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1963

Social History 1963 #26

Tuesday 7 May 1963 

Tougher laws to tame fascists. Tougher penalties are to be provided for anyone convicted of trying to arouse racial or religious hatred. The current penalty is a fine of £50 or three months in prison. The new legislation will double or treble these penalties with the possibility of heavy prison sentences.

The three-day national rail strike is almost certain to take place next week, and the men on London’s underground trains will be called out to support the strikers. The strike has been called over redundancies caused by the Beeching Axe.

British businessman Greville Wynne goes on trial in Moscow today charged with spying. A Russian scientific worker, Oleg Penkovsky is expected to face trial with him. Mr Wynne will be defended by a Russian lawyer. The two accused men face a possible death sentence.

Pele, the fabulous Brazilian forward, is unlikely to face England in tomorrow’s clash at Wembley. He was injured in Hamburg when his taxi collided with a tram. Brazil want to use a Brazilian football in the second half, but England manager Alf Ramsey has refused this request.

An inquiry has been called to look into allegations of match-fixing in football league games. Players from Bradford, Mansfield and Bristol Rovers have been named in the allegations.

Television highlights: Decision – Young People and Politics with Michael Heseltine. Background – Marriage and Divorce. Supercar.

Radio highlights: Music While You Work. Cricket – Gloucestershire v West Indies.

Weather: cloudy, some rain. Outlook – sunshine and showers. 15c, 59f.

Wednesday 8 May 1963 

Mrs Hedy Walduck (pictured below), 33, is the mother of nine children. She is also a chimney sweep. She said, “It’s tiring being a chimney sweep, but a lot of fun. It keeps me fit. I often start work at 6.30 am and often don’t finish until 9 o’clock at night.”

At present, a man can claim damages “for the loss of the services of any female servant of his who is seduced by a third person.” For the purposes of the law a “female servant” includes an unmarried daughter living at home. Fathers have been using this right to sue the seducers of their daughters. However, the government has said this law is now out of date.

Prime Minister Harold MacMillan stated in the House of Commons, “I think more spies will be caught. We shall bring to justice traitors who have for the present escaped.” This was taken as a hint that Mr MacMillan has information he cannot yet reveal. 

The Telstar 2 satellite will bring highlights of next year’s Olympic Games in Japan to BBC and ITV screens. It will also send colour pictures, but only viewers in America will see them. 

For every manual job eliminated by automation in America since the end of World War Two, four new white-collar jobs have been created. There are now over 30,000,000 white-collar workers, 10,000,000 more than in 1947.

Independent Television’s share of the viewers has increased to 60% according to TAM, the independent audience research firm. This is an increase from 57%.

Television highlights: Holiday in the Skies – Czech film. International Football – England v Brazil, second half. Hippodrome starring Annie Ross.

Radio highlights: Clinton’s Cake Walk. Background to Music.

Weather: mainly dry and sunny. Outlook – sunny spells. 17c, 61f.

Thursday 9 May 1963 

At the conclusion of one of the most costliest divorce cases in history, a judge decided yesterday that the Duchess of Argyll committed adultery with four men. The judge, Lord Wheatley, delivered his 64,000 word judgement at the Court of Session in Edinburgh. The four men were named as John Cohane, Baron Sigismund von Braun, Peter Combe, and an Unknown Man who appeared nude in photographs, his face hidden, with the Duchess.

Lord Wheatley said, “The Duchess is a woman who had ceased to be satisfied with normal relations and had started to indulge in disgusting activities.” The judge added that the pictures, apparently taken by a Polaroid camera, were “gross”. He left the court in no doubt that he regarded the Duchess as a woman of low moral character.

The Duke said that he intended to celebrate and light a huge bonfire. He added, “I am very happy and contented.” The Duchess said, “I have no comment to make.” This is the third time the Duke has been involved in a divorce.

Football: Scotland 4 Austria 1 (abandoned after 79 minutes). The game came to a sensational close when referee Jim Finney took the players from the Hampden Park pitch eleven minutes before the end of time. Mr Finney later said, “The game was getting seriously out of hand. Someone might have been seriously injured.” Austria were reduced to nine players. “I ordered Nemec off for spitting and Hof for a diabolical waistline tackle. I can in no way fault Scotland.”

Football: England 1 Brazil 1. An equaliser from Bryan Douglas six minutes from time saved face for England. From the opening minute they were totally outplayed by Brazil. England live in a different world as far as modern tactics are concerned. England’s hope of winning the World Cup in 1966 are purely pipe-dreams.

Television highlights: Perspective on Failure with Frankie Howerd. Amateur Boxing – Wales v Ireland. Royal Windsor Horse Show.

Radio highlights: Frontiers of Sociology. David Jacobs’ Startime. 

