0:00:02 > 0:00:03Wakey-wakey!
0:00:03 > 0:00:06How about that for a blast from the past?
0:00:06 > 0:00:13It was Billy Cotton's war cry as he introduced his 1950s Band Show.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16He's the guy who got the nation's toes tapping.
0:00:16 > 0:00:21Me included. I'm Len Goodman, and welcome to my decade.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23The '50S.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42Every day this week, we're taking a gander
0:00:42 > 0:00:47at one of the most exciting times in our history,
0:00:47 > 0:00:50at the decade that made us what we are
0:00:50 > 0:00:55when, in 1952, a new Elizabethan Age began.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59I promise you you're in for a treat today.
0:00:59 > 0:01:05Not just one story, not two, but five, as a special offer.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08I got that patter as a barrow boy back in the day.
0:01:08 > 0:01:14From cool jazz to calypso and carnival steel drums,
0:01:14 > 0:01:18music was just one way new immigrants to our shores
0:01:18 > 0:01:23added a splash of colour to those drab post-war years.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27Not that you could see much of it through the deadly pea-souper
0:01:27 > 0:01:32which obliterated the streets of London in the winter of '52.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35The World War was over,
0:01:35 > 0:01:40but now a new Cold War tightened its chilly grip on Britain.
0:01:40 > 0:01:45We hear first hand how all of our lives were transformed.
0:01:45 > 0:01:50And out on the high street the rigid dress codes of the time shouted,
0:01:50 > 0:01:52"You are what you wear."
0:01:52 > 0:01:56We reveal how fashion changed over the decade.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00And it's you who've been telling us like it was,
0:02:00 > 0:02:04with first-hand stories and first-hand memories.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06We don't do second-hand around here.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08So, let's get cracking.
0:02:08 > 0:02:10Guess who I've got next to me.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13Wait for it, I'm excited, everyone.
0:02:13 > 0:02:14It's Arlene Phillips.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16Len, my darling!
0:02:16 > 0:02:18Oh, my gorgeous, gorgeous girl.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21You look fabulous, my lady in red.
0:02:21 > 0:02:22- Superb!- Thank you!
0:02:22 > 0:02:24I'm showered in compliments.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28Our stories are stacked up, I'm raring to go,
0:02:28 > 0:02:32so take it away, The 1952 Show.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34You know, when I think of the music of the '50s,
0:02:34 > 0:02:37you probably think first, rock and roll.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40But there was another beat in the background too.
0:02:40 > 0:02:46The music of the Caribbean arrived with the migrant ship the Windrush.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50It struck a chord with music lovers hungry for new sounds.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52Me included.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55I used to love that rhythm that the Caribbean used to get,
0:02:55 > 0:03:00those calypsos, and the lyrics, always a little bit saucy,
0:03:00 > 0:03:01always right up-to-date.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03CALYPSO MUSIC PLAYS
0:03:03 > 0:03:08# ..Is a long funeral from the Royal Hospital... #
0:03:09 > 0:03:12I arrived in October, so it was very cold.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15I came in at Paddington Station,
0:03:15 > 0:03:19and the first impression I had was, everything was black and white.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23West Indians' everyday clothes was a coloured thing.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26So I knew we're used to lots of colours in the West Indies,
0:03:26 > 0:03:28and I'm seeing everybody in black and white.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32That was the first surprise for me, and shock.
0:03:33 > 0:03:38Musician Russ Henderson was one of the first of the '50s immigrants
0:03:38 > 0:03:42who arrived on Britain's shores from all parts of the Commonwealth.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46They brought their skills to help boost the British workforce,
0:03:46 > 0:03:49and a warm new sound from the West Indies.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53- STEEL DRUMS PLAY - Back home, Russ's famous Calypso Quartet was considered red hot,
0:03:53 > 0:03:58but unfortunately, his new-found digs in London were not.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01When I went into bed, I jumped out and said,
0:04:01 > 0:04:03- "There's water in the bed!" - HE LAUGHS
0:04:03 > 0:04:05It was cold, and I thought, say no,
0:04:05 > 0:04:07and then they brought me a hot water bottle.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09It was freezing that night.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13When I put my pyjamas on, I thought there was water in the bed.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15STEEL DRUMS PLAY
0:04:15 > 0:04:18But to find a gig playing his steel pans was tough going.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22It was difficult to just go and sit in in any place,
0:04:22 > 0:04:25you couldn't get into a white club and sit in with people.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29And there were few places that you can go and have a jam session.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31But the main place that we got our gigs,
0:04:31 > 0:04:35because it was a Jamaican place, it was in Carnaby Street.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39The Sunset Club was one, they sort of promoted that.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43Another fellow musician, also from the West Indies,
0:04:43 > 0:04:44was Frank Holder.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48He was having a little more success as a singer.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51I used to dance around a lot,
0:04:51 > 0:04:54because I believed that to sing well is all right,
0:04:54 > 0:04:57but if you have something extra to give the public
0:04:57 > 0:05:03then perhaps you'll be a bit... wanted a little bit more, you know?
0:05:03 > 0:05:07Home-grown musicians were also looking for new inspiration.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11The '50s saw the birth of the modern British jazz movement,
0:05:11 > 0:05:13influenced by the be-bop sounds from America,
0:05:13 > 0:05:16and the leading lights were the Dankworth Seven.
0:05:16 > 0:05:21Johnny Dankworth was the main man, and soon he spotted Frank.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23And John Dankworth met me in town,
0:05:23 > 0:05:25somewhere, I think, like Tin Pan Alley,
0:05:25 > 0:05:28and his words were, "Ah, you're Frank."
0:05:28 > 0:05:30I said, "Yeah, yeah, that's me."
0:05:30 > 0:05:34And he said, "The boys tell me you're good."
0:05:34 > 0:05:37So, that made me smile. I said, "Oh, really?"
0:05:37 > 0:05:39So, I said, "Oh, well, that's good."
0:05:39 > 0:05:42He says, "All right, we want you to join the Dankworth Seven."
0:05:42 > 0:05:44So, I said, "Yes, I'm interested."
