1953

1953
Nigel Kneale's adaptation of The Affair At Assino broadcast. Brian Pettifer born in Durban, South Africa. Maurice Elvey's The Great Game - starring James Hayter, Thora Hird, Diana Dors and John Laurie and Don Chaffey and John Guillermin's Strange Stories - starring Peter Bull, Naomi Chance and Valentine Dyall - premiered. West Bromwich Albion went top of the First Division with a thrilling five-three win at Newcastle.
Lawrence Huntington's There Was A Young Lady - starring Michael Denison, Dulcie Gray, Sydney Tafler, Geraldine McEwan and Bill Owen - premiered.
Highlight Of Farnborough 1952 broadcast. Les Shannon scored a hat-trick in Burnley's five-nil victory over West Bromwich Albion. This allowed Sunderland, three-one winners over Arsenal, to go top of the First Division. Johnny Wheeler also scored three for Bolton in their four-nil won against Blackpool, as did Charlie Wayman as Preston beat Middlesbrough three-nil.
Kenneth Hyde's Johnnie Was A Hero broadcast.
Ronald Jeans's Count Your Blessings broadcast. The Goon Show episode The Navy, Army & Air Force broadcast. Jo Stafford's 'You Belong To Me'/'Jambalaya (On The Bayou)' released.
The Home Service's Taking Stock debated the need for a hereditary House of Lords. Contributors included Viscount Hailsham, Tony Benn and Enoch Powell.
Jim Callaghan and Enoch Powell were among the contributors to In The News.

The major shock of the FA Cup Third Round was Gateshead's one-nil victory over Liverpool at a foggy Redheugh Park (just over a mile away, Newcastle's home tie against Swansea Town at St James Park was postponed because of the poor visibility; United won the replay three-nil four days later). Elsewhere, Wolves lost five-two at Preston North End, Notts County beat Leicester City four-two, Blackpool defeated Sheffield Wednesday two-one at Hillsborough, Scunthorpe drew at Sunderland, Derby County and Chelsea shared eight goals, Luton Town beat Blackburn Rovers six-one, Everton defeated Ipswich Town three-two, Tranmere Rovers drew with Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs won the replay, nine-one) and Manchester City scored seven against Swindon Town (Johnny Hart getting four). West Bromwich Albion won four-one at West Ham United, Manchester United secured a narrow victory over Millwall and non-league Walthamstow Avenue beat Third Division Stockport County two-one, Dickie Lucas scoring twice. In the Third Division (North), Jimmy Whitehouse continued his rich goalscoring form, scoring four in Carlisle United's five-nil win over Rochdale. Martyn Webster's The Broken Horseshoe - starring Robert Beatty and Elizabeth Sellars - premiered.
John Gibb Marshall born in Largs, Ayrshire.
Jennette Dowling and Francis Letton's The Young Elizabeth broadcast.
George Kerr and Nigel Kneale's adaptation of The Commonplace Heart broadcast. The Goon Show episode The British Way Of Life broadcast.The Mississippi Gambler - starring Tyrone Power and Piper Laurie - premiered. In the Third Division (North), promotion-chasing Grimsby Town enjoyed a dramatic five-four victory over Chester. League leaders Oldham Athletic beat Workington, four-one. Hugo Fregonese's Decameron Nights - starring Joan Fontaine and Louis Jourdan - premiered.
The first episode of Down You Go! - presented by Marcus Dick - broadcast. Rogelio A González's Tal Para Cual - starring María Elena Marqués and Rosa de Castilla - premiered. Sunderland survived a scare, coming from behind to beat Scunthorpe & Lindsey United in an FA Cup Third Round replay.
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy's first UK TV appearance in the opening episode of Face The Music. In the First Division, Arsenal beat Wolves five-three, Derby defeated Sunderland three-one and league leaders West Bromwich had a two-one victory over Preston. In the Second Division, Sheffield United thrashed Plymouth Argyle five-nil with a hat-trick from Arthur Bottom. Huddersfield won four-two at Barnsley (Tommy Cavanagh scoring three). There was also a hat-trick for John Charles in Leeds United's four-nil defeat of Rotherham United.
Linda Higginson born in Stanmore.
The Goon Show episode A Survey Of Britain broadcast.
Nigel Kneale's adaptation of Checkov's Curtain Down broadcast in the Wednesday Theatre strand. Henry Hathaway's Niagara - starring Marilyn Monroe and Joseph Cotton - premiered.
Maurice Elvey's The Great Game - starring James Hayter, Thora Hird, Diana Dors and John Laurie - premiered Robert Hamer's The Long Memory - starring John Mills, John McCallum, Elizabeth Sellars and Eva Bergh - premiered.
The first episode of Little Red Monkey broadcast. Bernard Vorhaus's Finishing School - starring Susan Stephen, Anna Maria Ferrero and Jacques Sernas - premiered. Sixty six thousand were at The Valley to watch Charlton and Arsenal share an exciting two-all draw. Elsewhere, Stoke City beat First Division leaders West Bromwich Albion five-one whilst Manchester City defeated Middlesbrough by the same score. Forty two goals were scored in eleven Second Division games, the highlight being Huddersfield's five-nil victory over Lincoln City.
The Gay Lord Quex broadcast.
The Goon Show episode Flint Of The Flying Squad broadcast.
