Last updated on August 23rd, 2023 at 11:11 am
Astonishingly, some people do not visit A Bit About Britain to read articles on the blog or find places to visit in Britain. Many of the most popular sections of the website are those dealing with different periods of British history, historic timelines, British monarchs and prime ministers. What with a new monarch and two new prime ministers recently, it has been a busy time for updates. The British history timelines often have items added to them, but the Modern Britain Timeline from 1945-2000 has been considerably updated just this week.
Timelines are a great resource for history students and lovers of trivia, but can also just be fun to browse through. As most of A Bit About Britain’s regular readers were born in the second half of the 20th century, I thought the update for the period from the end of the Second World War to the start of the third millennium might be worth mentioning.
Items added include:
- The Toddlers’ Truce, a policy that suspended television broadcasting for an hour each weekday from 6.00pm to allow time for young children to be put to bed, ended in 1957.
- The line-up for the first Isle of Wight Festival in 1968 included Jefferson Airplane, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, The Move, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Fairport Convention, and The Pretty Things.
- The UK inflation rate exceeded 24% in 1975.
- Hello! magazine – the English-speaking version of the original Spanish Hola! – was first published in the United Kingdom on 21 May 1988. The age of celebrity truly began then.
- In May 1991, Helen Sharman became the first Briton in space and the first woman to visit the Soviet-Russian Mir space station.
Tap or click to browse the British History Timeline for 1945-2000.
The timelines in general include many of the milestones in our history, such as when the Romans arrived (and left) and when Winnie-the-Pooh was published. Inexplicably, they begin with a timeline of Prehistoric Britain. If you do happen to peruse these and spot any noticeable omission, especially if it is something cheerful, do drop me a line.
You will find all timelines and a bit about monarchs and prime ministers from the menu. But here are direct links to:
A bit about British kings and queens since 1603;
A bit about British prime ministers.
Next week – something else!
It’s amazing to think that the BBC thought people/kits were so addicted to TV in as early as 1957 that they shut broadcast off for an hour! Especially considering TV was very much a luxury back then.
Maybe it was more about helping to ensure kids were in bed at a reasonable time?
24% inflation in 1975, eh? Let’s hope we don’t get there again!
I couldn’t agree more!!
It interesting to relive some of the memories listed in your timeline.
A few were before I was born 😉
I’m sure most of them were, CP :-). But i’s fun to see when things happened.
Thank you. My favourite Timelines are from 1914 to 1945. Those events were important and still impact our lives today, but it was long enough ago to clear the news world of censorship and political presentation of events.
The inter-war period is often overlooked. As you say, it was an important time in our history.
I think many may think … what a pity we still do not have ‘Toddlers Truce’ !
All the best Jan
I didn’t even know about it when my kids were small, but I missed it anyway.
How interesting. I was just starting to build a timeline to get a better perspective about the past. And here you’ve done most of the work for me. Thank you!
Ah – but yours is probably more a bit about the USA 🙂 Of course, I’m available for hire… (where are the laughing emojis when you need them?!)
I love that you have a timeline section now! 🙂
It’s been there awhile; I just thought it needed a wee plug 🙂
I always go to the blog! You remind me there is so much more here!
That’s great, Jeanie.
Great post, Mike. I love the current timeline, especially the Toddlers’ Truce. I wish it were still in place today. Oh, I would have loved to have seen Jefferson Airplane in ’68!
Yes – ‘White Rabbit’ is one of my favourite tracks. That voice!! Grace Slick.
Yes!
I love the idea of a Toddlers’ Truce. And the idea that they would be willing to go to bed that early. 🙂
I don’t suppose parents worried too much about ‘willing’ in the 1950s.
🙂
1957 was the year I was born, so my parents probably cursed that policy change. Most of us are drawn to timelines when entering a museum on a specific subject, it’s always such a good first grasp of things. By the way, our surname is also Sharman….though unfortunately not related as far as I know.
I wonder which of you has travelled farther?
Was it really 24%? I recall it was high – we had a mortgage back then.
We survived. I don’t recall the news media banging on about it every day as they’re doing with our current interest rates.
Apparently it was. Eye-watering. I suppose there are more news outlets these days and, somehow, it is louder.
Hi Mike – hair-raisingly politically horrific recently … but excellent you’ve updated the site as best you can (with everything that’s going on) – we didn’t get a tv until that year I think or even perhaps 2 years later … Toddler’s Truce – never heard of it. Cheers and yes an excellent site – Hilary
Your whole oevre – if that is not a tautology – is a brilliant resource. Keep up the good work.
Much appreciated! I like the idea of having an oevre; especially a whole one.
Wouldn’t do to be hors d’oevre, would it now?
Would it do for a starter?
Timeline: Thank you so much for the interesting catch up of events and information I’d forgotten I knew!
Thanks, Sue. It’s a bit of fun to do, and browse – and great that some people find them useful too.
It’s been a while since I read one of your timelines. I think I’m only going to spend a few minutes and next thing I know it’s teatime.
That’s great to hear, April! Let me know when you find something I’ve missed – I keep adding stuff.
I doubt I’ll find anything cheerful. There wasn’t that much cheer in the Middle Ages.
No, I suppose most people were just being peasants.
That’s a lot to keep up!
It’s been particularly busy lately…
Your timelines are a real pleasure to read Mike and are, I’m sure, useful to many as research aids.
Glad you enjoy them, Peter.
Thank you for the timelines. I find them invaluable. It seems that since the Conquest, there seem to be about only about five names for English Kings/Queens and another four for Scottish. They tend to blend together in my feeble brain!
Yes – and things are further confused by mixing up who is duke or whatever of what. I mean to say, how many dukes of York, Lancaster, Northumberland, Norfolk etc do we really NEED?
The Toddler Truce! What a great idea, a shame they ended it!
Yes, brilliant isn’t it. I think my mum and dad missed the email, though, and thought it applied until I was about 14.
Hahaha!
So interesting for a history lover
Good! That’s the idea!
You are an amazing man, Mike! I love how you curate your website, it has so much valuable information! Great work.
That’s extremely flattering, John Thank you very much!
You are welcome.