After the Battle on Iplayer and An Appeal for Infromation

By: S.W.

My own parochial instincts kicked in on Saturday night when I felt unprepared to listen to Our English friends repeat jingoistic claims about winning against a sworn enemy of seventy years ago. This friendly played in Germany is of no importance but you can be certain all references to 1966 and the antics of a Russian linesman. So it was over to the I player to suss out some other entertainment.

After the battle sort of appealed to me for sentimental reasons as the year 1959 was the focus for a wartime correspondent to return to London and review the changes since the ending of war ,good or bad, had affected our population and its prospects for the future.1959 I left my temporary accommodation of nine month’s and ventured forward  into a brave new world, my purpose to eat sleep and defecate, Throughout the program, newsreel films of the war interspersed with the same well-educated toffs, telling life as it’s not, discussed with the correspondent Ed Morrow the ideals of change, the existence of class within society. In a period of full employment one interviewee even quoted that there may be some unemployment but this would be negligible In 1959 dockworkers at major docks in London area were holding the country to ransom over demarcation issues and a 50 per-cent strike rate per year. Mr Morrow went on to describe the Cold war and it’s two superpowers in a plea to cry favour with the then government to support the US of A as before. My only gripe with the program was the lack of information about the Welfare State of that time and it’s place in modern society. There is in this country a clash of personalities within our current government over the status of many unemployed and people with disabilities.

Through research and FOI requests I could probably discover for myself the real stories behind those unable to work at this time however I would welcome any comments from readers about the provision made for either war-wounded, those suffering from hardship etc, and it’s surrounding bureaucracy.

As I said I was just a pup at the time and have no knowledge of the history as our education consisted of the kings and queens of ancient countries far removed from social injustices in wartime and it’s following decades where  the fortunes  of the two previously mentioned football teams plays no part.

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2 Responses to After the Battle on Iplayer and An Appeal for Infromation

  1. Andy says:

    The Beveridge report is a good place to start looking into the history of the welfare state in the UK. That’s what pretty much kicked things off as far as I’ve been able to find.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beveridge_Report

  2. Mr Stephen Will says:

    Thanks for your help alan

    Hoping to use the information as a precis to put forward as an intro to media course in August

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