Weather: rain then sunny. Outlook – rain then sunny. 16c, 61f.

Friday 10 May 1963 

Seven women walked out of their jobs yesterday because their boss banned them from wearing hair-curlers at work. Why the ban? A factory manager said, “I did it because the welfare nurse mentioned to me that girls were keeping rollers in their hair too long and it was not healthy.” Irene Dodd, one of the walk-out girls, said “It’s all right for someone who’s married. I’m still looking for a husband and you’ve got to use curlers to look your best.”

The yearly total of drink convictions is now double that of the 1930s. There were 92,100 convictions in England and Wales in 1962, 10,000 more than the year before. 

Tests on a birth control pill for men are to be carried out soon. The pill has been tested with animals and the results are “most encouraging”.

Maybe we should start calling it LiverPop, Liverpool that is, because the city is the gateway to the hit charts. A third entrant from the Mersey beat scene enters the Pop Thirty stakes today – Billy J Kramer with Do You Want to Know a Secret? He joins Gerry and the Pacemakers, and the Beatles, the group that seems to be setting the current Liverpool scene.

Police are investigating allegations of bribery involving a gambling syndicate and Third Division footballers. The bribes scandal started when two players told of the parts they played in trying to fix the Bradford v Bristol Rovers match. One of the players involved is Bristol Rovers goalkeeper Esmund Million who agreed to accept a £300 bribe to lose the match.

Television highlights: Let’s Imagine – Going on Safari. The Spread of the Eagle – nine part cycle based on three plays by William Shakespeare. Adventure with David Attenborough.

Radio highlights: Take Your Partners. Motoring.

Weather: showers. Outlook – sunny periods. 15c, 59f.

Saturday 11 May 1963 

Britain does not have a single coloured policeman despite the high number of coloured people living in the country. A government spokesman said, “There is no bar on the recruitment of coloured policemen provided they are in other ways qualified.”

The rag trade is deep in fur and tweed for the autumn. The trends for the new season will include Cup Final tams complete with pom-poms and matching college scarves. Shift dresses and woollen jerseys will keep out the cold. Housecoats will be in tiger and leopard printed fur fabric while in bed we’ll be wearing hooded pyjamas and the new sleep tights.

Racing ace Sterling Moss divorced his wife Katie yesterday. He plans to re-marry, but the name of his bride-to-be is a secret. He said, “I hope to marry a wonderful girl, but I won’t tell you her name because I’m scared of jeopardising the marriage.” His secretary said, “I don’t know who the girl is. Sterling has quite a few girlfriends, you know.” His manager said, “I don’t know who Sterling is going to marry. I can think of a dozen girls he has taken out.”

The three-day rail strike has been called off. Also, seven hundred men ended their two-day strike at the Rover motor plant in Birmingham.

The Duchess of Argyll, denounced in court by the judge as “a completely promiscuous woman” will make “an important announcement” tomorrow.

Winifred Atwell, the West Indian pianist, has been banned from visiting South Africa.

Television highlights: Rugby League – Challenge Cup Final, Wakefield Trinity v Wigan. Man of the World – adventure series. The Third Man – adventure series.

Radio highlights: Interlude. Everybody Step. 

Weather: sunny intervals, a few showers. Outlook – mainly dry, rather warm. 14c, 57f.

Available for pre-order, Songbird, my novel set in the winter of 1962-63

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For Authors

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1963

Social History 1963 #25

Thursday 2 May 1963

9,000,000,000 bangers! Britons eat about 568,000 miles of sausages every year. That would stretch right to the Moon and back, leaving plenty over for a good fry-up. Housewives spend £3 out of every £100 on sausages.

A new invasion of Britain is predicted. Heat ‘em and eat ‘em – pre-cooked dinners are all the rage in America, and soon they are expected here.

Barbara Cartland, novelist mum of a countess, has well-known views on love, marriage and families. She believes that a dutiful wife needs to take up to twenty-six vitamin tablets a day if she is to love fully.

In fashion, white is the colour for the summer of 1963. Synthetics have made whites practical, plus the detergent ads have convinced us that we can wash our whites clean.

A word of advice for parents of beatniks – accept their black stockings gracefully next autumn and be thankful that they are not wearing ginger, prune or putty stockings. Mary Quant, that way-out darling of Chelsea, showed her first mass-produced collection in London yesterday and ginger, prune and putty dominated her range.

The chequered flag has come down on the motor racing career of Sterling Moss. He has announced his retirement because his “judgement and dexterity are just not good enough”. He said, “I think it would be dangerous – endangering myself and others – if I went on racing.”

Television highlights: Perspective – roast beef of Old England. Bootsie and Snudge. Adventures of Tintin.

Radio highlights: Star Parade with June Whitfield. Science Review.

