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Some Events of this year in the Illustrated London News..
Miscellaneous pictures from 1951
The Illustrated London News 1951
The royal tour of the Duchy of Lancaster
Their majesties in Lancaster and Preston
Saturday January 5th 1951
On the eve of departure from Southampton in the Queen Mary: The Prime Minister, Mr. Winston Churchill,
conferringwith Walter Gifford, The U.S. Ambassador, and Mr. Eden in his suite on the main deck
Saturday January 12th 1951
The stirring exploitof the master of Flying Enterprise: The freighter listing heavily to port,
buffeted by Atlantic rollers, with Captain Carlsen (also inset) alone on board
Overnight to New York by
Monarch aircraft
of B-O-A-C
Saturday January 12th 1951
Saturday January 19th 1951
Rolling in heavy seas which swept over her deck: The U.S. freighter Flying Enterprise on January 8,
when her master, captain Kurt Carlsen, "Seemed a little concerned, for the first time"
Saturday January 26th 1951
Believed to have aided the "National Liberation Army":
Egyptian police arrested (by British troops) at El Hammada
The Austin A40 Devon Saloon
Saturday January 26th 1951
A volcanic explosion that blew 2000 ft. off the top of a mountain and caused some 4000 casualties
Mount Lamington, in New Guinea, belching forth clouds of noxious gases, and red hot ash
Saturday February 3rd 1951
Roote Group present -
The new Sunbeam Talbot 90
Saturday February 3rd 1951
Saturday February 10th 1951
"Twelth Night" in Middle Temple Hall, witnessed by her Majesty the Queen
Saturday February 10th 1951
Saturday February 17th 1951
The marriage of the Shah of Persia, Muhhamed Riza Pahlevi, to Miss Soraya Esfandiaribakhtiari
on February 12, The Bride and Groom
Saturday February 17th 1951
Saturday February 24th 1951
Mount Lamington, in New Guinea, belching forth smoke and ash during an eruption,
The second in a chain of still continuing explosions which far outstrip the violence of the atomic bomb
The new B.O.A.C. airliner The De Havilland Comet
Jacob & Co's Cream Crackers
March 3rd
No. 5837
Volume: 218
The American admiral whose rumoured appointment as allied naval commander in
the atlantic has caused sharp criticism on both sides of the commons; admiral William M. Fechteler, U.S.N.Adverts misc
across the atlantic in under 5 hours the English Electric "Canberra",
Low cost housing
Dolphin training, royalty at home
Pub signs
Guinness - London Town Characters,
10 ICI - Hydrogen
17 Imperial leather Soap - Butterflies
May 3rd -
King George VI declared the Festival
of Britain 1951 open in London.
It was inspired by the Great Exhibition
of 1851,
a tonic , a pat on the back for the nation
after the austerity of
the war years.
The event happened all over the UK
but was focused on a 27
acre bombed site
near Waterloo Station -
The South Bank Exhibition centre
and The Royal Festival Hall
The Illustrated London News covered the event in depth and over the next few weeks I shall
publish some of the highlights here
-
Dates: 3 May – 30 September 1951.
-
Organiser: The Labour government, with Herbert Morrison (Deputy Prime Minister) as political sponsor and Gerald Barry (editor of the News Chronicle) as director.
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Purpose: To celebrate 100 years since the 1851 Exhibition and to demonstrate Britain’s contributions to modern design, science, and innovation.
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Locations:
-
The main site was on London’s South Bank of the Thames.
-
Major exhibitions also took place in Glasgow, Belfast, and Cardiff.
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A travelling exhibition went by ship around UK ports.
-
-
Symbol: The cheerful Festival Starburst and the official emblem, nicknamed “the Festival Pattern”, designed by Abram Games.
Highlights of the South Bank Exhibition
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The Dome of Discovery: Then the largest dome in the world (365 feet across), devoted to scientific and geographical exhibits — space, polar exploration, oceans, the sky.
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The Skylon: A dramatic, cigar-shaped aluminium tower apparently floating in the air, symbolising modernity and optimism.
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The Royal Festival Hall: Built as a permanent concert venue — still one of the great legacies of the Festival.
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Exhibition Pavilions: The “People of Britain,” “The Land,” “The Sea,” “The Power & Production,” and “The New World” sections showcased everything from prehistory to nuclear power.
Other National Events
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The Pleasure Gardens at Battersea Park featured funfairs, rides, a Guinness Festival Clock, and family entertainment.
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Travelling exhibitions went by land and sea to bring the Festival spirit to cities and towns across Britain.
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Science and industry displays were hosted in various locations, including a Festival Ship (the Campania).
Public Reception
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Attendance on the South Bank exceeded 8 million visitors.
