BBC News 1954

[Polle1006]

Definitely very happy times. No money worries, because we had no money.

Had to make my own toys. If I found a nail and a piece of wood, I was happy.

Necessity is the mother of invention. Ended up with a PhD and 300 patents

[drigin1234]

Those days really were my happiest.

Life as a child really was so simple and uncomplicated we were very poor but ever so well loved.

[MrGramophone]

"Girls in Grey" was written by Charles Williams, and it can be heard on the long-playing gramophone record "Remember These...? Famous Themes" (Grasmere Records: GRAL 10). This record appeared in 1986. Hope this helps.

[johnboytd]

Has any one got the full version of this theme tune called "Girls In Grey?!

[TheInternetIsBadMkay]

you had FOOD??! we had to eat ourselves and when we shitted out the waste products, we ATE IT AGAIN!! All the while having to break boulders into dust with toothbrushes for no other reason than we felt our lives were TOO EASY without having to expend enormous amounts of energy on pointless work!!!

[FaceyFaceFaceTV]

Where can I download that audio?

[n1uvu]

Good ol' Richard Baker .. first(????) news presenter of the tele...

[kaferere]

You load of toffee-noses, we couldn't afford the 1950's, we went straight from the '40's to the '60's AND WE WAS GRATEFUL!

[fatty28uk]

Looby Lou v Jenny Woodentop....it's a tough call.

[UKRod]

Ah those were the days, I was 6 years old and at infants school and you could watch Billy Bunter on TV at Greyfriars School and Jimmy Edwards in 'Wacko' caning the hell out of kids, no problem, and the Woodentops and Rag, Tag and Bobtail, Flower Pot Men.......happy days. Signed...a senile old git who hates dripping.

[lelboy]

@UKRod You rotten bugger - you didn't mention Bill & Ben - The Flowerpot Men!

Hates dripping - I bet you loved semolina and sago at school though!

[Isleofskye]

@UKRod

Monday=Watch With Mother

Tuesday= Andy Pandy

Wed= Woodentops

Thurs=Rag, Tag and Bobtail

Friday=The Flowerpot Men...:)

[MrStablelad]

We also had Dripping, but only when we had bread to put it on.

What the hell did we have to worry about then, Not much.

Maybe the Cane the next day l o l GREAT DAYS

[PeterannaProductions]

Good clip. Thank goodness television has moved on in the ranks of technology and music since then!

[Cool2BCeltic]

@PeterannaProductions Yes, I don't like the pretentious music and the pompous sounding announcer. But we knew our place then. We were supposed to be patronised.

[StevieVenus]

Does anyone know when the Newsreel part of the programme was finally dropped, leaving just BBC News? Thanks

[cubanbrown]

Brilliant.

'Ere...

'Ow comes London news reeders down tawlk lit that inny mowah!!

[Mayfordian]

Wonderful! It is amazing that we can see this introduction and listen to the music again.

Some of my earliest television memories are of this 'tune' and of the'waves' widening from the transmitter mast; I used to think this is what you would see if you were near enough to Holm Moss!

[AndrewJimScott]

Is this the first one kept?

[caley956]

Thanks Geordy58! Always wondered what the tune was.

I've got this on me Personal Computer instead of the horrible Windows signon noise - all I need to work out now is how to get the video bit to run too before the machine starts up. Must ask that helpful colonial chappie at Personal Computer World.

[hilarioph]

Nice history i like

[geordy58]

I think it's "Girls in Grey", by Charles Williams, written during WWII as a march for the Women's Junior Air Corps, and subsequently adopted by the BBC for Newreel. (Information from a National Trust booklet for the CD set "Themes from TV & Radio")

[GothicHorror10]

Does anyone know what the tune is. Please reply

[LinuxOfLondon]

We had to walk home uphill. Both ways!

[GildersleeveRTB]

Cool, but too short.

[newpaws]

considered themselvs "bigdicks" in them day acted strict and loved to dominate, its changed now more relaxed

[samtwist]

Aii back in them day when men were men,and all we had to look foward to at end of day was beans forus tea!

[crownhill]

Beans? shear luxury all we had was bread and dripping

and a cardboard box for a bed.

[AbuAvital]

and dripping, sheer luxury

[OrodesIII]

@crownhill

You had dripping...

every day!

Lucky for some.

[lelboy]

@OrodesIII Sometimes I even got the black bit from the bottom of the tray - heaven when it was on hot toast (if we had a shilling for the gas).

[TheJomogogo]

@lelboy

oh smarty oh larty, you had drippings did you? We had to make do with a cup of dirt when I was a lad, and we were glad to have it. Yes, dirt and some dew from a blade of grass if we were lucky.

[MrPresidentToBe]

@OrodesIII you're lucky! I was fortanate if i even got a drip of dripping, and oh no, we didnt have a card board box, oh no, we had a plastic bag....which we shared....all 5 of us!

You dont know how lucky you were! We were the sort of family that looked down on even by the africans!!!

[OrodesIII]

@MrPresidentToBe

What was a treat was the few times my gran was not at home when I got in from school and our neighbor would take me in to her kitchen for a doorstep of bread and butter dipped in the sugar bowl. Whatever did I do to deserve that!

[VoxJoxx]

@crownhill You lucky, lucky, lucky baaarstard. I could only dreeeeam of bread and dripping and cardboard boxes.