0:05:44 > 0:05:47And that's how I became part of the Dankworth Seven.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51HE DRUMS AND SCAT SINGS
0:05:51 > 0:05:53UPBEAT JAZZ MUSIC PLAYS
0:05:57 > 0:06:01Black and white musicians happily played side by side.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04It was outside the cosy world of jazz
0:06:04 > 0:06:07where West Indian Frank Holder sometimes stood out
0:06:07 > 0:06:10as the black singer in an all-white band,
0:06:10 > 0:06:15particularly on tour when it came to finding a bed for the night.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18"I'm sorry, we can't have you," was the worst.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21I said, "What do you mean by 'you'?"
0:06:21 > 0:06:24You know, and that was how they put it.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27So, we had to then turn away and find somewhere else to go.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34Many parts of Britain were still out of tune
0:06:34 > 0:06:36with the growing Caribbean community.
0:06:36 > 0:06:42By 1956, around 30,000 new West Indians were arriving each year,
0:06:42 > 0:06:44and tensions were rising.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47Two years later, riots erupted in Notting Hill.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51White working class, often including teddy boys,
0:06:51 > 0:06:53attacked the homes of immigrants.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59I was living in Bassett Road, living right off Ladbroke Grove,
0:06:59 > 0:07:01and one chap got killed there.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04Fights would break out, and you don't know where it happened,
0:07:04 > 0:07:06you only hear, "Another one again, man."
0:07:06 > 0:07:09But my area definitely had... Ladbroke Grove, where I was living,
0:07:09 > 0:07:12they had a few skirmishes there.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15Soon, right-wing anti-immigration groups
0:07:15 > 0:07:20such as the White Defence League ran campaigns to "Keep Britain White."
0:07:23 > 0:07:25The objects of the White Defence League
0:07:25 > 0:07:27are to keep Britain the white man's country that it has always been,
0:07:27 > 0:07:30and repatriating, with every humane consideration,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33the coloured immigrants who are already here.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37ENERGETIC JAZZ MUSIC PLAYS
0:07:37 > 0:07:40The jazz world could hardly stand by and watch now.
0:07:40 > 0:07:45Opposition to the White Defence League was led by Johnny Dankworth.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48He formed the Stars Campaign for Inter-Racial Friendship,
0:07:48 > 0:07:51an early kind of Rock Against Racism.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54Well, the objectives of the campaign
0:07:54 > 0:07:58are largely to counteract any cranky organisations
0:07:58 > 0:08:02which try to preach the gospel of a master race anywhere,
0:08:02 > 0:08:04because Adolf Hitler started a similar organisation
0:08:04 > 0:08:07about 20, 25 years ago,
0:08:07 > 0:08:10which caused the deaths of millions and millions of people,
0:08:10 > 0:08:12and the sufferings of millions more.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18Joining him was his singing partner and part-Jamaican wife, Cleo Laine.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23Now, it was put to me earlier
0:08:23 > 0:08:26that coloured people ought to be repatriated from this country
0:08:26 > 0:08:27to their country of origin.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29Now, where were you born, for instance?
0:08:29 > 0:08:32"South-hall", Middlesex, or Southall, Middlesex.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35- So, you are in fact a Londoner, you're an Englishwoman.- Yes.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39Where would you be? If you had to be repatriated, where would that be to?
0:08:39 > 0:08:41- Southall, Middlesex! - SHE LAUGHS
0:08:41 > 0:08:44It was a difficult time, but slowly people got to realise
0:08:44 > 0:08:48that, um... you know, we're the same.
0:08:48 > 0:08:53In fact, I used to make a joke... Well, not a joke, I meant it.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55When I said, "Rule Britannia!"
0:08:55 > 0:08:59Because I was as British as anybody in this country.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02STEEL DRUMS PLAY
0:09:02 > 0:09:05People loved the music, they tried to dance it,
0:09:05 > 0:09:08and they would say, "Come and play me a calypso."
0:09:08 > 0:09:10It took a little time to catch on.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13Strange sound, but everybody loved it.
0:09:13 > 0:09:14STEEL DRUMS CONTINUE
0:09:14 > 0:09:19Watching these two guys is just fantastic, isn't it?
0:09:19 > 0:09:22It just makes you want to dance, it makes you want to move.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26Absolutely, and when you think that that music came over, and today,
0:09:26 > 0:09:28- what do we love? A steel band.- Yeah.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31- What do we love? Hearing those sounds.- Yeah.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33And it has continued the way through.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35It hasn't that it's grown or developed,
0:09:35 > 0:09:37it was there, and we still love it.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40- Yes, exactly right. Now, you were up in Manchester.- Yes.
0:09:40 > 0:09:41Was it an isolated area,
0:09:41 > 0:09:44was there lots of different nationalities going on?
0:09:44 > 0:09:47Lots of different nationalities, lots of different communities,
0:09:47 > 0:09:51and most of them immigrants, from Poland, from Germany,
0:09:51 > 0:09:53- from Russia, different backgrounds.- Yeah.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56And always very much about the family.
0:09:56 > 0:09:57I think immigrants,
0:09:57 > 0:10:00because they've had to move, they've had to travel,
0:10:00 > 0:10:05- collectively...- Yeah. - ..kept grouping with their families,
0:10:05 > 0:10:07- and with their friends. - That's right.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10And it was the same, you know, me growing up in the East End,
0:10:10 > 0:10:16but I must say, I thought the music that came over from the Caribbean
0:10:16 > 0:10:20was absolutely wonderful, cos it was something we'd never really heard,
0:10:20 > 0:10:24it was unique, and it was just wonderful rhythms, great lyrics.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26- I used to love it.- Yeah, me too.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30And interestingly enough, we didn't have a television,
0:10:30 > 0:10:32but we used to go over to my Grandma's house,
0:10:32 > 0:10:37who did have a television, and we saw Johnny Dankworth on television
0:10:37 > 0:10:39- with Cleo Laine singing. - That's right.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42- Which was just incredible.- Yeah. - I was riveted.- Yeah.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45And there was another great group in those days,
0:10:45 > 0:10:48- the Deep River Boys, do you remember them?- Yes! Yeah.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51- Fabulous harmonies these four guys made.- Yeah.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55- Great music, I must say, and lovely.- Yeah.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57Everybody loves to have a good old moan
0:10:57 > 0:11:00about the horrible winters we've been getting,
0:11:00 > 0:11:04but if you have a decko at the newsreel back in the winter of '52,
0:11:04 > 0:11:08they really had something to moan about.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16London was at a standstill, a real standstill.
