I was thinking (oh no) today about my generation. I was born in 1946. My dad was a POW in Japan and came home in 1945 so I was the start of the true baby boom. I was thinking about what my generation has seen in their lives. I heard the stories about the war because I was a quiet child and I heard a lot. My Parents and grandparents played cards around the dining table. I sat beneath and kept quiet. My Mum hated playing cards because she said her brothers cheated. Mum had 3 brothers Eddie, Norman and Ray. Ray was in his teens when I was born so I was closest to him. He paid attention to me as well, took me on his motorbike up the back country roads. No helmets in those days. His first car was one where you had to crank the engine from the outside front of the car. I am not sure if this is the car or not but it was like this, he wears a crash helmet, I can only guess from the stories I was told about going over hump back bridges and hitting your head on the top of the car. Funny thing, we didn't wear one on the motorbike. you made hand signals out of the window because indicators were not as we know them now.
My Granddad was in the Royal Navy and served in WW1. Ray chose the Royal Air Force and has always had a love of aircraft and now his son Mark does as well. Back in WW2 at the beginning there was only prop planes. The jet engine came at the end of the war. It was the Royal Air Force who won the war for us with the beloved Spitfire and the Lancaster bomber.
The jets came at the very end of the war and soon after they were trying to break the sound barrier. I remember windows shaking and the sonic boom that came soon after. Then tha Land Speed record was broken by Donald Campbell. So many firsts in my lifetime. The climbing of Everest by Edmund Hillary, Roger Bannister and the 4 min mile. Just a few, everything was new and exciting after the war. The women began to work during the war years out of necessity.They did not want to go back to being just a housewife. Kids from the towns were sent off to the country to stay safe, they worked on the farms and did things like that as well as going to school. So after the war there was a huge social change going on in England.
Ray was in his teen years and his music was my music. He had an old crank up record player. He listened to things like "Mule Train" "The little white cloud that cried" "Ghost riders in the sky" Johnny Ray and so on. I have one of those record players in my house now for memory sake.
My Granddad Seabrook served in WW1 and he was as I said, in the Royal Navy. His ship was sunk and he spent time in he water. My Nan supposedly had a dream where she saw this man in the sea when his ship sunk. That was before she met him. When she saw him, she recognised him. I have his Navy records and can see when he took leave to go get married.
He used to stand at the gate of his house on Dunstable road and watch the cars go by, maybe one or two an hour haha, and I remember sitting on the wall chatting with him. I am sure he must have gone out for peace and quiet but ah well........collecting car numbers was a hobby, can you imagine?. Now that road is bumper to bumper traffic.
Hardly anyone owned a car. When Dad got his first car it was soon after that the Suez crisis happened and no petrol was available. He had to buy a bike because the buses were too crowded. Everyone went back to walking. That was around 1956. I remember him bringing home his motorbike that he had during the war, it was a burgundy colour. He sold it and I don't know why except most likely my Mum would not have it.
In 1952 we got our first TV. It was a 9" screen, black and white. We got it for Queen Elizabeth's coronation.
It was awhile before colour came out and when it did it was horrible. The colours would separate and so the image was always triple and snowy. We stuck with black and white for many years. Before that we listened to radio for entertainment and news. During the war they had crystal sets.
Ray was also much into photography and the first camera we had was the old box camera. A Brownie I believe. When you see what we have now, our grandchildren have known nothing but Iphones, lap tops and cell phones. Even the old rotary phones are amazing to them. We never had a phone growing up. It wasn't till I left for the states that my parents got a phone. Dad always said you see people every day if ya cant say what ya got ta say then, then wait till tomorrow. Thanks Dad. When we first came here to the States and wanted to call home, I would have to book a call with the operator. They would connect us when a line was available. There were cables under the ocean that held the lines. It was very iffy, and there was a time lag. You would speak and wait, then the reply. Now its all via satelite.
When I was a child there was a Polio epidemic. We were taught to avoid stagnant water and stay away as much as possible. I can't remember following that advice but do remember getting a vaccine soon after it was given on a sugar cube. Dr Salk gave us the Shots that came later. Also the smallpox vaccine that I have written about before. Not such a pleasant experience, then at school we were all given TB skin tests followed by a shot. Most of those terrible diseases were eradicated in my life time. Ironically now they are making a come back because people are refusing to vaccinate their kids. Measles Mumps the German Measles and chicken pox all childhood diseases we all experienced. Medical milestones like the first heart transplant by Doctor Christian Barnard. They opened the door to many questionable medical practices, true they have saved lives but also opened the door to organ smuggling. There were several really bad flu epidemics also, the Asian Flu and Swine flu were deadly. I think we all got one or other of them.
There were some tragedies also in this new frontier of medicine. The Thalidomide being the worst I remember.
There was the first test tube baby who is now in her 40s at least Louise Brown. Again it's a moral dilemma, because now with fertility drugs the crisis now is abortion, so many unwanted babies. Some things are best left to God, although people don't believe in Him anymore (I do) There came the Aids crisis as the moral fabric of the world broke down. It was free love and anything goes. Looking back to how it once was, we were not able to strike a good compromise between the Victorian mores and the current ones.
Music changed in the early 60s and opened the door to Drugs sex and rock and roll. Seemed great at the time but oh dear, where did it lead us.
From Elvis the Pelvis to the Teddy Boys of the 50s to the Beatles and Rolling Stones of the 60s. You open the door and you can not shut it again very easily. While all seemed innocent at the time, again, look where it has led us.
Far away from the music of my Uncle Ray's days.
My Dad read books like "The Cruel sea" and "Ice cold in Alex" and I read the same books, much to my mothers horror. I was allowed to read what I chose. Then came things that were banned like "Lady Chatterleys Lover" again, quite innocent by today's standards, they did try to keep a lid on things and banned movies like " The Wild Ones" with Marlon Brando. Now censorship is banned and we have porn on our screens. A downwards spiral.
Then we had the space race. Telstar, Sputnik. First man to circle the earth, first to reach the moon. Now first to reach Mars. From Spitfire to Sputnik. I forgot to mention the first passenger planes and now they are taking people on pleasure rides in the outer space. Can we even imagine a life without air travel now? Well it has not been around that long folks. Before that one traveled by ship.
Yes there have been many firsts in my life. Many many changes. You can't stop change but it's not always for the good of humanity. We are slowly destroying this old world with some of what seemed like good inventions. Nylon, plastic and things like that. Instead of a shopping bag and paper everything is wrapped in plastic. We used to get our fish and chips in newspaper. Health and Safety do not always make the right decisions.
In fact it's a wonder we ever grew up. Climbing trees, the swings on the Green and all the crazy things we did. Total freedom to wander wherever we chose with no fear. Climbing chalk cliffs, wading in rivers and drinking from streams. Riding our bikes (not that I ever had one) with no helmets and roller skating with no protection. How did we survive. Beats me.
