I think my earliest political memory is Sir Alec Douglas Hume becoming PM in October 1963 when I was 11. No – wait – it was actually six months earlier when The Beeching Report was published in March ’63… I think I had heard of MacMillian and Gaitskill (who I see died in January 1963). In those days we did not have a TV and there was no ’news for children’ or current event discussions in school so political awareness was minimal. I’m not sure if it counts as being political but I do remember Lady Chatterley’s Lover being banned in 1960, though I had no idea why or what it was about! But I was entirely unaware of the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962, when I would have been 9.
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Last autumn we ran an experimental online public engagement series called 'earliest political memories'. We collected a total of 68 memories that were generously contributed by members of the public. You can read all the contributions here. The series caught the attention of our colleague Rachel O'Connell in the School of English who…
In "earliest political memories"
Watergate, as reported (it seemed, incessantly) in the UK media. I was 8 years old when the phenomenon began. I have a particularly vivid memory of a (British) political cartoon in the Guardian, I think, that caricatured Nixon as sitting barefoot watching TV -- I can't remember the punchline of…
In "earliest political memories"
My first political memory is Friday November 22 1963 the day John F Kennedy was assassinated. I remember lying content on the floor next to a crackling fire in the living room. The TV was on and suddenly there were pictures of a motorcade and crowds and emotional broadcasters. My…
In "earliest political memories"