0:11:16 > 0:11:22I had never seen such a concentration of very ill patients
0:11:22 > 0:11:23in a very short time.
0:11:23 > 0:11:28People were suffering, and people were dying.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33London knew all about fog.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35But on December the 5th, 1952,
0:11:35 > 0:11:39a darker, denser veil fell upon the city.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41Smog.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44The first sign something was amiss
0:11:44 > 0:11:48were reports of cows dying in Smithfield Market.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52The city ground to a halt, and by day two, it was front page news.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56For George Walker, a kid at the time,
0:11:56 > 0:11:59it was an adventure messing around in the fog.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04I'm walking along Tower Bridge Road back from the Scouts,
0:12:04 > 0:12:08I'd see what I thought was a policeman standing in the road,
0:12:08 > 0:12:11and ask them to tell me how far I am away from a Christmas tree.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13No answer, got a bit closer,
0:12:13 > 0:12:16and I realised I was talking to a pillar box.
0:12:16 > 0:12:17HE CHUCKLES
0:12:17 > 0:12:21But soon it became apparent it was not all fun and games.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25Dr Harold Lambert, ex-Medical Corps,
0:12:25 > 0:12:28was a junior doctor in a busy London hospital at that time.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32I think at the beginning of it, um...
0:12:32 > 0:12:36nobody thought it was much more than the ordinary London pea-souper.
0:12:36 > 0:12:42But suddenly we were under enormous pressure from patients coming in
0:12:42 > 0:12:44in numbers that we hadn't seen.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48It was really a nasty taste in your mouth,
0:12:48 > 0:12:50and it stuck in your nose, and it stuck in your throat,
0:12:50 > 0:12:53and it stuck in your clothes.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56And anyone with a cough, their phlegm was black,
0:12:56 > 0:12:59just as if they'd been in... down a coal mine.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02'The fault is largely our own.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04'The fog is made worse by man.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06'It's up to man to stop it.'
0:13:08 > 0:13:11The over-burning of cheap, low-quality coal
0:13:11 > 0:13:15full of sulphur dioxide fumes, coupled with freak weather,
0:13:15 > 0:13:17brought about this killer condition.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19Smoke plus fog equalled smog.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25The coal we had in Britain for the ordinary people
0:13:25 > 0:13:29and for the ordinary factories and power stations
0:13:29 > 0:13:32was the lowest-quality coal possible,
0:13:32 > 0:13:35cos the good stuff, we were exporting,
0:13:35 > 0:13:38the bad stuff had lots and lots of chemicals in it.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41You could actually see the smoke
0:13:41 > 0:13:44rolling down the chimneys instead of going up
0:13:44 > 0:13:46and dropping into the street.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50With no wind, it hung around town,
0:13:50 > 0:13:53registering the highest levels of pollutants since records began.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57This would have fatal consequences.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04These patients came in in severe respiratory failure.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08That's to say, they were very short of breath, they couldn't breathe,
0:14:08 > 0:14:12had awful coughs, and they were often looking blue,
0:14:12 > 0:14:16because they couldn't get the oxygen into their lungs,
0:14:16 > 0:14:18and that's what we mean by respiratory failure, really.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22The death rate soared.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25The new NHS nearly ground to a halt
0:14:25 > 0:14:29as ambulances and staff struggled to do their jobs.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32As the smog started to lift on day four, December the 8th,
0:14:32 > 0:14:34it unveiled the true toll.
0:14:35 > 0:14:40'4,000 people died in three weeks because of fog,
0:14:40 > 0:14:43'a fog caused by a pollution of the atmosphere
0:14:43 > 0:14:45'worse than anything recorded in 20 years.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48'Londoners will never forget it.'
0:14:48 > 0:14:52They later updated this to 12,000,
0:14:52 > 0:14:54and a little later, from the effects of that,
0:14:54 > 0:14:57it went up to 25,000.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01Hitler didn't do that in four or five days of all the bombing of London,
0:15:01 > 0:15:05and this part was badly bombed.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07But one good thing did come out of the tragedy.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11The Clean Air Act was passed in 1956,
0:15:11 > 0:15:14and it gave London a clean bill of health.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17The burning of low-grade coal was banned,
0:15:17 > 0:15:19and power stations were relocated.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22Within ten years, pollution levels had plummeted
0:15:22 > 0:15:27to a quarter of what they had been in those foggy days of '52.
0:15:27 > 0:15:33# And through foggy London Town The sun was shining
0:15:33 > 0:15:38# Everywhere. #
0:15:41 > 0:15:48Now, that film scares me, cos it brings it all back, the smogs.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50Now, you know, I know we had plenty in London.
0:15:50 > 0:15:51What about up in Manchester?
0:15:51 > 0:15:56Oh, smogs so thick that when you went out of the front door,
0:15:56 > 0:15:59you put your hand up here, you couldn't see it.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03You didn't know where to go on these well-worn paths
0:16:03 > 0:16:05- that you'd trod for many, many years.- Yeah.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08- You didn't know where they were. - Yeah.- You were lost.
0:16:08 > 0:16:09And in Manchester,
0:16:09 > 0:16:13we lived fairly close to this huge, sort of, gas station,
0:16:13 > 0:16:15I mean, enormous.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17And I remember once going out, and as I came back,
0:16:17 > 0:16:20- the smog had dropped.- Yeah.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24- And it was so terrifying.- Yeah.
0:16:24 > 0:16:29Because there was this huge gas tank that was enveloping anyway,
0:16:29 > 0:16:33and the smog, and the fear of not knowing how to get back.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36- I knew the path.- Yeah.- But I didn't know which way the path was.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39- And of course, we didn't have mobile phones.- No, of course not.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42- There's no way to call and say, "Help!"- No.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46I remember...I remember going from our house to my Nan's,
0:16:46 > 0:16:49- which was about 300 yards.- Mm-hmm.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52Up a road, one road, and then turn left,
0:16:52 > 0:16:54- the second house on the right. - Yeah.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58And me and my dad were there, and when we came out,
0:16:58 > 0:17:00- the smog had come down.- Yeah.
0:17:00 > 0:17:04- And we got lost. - Trying to get home?