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Many found it a joyful, uplifting escape from austerity Britain, with its bomb sites still visible.
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The Conservative government that came to power in late 1951 regarded much of it as “Labour propaganda.” They swiftly dismantled most structures (including the Skylon and Dome), leaving only the Royal Festival Hall as a permanent reminder.
Legacy
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Design revolution: It influenced post-war architecture, furniture, and interior design (often called “Festival Style”).
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Cultural impact: It gave a generation confidence that Britain was still a world leader in creativity and science.
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Physical legacy: The South Bank Centre today owes its origins to the Festival.
📖 The Illustrated London News covered the Festival extensively in 1951 with colour plates, engravings, and photo-features of the Skylon, Dome of Discovery, Royal Festival Hall, Battersea Gardens, and the nationwide celebrations.
Some of the other things included in the Illustrated London News 1951
April 19th - Miss Sweden won the first "Miss World" contest in London
April 29th - Ludwig Wittgenstein, Viennese philospher, died aged 62
July 10th - Randolph Turpin beat Sugar Ray Robinson for the World Middleweight Championship
October 25th - General Election in Britain and Winston Churchill (he is 77) is returned to power with a majority of 17
June - Burgess and Maclean, British civil servants, spying for Russia defected to Moscow
1951 Full page adverts date
January
13 ICI introduction to the elements
20 Guinness Pantotime
27 This England (Bass&Worth) Ashbridge Park Herts
February
3 Lotus Shoes The mountains of Morne by Rowland Hilder
10 ICI Platinum
17 Imperial leather Butterflies
March 31st
An assize court created for the television screen;
the procedure in a murder trial presented to viewers
Oxford / Cambridge boat race,
Princess Elizabeth,
Abadan the worlds largest oil refinery,
French army vehicles and weapons,
Ingenious architecture,
The Korean war,
Lotus Shoes -Ludlow Castle,
April
7 Schwepping Forest
14 Royal Tour of Lancaster -
ICI Nitrogen
Dunlop map of the West Country
21 Whitbreads - England "Fin de Siecle"
28 Kodak -Ballet
May 5
Special Edition festival of Britain Opening Number
Martell Ship Fine
12 ICI Aluminium -
Schwepping stones
19 Special Edition Festival of Britain Exhibition Number
Lotus Shoes - Brig O Dee
Guinness derby Day Characters -
Imperial leather Butterflies
June
9 This England (Bass&Worth) Nr Lewes Sussex -
Schweppshire -
Dunlop - Map of London -
ICI - Sulphur
.
June 16th
ILN History
'Symons Street siege' which followed the murder of a police constable at
Sharsted refuse dump near Chatham.
The murderer, Derek Poole, was himself
shot dead by police.
Britain's greatest spy stories with the disappearance of Donald Maclean
and Guy Burgess.
The coverage includes a reproduction of a telegram which
Maclean sent to his wife telling her not to worry!
.23 Guinness - Characters at the Seaside
July
7 Schweppshire - Sport -
Dunlop - Map of the Lake District
28 Schweppshire
August
4 This England (Bass&Worth) - Site of the Rufus Stone New Forest
11 ICI - Arsenic
18 Capstan cigarettes - Longstones Lighthouse 1838 Grace Darling -
Guinness - at the Great Exhibition 1851
September 15th
Dunlop - Map of Central Scotland
five drawings of life on board the cruiser HMS Euryalus -
as seen via the
pencil of Midshipman F.E.R. Phillips, who was serving on the ship.
At the
time when the drawings were made, the cruiser was stationed off Abadan.
Elsewhere,
there is a four page feature on the newly completed oil refinery at Fawley,
near Southampton, which was britain's 'chief answer to the threat to the Middle
East oil refineries
advert =ICI - Carbon
September
22 Canadian Royal Tour
Whitbreads -This England Twilight of the Kings
29 Kodak -
Lotus Shoes - Oast Houses (Rowland Hilder)
October
6 Golden Guinea Wine - Collection of Golden Guineas
13 Goodyear Eagle - S. A. Crowned Hawk -
ICI - Barium
November
3 This England (Bass&Worth) - Gold Hill Shaftsbury (Hovis Ad?) -
Secret of Chartreuse
10 Dunlop Map of Shakespeare Country -
Guinness Age of Invention -
ICI - Oxygen
17 Royal Homecoming
Whitbread This England -The Early Victorians
31 Lotus Shoes - Peveril Castle
December
1 Capstan cigarettess -Wolf House Lighthouse
8 ICI - Calcium -
Norwich Union
22 Imperial leather Butterflies -
Dunlop Map of the North Country
Xmas Issue Imperial leather Butterflies
.
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