The Fifties: Building a new world

AS BIG Ben rang in a new decade much was expected of the Fifties, even though hopes were tempered by the fears, regrets and losses of the Second World War, still raw in the memory.

Recovery from the global disruption was under way but much was left to do.

We had already got ourselves involved in another war in Korea. The Cold War was being fought without direct conflict but through espionage, rhetoric and proxy wars like Korea and, later in the decade, Vietnam.

Despite the downbeat aspects people were desperate to move forward from the austerity and hardships of the war years, and in many ways the Fifties did just that, paving the way for even more momentous changes in the Sixties.

War had left the country broke but with a spirit of self-reliance and stoicism. It also had encouraged