0:17:04 > 0:17:09We could not find our own house, and it sounds bizarre.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13- Another time, I was with my dad in his car.- Oh.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17And it was so terrible, we had to stop, and we just waited,
0:17:17 > 0:17:19and my dad said, "I don't know where I am.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21"I don't know whether I'm one side or the other."
0:17:21 > 0:17:26And a bus went by with the conductor walking in front of the bus,
0:17:26 > 0:17:30- with a...- To guide it. - ..with a torch.- Mmm.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33Ten yards, five yards, two yards in front of the bus,
0:17:33 > 0:17:39and my dad then came out and followed the bus to get us home.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41- And also, it got on your chest.- Oh!
0:17:41 > 0:17:45I mean, not only couldn't you see, but you couldn't breathe.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47Oh, well, that's why, you know, as we saw in that film,
0:17:47 > 0:17:49that's why so many people died.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52- Yeah.- It was absolutely incredible.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55And, oh, thank heavens
0:17:55 > 0:17:58- that pollution like that is no longer with us.- Yeah.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01Because it was horrendous.
0:18:02 > 0:18:08OK! Reds under the beds, spies, secret underground bunkers.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12It all seems like something out of James Bond, doesn't it?
0:18:12 > 0:18:14But in the '50s, it was for real,
0:18:14 > 0:18:20as East and West faced off against each other across the world.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24One way or another, we were all caught in the crossfire.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29Australian Phillip Knightley was a reporter
0:18:29 > 0:18:33for the Sydney Daily Mirror in London in 1951,
0:18:33 > 0:18:37when a curious rumour began to circulate round Fleet Street.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39Two senior diplomats had gone missing.
0:18:39 > 0:18:45They were seen last getting on a ferry at Folkestone,
0:18:45 > 0:18:50and when somebody said, "Hey, you've left the car on the dock,"
0:18:50 > 0:18:51they shouted back, "Back on Monday."
0:18:51 > 0:18:54Well, they didn't come back on Monday.
0:18:54 > 0:18:58'This is the BBC Home Service, and here is the news.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01'Mr Morrison has made a statement in the House of Commons
0:19:01 > 0:19:04'about the disappearance of the two Foreign Office officials.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08'Security aspects of the case were being investigated.'
0:19:08 > 0:19:11They were soon named as Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13Both had been at Cambridge together,
0:19:13 > 0:19:16and went on to land top jobs at the Foreign Office,
0:19:16 > 0:19:19before mysteriously disappearing.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22It was impossible to imagine
0:19:22 > 0:19:26that people of such middle-class, upper-middle-class backgrounds,
0:19:26 > 0:19:31and in positions of trust and power, could possibly be a traitor.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35It became the biggest spy scandal of the decade
0:19:35 > 0:19:39and Phillip Knightley was determined to reveal more about the story.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43One followed, almost daily, what events were going on,
0:19:43 > 0:19:46who else might be a traitor, what other information was available,
0:19:46 > 0:19:49and there was very little, I mean, the Government kept strong.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51Rumours were rife.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54They might not be the only ones working for the Soviets.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57A third man could be involved.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00The finger of suspicion pointed to Kim Philby,
0:20:00 > 0:20:02a high-ranking MI6 officer,
0:20:02 > 0:20:05which, if true, would make him a double agent.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09Mr Philby, Mr McMillan, the Foreign Secretary said there's no evidence
0:20:09 > 0:20:13you were the so-called third man who allegedly tipped off Burgess and Maclean.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16- Are you satisfied with that clearance that he gave you? - Yes, I am.
0:20:16 > 0:20:21He kept his real role very, very close to his chest.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25- If there was a third man, were you in fact the third man? - No, I was not.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29I looked at the footage of the press conference
0:20:29 > 0:20:33and it was very obvious that Philby was lying through his teeth,
0:20:33 > 0:20:35but he was able to carry it off
0:20:35 > 0:20:38because he was bold, he was dedicated
0:20:38 > 0:20:44and he was ruthless with people who were opposed to what he was doing.
0:20:44 > 0:20:45It WAS true.
0:20:45 > 0:20:50Eventually, the three members of this Cambridge spy ring surfaced in the Soviet Union
0:20:50 > 0:20:54and were decorated by the Russians for their work.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57If they were guilty then there were others.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59I mean, the real rush was to try and find the third man,
0:20:59 > 0:21:03the fourth man, the fifth man. Where did it stop?
0:21:03 > 0:21:07Was the whole of the British establishment penetrated
0:21:07 > 0:21:09by moles and by traitors?
0:21:09 > 0:21:14The incident damaged intelligence efforts in the '50s,
0:21:14 > 0:21:18just as Britain was flexing its muscles as the world's third nuclear power.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22And the escalation in Cold War paranoia also fuelled the anger
0:21:22 > 0:21:27of a new movement against Britain's newly acquired atom bomb.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31In 1957, plans to test a one megaton bomb near Christmas Island
0:21:31 > 0:21:34galvanised a young Cambridge graduate and pacifist,
0:21:34 > 0:21:37Pat Arrowsmith, to get involved.
0:21:37 > 0:21:42It was the birth of the campaign for nuclear disarmament, CND.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46Well, it was clear that we weren't going to be able to go out to the test area.
0:21:46 > 0:21:51We'd decided to organise a pilgrimage to this place, Aldermaston,
0:21:51 > 0:21:53where Britain makes its atom bombs.
0:21:53 > 0:21:58Pat organised the first 52-mile march to Aldermaston
0:21:58 > 0:22:01in protest against the bomb on April the 4th, 1958.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04We were taken aback and agreeably surprised,
0:22:04 > 0:22:07when 8,000 people turned up to the launch rally in Trafalgar Square.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10Phillip was among the marchers.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14We were milling around Aldermaston, not going anywhere,
0:22:14 > 0:22:21but generally demonstrating, when the leaders of this right wing group
0:22:21 > 0:22:26sped a car in the midst of the demonstrators.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28They didn't hit anybody, but they came near to it.
0:22:28 > 0:22:34Even with the opposition, did Pat think the march was a success?
0:22:34 > 0:22:37The first Aldermaston march did galvanise and bring together
0:22:37 > 0:22:39and coalesce a lot of unease in this country
0:22:39 > 0:22:41about British nuclear weapons,
0:22:41 > 0:22:45so it was valuable internationally for the peace movement.