Weather: sunny intervals, scattered showers. Rather cold. Outlook – unsettled. 12c, 54f.

Friday 3 May 1963 

The last remnants of political freedom in South Africa were destroyed yesterday by the coming into force of the “No Trial” law. From now on, political suspects can be detained indefinitely by the police, without trial, without appeal to the courts, without proof of guilt.

Canada’s new Premier, Mr Lester Pearson, flew into London yesterday for a three-day official visit and talks with Prime Minister Harold MacMillan. He said he wanted to “strengthen the economic and political co-operation between our two countries.”

Elizabeth Hardaker, 20, of Shipley, Yorkshire was given a truth drug by a psychiatrist. While under the influence of the truth drug, Elizabeth told how she forged cheques for more than £2,000 to give to her boyfriend. She has been sent to a detention centre for three months.

Sales of fresh crusty loaves are soaring on Saturdays. The reason – more people are enjoying freshly buttered bread and jam with their afternoon tea. During the week, biscuits are popular, but on the weekends we have time for a real tea.

Music: top three – From Me To You – The Beatles, How Do You Do It? – Gerry and The Pacemakers, From a Jack to a King – Ned Miller.

Football: European Cup Semi-Final, Second Leg – Dundee 1 Milan 0 (Milan won 5 – 2 on aggregate). European Cup Winners’ Cup Semi-Final, Second Leg – Tottenham Hotspur 3 OFK Belgrade 1 (Spurs won 5-2 on aggregate).

Television highlights: Hobbies Club. Millicent Martin Sings. It’s a Square World with Michael Bentine.

Radio highlights: Ladies Choir. Improve Your German.

Weather: Rain, rather cold. Outlook – rain then sunny periods. 12c, 54f.

Saturday 4 May 1963 

It arrived two and a half years ago and was said to be too abandoned, too uninhibited, too sexy for the British. We are talking about, of course, the Twist. It was said that no “nice” girls would do the Twist. But today, the Queen Twists. She was taught by Princess Anne, who picked it up at her dance classes.

A customs officer searched a man at London Airport and found that he was wearing a woman’s roll-on and body-belt, a court was told yesterday. The belt contained 28 bars of gold. The man, Mark Woolf, pleaded not guilty to smuggling. 

Britain’s homes, even the 1963 models, are among “the most uncomfortable in the world”, an expert told the Royal Society of Health Congress, yesterday. Improvements are needed including double-glazing, a garage, self-coloured finishes requiring no maintenance, soundproofing and draught-proofing.

A rugger playing curate brought down a man outside his church with a flying tackle. The curate, the Rev Michael Smith of St Mark’s Church, Marylebone Road, London made the tackle after a man snatched a handbag from a pew.

A Leonardo Da Vinci drawing will go on display at London’s National Gallery today. The drawing will be protected by inch-thick Perspex and a magic eye beam.

Ivor Novello Award winners – The Tornados, Steve Race, Ron Grainer, Acker Bilk and Matt Monro. 

Television highlights: The Harlem Globetrotters. Saturday Sport – the Scottish FA Cup final, Celtic v Rangers. Checkmate – detective series.

Radio highlights: FA Amateur Cup Final – Sutton United v Wimbledon. Disc Break.

Weather: becoming cloudy with rain later. Outlook – sunny spells and showers. 13c, 55f.

Sunday 5 May 1963 

‘Your publication of Lionel Crane’s article “How to spot a Possible Homo” was long overdue. I believe the public should know the facts.’ – Mrs R Crawford-Rivers, Bournemouth. ‘Surely these people are hounded enough.’ – J.B., London NW6.

Judgement in the Argyll divorce case is expected this week. It is expected that Lord Wheatley will spend an entire day, Wednesday, delivering his judgement. The Duke of Argyll has accused the Duchess of multiple counts of adultery.

The secret medical histories of 150 married women who have been taking new British birth control pills since 1960 will be published soon. The Family Planning Association has given its approval for the Pill to go on sale.

Out of every five people who get fibrosis and similar diseases in Britain three are women. A major cause is the constant companion of every woman – her handbag. Dr William Copeman, Chairman of the Empire Rheumatism Council said, “Women are more subject to fibrosis than men. And this is largely because they are placing an unnatural strain on their shoulder muscles by carrying heavy handbags and overloaded shopping baskets.”

Personal ads: Top recording star needs a secretary. Some typing. Good appearance essential. Chandau hairspray a must.

Television highlights: Football – Germany v Brazil direct from Hamburg via Eurovision. Songs of Praise from Milford Haven. Space Patrol.

Radio highlights: Your Hundred Best Tunes. The Roots of Prejudice.

Weather: sunny spells with showers, rather cold.

