Social History 1963 #57

Saturday 16 November 1963

A tea factory was brought to a standstill last night when a foreWOMAN gave an order to a workMAN. As a result, the complete staff of 470 walked out. The incident occurred at the Ty-Phoo Tea company in Birmingham. The question that needs answering: does a forewoman have authority over male workers? A meeting to discuss that question will be held on Monday.

A voice called from inside a smoke-filled pet shop in Tottenham. Firemen rushed in and discovered that the voice belonged to George, a mynah bird. George kept up a running commentary while the firemen rescued 250 birds, a cat, rabbits and mice. Sally, the cat, required artificial respiration and oxygen, but she recovered.

The picture on Alfred Knapp’s television set kept appearing and disappearing, in a rhythmic sort of way. He tried a new set and a new aerial, the tv picture came and went. Post Office engineers checked Mr Knapp’s house for two days. Then a young engineer noticed that the fading picture coincided with the swinging pendulum of a grandfather clock. He stopped the clock and the picture appeared because the pendulum was inferring with the television signal.

Many road accidents are caused by motorists hitting “Keep Left” signs, so one idea is to make them out of rubber.

Llanelli Grammar School has won the Rosslyn Park rugby seven-a-side competition for the past three years. However, they will no longer compete. This is because of the abuse the players receive from public school masters and spectators. A Rosslyn Park spokesman said, “We are disappointed by Llanelli’s decision, but some of the behaviour displayed on the touchline has been disgraceful.”

Television highlights: The Avengers – Second Sight. Sports Special – FA Cup highlights. The Sentimental Agent – adventure series

Radio highlights: LP Time. From Our Own Correspondent.

Weather: sunny spells and showers. Outlook – similar. 9c, 48f.

Sunday 17 November 1963

For women – where to find single men: Lincolnshire towns, north Wales villages and the Scottish moors are your best bet. If you are looking for a serviceman, try Aldershot or Catterick. Canny women are marrying skilled men bringing home over £1,000 a year in the printing trade and steel and iron industries. South Wales is the best boom spot for rich husbands right now.

Even though housewives have less to do, they are often bored with housework. Professor Dennis Gabor has a solution. He believes that within the next 25 years a pill will make women interested in arts and sciences, and prepare them for the age of leisure. He also stated that leaving house cleaning to an electronic housemaid was a bad idea because housework should be rewarding.

The average house costs £3,148, but prices vary from £3,900 in London to £2,000 in the north-east. You’ll find the best hairdressers in London, and Coventry. The easiest place to buy frozen food is south Wales, followed by Birmingham, Manchester and London.

Roly-poly comedienne Dora Bryan has a new disc out – All I Want For Christmas is a Beatle.

There have been ten escapes from Nottingham prison in the past ten weeks.

Football Results: First Division – Aston Villa 4 Manchester United 0, Blackburn 3 Birmingham 0, Chelsea 3 Arsenal 1, Liverpool 2 Fulham 0, Nottingham Forest 2 Everton 2, Sheffield United 0 Bolton 1, Stoke 4 Sheffield Wednesday 4, Spurs 3 Burnley 2. Top three – Sheffield United, Liverpool, Blackburn.

Television highlights: Auto-Mechanics – Lubrication. About Religion with Leslie Phillips. Fireball XL5.

Radio highlights: Birds of the Air. Pick of the Pops.

Weather: cloudy with showers, some fog.

Monday 18 November 1963

More than 6,000 people in Birmingham faced death or serious injury last night – and many of them didn’t know it. There was a fault in the gas supply and the mains had to be shut off. Police loudspeaker vans toured the estates. And the BBC and ITV interrupted their programmes to broadcast warnings. A gas board spokesman warned that there would be an explosion if anyone lit a match.

Some villagers in Bethesda, north Wales are risking their lives by connecting their television aerials to a relay cable. They connect at night and disconnect before dawn. A spokesman said this practice is not only dangerous, but it affects the reception for the other villagers. By using this method, the “tele pirates” avoid paying the 2s a week charged by the relay firm.

Mr Henry Abbot, headteacher at Darwen grammar school, blamed pop music for GCE failures. He said, “I can think of several students whose prospects have suffered through preoccupations with guitars. We must distinguish between hobbies – camping and the like – and crazes like guitars that so occupy the mind.”

Advertisement: shortly after 21, most women are married. The endless housework, bending, washing, stooping and scrubbing can bring on muscular strain and stress. Don’t suffer in silence – get new formula Cystex for quick relaxing relief.

A coach travelling from Birmingham to London burst into flames at Newport Pagnell. The passengers completed their journey on a relief coach.

“No truly great man ever founded a sect” – Thomas Carlyle, 1795 – 1881.

Television highlights: The Way We Live – Village Community. Adventure – the hunting of the gruntfish. Come Dancing – Wales v West Midlands.

Radio highlights: The Clitheroe Kid. Strictly for the Judies.

Weather: sunny spells and showers. Outlook – rain at times. 11c, 52f.

Tuesday 19 November 1963

The message: “Mayday, mayday, mayday. I’m ditching tub.” Then silence. Staff at a RAF control tower in Uxbridge picked up the signal and traced it to the West Country. Spotter planes took off, messages were sent, the police were alerted and the lifeboats were put on standby. Another message came through, “None of our aircraft are missing.” Then the problem was solved – the mayday message had been sent from a steamroller working on the new M5 near Bristol. The driver was telling his mate that he was packing up work for the day because of the bad weather. He used slang picked up when he was in the RAF.