0:22:45 > 0:22:50There were other countries that then began having similar marches,
0:22:50 > 0:22:53who might not have done it if we hadn't set the pace in this country.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59The Cold War, I tell you, what a fascinating era that was,
0:22:59 > 0:23:01and Phillip, you were there.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03- Yes, I was in Britain.- Right.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06Very worried, my mother was,
0:23:06 > 0:23:10that I'd come all the way from Australia over here to make it on the big time.
0:23:10 > 0:23:15- And she was worried that I was going to get blown up...- Right.
0:23:15 > 0:23:16- ..by a Russian A-bomb.- Yes.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19- I mean, the war was just over.- Yes.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22- That war just followed the First World War.- Yes.
0:23:22 > 0:23:29And yet here we were, almost coming to blows again with a former ally...
0:23:29 > 0:23:33- Yes.- ..who'd lost 30 million dead in that war.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36And everybody felt it was going to all resurrect once again.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38Us, as just the general public,
0:23:38 > 0:23:42you were much closer to it as a journalist.
0:23:42 > 0:23:47Were we entitled to be scared and worried about it, do you think?
0:23:47 > 0:23:50I suspect in retrospect, looking back on it now
0:23:50 > 0:23:54- that a lot of it was hysteria whipped up by the press..- Yeah.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58..but by the press being encouraged to do so by the Government.
0:23:58 > 0:24:04- It was a scary, but most fascinating time.- Yes.- It really was.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07Meanwhile, back at home, we slept peacefully,
0:24:07 > 0:24:11knowing that the great British bobby was on the beat.
0:24:11 > 0:24:16But is our impression of '50s policing fact or fiction?
0:24:16 > 0:24:20Let's proceed in a northerly direction with a West Midlands bobby
0:24:20 > 0:24:23who gives us nothing but the truth.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28MUSIC: "Dixon of Dock Green" theme tune
0:24:28 > 0:24:33Do you believe that back in the '50s, all local bobbies could be found under the blue lamp
0:24:33 > 0:24:37and have the time to chat with each and every one?
0:24:37 > 0:24:40When a clip round the ear was all it took
0:24:40 > 0:24:43to teach those young rascals a thing or two?
0:24:44 > 0:24:49Is this a perfect Photofit of our 1950s boys in blue,
0:24:49 > 0:24:51or just nostalgia,
0:24:51 > 0:24:53triggered by memories of that heart-of-gold
0:24:53 > 0:24:56fictional bobby in Dixon of Dock Green,
0:24:56 > 0:24:59the hero of the BBC's long-running drama from that time?
0:25:01 > 0:25:03Ah, good evening, all.
0:25:03 > 0:25:04Well, I'm the mug tonight.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08The chaps at the station are putting on a concert at the church hall,
0:25:08 > 0:25:10raising funds for the orphanage.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14Mike Collins, our man in the size 11 boots,
0:25:14 > 0:25:18a working Wolverhampton bobby in the '50s, gives us his evidence.
0:25:18 > 0:25:23His first day on duty was the Queen's coronation.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25It was quite a learning curve for me,
0:25:25 > 0:25:30because women were dancing around with their skirts around their waists
0:25:30 > 0:25:34and people climbing up lampposts and really having a great time.
0:25:34 > 0:25:38The policeman was an object of affection,
0:25:38 > 0:25:42so I think I was kissed a number of times, by ladies, usually!
0:25:42 > 0:25:46And, you know, everybody was really,
0:25:46 > 0:25:49really enjoying the national celebration.
0:25:49 > 0:25:50CHEERING
0:25:52 > 0:25:56But a typical day on the beat meant being out in the community,
0:25:56 > 0:26:00when policing Britain was much more of a relaxed affair.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03You could usually find people you could have a laugh with,
0:26:03 > 0:26:05particularly when you were walking round
0:26:05 > 0:26:08and you'd very often get invited in for a cup of tea.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11Strictly speaking, one shouldn't have done that
0:26:11 > 0:26:13but of course you did, why not?
0:26:13 > 0:26:17Back then there were no police radios and bobbies had to quick foot it
0:26:17 > 0:26:21to the now iconic police box to put in a call to HQ.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24And what about dealing with those pesky kids?
0:26:24 > 0:26:28Without any doubt at all, there was more respect.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31If you said to a bunch of lads who were fooling about,
0:26:31 > 0:26:34"Now clear off and keep quiet," they'd probably do it.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36Nowadays, I'm afraid they wouldn't.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40We used to police the football ground.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44We used to have to go on the pitch at half-time
0:26:44 > 0:26:46to prevent anybody coming onto the pitch,
0:26:46 > 0:26:49and if there was snow on the terraces -
0:26:49 > 0:26:52remember, open terraces in those days - very often,
0:26:52 > 0:26:55you'd get snowballed,
0:26:55 > 0:27:00and if you lost your helmet, for example, to a snowball,
0:27:00 > 0:27:02well, everybody laughed and gave you a cheer.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07And getting around in those days
0:27:07 > 0:27:10before high-powered pursuit vehicles.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13You'd be on a bike.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16Not very many police cars in the early '50s,
0:27:16 > 0:27:18and then they started to come in
0:27:18 > 0:27:21and we had the old Dixon of Dock Green cars,
0:27:21 > 0:27:25which were splendid in terms of protection
0:27:25 > 0:27:27because they were built like a tank,
0:27:27 > 0:27:31but unfortunately, they were only about as fast as a tank!
0:27:31 > 0:27:33CAR BELL RINGS
0:27:33 > 0:27:35And we had a little bell on the front,
0:27:35 > 0:27:39which you could hear ever so well after the car had gone past.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43You couldn't hear it coming, but you could hear it after it'd gone past!
0:27:45 > 0:27:49What you always have to remember about being a policeman is that
0:27:49 > 0:27:52it's long, long periods of boredom
0:27:52 > 0:27:56interspersed with a sudden need for very intense activity.
0:27:56 > 0:28:01Um, so one always had to be ready for that, and I've always thought
0:28:01 > 0:28:04that we were appreciated perhaps more as a friend
0:28:04 > 0:28:06than an enemy in those days.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10I'm beginning to fancy my supper. I'll see you next week. Ta-ta.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17Well, Arlene, what about you? What's your experiences
0:28:17 > 0:28:19of the great British bobby?
