I recall 1960 as a time of twanging guitars, glass cups and ‘Take Your Pick’. Stereotypical? Perhaps. That’s often the way with distant memories. But contemporary copy can be more stereotypical, like the yellowed News of the World I found beneath an old carpet. It drenched that time in clichés.
First, we had the ‘Screws’’ ‘Simpsons’, except this fictitious family was called the Hardies. Presumably, they reflected the ‘Screws’’ ideal unit. ‘Dad is Tom Hardie, a 45-year-old factory foreman (He looked at least fifteen years older). Balding a bit but won’t admit it. Keen on his pipe. Looks solemn but he’s got a twinkle and makes as much noise as the next at the local football match. Never misses the pools or his darts. Mum is Agnes. She’s country-wise and a bit superstitious. Brings a sprig of May into the house. Still nice looking at nearly forty (Dear God!!!) but worries about her figure. She and Dad snap a bit sometimes but they wouldn’t change each other for gold’. Sheila, their nineteen-year-old daughter is a secretary. ‘Always coming home but planning to marry in the Spring. Loves fashion and beauty.’ Ken at sixteen is an apprentice and plays jazz inexpertly. Elizabeth is the bright, spoilt nine-year-old. I don’t think irony featured too strongly in the Hardies’ lives.
The impending royal marriage of the ‘gay and vivacious’ Margaret was given a full page spread. It was said that marriage would rescue her from shadowy palace solitude. Perhaps the ‘mature’ 29-year-old princess had finally found ‘Val Pack’, the face cream that ‘removes blemishes’ and pulls men to the altar. Many adverts still caricatured marriage as a young woman’s ideal career move, a dream goal rather than an uncertain beginning. Even the serial gaol breaker Alfie Hinds was shown as redeemable, as his wife described their touching, illicit re-union. And while we were invited to smirk at Diana Dors’ salacious tales, starry-eyed girls were actually implored not to ‘cheapen themselves’ in the cause of ambition. A front-page article went further, describing the anger of the Catholic clergy and social workers at the experimental production of the ‘penny contraceptive pill’. The social workers feared for the morality of teenage girls while the Bishop of Nottingham said, ‘New methods have been proposed to thwart God’s purpose in marriage’. As for women’s rights, these seemed very thin, notably with regard to domestic violence. In one reported court case, the presiding magistrate, Col. Leonard Stevens, exercised a travesty of justice, simply suggesting that the victim ‘make her husband sweep the floor and do some of the chores.’ Her husband assured the court, ‘I love my missus, sir, and she’s a good cook an’ all’.
Perhaps the birch was the answer? Sir Charles Taylor MP thought so. He wanted to introduce summary corporal punishment to deal with violent crimes. He explained, ‘Eight strokes of the cane hurt quite a lot. I can assure you that you jolly well did your best to make sure you weren’t caught again. Was there any nonsense about a medical examination before or after? Not likely! It wasn’t necessary because the good Lord gave us an appropriate place, padded with flesh and muscle… I do not believe that any odd psychiatric tricks are going to turn thugs into Sir Galahads. So let corporal punishment be given quickly, summarily and firmly. If it doesn’t reduce crimes of violence within five years then we should have to think again and I will eat my nylon socks.’
Serfdom wasn’t a housewife’s prerogative, though. These were the days when a professional footballer’s wages could not exceed a fixed maximum figure (£20 per week). The ‘Screws’ took exception. They announced that the soccer system was ‘crazy’, pointing out that players at leading Third or Fourth Division teams (Southampton, Notts County and Walsall) were earning more than Chelsea’s stars like Jimmy Greaves, Peter Brabrook and Frank Blunstone, having secured £100 each in bonuses on top of their maximum wages. The ‘Screws’ reckoned that the Football League’s moral for internationals like Arsenal’s Tommy Docherty, Mel Charles and Joe Haverty was, ‘Stop being a big fish in a big pond. Get out and be a whale in a little pond.’ But the writing was on the wall. The maximum wage had but one season left. As for Gateshead and Accrington, their shelf life was even shorter.
Burnley’s star was still rising, though. A solitary goal from Jimmy Robson saw off Blackburn in front of 32,000 at the Turf. It wasn’t much of spectacle, quite unlike the following Saturday’s Sixth Round tie in which Blackburn recovered from a 0-3 deficit to draw 3-3. Rovers subsequently went on to lose a dire FA Cup Final with Wolves. Burnley’s 1-0 League victory kept them in third place with 40 points, three points adrift of leaders Spurs, who had demolished fourth-placed Sheffield Wednesday 4-1 thanks to a Cliff Jones hat-trick. Wolves were one point behind Spurs, having beaten Man U 2-0 in front of 60,560 at Old Trafford. Deeley and Stobart did the damage.
At the other end of the table, Leeds and Luton were contesting the relegation places with Birmingham. Whereas Birmingham had managed to crush FA Cup winners Forest 4-1, Leeds had capitulated to Blackpool at Elland Road 2-4, with beanpole striker Ray Charnley recording a hat trick. It was all too much for Leeds left back Granville Hair, who wanted a return to the Midlands to be nearer his invalid parents. Luton were in need of intensive care, too, having been savaged at Stamford Bridge by a brilliant Jimmy Greaves (0-3).
In the Second Division, Villa and Cardiff were cleaning up. Welsh international starlet Graham Moore had helped the Bluebirds beat Huddersfield 2-1 in front of 45,000 at Ninian Park. Yorkshire, and later England cricketer Chris Balderstone, scored for the Terriers. Meanwhile, former Bluebird Gerry Hitchens helped Villa secure a 1-0 victory at third-placed Middlesbrough.
Just behind leaders, Southampton, Bury were going well in Division Three. What’s more, they enticed almost 13,000 to Gigg Lane for their local derby with Bradford. Meanwhile, poor Accrington succumbed to third-placed Norwich 0-4 at Carrow Road, leaving them stranded at the foot of the table.
It wasn’t a good day for the Fourth Division leaders. Walsall let an interval lead slip against mid-table Workington and Notts County fouled up their home game with lowly Doncaster (3-4) in front of almost 16,500 frustrated fans. At the bottom, it was a case of the usual suspects with Barrow, Hartlepools, Southport and Gateshead keeping Oldham company.
Non-League football had considerable drawing power in those days. Football watching was still very much of a Saturday ritual for many working class men. Local allegiances meant more, too, especially with fewer fans having cars. Bath City at the top of the Southern League Premier Division drew 4,730 to Twerton Park for their 3-2 victory over Cambridge City. Charlie Fleming, once of Sunderland and famed for his cannon ball shooting, had sealed the victory. Even mid-table Bedford drew 3,956 for their home defeat by Chelmsford. In second place, Headington United, shortly to metamorphose into Oxford United, went down 1-2 at lowly King’s Lynn. Again, 3,000 thought the game to be worthy of their patronage. This reverse meant that there was little prospect of Headington overhauling Bath, who were five points in front with three fewer games played. Bath eventually extended their lead to thirteen points, but Oxford’s time had nearly come. Following Accrington’s demise, a year later, they entered the big League, emulating the enormously successful Peterborough, who ousted Gateshead in 1960/1. Even some of the Southern League First Division sides could draw a decent crowd. Guildford, playing at their long gone Joseph’s Road ground, attracted 2,502 for an inauspicious 1-1 draw with Ashford, with scoring sensation Les Barrett netting the home side’s effort. Sittingbourne topped 2,000 too, as they took Ramsgate to the cleaners 3-0. But the biggest crowd was at Cheriton Road, Folkestone, for the top-of-the-table clash with Clacton. Over 3,000 watched the Essex side secure top spot with a 4-2 away win.
At Dulwich a brilliant late effort from Bobby Brown earned England a draw against Germany in the Amateur International after future Man U keeper Mike Pinner had restricted the Germans’ lead with a string of superb saves. But the real star of the show was Chelsea’s 17-year-old left half, Terry Venables. The German coach was amazed to learn that El Tel was so young. The selectors were urged to give him his Olympic chance against Eire.
Away from the footy, the England touring side (then called the MCC, at least outside the Test matches) had demonstrated that it is possible to accumulate large totals. Due mainly to the efforts of ‘Noddy’ Pullar (147) and Colin Cowdrey (139) they run up a total of 494 against British Guiana (as it was known then). ‘Empire Day’ had only just ceased to be a day of celebration. Remember, this was the year in which Macmillan made his famous ‘Winds of Change’ speech to an incensed South African Parliament.
Tucked away in a corner of this paper there was a brief reference to the interminable Middle East conflict. Israeli patrolmen killed three members of an Egyptian suicide squad after they entered Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Just when you thought that this was all ancient history…
