parade Pier

  Bottom Picture: The Pier Theatre

A Trip to the Pier

Back in the late 1950’s a trip to South Parade Pier was a real adventure for the young teenager, there was so much to see and do and so much you could do with your pocket money. The fairground games and attractions in the Arcade at the landward end of the pier was always popular, we always thought that we could beat the stall holders at their own game, but actually we never could. The ‘Roll a Penny’ boards being a prime example and the shout of ‘Hey Mr I have just won 1/-‘ was soon deflated when he always said ‘ No mate there is a tiny bit of the penny on the black line, you loose’. You just could not win on that stall. The ‘Hook a Duck’ stall was just as bad because if you did win, the prize was always something cheap that you did not want or could not use. Skill was required at some stalls but you had to be a real expert to throw those bent darts on the darts Stall or to completely cover the plinth on the Hoop-la stall. The air rifle all had their sights filed down so you could not aim and the arrows on the Bow and Arrow stall certainly suffered with a very bad attack of falling feathers.

Of course these games of chance you were never meant to win on but you could put a penny in the slot of a cabinet and enjoy the Laughing Policeman (voice by curtesy of Mr Charles Penrose). There were Haunted House Machines, Hangman Machines and Executioner Machines all of which would give you and those looking over your shoulder a minute’s entertainment. But there was no doubt that the trickiest machine, and the most difficult to win on was the ‘Mechanical Grab’. For the expenditure of a shilling you could attempt to manoeuver the grab arm to try to win yourself a portable radio, a doll or teddy bear but most likely you would either miss completely or win a packet of Refreshers.

One of the machines that you could not loose on was the nameplate machine. There it stood solidly in the corner of the Arcade painted red with letters and figures picked out in white and a pointing arm in some form of shiny metal. There can be very few people of our age who did not, at one time or other, feed the machine and with the dexterous use of the shiny pointer and the press handle on the side of the machine manufacture their own personalised metal name tape complete with holes at each end to attach it to a case or box or whatever.

Then there was Candy Floss and Toffee Apples to keep the hunger at bay.

The only thing that I really remember about walking along the deck of South Parade Pier is the lines of fishermen who only ever seemed to catch tiny crabs. These crabs were discarded onto the decking making an area underfoot of crushed crab.

Beauty Contests and Band Concerts were the mainstay of the open air theatre on the pier head. These upbeat shows had to take a five minute break because of the noise and the embarking and disembarking crowds every time an Isle of Wight Paddle steamer called in.

I only remember ever being taken to a Summer Show in the Pier Theatre once (I know that at least two of our number were there as extra’s when Ken Russell filmed ‘Tommy’) but that is another story. I have no idea why my parents took me to a show in the theatre; it must have been a matinee as I cannot remember coming home in the dark on the bus. I do remember the three stars that appeared that day were the perpetual Wide Boy Arthur English and the double act Mike and Bernie Winters. All I can remember of the show was the very large kipper tie that Arthur English wore and his catch phrase ‘Open the Cage’. Whereas the two Winters act did stick in my mind as Bernie was submerged into a very large glass tank of water and tried to sing, I don’t know why, my memory does not go that far back.

With the advance of the years I remember going, with friends, back to the theatre once to see Acker Bilk and his Paramount Jazz Band and another time to see the Clyde Valley Stompers. But if a night out in this area was to be had it was across the road and up the stairs to the Savoy Ballroom that was the place. Here you could hear and see all the top names from Ted Heath to The Animals, a really great venue, but it did mean missing the last number and any encores, because if I stayed I missed the last bus home and sleeping under South Parade Pier in the Winter is no fun at all even, if you have some with you to spend the night cuddled up to.

Ahhhh fond memories.

    Stay in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

You Write:

Mary Writes:-

Todays blog brought back a few memories of aertex vests and leather satchels. My father never wore those sock suspenders but plenty of men did. 12 yrs ago my son left St Johns College and he had to wear a blazer, shirt and tie. Woe betide any boy who removed his tie on the way home. Even worse was to leave the shirt hanging out. People actually phoned the school and said they`d seen a pupil improperly dressed. The next day an announcement would be made in assembly! You had to have a proper school bag too. I loved my satchel and wonder where it is as I never threw it out and certainly my parents didn`t. 