0:28:19 > 0:28:24Well, everyone on our street knew our local policeman, that was for sure.
0:28:24 > 0:28:29But what was extraordinary is how many of the parents
0:28:29 > 0:28:33terrified the kids by telling them that if they misbehaved,
0:28:33 > 0:28:37the local bobby would come and he would take them away.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40- And we believed it.- Yeah.
0:28:40 > 0:28:44I mean, so it certainly kept sort of good behaviour
0:28:44 > 0:28:46- in the street because people were afraid.- Yeah.
0:28:46 > 0:28:50At least, you know, the least is you get a clip round the ear.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52The worst is you will be taken away.
0:28:52 > 0:28:57- I got plenty of clips round the ear off plenty of coppers, I can tell you that!- Did you?
0:28:57 > 0:28:59Yes, I did! But my biggest fear
0:28:59 > 0:29:03was that not only would I get a wallop off the copper,
0:29:03 > 0:29:05but he'd then take me home to my mother
0:29:05 > 0:29:09because I knew if I turned up on the doorstep with a policeman,
0:29:09 > 0:29:12- I was going to get a bigger wallop.- Yeah.
0:29:12 > 0:29:14So, I always took the wallop quite gracefully
0:29:14 > 0:29:17because I didn't want to get another load when I got home.
0:29:17 > 0:29:19So, what do you think?
0:29:19 > 0:29:22Were they really like Dixon of Dock Green, or not quite?
0:29:22 > 0:29:24I don't think so.
0:29:24 > 0:29:27I think even though they knew the families living on the street,
0:29:27 > 0:29:31and there was order around, Dixon of Dock Green?!
0:29:31 > 0:29:35- Rose-coloured spectacles, if you ask me.- Well...
0:29:35 > 0:29:39The smiling bobby? Not really. They were all as hard as each other.
0:29:39 > 0:29:43- What I liked about the local copper, he knew the community.- Yeah.
0:29:43 > 0:29:45He knew, you know,
0:29:45 > 0:29:49at number eight was an old girl, who wasn't good on her pins,
0:29:49 > 0:29:51and on his rounds, he'd always give a little knock on the door,
0:29:51 > 0:29:53make sure she was all right.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56And walking down the shops when the shops were shut,
0:29:56 > 0:29:58- he'd check every door... - That's right.
0:29:58 > 0:30:02..and make sure everything was locked up and safe and sound.
0:30:02 > 0:30:04So, you know, I felt sort of reassured
0:30:04 > 0:30:09that around somewhere near my house as a kid there was a copper.
0:30:09 > 0:30:11- And you did feel safe, absolutely.- Yeah.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14And also, you were talking about with the old ladies,
0:30:14 > 0:30:17they would actually help somebody if they had heavy bags
0:30:17 > 0:30:19and bring it to the door.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22- That's right.- They were part of the community. You're right.
0:30:22 > 0:30:27The problem started because the robbers were on foot
0:30:27 > 0:30:28and the policemen were on foot.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31As soon as the robbers started getting in cars
0:30:31 > 0:30:33and flying about, it was no good.
0:30:33 > 0:30:37They had to be in cars as well and that's when it all fell down.
0:30:37 > 0:30:39- Z Cars - whoop!- Yes indeedy.- Yeah.
0:30:39 > 0:30:45If you ask me, I felt really safe and sound in my bed as a kid
0:30:45 > 0:30:47when we had the bobby walking by.
0:30:47 > 0:30:50Now, I'm proud of my working-class roots,
0:30:50 > 0:30:53but '50s class division really did shape lives.
0:30:53 > 0:30:57How you spoke and what school you went to
0:30:57 > 0:30:59made for a "them and us" society.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02But slowly, things loosened up a bit
0:31:02 > 0:31:08and one of the first ways you saw it was in the clothes people wore.
0:31:08 > 0:31:11# She wears red feathers
0:31:11 > 0:31:14# And a hooly-hooly skirt
0:31:14 > 0:31:16# She wears red feathers... #
0:31:16 > 0:31:19The fashions in the '50s were really feminine.
0:31:19 > 0:31:23And you wore a hat. You were dressed, weren't you, with a hat on?
0:31:23 > 0:31:25- Yes.- And gloves, shoes to match.
0:31:25 > 0:31:27- Yes.- And a handbag.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30Shoes, handbag, hat, all the same. Matched.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33And you always had your Sunday best, didn't you?
0:31:33 > 0:31:34Yeah. Always.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38What you wore in the '50s said volumes about you -
0:31:38 > 0:31:40not just your personal taste, but about your background,
0:31:40 > 0:31:42the social class you belong to.
0:31:42 > 0:31:44This social divide wasn't lost
0:31:44 > 0:31:48on friends Mary O'Reilly and Olive Hipkins.
0:31:48 > 0:31:50You see some of the middle class
0:31:50 > 0:31:54with different things on two or three times a day.
0:31:54 > 0:31:56We couldn't afford that, could we?
0:31:56 > 0:32:00- They used to have these evening dresses.- Yeah, and furs.
0:32:00 > 0:32:02- Oh, fur coats?- Yeah.
0:32:02 > 0:32:04- Oh, fur coats, yeah.- Real fur.
0:32:04 > 0:32:08'But the crown of elegance is the fur and British furs
0:32:08 > 0:32:10'have also a place in the fashion fortnight.
0:32:10 > 0:32:14'For evening wear, Joy has a natural blue fox cape.'
0:32:15 > 0:32:19Olive and Mary loved clothes as much as anyone else.
0:32:19 > 0:32:22They were just limited in what they could afford.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25What we could get somebody to make, or make it ourselves.
0:32:25 > 0:32:29- Or buy something second-hand and make it look different.- Yeah.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34The upmarket family department stores
0:32:34 > 0:32:36were mostly out of their reach.
0:32:36 > 0:32:39Lewis's were absolutely...
0:32:39 > 0:32:41- well, posh. - Yes, that was very posh.
0:32:41 > 0:32:43It was very posh, and Henderson's.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46That was a store on its own,
0:32:46 > 0:32:49- and that was very posh, wasn't it, Mary?- Yeah.