Monday 6 May 1963 

Advice for the youth of today from their parents…Don’t play bingo, keep out of brothels, and don’t go anywhere near Brighton. Also, avoid air-raid shelters, striptease shows and all-night jazz dances. Films to avoid – Room at the Top and Frankenstein. Plus, do not read Lady Chatterley’s Lover.

The BBC is cutting out the chimes of Big Ben. Yesterday, the chimes of the world’s most famous clock were missing from the Home Service at 8am. In their place the BBC used the impersonal pip, pip, pip of the Greenwich time signal. A BBC spokesman said, “We have dropped Big Ben for a trial period.”

Prince Philip opened the new Hillman Imp car factory last Thursday. Today, workers will go on strike. Draughtsmen at the plant in Linwood, near Glasgow are demanding an extra £1 10s a week, to match the wages of their colleagues in Cowley, Oxford.

The F-Plan aims to end tooth decay amongst children. The plan aims to add fluorides to local water supplies. Critics say the fluoride plan is tampering with pure water. The British Dental Association says that no water is pure. “More than twenty chemicals are used to treat it.”

Squid used to be thrown away by west Wales fishermen, but now the trade is booming. The reason? The growth of Chinese restaurants has entirely accounted for the demand.

Television highlights: Table Talk with Larry Adler and Erskine Childers. Tonight with Cliff Michelmore. Ballroom Dancing- World Championships from the Royal Albert Hall.

Radio highlights: Jazz Scene. Strictly For the Judies. 

Weather: sunny intervals, scattered showers. Outlook – mainly dry. 15c, 59f.

Available for pre-order, Songbird, my novel set in the winter of 1962-63

https://books2read.com/u/bMqNPG

For Authors

#1 for value with 565,000 readers, The Fussy Librarian has helped my books to reach #1 on over thirty occasions.

A special offer from my publisher and the Fussy Librarian. https://authors.thefussylibrarian.com/?ref=goylake

Don’t forget to use the code goylake20 to claim your discount 🙂

Categories
1963

Social History 1963 #24

Saturday 27 April 1963 

The Minister of Works has refused to allow Colin Jordan’s Neo-Nazi party to hold a rally at Trafalgar Square on Sunday, May 19. “In view of the likelihood of serious disorders, a rally would not be in the public interest,” said the Ministry yesterday.

The population of England and Wales is expected to rise by a third by 2002, a government report forecast yesterday. An additional 17,000,000 people will raise the number in Britain to 63,774,000.

Seven hundred hospital nurses have been told not to wear eye-shadow on duty. The order, at Hammersmith Hospital in London, came from the matron. Medical Superintendent Donald Mackay explained, “Some of the nurses were going around the hospital looking like Guy Fawkes, so the matron had to put her foot down.”

American scientists blasted another secret satellite into orbit yesterday. It is believed to be a “Ferret” eavesdropper packed with super-sensitive electric gear which picks up top-secret communications messages.

Unconfirmed reports of the first cuckoo singing in Britain in 1963 reached us in mid-March from Cheshire and Yorkshire. Most letters confirm that the earliest birds were indeed heard in the north of the country.

Television highlights: Grandstand. Juke Box Jury. That Was The Week That Was – last in the current series.

Radio highlights: Shanty Time. Ted Heath Show.

Weather: dry and mainly sunny. Outlook – little change. 14c, 57f.

Sunday 28 April 1963 

Today’s colour is brown. Even Buckingham Palace has got the message. The Queen has chosen Honourable Bamboo – a brown pattern on white – for the walls of her bathroom. The experts agree that this is a good choice because people who live hectic lives need a monotone room to relax in.

Housewives in the country house belt of Berkshire are furious – David Grieg Ltd, provision merchants, have stopped home delivers and customer credit. Now their lords and ladyships send their butlers or chauffeurs to collect their meat. Many are shopping elsewhere. However, Mr V S Greig, managing director of David Grieg Ltd, is not worried. He said, “It is all part of the changing social scene. The gulf between the so-called different classes is disappearing, and it will continue to do so.”

The milk ration for prisoners in Britain’s gaols is to be increased to half a pint a day.

Eggshells in Los Angeles are turning green. Farmers are blaming the smog.

Bongo drums are in fashion. Helped by the popularity of the Bossa Nova, sales are shooting up. Bongos cost £5 a pair, complete with tutor.

Cars. Seat belts are now in. A year ago they weren’t. Record players in cars are very with it. And for motorists who have everything, burglar alarms are now all the rage.

FA Cup semi-finals: Leicester City 1 Liverpool 0. Manchester United 1 Southampton 0.

Television highlights: Songs of Praise. The Cliff Richard Show. Bob Monkhouse.

Radio highlights: Gardeners’ Question Time. Star Parade – Bernard Cribbins.

Weather: warm and sunny. Outlook – similar. 18c, 65f.