News and Views:

On this day 29^th  March 1960-1965

On 29/03/1960 the number one single was Running Bear - Johnny Preston and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Wagon Train (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 29/03/1961 the number one single was Wooden Heart - Elvis Presley and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was The Dickie Henderson Show (AR) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 29/03/1962 the number one single was Wonderful Land - The Shadows and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. 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 Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was French Algerian War ends

On 29/03/1964 the number one single was Little Children - Billy J Kramer 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 Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was 10 found guilty of Great Train Robbery.

On 29/03/1965 the number one single was The Last Time - Rolling Stones and the number one album was Rolling Stones Number 2 - The Rolling Stones. 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 

Web Page  No 2142

22^nd March 2015

Top Picture: A traditional School uniform cap, shorts, jacket and socks.

Middle Picture: A traditional School satchel

Lower Picture:  Sock Garters, I never wore these!!!

School

I can only speak from the male point of view but as I remember it there is now a wealth of things which to us were essential requirements when we were at school that are no longer around today.

Let’s start off with our obligatory school uniforms. When was the last time you saw a school boy wearing a cap with a school badge on it or a school girl wearing a beret or any other style of school hat for that matter? School head gear, except for very few exceptions, seem to be a thing of the past, the nearest one gets to it these days are baseball caps and beanie hats!

Blazers with school badges on the pocket and white shirts or blouses with a school tie all seem to have gone out the window, it is now polo shirts with the school logo on them and fleeces and not a scarf in sight! (you also never seem to see college scarves any more either, I still have mine it is a little to worse for wear but I still have it !) Did you, like me, have to wear those thick heavy gabardine coats in the winter? It was a relief when the duffle coat became popular.

For the boys uniform meant short grey trousers and long grey socks and here was hidden those long forgotten pieces of equipment, the garters. I remember my mother sitting with a length of elastic and sewing it into hoops to keep my socks up. Now whose father’s wore sock suspenders? I know mine did and Pam tells me her Dad did as well. Or course this vital piece of equipment was not needed by the girls as they wore short white ankle socks. All this and we wore Aertex underwear and Start-Rite shoes as well.

Taking things to school, especially when we started senior school, we were sent off each day with our things packed into a leather satchel, or later a duffle bag never anything bigger. Sometimes these days, when I look out of the window, I wonder at the school children going off to school in the mornings with a rucksack full of books etc. I wonder how they manage.  I understand that this is now the norm as the pupils no longer have desks or lockers to keep their books in within the classroom as we did. Mind you I understand that satchels have recently made a comeback as a fashion accessory.

Some months back I spoke about plimsolls being replaced by trainers but I think I omitted to mention the all-important homemade shoe bag that we all had to carry our PE kit in.     

Fountain pens were an essential as ball point pens were not allowed for schoolwork and this then opened up another collection of essential items to carry to school. The Gosport made Osmiroid or Parker pen, a bottle of Stephens, Watermans or Quink ink, some sheets of blotting paper were all packed into the satchel as was the Geometry set, a rules, pencils, sharpeners and erasers. In fact we always seemed to carry a portable stationary store with us wherever we went.

Ah well! Just a few more thoughts about our childhood days, no tablet or computer, no calculator or mobile phone, but it stood us in good stead. Mind you my hand writing is still terrible but I can still recite my times tables!  

Stay in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

You Write:

Mary Writes more about Dr. Cheyne

Like Maureen I had every reason to be grateful to Dr Cheyne. My mother was taken very ill with virus pneumonia and Dr Cheyne stayed all night at our house until she showed signs of improvement. I remember how distressed my father was. She even asked to see me late at night so must have realised how ill she was. I wasn`t 8yrs old. He was a wonderful doctor, who was much missed when we moved out into the countryside

News and Views:

On this day 22^nd  March 1960-1965

On 22/03/1960 the number one single was Running Bear - Johnny Preston and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was The Larkins (ATV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 22/03/1961 the number one single was Walk Right Back/Ebony Eyes - Everly Brothers and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was No Hiding Place (AR) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions

On 22/03/1962 the number one single was Rock-a-Hula Baby/Can't Help Falling In Love - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. 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 Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions

On 22/03/1963 the number one single was Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard & the Shadows and the number one album was Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard & the Shadows. The top rated TV show was Conservative Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 22/03/1964 the number one single was Little Children - Billy J Kramer and the number one album was With the Beatles - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Conservative Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 22/03/1965 the number one single was The Last Time - Rolling Stones and the number one album was Rolling Stones Number 2 - The Rolling Stones. 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 Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

Web Page  No 2140

15^th March 2015

The two pictures that appeared in the Portsmouth Evening News I6th September 1960.