0:32:49 > 0:32:53The first time I went into Lewis's, I was really agog
0:32:53 > 0:32:55because when you walk in,
0:32:55 > 0:32:59it used to be all perfumes, stockings, you know,
0:32:59 > 0:33:02- everything like that for a lady. - Luxury goods.
0:33:02 > 0:33:06- And then upstairs were the clothes. - Oh, yeah.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09- It was absolutely fantastic, wasn't it?- Lovely clothes.- For the day.
0:33:09 > 0:33:14But posher even than Liverpool's Lewis's was the rarefied world
0:33:14 > 0:33:17of London couturiers and their aristocratic clients
0:33:17 > 0:33:22that Felicity Green entered when she became a fashion editor in the '50s.
0:33:22 > 0:33:26I was looking at women from Mars. They were so different
0:33:26 > 0:33:29from anything I'd ever experienced in real life.
0:33:29 > 0:33:35And I saw not only the clothes, which were beautiful, remarkable,
0:33:35 > 0:33:39but I saw the women who actually were wearing them.
0:33:39 > 0:33:43They were the upper classes, the debutantes and their mothers
0:33:43 > 0:33:44and these were the women
0:33:44 > 0:33:46who were writing the fashion rules in the '50s.
0:33:46 > 0:33:51'This year, tailored slacks have been shown for the first time
0:33:51 > 0:33:53'in the London fashion fortnight.
0:33:53 > 0:33:57'These are classic gabardine slacks in cinnamon.
0:33:57 > 0:34:00They're worn with a poplin blouse and scarf
0:34:00 > 0:34:04'and their retail price is about five-and-a-half guineas.'
0:34:04 > 0:34:07Fashion was very static at the beginning of the '50s.
0:34:07 > 0:34:12The scene was very set, and it came from the mothers to the daughters.
0:34:12 > 0:34:14There was no young fashion.
0:34:14 > 0:34:18The designers, the couturiers making these expensive, beautiful clothes,
0:34:18 > 0:34:22basically made the same tailored suits for the mothers,
0:34:22 > 0:34:24and the same tailored suits for the daughters.
0:34:27 > 0:34:31Michael Skinner was also styling the well-to-do in the 1950s.
0:34:32 > 0:34:34The people who came to us
0:34:34 > 0:34:37were those who had, even in those days,
0:34:37 > 0:34:40the same as today, sufficient income...
0:34:41 > 0:34:46..or inheritance, or spending power to be able to afford to come to us.
0:34:46 > 0:34:51Each trade, each business had its uniform.
0:34:51 > 0:34:54Part of the uniform of professional life,
0:34:54 > 0:34:59like lawyers, accountants, insurance brokers and things
0:34:59 > 0:35:02was the hat and the pinstripe suit,
0:35:02 > 0:35:04stiff white collars.
0:35:04 > 0:35:08# I worked in a London bank Respectable position... #
0:35:08 > 0:35:12You're a friend, whose skills they admire
0:35:12 > 0:35:15to make them look either beautiful,
0:35:15 > 0:35:17or more beautiful than they are,
0:35:17 > 0:35:22or hide things that maybe need hiding, or enhance the good points.
0:35:22 > 0:35:25But tailors like Michael were feeling the heat,
0:35:25 > 0:35:29as high street stores upped the quality of their clothes.
0:35:29 > 0:35:34The ready-to-wear trade has always been our competitor.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37There was always someone offering something a little cheaper
0:35:37 > 0:35:39and a little less well made.
0:35:39 > 0:35:41You could go to M&S or Burtons or whatever,
0:35:41 > 0:35:46and get a perfectly good suit, which did the job.
0:35:46 > 0:35:49Slowly, things were beginning to change.
0:35:49 > 0:35:51Clothes were becoming more affordable,
0:35:51 > 0:35:55and fashion rules were being rewritten.
0:35:55 > 0:35:58Working-class women were creating their own style,
0:35:58 > 0:36:00and it didn't stop at clothes.
0:36:00 > 0:36:04- Twink.- Twink.- Twink and Toni, they were the home perms.
0:36:04 > 0:36:08- What was the other one? - They were only in a little box.
0:36:08 > 0:36:11- You got the rollers with the Toni, didn't you.- Yeah!
0:36:11 > 0:36:15What you had to do was you put this liquid on your hair,
0:36:15 > 0:36:20- then you put perm rollers... - Oh, yeah. Very small.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23..put them in, then you waited half an hour.
0:36:25 > 0:36:27You rinsed your hair while they were on.
0:36:27 > 0:36:32- Put some more on.- When your hair was rinsed out, you take them off
0:36:32 > 0:36:35- and you put curlers in. - That's right.
0:36:35 > 0:36:37We used to put it to dry and you came out all frizzy.
0:36:37 > 0:36:41You come out frizzy, you did. You come out all frizzy.
0:36:41 > 0:36:46- You did! - They used to stink like rotten eggs.
0:36:46 > 0:36:50- Like rotten eggs it was, the mixture, wasn't it, Mary?- Yeah.
0:36:50 > 0:36:54But home perms were high fashion, and soon everyone wanted one,
0:36:54 > 0:36:57as Felicity discovered when her female boss invited her to dinner,
0:36:57 > 0:37:02with the then President of the Board of Trade,
0:37:02 > 0:37:04Harold Wilson, and his wife Mary.
0:37:04 > 0:37:08She said, "I want you to give his wife a home perm."
0:37:08 > 0:37:10"What?" When dinner was over,
0:37:10 > 0:37:14and I hardly knew what I was eating, she said,
0:37:14 > 0:37:17"Now, you and Mary will go into the bathroom
0:37:17 > 0:37:19"and you can give her her home perm."
0:37:19 > 0:37:21I gave her a home perm and it was a great success.
0:37:21 > 0:37:25But when we went into the bathroom, I opened this box,
0:37:25 > 0:37:28which was a rough cardboard box, with the stuff in it,
0:37:28 > 0:37:31and it said, and I can see it now,
0:37:31 > 0:37:35"In case of emergency, phone Kingston 7777."
0:37:35 > 0:37:41Imagine having to phone Kingston 7777 and I have burned the hair
0:37:41 > 0:37:44of the wife of the President of the Board of Trade.
0:37:44 > 0:37:48From home perms to ready-made suits,
0:37:48 > 0:37:50fashion would never be the same again.