Monday 29 April 1963 

Crime fighters from twenty-two nations will meet in Canberra to discuss “the role of the police in the protection of human rights”. Wire-tapping, lie-detectors and third-degree methods will be among the subjects.

It is predicted that the number of self-service shops – 11,850 with 996 of them supermarkets – will double in three years. It’s believed that by 1970 about 5,000 supermarkets will be doing half the country’s grocery trade.

The record books will state that Graham Hill won the Aintree 200 at the weekend, but the man who captured all hearts was Jim Clark, who finished third. Seconds before the start of the race, Clark pressed the starter button on his Lotus and found that the battery was flat. Despite starting a lap and a half behind the leaders, and swapping cars, Clark achieved third, driving magnificently, using every inch of the road.

Pele, the world’s number one footballer, gave Brazil their first win on their European tour with a hat-trick against France in Paris yesterday. Brazil beat France 3 – 2. Pele snatched the winning goal five minutes from time.

Frank Muir and Denis Norden, the BBC’s famous two-man team of writer-performers, are joining ITV. They will earn around £20,000 between them.

Television highlights: Blue Peter. Panorama – Britain in the 70s. World in Action – the petrol war in Britain.

Radio highlights: WHACK-O! Desert Island Discs – George Chisholm.

Weather: mainly dry with sunny intervals. Outlook – dry and warm. 18c, 64f.

Tuesday 30 April 1963 

Engineers battled last night to tame a “gusher” pouring deadly gas into a moorland dale. One spark could have turned the escaping natural gas into a giant blowtorch just 300 yards from Aislaby, Whitby, Yorks. An American company, drilling on the site, struck the gas pocket unexpectedly.

The Last Post has sounded on one of Britain’s most famous brass bands. Soon Ford’s Motor Works band, winner of countless competitions, is to be scrapped. A company spokesman said, “The brass band has outlived its usefulness.”

Britain’s shop assistants have demanded a £1 a week pay rise and a five day 40 hour week. Current pay rates are below £10 a week. The Union of Shop, Distribution and Allied Workers is making these demands, and is sure to face opposition.

Pat Moss, rally driver and show jumping sister of Sterling, fitted her new caravan with a shower, fridge and television. However, thieves have stolen the caravan. Pat said, “I wish I could find out who nicked it.”

Howard Winstone of Merthyr beat Frenchman Gracieux Lamperti in eight rounds at Sophia Gardens tonight. The contest was as one-sided as a two-headed penny and it was a relief when the referee stepped in to save the Frenchman from further punishment.

Television highlights: Animal Magic with Johnny Morris. Bookstand – writers and writing. Crane – adventure series with Patrick Allen.

Radio highlights: Pop Inn. Piano Recital.

Weather: mainly dry, sunny intervals. Outlook – changeable. 15c, 59f.

Wednesday 1 May 1963 

Tory MPs staged a revolt last night over the Beeching rail plan. Many were upset about the proposed savage cuts to railway services. Minister of Transport Ernest Marples faced cries of “Resign! Resign!” There was general agreement amongst MPs that Mr Marples should be moved in a Cabinet reshuffle.

Lew Grade, the managing director of Associated TeleVision, said that the proposed levy in the Television Bill would mean no more film production for television in this country. Mr Grade has sold Fireball XL5 and The Saint to overseas broadcasters. He said, “If the levy goes ahead, these may be our last exports.”

Today’s young people are the best Britain has ever had, said education chief Mr H S Magnay. He told a Baptist Union assembly in London that, “It is we older people who are not fully meeting the challenge of the times.”

A gunman with an American accent raided the United States Navy store in Hammersmith yesterday and escaped with 300 dollars. He fled in a taxi. A check is being made on American forces deserters.

Pablo Picasso, the artist, said that he was the co-inventor of a picture-painting machine. The machine, he said, projected pictures on to a canvas at the touch of a key.

Television highlights: Cricket – Worcestershire v West Indies. Roving Report – the fish war. The Roaring 20s.

Radio highlights: Japanese Poetry. Parade of the Pops.

Weather: rain then scattered showers. Outlook – showery. 14c, 57f.

Available for pre-order, Songbird, my novel set in the winter of 1962-63

https://books2read.com/u/bMqNPG

For Authors

#1 for value with 565,000 readers, The Fussy Librarian has helped my books to reach #1 on over thirty occasions.

A special offer from my publisher and the Fussy Librarian. https://authors.thefussylibrarian.com/?ref=goylake

Don’t forget to use the code goylake20 to claim your discount 🙂

Categories
1963

Social History 1963 #23

Monday 22 April 1963 

Seven thousand Britons will quit these shores permanently next month and sail on five ships to Australia. “Most of them decided to migrate during the Big Freeze,” an Australia House official said yesterday. “This is the largest number of migrants to sail for Australian ports in any one month this year.”

A boom in Britain’s birth rate, expected to soar to 900,000 a year in England and Wales soon, is spotlighting a big problem – a shortage of midwives. New midwives will be required to man the 6,500 extra beds planned for maternity hospitals in England and Wales by 1975. 

The surest way to get yourself talked about as a hostess this summer is to place a bent cucumber on the dining table. The Tomato and Cucumber Marketing Board have banned the sale of bent and crooked cucumbers, so you will have to grow your own.

The newest fashion shade in nylons is a very pale cream, which tends to make legs look like quart bottles of milk. Maybe that’s why shops are reporting that women are sticking to the darker shades.

Football: Division One Results – Everton 1 Tottenham Hotspur 0. Leicester City 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1. Top three – Everton played 37 points 52. Leicester City 38 – 52. Tottenham Hotspur 37 – 50.

Television highlights: Panorama – the World Fair in New York. All Our Yesterdays – Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, plus Don Bradman’s Australian cricketers. Cristobal and Company – film serial from France.

Radio highlights: World Top Pops. Music for Dancing.

Weather: Sunny, warm, rain later. Outlook – rain, sunny spells. 16c, 61f.

Tuesday 23 April 1963 

Experience with Telstar satellite communications in recent months has far exceeded expectations, the Post Office’s Director-General Sir Ronald German said yesterday. It is hoped that an operational system of communications using satellites could be set up well before 1970.

Gambling games may be introduced into Britain’s self-service stores. Cash prizes would be on offer, up to £35, and possibly television sets. Housewives would be given numbered discs according to how much they spend. If the numbers match a certain combination they will win a prize.

Private motoring is on the way out, a road safety expert said yesterday. The future lies in taxi services and private hire, either self-drive or chauffeur-driven. It costs around £7 a week to run a family car, which represents half the weekly income of many workers. This places a strain on family budgets.

British driver Jim Clark in a Lotus M25 won the 155-mile international race at Imola, Italy yesterday at an average speed of 99.3 mph. Joseph Siffert of Switzerland was second, Bob Anderson of Britain was third.

Football: draw for the semi-finals of the Welsh Cup – Swansea Town v Newport County, Borough United v Hereford United.

The final of the Football League Cup will be between Aston Villa and Birmingham City.

Television highlights: Shakespeare – Soul of an Age. Mind Behind Murder. 7.29 pm – 7.30 pm News.

Radio highlights: Sociology. Silvikrin Time. 

Weather: rain then sunny intervals. Outlook – mainly dry, rather warm. 15c, 59f.

Wednesday 24 April 1963 

The biggest battery of television cameras to be used in Britain for an outside broadcast will cover the Royal Wedding today. Sixty cameras will be watching for millions of viewers in Britain and Europe. Princess Alexandra is marrying Mr Angus Ogilvy. There will be no close-ups of Princess Alexandra during the ceremony, and the cameras will be masked when she makes her vows.

New powers to enable the South African government to detain African leaders “this side of eternity” were announced by Mr Vorster, Minister of Justice, in Cape Town, yesterday. The idea of indefinite detention is to avert any potential crisis.

A rail strike is now “odds on”. The three-day strike has been called in response to redundancies caused by the Beeching Axe.

Women who wear skirts three inches above their knees and wear make-up “up to the eyebrows” will be banned from tenpin bowling, Britain’s largest bowling organisation ABC said last night. A spokesman added, “Bowling is a family sport. We don’t want the centres being used as coffee bars.”

Police were called when 45-year-old Thomas Fitzpatrick of Glasgow went to a laundrette and started to strip. He later said, “I didn’t want to offend anyone. I just wanted to get my washing done.” Magistrates fined him £2 for being drunk and disorderly.

Television highlights: The Royal Wedding – Princess Alexandra and Angus Ogilvy  (four and a half hours on the BBC, four and a half hours on ITV). Labour Party Broadcast. Top of the Form.

Radio highlights: On the Sunny Side of the Street. Teddy and Pearl.

Weather: mainly dry and sunny. Above average temperatures. Outlook – similar. 16c, 61f.

Thursday 25 April 1963 

Exports of British drugs and medicines topped the £50,000,000 mark last year – a record. Australia was the best market, taking £4,600,000 worth of drugs. Exports to Common Market countries went up an eighth, to £5,000,000.

Federal Marshals clubbed, kicked and spat upon student prisoners on a “torture slab” after the 1962 rioting at the University of Mississippi, claims a report by the State Legislature Committee. The charges were denied by Washington.

Tory MP Captain Henry Kerby is to ask the Home Secretary to make details of a “call-girl service operating in the West End of London” available so that the people involved can be assessed for tax.