The top picture with Bert Ray.

L to R: Bert Ray the rest unknown

L to R:Keith Conlon,Unknown, ?, Norma Plumb, Lorraine Durrow, Melvyn Griffiths, Nelson Trowbridge

The Bottom Picture with Nelson Trowbridge.

Court Lane/ Manor Court Schools

After some enquiries at the Portsmouth History Centre about the history of the school, they told me that they had very little but have sent me the following about Court Lane and the construction of Manor Court.

Court Lane opened as a council school in 1937. Because of limited space in the late 1950’s, premises at Cosham Park House and Cosham Baptist Church Hall were used. It was decided to build new premises on the 12 acre site sited  off  Grove Road, an area which had been used by the Civil Defence during the war.

It was going to be called Court Manor, but later it was decided to reverse the name. There is confusion over the date of the opening of Manor Court School  is because the first new wing of the building was opened and in use in September 1960 and only half the 600 pupils were using it, half still at Court Lane.

The second phase of the building was completed later, but there is no records of an official opening. There is very little in council minutes other than costings for the building materials, etc.

However an article appeared in the Evening News on 16th September 1960 and describes the new block ,but states as this is the first part of the new school, there will be no official opening.

The only records that in the Portsmouth History Centre are school log books for Court Lane School, which are mainly teachers notes and are closed for 95

years. Records of Manor Court School have not been deposited there either

the Centre staff speculate that they are either still with the school or they may have been disposed of them.

As you know I can get no response from the school so below I reproduce the article from the Evening News of 16^th September 1960

A bridge over the railway linking Grove Road to the eastern end of the Highbury Estate would save time and money for pupils attending Cosham Court Lane Secondary School’s new building which ajoins Central Road and Grove Roads says the Headmaster Mr R R Davies.

The new block of what will eventually become the ‘home’ of the entire school came into use this week.

Although staff, parents and pupils are delighted with its facilities the railway barrier and the cost of bus fares are already causing concern.

“ I have no intension of setting off with a grumble” Mr Davies told the Evening News, “ We are termendously lucky to have this lovely well equiped building but many of the children have a great deal of travelling between home and school. It is unfortunate that the railway forms this barrier between Highbury homes and the new school. Children living at the eastern end of Highbury have to got to Cosham and almost retrace their steps.”

“A few parents have approaced me about these difficulties” said Mr Davies, “Whether another bridge can be built in the future I do not know. Certainly the qusetion of bus fares is no inconsiderable matter for some”.

Mr Davies said that it was Ministry policy for fare to be paid for children living three miles from the school. But the parents of a 14 year old living two and three quarter miles away had to pay full adult fare for her.

“ I am strongly of the opinion that children should travel at half fare however long they remain at school, especially that parents are now rightly allowing their children to stay at school longer”, he said.

No date has yet been fixed for the completion of phase two and the present school of 600 children are divided almost equally between the old and new buildings.

“As some of the practical rooms, such as domestic science and handycrafts are at Hiliary Avenue it is necessary to treat the accommodation as a whole which means a considerable amount of travelling between the building” said Mr Davies.

The new building has a spacious library with tables for private study and six airey classrooms with huge windows. The hall, fitted with ropes and wall bars, will also be used as a gynasium until phase two is completed. It can seat 500, has a dais, which is also used as a dinig annex seating 150. This has removable safety barriers and will be used also for musical events, drama and social occassions.

Soon octagonal dining tables will be installed so that the 215 midday meals can be served in a ‘family atmosphere’. Hatches connect the dais with the beautifully equipped kitchen. These hatches and their blue and black tiled surround will be curtained off when not in use to give proper dignity to the dais on other occassions.

This term, for the first time, the school has a sixth form, with thirteen boys and girls. Part of the large staff room is being partitioned for their use, and those pupils also have another small room.

A grrenhouse and a fish pond are to be installed in connection with biology study and there is a fine biology laboratory with a micro-projector and screen.

Salt and fresh water tanks will be provided and a tidal tank is planned in which sea anemones will be grown. Preliminary experiments withthis were done last term and most of the difficulties surmounted. The two science laboratories have a wealth of equipment and the benches are fitted with low voltage circuits.

In the music room the children will use special chairs with swivels on which to rest their note books. Special lighting and ten sewing machines are features of the new needlework room.

When the grounds have been laid out there will be a play area, five tennis courts, netball, football and hockey pitches, provision for athletics and a cricket square.

Already there are changing rooms and thermatically controlled showers for use after gym and games.

There will be no official opening as the block is only part of the new school but there will be an ‘At Home’ shortly for official guests and some parents evenings.  

    You Write:

Maureen Writes:

Yet again you have brought my childhood flooding back to me.

I remember Dr Cheyne well - in fact my family owed him a great debt. I was born in St Mary's in 1947, my mother staying with my grandparents who were living in Central Road Drayton, whilst my Chief Petty Officer dad was based at Rothesay, in Scotland. Two months later mum and I went up to Scotland to join Dad and a few weeks afterwards my mother began to get pains in her leg. The local doctor was treating her for muscle pain, but after 5 weeks it was still no better and the doctor did not seem to take her agonising pain seriously, just telling her to rest and take aspirin. Finding it very difficult to manage a small baby in a rented flat with Dad away on duty Mum decided to return home to my grandparents house. She went to see Dr Cheyne who realised that she was very ill with what he diagnosed as Osteomyelitis - an infection in the bone. He immediately put her in his car and drove her to see a consultant in Portsmouth who confirmed the diagnosis, took her straight to hospital and called in a specialist surgeon from London. This man performed only the second operation of it's kind where her bone was opened and cleared of all the infection and he later took bone grafts from her hip to build the tibia up again to full strength. If Dr Cheyne had not acted as he did, or if Mum had remained in Scotland, she would most probably have had her leg amputated.

Mr Stuart, the chemist, also has a place in my family history, when he removed a pearl from my ear by syringing it. My grandmother's string of pearls had broken and although she thought she had found them all, I had obviously found one and stuffed it in my ear. That syringing is one of my earliest memories.

When did the visit of Queen Mary take place do you know? Grandma worked in Smith and Vospers for a while in the 1950's but I don't remember her ever mentioning that story, but it may have been well before then.

Keep writing the diary, I always enjoy reading it.

News and Views:

On this day 15^th March 1960-1965

On 15/03/1960 the number one single was Why - Anthony Newley and the number one album was The Explosive Freddy Cannon - Freddy Cannon. The top rated TV show was The Larkins (ATV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Plans for Thames Barrier.

On 15/03/1961 the number one single was Walk Right Back / Ebony Eyes - Everly Brothers and the top rated TV show was Bootsie & Snudge (Granada) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £not very interesting and 13.25 were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.The big news story of the day was The Dickie Henderson Show (AR). On 14/03/1962 the number one single was Rock-a-Hula Baby/Can't Help Falling In Love - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. 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 Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. On 15/03/1963 the number one single was Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard & the Shadows and the number one album was Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard & the Shadows. 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 Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. On 15/03/1964 the number one single was Anyone Who Had a Heart -Cilla Black 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 Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. On 15/03/1965 the number one single was It's Not Unusual - Tom Jones and the number one album was Rolling Stones Number 2 - The Rolling Stones. 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 Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

Web Page  No 2138

8^th March 2015

The first of the pictures from The George last month. Alan Hartley talks as others listen. Left to Right: Bob Barlow, Melvyn Bridger and David Wyatt's wife. 

Barry Dunnaway, Pam Hammond, Peter Barlow behind and Tina at the bar.

Now this weeks page.

 Top Picture: 1950’s check up at the doctors

 Middle Picture: Hospital 1950’s style

 Lower Picture:  The Nit Nurse

Bottom Picture: Inside a 1950’s Chemist shop

Carry On Doctor

Anida’s piece concerning The Droke and the doctors surgery nearby few weeks ago got me thinking about my doctor when I was young and the later doctors in a new surgery when I was a child in the Farlington area. Originally, for us who lived in that area, we only had one choice of surgery and this was a small, purpose built extension which had been built onto the doctor’s house. This extension was brick built with a tiled pitched roof and the windows and doors painted in a shade of dark green. The doctor was Dr. William Cheyne a broad scot who adored hunting shooting and fishing, a doctor of the old school!

His house was on the Havant Road on the corner with Galt Road, opposite the old Farlington Post Office and Frank Vine the butcher, but the entrance to the surgery was through a small garden gate in Galt Road. On entering the waiting room I remember no receptionist, everyone just sat down on the old wooden chairs with raffia seating and read the out of date Horse and Hounds or Woman’s Realm magazines and waited patiently for their turn to see Dr Cheyne.

