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50 Years ago last night

Derek Wright

Derek Wright

pfm Member
Seeing the TV today of the pictures of Churchill's Funeral brought back some strong memories of how the previous 24 hours were spent 50 years ago.

I went to see the lying in state in Westminster Hall, I was a passenger in a MG sports car (old style) going to London from Loughborough arriving about 11pm, we found a car park and joined the queue of people on the South Bank very close to Westminster Bridge, more or less opposite Westminster Hall where the body was lying.
Westminster Hall was closed for a few hours for essential maintenance until about 5 30 am when the crowds were let in again. The queue for us started near Westminster Bridge and then across Lambeth Bridge and then back to Westminster Hall. Actual time in Westminster Hall was only a few minutes.

Then back to Loughborough for breakfast and to watch the days events on TV - I might have dozed off though.

Now back to your normal programming.
 
I watched it live round my grand parents in fabulous black and white.
Nice to see the colour film of it.
The docks cranes dipping was amazing.
 
I remember watching it in black and white too, with the cranes dipping as the barge went by.

I don't normally go in for BBC bashing, but I’ve found it annoying that the BBC News over the last few days has prefaced or qualified nearly every reference to Churchill and his war time leadership with comments along the lines of "despite his undoubted faults” and “ despite his mistakes". Well, yes, but Jesus Christ, WTF! as we might say nowadays.
 
Having recently been reminded how many albums that I think are "recent-ish" are now old enough to drink, I'm quite relieved to think that I was still only an ova 50 years ago.
 
I was too young.

One of my aunts lived on Blackfriars Rd at the time, I've never thought to chat with her about it before but I will.
 
I was 5 and do remember watching it on TV. On of my neighbours who died a couple of years ago, Sir John Morgan played a senior role in the organisation of the funeral.
To put it in context over the next couple of years I only remember the Aberfan disaster & the Czech spring the news. It really was a significant event.
 
Remember it well. I was 15 and very close to 16 at the time.

I have to agree with Paxo's comment about there being nobody even approaching his stature these days. And yes, he had lots of faults and a very 19th C World View, but I don't believe he was such a hateful bastard as many Tories who followed him.

FWIW, I also vividly remember the Coronation of Liz II, Suez, (Though I didn't understand it) Sputnik, John Glenn, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Kennedy Assassination, Aberfan and the first episode of Dr Who.

Mull
 
andrew d said:
I was 5 and do remember watching it on TV. On of my neighbours who died a couple of years ago, Sir John Morgan played a senior role in the organisation of the funeral.
To put it in context over the next couple of years I only remember the Aberfan disaster & the Czech spring the news. It really was a significant event.
Click to expand...
To further put it in context my wonderful Grandmother who i watched it with died a couple of months later.
She choked to death on a fookin Callard & Bowser creamline toffee while home alone.
 
Didn't Callard and Bowser used to sell roughly domino shaped 'toffees' in something similar to the shape of a fag packet?
 
You just don't get it do you Jonathan?

We used the kids with Rickets as goalposts, jumpers for a pitch, gobstoppers for a ball and we actually were the powdered egg.


But yoo try too tell the yooooth of today...
 
I as ter admit.

That line..

'Yoo gret idle ugly wart.
Yoo gret spawny eyed parrot faced wassock.'

Ranks amongst the finest UK folk poetry of all time.

Thanks Jonathan.

Mull
 
Mullardman said:
Remember it well. I was 15 and very close to 16 at the time.

I have to agree with Paxo's comment about there being nobody even approaching his stature these days. And yes, he had lots of faults and a very 19th C World View, but I don't believe he was such a hateful bastard as many Tories who followed him.

FWIW, I also vividly remember the Coronation of Liz II, Suez, (Though I didn't understand it) Sputnik, John Glenn, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Kennedy Assassination, Aberfan and the first episode of Dr Who.

Mull
Click to expand...

I'm the same age as you and remember pretty much the same things, plus Civil Defence, which people semed to take quite seriously at the time. My memory may be influenced by the fact that we had a CD Depot at the end of our road full of green lories and fire engines.
 
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