:00:00. > :00:15.edition of Inside Out because this year is the
:00:16. > :00:15.edition of Inside Out because this Kennedy. For any of you old enough
:00:16. > :00:25.to remember, the I-know-where-I-was moments. When
:00:26. > :00:30.news of the death corner of Sussex, here at Birch
:00:31. > :00:46.Grove, an elderly, Thousands of us pass it every day,
:00:47. > :01:14.presidential visit JFK made Thousands of us pass it every day,
:01:15. > :01:22.unaware it even exists, let alone what it commemorates. For 50 years,
:01:23. > :01:25.this white stone plaque has marked the weekend President John F Kennedy
:01:26. > :01:27.visited the Sussex village of Forest Row, for a political summit at the
:01:28. > :01:43.height of the Cold War. The Sussex Summit is almost like an
:01:44. > :01:46.Indian summer. Here is John F Kennedy, unknown to him of course
:01:47. > :01:54.but his last visit to Britain, to Europe. He is going to be
:01:55. > :01:58.assassinated a few months later. I was the one person that had that key
:01:59. > :02:07.to the room that had the hotline to the President in. It crossed my mind
:02:08. > :02:12.to go in and say, hi there! I was very impressed with JFK when I
:02:13. > :02:21.worked with him. He was such a nice guy. He was very pleasant.
:02:22. > :02:25.President Jack Kennedy is an hour late arriving at Gatwick Airport. He
:02:26. > :02:28.had been making an unscheduled visit to the grave of his sister,
:02:29. > :02:32.Kathleen, in Derbyshire. Few things are unscheduled in this tightly
:02:33. > :02:35.packed trip. Harold Macmillan has only 24 hours of the President's
:02:36. > :02:37.time and a lot to talk about. Nuclear test ban talks and NATO are
:02:38. > :02:47.high on the list. June 1963 and the world was a
:02:48. > :02:51.precarious place. It was the height of the Cold War - the USA and Soviet
:02:52. > :02:55.Union facing one another in a nuclear arms race. And it was in
:02:56. > :02:58.this tense atmosphere, that President John F Kennedy flew into
:02:59. > :03:00.Gatwick for talks at primers to Harold Macmillan's country estate,
:03:01. > :03:08.Birch Grove, just outside East Grinstead in Sussex.
:03:09. > :03:14.Back to Birch Grove and those talks. The main achievement, agreement to
:03:15. > :03:19.go all out for a test ban treaty with Khrushchev. One was older, one
:03:20. > :03:24.was younger. One, in a sense, enjoyed the playboy life. The other
:03:25. > :03:29.was very demure. But they understood that each other faced huge problems.
:03:30. > :03:33.The big question, with agreement at Birch Grove lead to agreement in
:03:34. > :03:36.Moscow? President Kennedy's visit to Sussex came just a few days after
:03:37. > :03:39.perhaps the most famous speech of his political career - his historic
:03:40. > :03:46.address to hundreds of thousands in Berlin.
:03:47. > :03:49.Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is, Ich bin ein
:03:50. > :04:01.Berliner. This is a major period of his life
:04:02. > :04:05.because he has given the speech in Berlin which many people remember as
:04:06. > :04:08.one of the significant events of the Cold War, defying the Soviet Union.
:04:09. > :04:11.He goes to Ireland, a visit about his family heritage. And then he
:04:12. > :04:19.comes to see his old friend, Harold Macmillan. Former Prime Minister
:04:20. > :04:21.Gordon Brown's admiration for JFK's political legacy resulted in him
:04:22. > :04:27.becoming a close friend of the Kennedy family. Macmillan in
:04:28. > :04:30.particular was determined to build a friendship with Kennedy because he
:04:31. > :04:31.knew that Britain's place in the world depended on a relationship
:04:32. > :04:43.with America. Fast forward 50 years and the
:04:44. > :04:45.starting point for our story is here in Lewes, at the Sussex County
:04:46. > :05:02.records office. With the help of Brighton historian,
:05:03. > :05:12.Paul Elgood, we found the original police files detailing JFK's visit
:05:13. > :05:15.to Sussex, in the summer of 1963. These are the JFK files that the
:05:16. > :05:22.Sussex police authority have cleared for you to look at today. Thank you
:05:23. > :05:26.very much indeed. Thank you. Even half a century later, there is still
:05:27. > :05:27.information that we are not allowed to see, sensitivities still run high
:05:28. > :05:48.I suppose. There were three jets before you
:05:49. > :05:54.even start. There were two American helicopters. They were two
:05:55. > :05:57.presidential cars. 100 members of the press. Brighton's two largest
:05:58. > :06:00.hotels were completely booked out. Every hotel within Sussex seemed to
:06:01. > :06:05.have been booked up. It was absolutely enormous. Two helicopters
:06:06. > :06:10.for the president and these went straight to Birch Grove and landed
:06:11. > :06:14.within the estate. Other helicopters were used to connect to Brighton.
:06:15. > :06:21.They landed on the Hove lawns, the Brunswick lawns. Birch Grove the
:06:22. > :06:34.house really acted like a stage for a play, with all the comings and
:06:35. > :06:37.goings of an international summit. Using the files as the starting
:06:38. > :06:42.point, we decided to strike down some of the eyewitnesses present
:06:43. > :06:45.during JFK's last visit to Britain. This is interesting. This is the
:06:46. > :06:48.Sunday morning and at 8:15am it records that Pres Kennedy left Birch
:06:49. > :06:52.Grove for Forest Row which was when he went to church. News JFK was
:06:53. > :06:56.attending Mass in a tiny Sussex village brought out hundreds of
:06:57. > :07:00.local onlookers. This was an amazing moment for the visit. It was the
:07:01. > :07:11.only opportunity that the general public really had to see Kennedy
:07:12. > :07:15.close-up. He came out in his bubble top car and drove the two or so
:07:16. > :07:19.miles into Forest Row to go to Mass. The vehicle they used was the same
:07:20. > :07:22.vehicle that Kennedy was later in November 22, 1963 in Dallas. They
:07:23. > :07:35.were very much seeing the same scene that became a part of history a few
:07:36. > :07:37.months later. Among the hundreds of local people gathered waiting to see
:07:38. > :07:44.the president were Lilian Shawcross and Doreen Mahoney. Both still live
:07:45. > :07:48.in Forest Row today. You can see the roofs of houses and because we
:07:49. > :07:51.wanted to get a better view, my mother and I stood on the side of
:07:52. > :07:55.the path and we could see right across here. So you could look
:07:56. > :08:02.across and you saw the president arrive? Yes. With security men? Yes,
:08:03. > :08:07.yes. And after the service when they came out, he came up to the crowd
:08:08. > :08:11.and we still got a very good view. Did you shout? No, no, we were too
:08:12. > :08:15.interested in just watching. I think we had a better view than a lot of
:08:16. > :08:19.other people appear. He was in quite a big car, a dark car, and there was
:08:20. > :08:22.quite a lot of security. People were out there trying to keep people
:08:23. > :08:28.back. Everybody was very excited. Waving and shouting. It was very
:08:29. > :08:31.nice, very nice indeed. Exciting really because we had never had that
:08:32. > :08:33.big around Forest Row. He was a lovely man. He was a lovely man. I
:08:34. > :08:45.think everybody loved him really. Two miles away from all the hustle
:08:46. > :08:47.and bustle of the presidential visit, police constable Peter
:08:48. > :08:53.Etheridge was patrolling East Grinstead high Street. He had been
:08:54. > :09:00.left out of the Sussex police operation to protect JFK and was
:09:01. > :09:06.quietly a bit miffed. But his luck was about to change. Everyone else
:09:07. > :09:10.seemed to be rushing about and doing things and I felt just neglected, if
:09:11. > :09:13.you like. I was on patrol in East Grinstead high Street. Ken
:09:14. > :09:18.Hutchinson, who was the Detective Sgt, drove up along side me. Quick,
:09:19. > :09:24.jump in! Have you got a civvie jacket? I've got one at home. He
:09:25. > :09:33.took me home and I got one. I had no idea what it was for. He drove me
:09:34. > :09:38.down to Birch Grove where Prime Minister Macmillan lived. All these
:09:39. > :09:47.people, all American, all with lovely blue uniforms on with lots of
:09:48. > :09:51.gold braid. He said, this is Detective Sgt - elevating my rack of
:09:52. > :09:54.course - Detective Sgt Etheridge and would you believe it, they all shook
:09:55. > :10:03.my hand. Pleased to meet you, sir. Pleased to meet you! We are off to
:10:04. > :10:07.lunch. Here is the key to the room with the hotline in. They gave me
:10:08. > :10:16.this key. They were gone. I was left in Prime Minister Macmillan's house,
:10:17. > :10:19.all on my own. Now retired and living in Chichester, Peter's brief
:10:20. > :10:26.stint in charge of security remains one of his career highs. So I
:10:27. > :10:30.wondered all around Macmillan's house really. I could hear voices in
:10:31. > :10:33.the distance. I think that might have been in the kitchens. I cannot
:10:34. > :10:37.remember now how I knew that it was JFK's bedroom or to be his bedroom,
:10:38. > :10:43.but I think it must have had his name on the door. I know I went in
:10:44. > :10:48.and sat on the bed and bounced it up and down. I looked in Macmillan's...
:10:49. > :10:51.I didn't pry but I've got to do something with the time I was there.
:10:52. > :10:54.I looked in Macmillan's medicine cabinet. He seemed to suffer from
:10:55. > :10:57.much the same elements that I now suffer from! I suppose after an
:10:58. > :10:58.hour, I heard voices, went downstairs and my moment of glory
:10:59. > :11:18.was over. 50 years on from JFK's presidential
:11:19. > :11:20.visit, and Birch Grove has been transformed back in to the
:11:21. > :11:28.quintessential Sussex estate it was in 1963. Its new owners are Dr James
:11:29. > :11:30.Hay and his wife. They've spared no expense returning the house to its
:11:31. > :11:47.former glory. I did understand that Harold
:11:48. > :11:49.Macmillan had actually owned his own family home rather than go to
:11:50. > :12:00.Chequers for many of his diplomatic meetings. I was aware of that. But
:12:01. > :12:03.when we came and saw Birch Grove, I became really aware as to the
:12:04. > :12:09.significance of how many incredibly important people came here. The room
:12:10. > :12:11.we are sitting in we have completely remodelled but we've kept it in the
:12:12. > :12:15.traditional style that Harold Macmillan tried to achieve for he
:12:16. > :12:18.built the place in the early 1920s. Yes. When I saw the house, there is
:12:19. > :12:27.something about it. There is a feeling, so welcoming, so homely. I
:12:28. > :12:30.said, yeah. Dr Hay, do you sometimes wonder around and feel the hand of
:12:31. > :12:42.history on your shoulder? You can't escape it here. You are aware of it.
:12:43. > :12:45.When we have guests that come here, one of the questions they always ask
:12:46. > :12:47.is which was the room that Kennedy slept in? If they stay with us, that
:12:48. > :13:01.is the room they all want to be in. Having now completed their two-year
:13:02. > :13:03.renovation of Birch Grove, the Hays are slowly collecting artefacts that
:13:04. > :13:12.reflect its unique place in political history. This purports to
:13:13. > :13:16.be from the nearby inn, the Red Lion, which is maybe a quarter of a
:13:17. > :13:19.mile from here. Here we can see that date is 30 June 1963. We can see
:13:20. > :13:33.John F Kennedy's signature here and Washington DC. Below that is Harold
:13:34. > :13:36.Macmillan's signature. It is said they never visited it but they are
:13:37. > :13:44.authentic signatures in the visitor book. It gives us good topic of
:13:45. > :13:47.conversation. So the mystery could be, did John F Kennedy and Harold
:13:48. > :13:56.Macmillan go for a pint in the local pub? Seemingly, Harold was known to
:13:57. > :14:02.favour this particular pub and his local brew so maybe the two of them
:14:03. > :14:05.sneaked out. But exactly what was discussed by John F Kennedy and
:14:06. > :14:15.Harold Macmillan 50 years ago in these rooms behind me remains a
:14:16. > :14:18.closely guarded secret. The personal discussions between Harold Macmillan
:14:19. > :14:22.and John F Kennedy, we know very little about. We don't know what was
:14:23. > :14:24.discussed behind closed doors. Harold Macmillan hinted but didn't
:14:25. > :14:36.go into depth with his memoirs and tragically, JFK never had the
:14:37. > :14:40.opportunity to write his memoirs. But now, half a century on, we have
:14:41. > :14:45.located someone who WAS behind those closed doors at Birch Grove.
:14:46. > :14:53.I was 20. My grandfather and I were close.
:14:54. > :14:58.Most Sundays, we would go for a long walk through the woods together and
:14:59. > :15:01.he would discuss politics. So I was fully aware and I had been
:15:02. > :15:06.through the Cuban Missile Crisis with my grandfather.
:15:07. > :15:08.The Earl of Stockton, Harold Macmillan's grandson, lived at Birch
:15:09. > :15:14.Grove and witnessed all the coming and goings of the Sussex Summit of
:15:15. > :15:17.1963. When he told us that Jack was
:15:18. > :15:21.coming, I was terribly pleased, because I had met him three times
:15:22. > :15:22.before, so this visit was to be both a planning session and a
:15:23. > :15:26.celebration. And in the run up to it, there was
:15:27. > :15:29.talk that they should go to Chequers and the Queen even suggested that
:15:30. > :15:46.they could use Windsor Castle and all this kind of thing.
:15:47. > :15:52.But I think it was my grandmother who said, "No, Harold, he is coming
:15:53. > :15:55.to our home." You have got to remember that, in
:15:56. > :15:58.these times, politicians did not meet, as they do now, in summits
:15:59. > :16:02.like the G8 and G20. They have to steal this time from
:16:03. > :16:05.other things, because there are no formal summits that they are going
:16:06. > :16:08.to be at, unless they create these events themselves.
:16:09. > :16:12.And the fact that it is in the house of Harold Macmillan shows there is a
:16:13. > :16:15.very personal dimension to this. A large number of Secret Service,
:16:16. > :16:23.Department of Defence and CIA appeared and the whole place was
:16:24. > :16:25.searched from top to bottom. It was clear there was not the
:16:26. > :16:35.accommodation for the presidential back-up, so they requisitioned two
:16:36. > :16:37.hotels in Brighton. A large number of helicopters
:16:38. > :16:43.appeared and they ran a shuttle service from the cricket ground and
:16:44. > :16:50.I managed to hitch a ride. I went down to Brighton and back in
:16:51. > :16:58.Marine One, as it is called. It was a very loud and bumpy old Sikorsky.
:16:59. > :16:59.It was once described to me as "flying on a chandelier in an
:17:00. > :17:11.earthquake". 1963 was a pivotal year for United
:17:12. > :17:14.States-Soviet relations. With each superpower testing their
:17:15. > :17:20.nuclear arsenal, in a show of strength and intimidation, the
:17:21. > :17:23.stakes were sky high. There was a degree of almost a
:17:24. > :17:26.father-son relationship between the two of them.
:17:27. > :17:28.That was reinforced by the Cuban Missile Crisis, because my
:17:29. > :17:40.grandfather was speaking to Jack three or four times a day.
:17:41. > :17:45.NEWSREADER: Mr McMillan was home from Russia and the Cold War had
:17:46. > :17:48.undoubtedly thawed a little, as a result of his enterprising visit.
:17:49. > :17:50.Jack had had no exposure to the Soviets, of any kind.
:17:51. > :17:54.He found Khrushchev really difficult to deal with.
:17:55. > :17:56.NEWSREADER: But the Prime Minister's dignified calm, in the face of a
:17:57. > :18:00.calculated rebuff, caused Khrushchev to think again.
:18:01. > :18:04.My grandfather said, "You have got to stand up to him, but you have got
:18:05. > :18:06.to be careful not to provide him with an excuse not to do something
:18:07. > :18:08.stupid." Wherever President Kennedy went, he was surrounded by a
:18:09. > :18:28.security bubble. In charge of the security operation
:18:29. > :18:30.for the Sussex Summit was this man. Here he is the previous year, with
:18:31. > :18:41.JFK, in Chicago. This photograph shows him on with
:18:42. > :18:45.Jackie Kennedy on a trip to India. His name is David Grant.
:18:46. > :18:51.Glen, if you could talk to David Grant and capture this for history,
:18:52. > :18:53.it would be so important. He is one of the last remaining
:18:54. > :18:58.eyewitness accounts to what actually took place here that weekend.
:18:59. > :19:01.As well as being in Sussex in 1963, David Grant was also the agent
:19:02. > :19:04.tasked with arranging the advanced security for John F Kennedy's
:19:05. > :19:11.fateful visit to Dallas four months later.
:19:12. > :19:17.But could we trace Mr Grant 50 years on?
:19:18. > :19:20.Luck, it seems, was on our side. You see, we have managed to find out
:19:21. > :19:23.that former Secret Service agent David Grant is still very much alive
:19:24. > :19:28.- and living just outside Washington DC.
:19:29. > :19:33.One of the things I remember about him was his humility.
:19:34. > :19:37.He was not impressed with himself, really.
:19:38. > :19:41.He was impressed a lot by people around him, And he was a bit shy,
:19:42. > :19:47.rather than the general concept of him.
:19:48. > :19:51.One of the things I remember vividly about him, in a motorcade in an open
:19:52. > :20:00.car, he was forever, kind of, fixing his hair a little bit.
:20:01. > :20:05.He would do it every time. You could count on it.
:20:06. > :20:09.He was a heck of a guy. Just a real gentleman.
:20:10. > :20:14.I think he was one of our great presidents - or would have been, had
:20:15. > :20:21.he survived. So what was your role in setting up
:20:22. > :20:24.the Sussex Summit of 1963? I was assigned to go there and
:20:25. > :20:27.represent the Secret Service and the President and the White House of the
:20:28. > :20:30.United States, to do preliminary advanced work for the President's
:20:31. > :20:41.visit to Birch Grove and the meeting with Prime Minister Macmillan.
:20:42. > :20:44.I remember Brighton, of course, where we stayed. And I remember
:20:45. > :20:48.Birch Grove House. Very good memories. Very good
:20:49. > :20:50.memories. I was particularly fond of the Prime
:20:51. > :20:54.Minister's wife, Lady Dorothy Macmillan, who was very gracious and
:20:55. > :21:00.kind to me and helped me in every way she could.
:21:01. > :21:03.I remember one of my dear friends, he was working in the middle of the
:21:04. > :21:10.night and this beautiful grey-haired lady popped in with a full tray of
:21:11. > :21:14.sandwiches. It was her. Was it a success?
:21:15. > :21:19.My impression was that it was quite successful. They were very happy on
:21:20. > :21:26.the British side and I know they were happy on the American side.
:21:27. > :21:36.He shook hands with us. And he said, "I guess I'll be seeing you all in
:21:37. > :21:45.Washington soon." And I think almost his last words to Harold where, "We
:21:46. > :21:49.must do this again, and soon." And he got into the helicopter and it
:21:50. > :21:54.dipped slightly as it flew away down the valley.
:21:55. > :22:01.But unknown to both men, the Sussex Summit would be the last time they
:22:02. > :22:04.would meet. Two or three months later, Macmillan
:22:05. > :22:08.is leaving office. After that, Kennedy is assassinated. It is
:22:09. > :22:14.Kennedy's last visit to Europe and his last visit to Britain.
:22:15. > :22:19.At 12:30pm, on November 22, 1963, three gunshots ring out from the
:22:20. > :22:19.sixth-floor window of a school book depository overlooking the
:22:20. > :22:36.presidential motorcade. First reports are confusing.
:22:37. > :22:41.A message came over the portable radio equipment that I had that he
:22:42. > :22:46.had been hit. Not shot - hit.
:22:47. > :22:51.Within seconds, the presidential limousine is accelerating away to
:22:52. > :22:57.the nearest hospital. TEARFUL BYSTANDER: As he was waving
:22:58. > :23:02.back, the shot rang out and he slumped down in the seat and his
:23:03. > :23:05.wife reached up towards him... NEWSREADER: ..was shot today from an
:23:06. > :23:13.ambush, as President Kennedy's motorcade left the centre of Dallas.
:23:14. > :23:21.I went to the Dallas hospital. Mrs Kennedy, obviously, was very
:23:22. > :23:25.upset. But, yeah, that was the first time I
:23:26. > :23:33.found out that he had been mortally wounded.
:23:34. > :23:39.I think, even though I was only 12 at the time, I can remember vividly
:23:40. > :23:43.being in a room with my mother - my father was out and my brothers were
:23:44. > :23:46.out - and then, the television broadcast the news of the shooting
:23:47. > :23:57.and then appeared to go back to normal programmes.
:23:58. > :24:00.And then, the news came of his death and you were so aware, I remember
:24:01. > :24:04.thinking at the time, "This is so against democracy". It was a
:24:05. > :24:12.shooting that would actually change the way people saw the world.
:24:13. > :24:20.Did you mourn? Yes.
:24:21. > :24:23.Not only because it was him. Remember, my grandfather had retired
:24:24. > :24:27.by then, through ill health, but this consciousness that this was the
:24:28. > :24:35.end of an era - and what might have been?
:24:36. > :24:40.Just as he had been in charge of the advanced security for the Sussex
:24:41. > :24:43.Summit, Secret Service agent David Grant was also the one who had also
:24:44. > :24:49.conducted the advance recce for Dallas.
:24:50. > :24:55.On that fateful morning in Dallas in November 1963, why did you not have
:24:56. > :25:02.the bubble top on the car? Exposure. The president and his
:25:03. > :25:04.staff wanted it off for exposure. You cannot argue with him, unless
:25:05. > :25:12.you have got a good argument. After he had passed away, there was
:25:13. > :25:24.a problem with the Dallas people, who wanted to do an autopsy there.
:25:25. > :25:28.They said, by Texas law, it had to be done there, but we said, "No, you
:25:29. > :25:31.are not going to touch him here." So, we pushed the Dallas people
:25:32. > :25:41.aside and put the President in a hearse that we had obtained.
:25:42. > :25:48.And we said, any autopsy that is going to be done, they are going to
:25:49. > :25:53.do it at the naval hospital? Events unfolded swiftly. David can
:25:54. > :25:56.be seen here helping load the President's body onto a flight for
:25:57. > :25:59.Washington. Across town, his killer, Lee Harvey
:26:00. > :26:04.Oswald, had fled the book depository, taking refuge in a
:26:05. > :26:06.cinema. Recognised by a local police
:26:07. > :26:12.officer, Oswald shot him dead, tried to escape, but was overpowered and
:26:13. > :26:14.arrested. David caught up with Lee Harvey
:26:15. > :26:24.Oswald at Dallas police headquarters.
:26:25. > :26:27.Arrogant. A sneer on his face. As far as whether he admitted
:26:28. > :26:38.anything, or said anything, in my presence, he was asked, "Why did you
:26:39. > :26:41.shoot the President?" And he just shook his head.
:26:42. > :26:48.Said nothing? Said nothing. I mean, they had him.
:26:49. > :26:51.Dallas had him for the murder of the police officer.
:26:52. > :26:54.He was going to go to the electric chair for that. But to my knowledge,
:26:55. > :27:03.he admitted nothing about killing the President.
:27:04. > :27:08.This should never have happened. A beautiful personality, a man who was
:27:09. > :27:17.becoming a great president, I do believe.
:27:18. > :27:34.Anyone that was there has a degree of guilt that they feel, but I do
:27:35. > :27:40.not feel responsible for him being assassinated.
:27:41. > :27:44.I regret deeply him being assassinated.
:27:45. > :27:49.I wish it had never happened and I wish I could have done something to
:27:50. > :27:55.prevent it, but I couldn't. BUGLER PLAYS "LAST
:27:56. > :27:59.Back in Sussex, at Birch Grove, when told of Kennedy's death, Harold
:28:00. > :28:01.Macmillan, who had just resigned, due to ill health, made this entry
:28:02. > :28:13.in his diary... "Alas, I was never to see my friend
:28:14. > :28:16.again. Before those leaves had turned and fallen, he was snatched
:28:17. > :28:29.by an assassin's bullet." Glen Campbell, with that special report.
:28:30. > :28:33.If you want any more information about tonight's show, you can visit
:28:34. > :28:35.our Kent or Sussex website and you can of course, watch the programme
:28:36. > :28:52.again on the BBC iPlayer. And this is the last programme in
:28:53. > :28:54.the current series. We are back in January. Thanks for watching and see
:28:55. > :28:56.you in the New