The number of train accidents rose last year for the third year running, reaching the highest total since 1947. In 1962 there were 1,348 train accidents. A report into the matter blames a decline in safety standards.

The 470 men and women who went on strike at the Ty-Phoo Tea factory in Birmingham have been told to return to work. The strike occurred on Friday when a forewoman reprimanded a workman. The matter has now been placed before a conciliation officer.

In 1965, all traffic within a four-square-mile area of London will be controlled by radar. Computers built into traffic lights will count the number of vehicles passing and feed the information into a central electronic brain. This will adjust the traffic lights according to the flow of traffic.

A 150mph hurricane tore through Suffolk yesterday, flattening garages and stripping roofs. Cottages rocked on their foundations. Villagers hid under tables. Gales also played havoc in the south of England, and Wales. Trees were uprooted and cars abandoned. The wild weather is expected to continue today.

Television highlights: World in Action – a computer chooses Labour’s future Cabinet. Gala Performance with Julian Bream. Maigret with Rupert Davies.

Radio highlights: The Archers. Stars of the Old Days.

Weather: cloudy with rain and strong winds. Outlook – rainy. 12c, 54f.

Wednesday 20 November 1963

Sailors sporting a forehead fringe have been told – get de-Beatled, now! Officers have noted with alarm that servicemen are favouring peculiar haircuts, influenced by the Beatles. One sailor complained, “Even the Navy is against the Beatles.” Commander Hoyle said, “I’ve never heard the Beatles. I have nothing against them. They’re probably nice young men, but there’s nothing nice about the way they wear their hair.”

The road safety committee of Chingford, Essex have issued a poster depicting the rear view of a nude woman wearing only a safety helmet with the message, “Always Wear a Helmet – it Saves Lives.” However, the Rev Harold Goldsack is going to put the drawing before the local church council. He said, “I think it’s a disgusting drawing.”

Bath city centre was under water last night as the River Avon rose twelve feet above its normal level. Police used boats to take food supplies to people marooned in outlying districts. The AA reported flooding on 21 main roads in southern England and south Wales, with six roads impassable.

Sir David James, the Welsh businessman who made millions out of grain, milk and cinemas, has given £2,500,000 to Welsh charities.

Books for Christmas: Helen Shapiro’s New Book for Girls, Cliff Richard’s Top Pops, The Sooty Annual and The Torchy Gift Book.

A.P. of Skegness writes, “Horrible background music ruins many tv shows. Also, programmes should not show so much of the story before the titles and theme music appear on the screen.”

Television highlights: Football – England v Ireland, second-half from Wembley. What Next in Instant Homes? They’ve Sold a Million – Kenny Ball and his jazzmen.

Radio highlights: Conversations With My Younger Self. A Lover’s View of Norwich.

Weather: rain at first, then brighter. Outlook – similar. 9c, 48f.

Thursday 21 November 1963

The man who arrested Anne Frank has been named. He is Karl Silberbauer, now a member of Vienna CID. He confessed to the arrest, but no action will be taken against him because he was acting under orders.

Silent killers were menacing the coast of west Wales last night. Drifting towards Pembrokeshire from the Irish Sea were 154 drums of highly inflammable and poisonous chemicals. The drums were washed overboard from the Finnish vessel Skou during the weekend storms. Police warned that the drums should not be touched if they wash up on the beach.

Two more prisoners have escaped from Nottingham prison. Twelve prisoners have escaped from the jail in the past ten weeks.

In 1960, fires destroyed about four times as much of Britain’s output as was lost by strikes.

Football. International Results: England 8 Ireland 3, Scotland 2 Wales 1.

The BBC is to launch a new “Top of the Pops” tv disc show featuring the latest “Top Twenty” discs on New Year’s Day. Leading disc jockeys will be the comperes and, for the first time, the BBC will allow the miming of records. The disc jockeys will include David Jacobs, Alan Freeman and Peter Murray.

Television highlights: Kalanag – the world’s master magician in action. This Week – the amorous wives of Camberley. Dickie Henderson Show.

Radio highlights: Play – Room to Let. Pop Parade.

Weather: sunny then rain. Outlook – sunny spells and showers. 12c, 54f.

Friday 22 November 1963

Plans are in place to increase the number of telephones in Britain from 9,000,000 to 11,000,000. The aim is to provide a telephone for everybody who wants one. The practice of shared lines will continue, but by 1968 it’s hoped that there will be an exclusive service for all. It’s virtually certain that younger people will come to regard a telephone as a necessity.

Mice are eating telephone cables in Somerset. Engineers believe it’s because the mice like the protective coating.

In general, meat prices are down, but the demand for stewing steak has pushed steak prices up. Ox tails are good value right now. The fish situation is very poor this week, but there is news of better catches for next week. Lettuces and cucumbers are expensive, but vegetable prices are steady.

Advance orders for the Beatles’ new single, I Want to Hold Your Hand, have reached 750,000. This week, the Beatles moved from number two to number one with She Loves You. Meanwhile, a van carrying 3,000 copies of the Beatles’ new LP record, With the Beatles, was hijacked yesterday. The van was later found in Reading, but the records had gone.

Sales of TV sets and record players are soaring. TV sales jumped 25% in the first nine months of this year and 23% more record players were sold.

Television highlights: Ready, Steady, Go! with Kathy Kirby, Kenny Lynch and the Rolling Stones. Guild of Television Producers and Directors Awards. Here’s Harry with Harry Worth.

Radio highlights: The Dispossessed. As Others See Us.

Weather: strong winds and showers. Outlook – changeable. 9c, 48f.