50 Forgotten Things From 1950s Great Britain

Journey back to 1950s Great Britain to rediscover everyday items, trends, and traditions that once shaped life and have since faded into memory.

00:00 Intro
00:42 Lyons Corner House cafes
01:12 Coal deliveries by horse and cart
01:34 National Service
02:07 Juke joints in seaside towns
02:35 The Festival of Britain souvenirs
03:07 Trolleybuses in London and other cities
03:35 Grocery ration books (still used until 1954)
04:04 Milk deliveries in glass bottles with foil tops
04:30 Bakelite telephones
04:57 Lino flooring patterns unique to the decade
05:25 Outside toilets in many working-class homes
05:49 Steam trains as the main mode of long-distance travel
06:17 ITV launch excitement (1955)
06:41 Price of a house
07:05 Doctor’s visits to your home for minor illnesses
07:31 Wringer washing machines
07:54 Woodbine cigarettes
08:16 Chimney sweeps doing regular house calls
08:45 Fish and chip shops wrapping food in actual newspaper
09:10 Sweet rationing ending (1953) celebrations
09:39 Woolworths pick’n’mix counters
10:04 Air raid shelters still standing in back gardens
10:30 Soot collectors from coal fireplaces
10:57 Ice deliveries for home iceboxes (pre-fridge era for some)
11:24 Wooden clothes pegs without springs
11:47 Wireless sets powered by huge dry-cell batteries
12:12 The Suez Crisis dominating newsreels
12:39 “Teddy Boy” gangs with drape jackets and crepe-soled shoes
13:06 Gas lamps in rural streets
13:24 Tin baths hung on the wall
13:42 Daily Herald newspapers
14:06 Cod liver oil spoonfuls at school
14:25 Price of a Car
14:46 Women wearing headscarves when out shopping
15:12 Meccano sets as the ultimate boys’ toy
15:36 Net curtains in every front room
15:57 Milk bars for teenagers
16:22 Football rattles at matches
16:46 Beano and Dandy comics sold for pennies
17:11 The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on tiny black-and-white TVs
17:39 The Empire Games (before becoming the Commonwealth Games)
18:03 Open-all-hours corner shops selling broken biscuits by weight
18:22 Handwritten shop receipts
18:34 Car starting handles
18:47 Men wearing flat caps almost everywhere
18:59 Ironing with heavy cast irons heated on the stove
19:15 Bus conductors with ticket machines
19:29 Daily Express and Daily Sketch dominating newspaper sales
19:43 Sunday roasts with vegetables boiled to oblivion
19:58 Saturday night dance halls with live big bands
20:12 Outro