Web Page No
2626
19th October
2019
1st Picture: Remember,
Remember the 5th November
4th Picture: List
of contents of a box of Standard Fireworks
Bonfire Night in the 1950s and 1960s
Bonfire or Fireworks Night is a
uniquely British event. It commemorates the successful foiling of a plot to blow up King James I and Parliament in 1605. The
fireworks are a reminder of the gunpowder that was placed by the plotters under
the Houses of Parliament.
In 21st century Britain, Bonfire
Night is usually celebrated with a trip to an organised bonfire and firework
display, with paid admission and controlled access.
Not so in the 1950s and 1960s.
Bonfire Night was a hands-on celebration. Family bonfire parties and
get-togethers with neighbours were the thing. And as for health and safety:
well, apart from the annual safety lecture on BBC’s ‘Blue Peter’, common sense
was the order of the day.
Families started to collect wood for
their bonfire at the end of summer. The trees in the garden would be trimmed
and the branches piled up ready for the big day. Any old planks of wood, doors
or other combustibles would also be added to the heap.
Fireworks appeared in the shops a
couple of weeks or so before November 5th. There were selection boxes of
fireworks (the most popular brand was Standard Fireworks, but there were also
Brock’s and Paine’s) or you could buy rockets and larger fireworks one by one.
Catherine Wheels and Roman Candles were particularly popular, as were sparklers
and bangers.
Bangers were small tubes of gunpowder
that after lighting, were thrown on the ground to explode with a loud bang, not
unlike a miniature stick of dynamite! These are now banned from sale in the UK,
as are Jumping Jacks, another Bonfire Night favourite. Once lit, Jumping Jacks
lived up to their name by jumping about erratically. Far too much temptation
for naughty boys to frighten unsuspecting girls!
‘Penny for the guy’ was the cry on
the streets. The guy, an effigy of Guy Fawkes, would be made from straw and
dressed in old clothes, and often displayed in a wheelbarrow to be pushed
around the neighbourhood. The money raised by the children would be spent on
bangers and other fireworks. (Following new laws in 2004, it is now an offence
to supply fireworks to anyone under the age of 18).
Neighbours and friends brought food
to share at the bonfire parties – treacle toffee and toffee apples. Potatoes
were roasted in the ashes of the fire and served with butter and salt, and
eaten with a teaspoon in gloved hands. Never successfully baked, they always
somehow tasted delicious in the cold night air. Mugs of hot soup would warm the
audience around the fire.
The bonfire was usually in the charge
of the men of the house and was quite a competitive thing with the neighbours.
A fire had to be a ‘good fire’, preferably larger and brighter than next doors.
The night before Bonfire Night is
traditionally known as Mischief Night, particularly in the north of England. In
the 1960s this was a night when the local children would play pranks:
knock-and-run on neighbour’s front doors, letting down car tyres, tying metal
dustbin lids to door knockers – even changing the numbers on gates to confuse
the postman! It was also the night when children would pilfer the best wood
from rival bonfires unless they were guarded carefully.
On November 5th, as soon as it was
dark, the fun would begin. The guy would be placed carefully on top of the
wooden pyre before lighting. If it had been raining over the past few days, the
wood might be wet and difficult to light. It has been known for paraffin to be
used as an aid to lighting – with the resultant fireball taking out the
neighbour’s hedge!
The boxes of fireworks would be kept
under the careful care of an adult. The glow of a cigarette would be used to
light the fuse on the fireworks. A Catherine Wheel would be nailed to a wooden
fence or a tree – often a recipe for disaster, as if not nailed securely, they
had a habit of launching themselves into the air, still spinning!
Each child would be given a sparkler
which was great fun to write in the air with until it spluttered and went out.
Rockets were launched from glass milk bottles; they went off in any or all
directions. The next day the remnants of the rockets – the wooden sticks – were
to found in gardens, on the pavements and in the streets and were often
collected by children on their way to school. The ashes from the bonfires would
smoulder for days afterwards.
Nowadays, stricter rules on the sale
of fireworks and safety campaigns have persuaded many families that it’s safer
to leave it to the experts and attend an organised display – much to the relief
of fire and ambulance crews!
On this day 19th October 1960-1965
On 19/10/1960 the number one single was Tell Laura I Love Her - Ricky Valance 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 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.
On 19/10/1961 the number one single was Michael - The Highwaymen and the
number one album was The Shadows -
Shadows. The top rated TV show was Sunday Night at the London Palladium (ATV) 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.
On 19/10/1962 the number one single was Telstar - The Tornadoes and the number
one album was Best of Ball Barber &
Bilk. 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. The big news
story of the day was Hyde Park
Underpass opens.
On 19/10/1963 the number one single was Do You Love Me? - Brian Poole & the
Tremoloes and the number one album was Please Please Me - 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. The big news story of the week was Harold Macmillan resigns as Prime Minister.
On 19/10/1964 the number one single was Oh Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison 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.
The big news story of the week was that Brezhnev
replaced Krushchev.
On 19/10/1965 the number one single was Tears - Ken Dodd 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. The big news story of the week was Lesley Ann Downey's body found on Pennines.
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