0:37:50 > 0:37:56I've got to say, I felt smart, I felt well dressed.
0:37:56 > 0:38:01But Michael, you've turned up from that fabulous little film,
0:38:01 > 0:38:05and I've got to say, you look brilliant.
0:38:05 > 0:38:08And I caught a glimpse of your lining.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11Now, I'd like you to give me a flash, if you'll excuse the...
0:38:11 > 0:38:12- Can you do it?- Do you mind?- No!
0:38:12 > 0:38:16- How about that.- Look at that. What is that lining?
0:38:16 > 0:38:19It's the arms of the Merchant Tailor's Company
0:38:19 > 0:38:21in the City of London.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23Fantastic.
0:38:23 > 0:38:28Now, my dad used to go to what was called the 50-bob tailor.
0:38:28 > 0:38:30£2.50, you got a suit.
0:38:30 > 0:38:31What do you reckon on that?
0:38:31 > 0:38:36Well, before that war, that's exactly what it was, 50-bob tailors.
0:38:36 > 0:38:38At the same time, we were charging 15 guineas.
0:38:38 > 0:38:40There wasn't a lot of difference, really.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43- But the 50-bob tailors did an essential job.- Yeah.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46They were making clothes for the masses,
0:38:46 > 0:38:50and we, as it were then, we were making clothes for individuals,
0:38:50 > 0:38:54who wanted their own identity and to have fantastic clothes.
0:38:54 > 0:38:58And the thing was, after the war, you know,
0:38:58 > 0:39:02every man who'd been a soldier was given a demob suit,
0:39:02 > 0:39:05so I suppose there was a bit of a uniformity about their dress,
0:39:05 > 0:39:08and it did sort of spruce them up a little bit.
0:39:08 > 0:39:13- It gave them something that they hadn't had for six years.- Yeah.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16- And of course, clothes rationing was still on.- Yeah.
0:39:16 > 0:39:19- And that was a major factor in what we made.- Yeah.
0:39:19 > 0:39:22And we were so grateful when, come the '50s,
0:39:22 > 0:39:25when, sadly, King George VI died,
0:39:25 > 0:39:29there was the great demand for clothes and robes
0:39:29 > 0:39:31for the coronation in 1953.
0:39:31 > 0:39:34That was a good time for you, then.
0:39:34 > 0:39:37- It was a wonderful year for us. - I bet it was.
0:39:37 > 0:39:39I was in Westminster Abbey with my father
0:39:39 > 0:39:41and the team from my family firm,
0:39:41 > 0:39:44and we were robing the peers as they came in from the procession,
0:39:44 > 0:39:47- for the actual service.- Really?!
0:39:47 > 0:39:49- So, you were there. - I was there.- Gosh!
0:39:49 > 0:39:52- We only got to see it on the telly, and there you are.- Yeah!
0:39:52 > 0:39:54- And get a mug.- Yeah.
0:39:54 > 0:39:58What about you? Have you got any stories about fashion in the '50s?
0:39:58 > 0:40:01Interestingly enough, when we got a new coat
0:40:01 > 0:40:03we went to C&A,
0:40:03 > 0:40:06and we wore our school shoes or our sandals.
0:40:06 > 0:40:08- Timpsons was our shop.- Yeah.
0:40:08 > 0:40:13But I remember Barbara, the girl down the road, who was posh,
0:40:13 > 0:40:16because her mother took her to have her clothes made in Blackpool
0:40:16 > 0:40:19and she always had black patent shoes,
0:40:19 > 0:40:22so there was a real sort of difference,
0:40:22 > 0:40:25a sort of class war on the street,
0:40:25 > 0:40:27- about where you bought your clothes. - Yeah, of course.
0:40:27 > 0:40:32Now, I've got to ask, you've brought a couple of hats in, Michael.
0:40:32 > 0:40:33Tell me about them.
0:40:33 > 0:40:38I only brought them in because when I first started to go to work,
0:40:38 > 0:40:41my father said, "You will wear a bowler hat,
0:40:41 > 0:40:44- "because that's what gentlemen wear."- Right.
0:40:44 > 0:40:48And I did. I went and had it made, and that's how I went to work.
0:40:48 > 0:40:50- You look good, though.- Yeah. - You look pukka.
0:40:50 > 0:40:53I used to ride horses and it doubled up,
0:40:53 > 0:40:55because it was a proper hard one,
0:40:55 > 0:40:57and I used it for that as well.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00And the other one, what was that? Weekends?
0:41:00 > 0:41:03The other one was a trilby, which you wore for Saturdays,
0:41:03 > 0:41:05and high days and holidays
0:41:05 > 0:41:07and when you weren't dressed up to the nines.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10This is what I like about you. You've got style.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13My trilby, it's got to be pristine,
0:41:13 > 0:41:19but you people, you don't mind if it gets a little bit cranky.
0:41:19 > 0:41:23I think it's great and it shows so much style.
0:41:23 > 0:41:25Michael, to be honest with you,
0:41:25 > 0:41:27in some ways, I wish you'd never shown up!
0:41:27 > 0:41:30Oh, I'm sorry!
0:41:30 > 0:41:32Because, you know, you are, for me, the epitome
0:41:32 > 0:41:37of what a well-dressed guy of our age should dress like,
0:41:37 > 0:41:39and you look fantastic.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42It's been fabulous to talk to you,
0:41:42 > 0:41:45and thank you so much for gracing our couch.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48- Well, thank you for having me. - Fabulous!- Thank you.
0:41:48 > 0:41:53Well, I don't know about you, but I've had a fantastic time.
0:41:53 > 0:41:56But talking of time, time's up for today.
0:41:56 > 0:42:01But I tell you what - what a lovely lot of '50s stories we've had.
0:42:01 > 0:42:07But join me again tomorrow, when we'll have some fun with '50s food.
0:42:07 > 0:42:09It wasn't all double egg and chips, you know!
0:42:09 > 0:42:12We'll run the famous four-minute mile
0:42:12 > 0:42:16and get the inside dope on National Service call-up.
0:42:16 > 0:42:20Until then, don't forget - if you can't be safe, be sorry.
0:42:20 > 0:42:23From me, Arlene and the crew,
0:42:23 > 0:42:26on the Good Ship '52,
0:42:26 > 0:42:27cheerio.
0:42:51 > 0:42:54Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd