of the head to form what was know as a DA (duck’s arse).
Although they are invariably linked to 1950s violence, the media often exaggerates the amount of violence and the numbers of Teddy boys involved. There were not enoughTeddy boys around for them to affect people’s lives too much. They were a bit of a novelty, and when you saw them in the street you couldn’t help but stare at them because they were so flamboyantly dressed in otherwise unfussy surroundings. Policemen still walked the beat back then, and they enforced a no-loitering law, which meant that anyone hanging around on a street corner for more than a few minutes would soon be approached by a policeman, questioned, and moved on. Most ‘Teds’ became Teddy boys for the clothes and the rock and roll music, and the clothes were too expensive for ‘Teds’ to risk getting them spoiled in fights. The drape jackets were well tailored and frequently made-to-measure, and they cost a fortune! Teddy boys usually paid for their clothes weekly, on the never-never. Their clothes, records, and of course their treasured comb, were their most prized possessions.
Edwardians, or neo-Edwardians as they should be called, also wore drapes but their style was a lot different to that of the Teddy boys. The smart Edwardian style of fashion became popular with young people a couple of years before Teddy boys came along and adopted the look and took it a stage further to make it much more flashy. It was the newspapers in 1953 who first coined the term ‘Teddy’, from ‘Edward’, when describing this new teenage style. Neo-Edwardians wore smart long drape jackets, tailormade from good quality material, slim tailored trousers, white shirt, silk tie, waistcoat, and fine quality Italian shoes. Their hair was fairly short, neatly combed and without the Teddy boy quiff. Again, the neo-Edwardians spent so much money on clothes, it was unlikely that they would go out looking for punch-ups!
Six
R ADIO AND T ELEVISION
Radio
Memories of 1950s radio programmes remain indelibly imprinted on the minds of those who are old enough to remember when radio was the main source of entertainment in the home. Even with the increasing demand for televisions during the late 1950s, radio was still hugely popular and more than adequately bridged the gaps in between the good television programmes, and filled the time when television’s two broadcasting stations, BBC and ITV, were off-air. Well-liked radio shows like The Goons , Hancock’s Half Hour , The Archers and Mrs Dale’s Diary continued to attract large numbers of listeners to the BBC radio’s Home Service and Light Programme, while Radio Luxembourg, ‘208 – your station of the stars’ , was attracting younger listeners through its increased output of pop music.
Your parents had control over the radio’s tuning knob, and children often had little say in what programmes were listened to, but there were plenty of radio shows like Dick Barton , Life with the Lyons and Meet the Huggetts , that managed to get both young and old equally hooked. Even with the advent of television programmes like Watch With Mother and Children’s Hour , radio shows like Uncle Mac’s Children’s Favourite , The Clitheroe Kid and Educating Archie still remained firm favourites with young listeners. As a child in the 1950s, you would have considered the radio announcers and commentators to be just old fuddy-duddies, but you heard so much of them during those radio days that many of their names would still be very familiar to you, such names as Franklin Engelmann, Robert Dougall, Jean Metcalfe, Kenneth Kendal, Alvar Lidell and John Snagge, just to mention a few.
Radio provided great entertainment for you on rainy days, evenings and weekends; and not forgetting the great comfort it could be when you were off school sick with one of those many childhood illnesses of the 1950s. The enormous variety of comedy, drama and music programmes kept you from getting bored
Although they are invariably linked to 1950s violence, the media often exaggerates the amount of violence and the numbers of Teddy boys involved. There were not enoughTeddy boys around for them to affect people’s lives too much. They were a bit of a novelty, and when you saw them in the street you couldn’t help but stare at them because they were so flamboyantly dressed in otherwise unfussy surroundings. Policemen still walked the beat back then, and they enforced a no-loitering law, which meant that anyone hanging around on a street corner for more than a few minutes would soon be approached by a policeman, questioned, and moved on. Most ‘Teds’ became Teddy boys for the clothes and the rock and roll music, and the clothes were too expensive for ‘Teds’ to risk getting them spoiled in fights. The drape jackets were well tailored and frequently made-to-measure, and they cost a fortune! Teddy boys usually paid for their clothes weekly, on the never-never. Their clothes, records, and of course their treasured comb, were their most prized possessions.
Edwardians, or neo-Edwardians as they should be called, also wore drapes but their style was a lot different to that of the Teddy boys. The smart Edwardian style of fashion became popular with young people a couple of years before Teddy boys came along and adopted the look and took it a stage further to make it much more flashy. It was the newspapers in 1953 who first coined the term ‘Teddy’, from ‘Edward’, when describing this new teenage style. Neo-Edwardians wore smart long drape jackets, tailormade from good quality material, slim tailored trousers, white shirt, silk tie, waistcoat, and fine quality Italian shoes. Their hair was fairly short, neatly combed and without the Teddy boy quiff. Again, the neo-Edwardians spent so much money on clothes, it was unlikely that they would go out looking for punch-ups!
Six
R ADIO AND T ELEVISION
Radio
Memories of 1950s radio programmes remain indelibly imprinted on the minds of those who are old enough to remember when radio was the main source of entertainment in the home. Even with the increasing demand for televisions during the late 1950s, radio was still hugely popular and more than adequately bridged the gaps in between the good television programmes, and filled the time when television’s two broadcasting stations, BBC and ITV, were off-air. Well-liked radio shows like The Goons , Hancock’s Half Hour , The Archers and Mrs Dale’s Diary continued to attract large numbers of listeners to the BBC radio’s Home Service and Light Programme, while Radio Luxembourg, ‘208 – your station of the stars’ , was attracting younger listeners through its increased output of pop music.
Your parents had control over the radio’s tuning knob, and children often had little say in what programmes were listened to, but there were plenty of radio shows like Dick Barton , Life with the Lyons and Meet the Huggetts , that managed to get both young and old equally hooked. Even with the advent of television programmes like Watch With Mother and Children’s Hour , radio shows like Uncle Mac’s Children’s Favourite , The Clitheroe Kid and Educating Archie still remained firm favourites with young listeners. As a child in the 1950s, you would have considered the radio announcers and commentators to be just old fuddy-duddies, but you heard so much of them during those radio days that many of their names would still be very familiar to you, such names as Franklin Engelmann, Robert Dougall, Jean Metcalfe, Kenneth Kendal, Alvar Lidell and John Snagge, just to mention a few.
Radio provided great entertainment for you on rainy days, evenings and weekends; and not forgetting the great comfort it could be when you were off school sick with one of those many childhood illnesses of the 1950s. The enormous variety of comedy, drama and music programmes kept you from getting bored
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