New arrivals in Discland this week – Billy J Kramer, Erkey Grant, Freddie and the Dreamers, Group X and David Hamber. Freddie Garratty of Freddie and the Dreamers was a milk roundsman until he got an audition with the BBC. The group make their debut with If You’ve Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody.

Everton’s league title hopes were jolted last night when Arsenal held them to a 1 – 1 draw at Goodison Park. Meanwhile, Jimmy Greaves was sent off in Tottenham Hotspur’s 2 – 1 victory away to OFK Belgrade in the European Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final, first leg.

Television highlights: Crackerjack with Adam Faith. Alfred Hitchcock Hour. What the Papers Say.

Radio highlights: The Twenties to the Twist. What Happened to Commitment?

Weather: cloudy, sunny intervals. Outlook – mainly dry, sunny spells. 13c, 55f.

Friday 26 April 1963 

A big row is brewing up over the new American-style tenderised beef now reaching some shops. Animals are injected with juice from the paw-paw melon. Some people in the trade see dangers. They think that unscrupulous firms could use the process to disguise tough old beef as new meat.

A gas board man has been told that if he doesn’t draw his pay by cheque instead of cash he will be sacked. Meter collector Walter Lee said, “I have a right to choose whether I’m paid by cheque or pay packet and I’m sticking to that right.” A gas board spokesman said, “We have adopted a payment by cheque system and there can be no exceptions.”

Master bakers have said that Christmas Day should always be on the fourth Sunday in December, followed by Monday and Tuesday as fixed holidays. They also said that Easter Sunday should be on the fourth Sunday in March and Bank Holidays at quarterly intervals with August Bank Holiday scrapped. 

A lorry jammed under a railway bridge yesterday and held up traffic on the Great West Road at Brentford. The driver let the air out of his tyres and eased the lorry through.

Marcel Bois, one of France’s top football referees, loves English crowds. He said, “When they don’t like the referee they just boo. On the Continent they go beserk. And, at times, it is very unhealthy for the referee.” He should go to Millwall sometime. 

Television highlights: Boxing’s Night of the Year – the 1963 Amateur Boxing Championship Finals. Adventure – David Attenborough in the Northern Territory of Australia. Out of Town with Jack Hargreaves.

Radio highlights: Sheep Shearing in Tasmania. Honey Hit Parade.

Weather: mainly dry and sunny. Outlook – similar. 14c, 57f.

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Categories
1963

Social History 1963 #22

Wednesday 17 April 1963

A “millionaire-class” mini-car conversion with electrically-operated windows and a chromium-plated gear lever, is announced today by Harold Radford, the London coach-building firm. It is based on the £567 mini-car with the Cooper engine, and will cost £1,088.

American scientists have promised to design within six months a robot spaceman that can be landed on Mars or Venus to explore the planets. The Americans hope that a robot spaceman aboard their Voyager long-range  spacecraft will blast-off for Mars in 1966.

Many murders remain undetected because a thorough examination is not made of the victims. Poisoners in particular may be walking around without fear of arrest because there is no expert pathological check. To combat this, Dr Polson, a professor of forensic medicine, suggested that all coroners’ examinations should be made by a national team of pathologists.

Four times a gang blasted a safe with gelignite, but no one reported the explosions. The gang got away with £50,000. Police believe that they may be amateurs, and injured, because they used too much gelignite.

Nine days after arriving in London, the West Indies touring cricketers still await the chance to “thud” their bats against a ball on a grass wicket. They went to Lords yesterday, but normal net practice on the soaked grass was out of the question. In England’s bleak spring, sweaters remain the order of the day.

Television highlights: Wednesday Magazine – women’s art. The Sky at Night – exploding stars. I’m Going to Be…a dentist.

Radio highlights: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Rave-On.

Weather: showers at first, brighter later. Outlook – similar. 12c, 54f.

Thursday 18 April 1963

The population of the world, 3,000 million people, will double by the end of the century predict America’s National Academy of Sciences. The scientists call for a world-wide birth control programme.

Erich Rajakovic, 58-year-old alleged henchman of Adolph Eichmann, walked into the office of a Viennese investigating judge and surrendered himself “to prove his innocence”. However, the judge ordered that Rajakovic should be arrested on a charge of suspected complicity in murder. Since the war Rajakovic has been on the run in Argentina, Italy, Switzerland and Austria.

Up and up goes our intake of frozen food. New figures just published show that in 1962 we ate our way through 79,800 tons of the stuff. This was 11,800 tons more than the previous year. Our favourite frozen food? Peas, which account for over 30% of the total sales.

Two nine-mile stretches of barriers will be put up along the centre of the M1 in an attempt to cut accidents – particularly through cars crossing on to the oncoming lanes.

ITV clams that in the first three months of the year it attracted 57% of the viewing audience. However, the BBC claims that the viewing audience was equally shared, 50% – 50%.