Like all GP’s at the time there was a morning surgery and an evening one with home visits squeezed in between. The doctor would make his house calls driving himself around in his Armstrong Sidley and I only remember him visiting me once when I was ill. I was lying in bed; I must have been six or seven at the time and feeling very sorry for myself when my mother called out the doctor to see me. I heard him walk up the stairs, he then put his head round my bedroom door, looked at me and said to my mother ‘Aye lass he’s got the Mumps, let it run its course’ and he was gone. End of home visit.    

One story that I do remember about Dr Cheyne is that he had a beautiful Golden Retriever which went everywhere with him, it even sat in the car during home visits. The doctor and his dog were out shooting one day when the dog got into the line of fire and Dr Cheyne accidently shot the dogs off. After the initial reaction, he calmly retrieved what was left of the ear, took his medical bag out of his car and carefully reattached the ear almost as good as new!

But things do not last and the Drayton and Farlington area grew and grew until the area became too big for one doctor and eventually a brand new, larger surgery and waiting room was built further into Drayton, this time on the south side of the Havant Road very near to the Drayton Methodist church and actually right next door to my Uncle Will and Aunty Ada on a derelict piece of land alongside Laburnum Path.

Things were certainly very different here as the practice increased with the addition of further partners, Drs Kenyon, Martindale, Thompson and O’Connell plus various nursing sisters and reception staff. On a visit here things were far more rigidly controlled. After reporting in to the receptionist we had to check in and then were given a plastic number, white letters on a black background or black letters on a white background (they ran two separate clinics), and told to wait until the appropriate buzzer went and then to go and see the doctor, placing the plastic number on the correct spike as we went out to the consulting room.

The other medical staff in the area that I frequented was Mr. Roy Kenroy, the dentist who had his surgery in a large house almost opposite the new doctors surgery. This was a place I was terrified to visit but mother marched me down there every six months for a check-up. The only other medical person that I can remember that I had dealings with, apart from the school ‘nit nurse’ was my one referred trip to the school dentist, a traumatic experience which I know that I have spoken about in the past. Shall we just say his name suited him, Mr. Butcher!!!  

Oh! Of course the two other medical professionals in the area were the Chemists, they were not referred to as pharmacists then, Mr. Stuart and Mr. Eastwood.

Still most of us came through the medical side of our childhoods without much trouble, whereas today I almost have to give a weeks’ notice to see a doctor at our local Medical Centre. (They are not Surgeries anymore, they are Medivcal Centres.

  Stay in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

You Write:

I write:-

Whilst interviewing Dr Theo Roberts in preparation for a book I am writing on the history of Drayton and Farlington, he related this story about Queen Mary and Drayton.

One day when Queen Mary was being driven through Drayton along the A27. She was travelling between the Royal Yacht in Portsmouth Dockyard and was one her way to  a race meeting at Goodwood.  She suddenly spotted the Smith & Vosper bakery on the Havant Road in Drayton. This was along by Mugford the green grocer and Smith’s the shoe shop.She ordered the car to stop and the chaffeur to get out and purchase her somecakes. (whether she paid the chaffeur for them is still unknown but Queen Mary was well known for never carrying money). Having made the purchase the Royal Party then progressed on their way. One of the partners in the bakery. Mr Vosper, lived in Drayton and it was his habit to call into the shop every afternoon on his way home. When the shop staff told him of their distinguished customer he was very loath to believe them but on asking around in Drayton he had the tale confirmed and this became a favourite after dinner story of his at many social functions for some time to come.

News and Views:

On this day 8^th March 1960-1965

On 08/03/1960 the number one single was Why - Anthony Newley and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was The Larkins (ATV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 08/03/1961 the number one single was Walk Right Back/Ebony Eyes - Everly Brothers and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was No Hiding Place (AR) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 08/03/1962 the number one single was Rock-a-Hula Baby/Can't Help Falling In Love - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. 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 Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 08/03/1963 the number one single was The Wayward Wind - Frank Ifield and the number one album was Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard & the Shadows. 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 Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 08/03/1964 the number one single was Anyone Who Had a Heart -Cilla Black 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 Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 08/03/1965 the number one single was I'll Never Find Another You - Seekers and the number one album was Rolling Stones Number 2 - The Rolling Stones. 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 Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was First public talking computer.