Television highlights: Perspective on the Bath – Are We a Clean Nation? Music For Guitar. Father of the Bride.

Radio highlights: French Flute Music. Requests.

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

Friday 19 April 1963 

The government plans to spend £117,000,000 on old people’s homes during the next ten years. By 1972 it is hoped that more than 1,000 new residential homes for elderly people will have been built. The number of people aged over 65 is expected to increase by one third in the next twenty years.

The Big Freeze cut the number of road deaths in February. There were 365 road deaths in that month – ninety-four fewer than in February 1962. Traffic was down nine percent because of the bad weather.

Masked bandits got away with about £800 when they ambushed a car on hire to the Westminster Bank yesterday. The bank car was stopped when a green Jaguar pulled up in front of it and a van rammed it from behind. The three bandits escaped with the money in the Jaguar.

There are now 68 typhoid cases in Britain, all linked to the outbreak in Zermatt, Switzerland.

Westland are now offering three Hovercrafts for delivery within nine months, and expect to announce first order details at any time. The craft are: the SRN2, 27 tons, 70 passengers, 90mph, £325,700; the SRN Mark 2, 37 tons, 150 passengers, 83mph, £450,600; the SRN 5, seven tons, 20 passengers, 80mph, £75,600.

Television highlights: It’s a Square World with Michael Bentine. Indoor Athletics. Wuthering Heights – a repeat of the 1962 play.

Radio highlights: The Navy Lark. Climbing Kilimanjaro.

Weather: sunny periods, heavy rain, hail and thunder. Outlook – wet and warm. 13c, 55f.

Saturday 20 April 1963

Britain’s biggest ever trade show – the London International Engineering Exhibition – opens next week. The ten-day exhibition will be housed at Olympia and Earls Court. The number of exhibitors will total 1,000 with more than 200 from Europe.

Richard Beeching, the man who axed Britain’s railways, said, “The British public are so filthy.” He was responding to a question about dirty trains and stations. Sir Ronald Garrett, former chairman of the Central Transport Consultative Committee replied, “British railways are filthy, but the British public are no dirtier than any other nation.”

Britain’s exports smashed all previous records last month. They soared £26,000,000 above the February total to reach an all-time high of £361,000,000. 

A Christmas pudding thrown by a spectator hit a wrestler in the face and stopped the contest at Malvern, Worcestershire, yesterday.

Football: International Youth Tournament Semi-Finals: England 1 Scotland 0. Northern Ireland 3 Bulgaria 3. Northern Ireland won the tie on a draw of lots.

The gates will be closed at Goodison Park where Everton will meet Tottenham Hotspur in a fixture that could decide the league title. Leicester City, who are also in contention, are home to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Television highlights: Grandstand. The Third Man – series. That Was The Week That Was.

Radio highlights: Sports Parade. Bandstand.

Weather: rain at times. Outlook – sunny spells and showers. 13c, 55f.

Sunday 21 April 1963 

Girls are reading up on judo since Honor Blackman showed how easily men can be thrown around in The Avengers TV series. Collins, the publishers, have sold more than 12,000 copies of their book “Judo” in two weeks. It costs 5s.

Gentlemen don’t prefer blondes anymore. Women know it and the stampede to the hairdressers to get their hair dyed a darker shade is something to see. Edward, a top stylist said, “The most popular shade at the moment is a rich dark browny-black. What has finally killed-off the blonde, according to a psychiatrist, is the “whole-hog” blonde like Jayne Mansfield. He said, “She’s the wrong image for today.”

Women spies with mops and pails might mop up secrets from government offices unless there is a proper check on cleaners, a union official warned. 

Last year we spent £1,121,000,000 on drink – nearly equal to what the whole country paid out in rents and rates. In 1961 there were 82,000 drink convictions – a 40 year record. Of these nearly 8,000 were for drunken driving – a fifteen percent increase on the previous year.

Wales is to become the land of wine as well as song. A scheme has been launched to turn the slopes of Pembrokeshire into a vast vineyard. The newly planted vines will be producing the first 1,500 litres of Welsh wine in 1965. In 30 years Wales could become a big name in the wine markets.

Television highlights: The Nation Tomorrow – ideas that might shape our future. About Religion. Jane Eyre – episode three. 

Radio highlights: Melody on Strings. Top Twenty.

Weather: sunny spells with heavy showers.

Available for pre-order, Songbird, my novel set in the winter of 1962-63

https://books2read.com/u/bMqNPG

For Authors

#1 for value with 565,000 readers, The Fussy Librarian has helped my books to reach #1 on over thirty occasions.

A special offer from my publisher and the Fussy Librarian. https://authors.thefussylibrarian.com/?ref=goylake

Don’t forget to use the code goylake20 to claim your discount 🙂