The North Sea Flood killed hundreds of people on the East coast of Britain. FA Cup holders Newcastle United lost three-one at home to Rotherham United in the Fourth Round whilst Walthamstow Avenue held Manchester United to a one-all draw at Old Trafford (United won the replay five-two at Highbury). Gateshead won two-one at Hull City whilst Arsenal beat Bury six-two. In the First Division, Wolverhampton Wanderers went to the top with a three-one vicotry over Sheffield Wednesday.
Christopher Irving's Number Three broadcast. Anthony Mann's The Naked Spur - starring James Stewart, Janet Leigh and Robert Ryan - premiered.
Ken Hughes's The Drayton Case - starring Victor Platt, Vincent Ball, John Le Mesuirer and Edgar Lustgarten - premiered.
Donal Giltinian's The Gentle Maiden broadcast. The Goon Show episode Seaside Resoirts In Winter broadcast. John Harlow's Those People Next Door - starring Jack Warner, Charles Victor, Marjorie Rhodes, Gladys Henson, Patricia Cutts and Anthony Newley - premiered.
Otto Preminger's Angel Face - starring Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons - premiered. Second Division Luton Town beat First Division Manchester City five-one in an FA Cup Fourth Road replay.
Disney's Peter Pan and Ted Tetzlaff's Time Bomb - starring Glenn Ford, Anne Vernon, Maurice Denham, Harcourt Williams and Victor Maddern - premiered.
Maclean Rogers' Alf's Baby - starring Jerry Desmonde, Pauline Stroud and Olive Sloane and Charles Saunders' Black Orchid - starring Ronald Howard, Olga Edwardes, John Bentley and Mary Laura Wood - premiered.
Our Marie broadcast in The Passing Show strand.
Ciarán Hinds born in Belfast.
Paul Vincent Carroll's Shadow & Substance and the debut episode of the first TV adaptation of Worzel Gummidge Plays Detective - with Frank Atkinson in the title role - broadcast.The Goon Show episode The Tragedy Of Oxley Towers broadcast. J Lee Thompson's The Yellow Balloon - starring Andrew Ray, Kenneth More, Kathleen Ryan, William Sylvester, Bernard Lee and Sid James and Anthony Asquith's The Net - starring James Donald, Phyllis Calvert, Robert Beatty, Herbert Lom, Noel Willman and Maurice Denham - premiered.
Chelsea beat West Bromwich Albion four-nil at The Hawthrons in an FA Cup Fourth Round third replay.
Alfred Hitchcock's I Confess - starring Montgomery Clift, Anne Baxter and Karl Malden - premiered.
The highlight of the FA Cup Fifth Round was Birmingham City's four-nil win at Chelsea. Tottenham won three-nil at Halifax. Second Division Everton beat Manchester United two-one with a late winner from Dave Hickson. Ian Winters scored at Gateshead reached the Sixth Round with a one-nil win at Plymouth Argyle. In the First Division, a Tom Finney goal took Preston North End to the top of the table with victory over Sheffield Wednesday. Kevin McCurley and Johnny McKim both scored three in Colchester United's six-one defeat of Walsall in the Third Division (South).
Ben Travers' Wild Horses broadcast.
The Goon Show episode The Story Of Civilisation broadcast. Norman John Pace born in Dudley. Philip Leacock's Appointment London - starring Dirk Bogarde, Ian Hunter, Dinah Sheridan and Bryan Forbes - premiered. Les Shannon's hat-trick gave Burley a three-two win over Tottneham Hotspour and took The Clarets top of the First Division.
The first episode of Before Your Very Eyes broadcast. Box For One broadcast in the Wednesday Theatre strand. Thirty goials were scored in five First Division games, hlighlights including Arsenal's six-two defeat of Derby County and Aston Villa thrashing Portsmouth six-nil. Nat Lofthouse scored three in Bolton Wanderers' five-three win over Middlesbrough. Bedford Jezzard also scored a hat-trick in Fulham's four-one victory over Rotherham in the Second Division.
GB Stern's An American Gentleman broadcast.
It Is Midnight, Doctor Schweitzer - starring Andre Morrell - broadcast.
In the First Division, Cardiff City beat Manchester City six-nil, Portsmouth defeated Sunderland five-two, Burnley won three-one at Derby County, Westr Bromwich Albion had a three-nil victory over Middlesbrough and Spurs and Preston shared eight goals. Bristol Rovers took their lead at the top of the Third Division South to nine points with a five-two defeat of Coventry City.
The Goon Show episode The Search For The Bearded Vulture broadcast.
Jacques Tati's Les Vacances De Monsieur Hulot premiered.
Gavin William James Esler born in Glasgow.
James Watson and Francis Crick announced that they had discovered the structure of the DNA molecule. In the Sixth Round of the FA Cup Everton beat Aston Villa and Bolton Wanderers defeated Gateshead both by a single goal. Blackpool won two-one at Arsenal. The fourth game - Birmingham City and Tottenham Hotspur - ended in a draw and went to two replays before Spurs emerged victorious.
John Gilling's Deadly Nightshade - starring Emrys Jones, Zena Marshall and John Horsely - premiered. Cliff Holton scored four in Arsenal's four-one win at Sheffield Wednesday in the First Division.
The Goon Show episode The Mystery Of The Monkey's Paw broadcast. It was the first episode to feature Spike Milligan since December following a nervous breakdown.
William's Other Anne - starring Irene Worth and John Gregson - broadcast as part of the Wednesday Theatre strand. Lewis Gilbert's Cosh Boy - starring James Kenney, Joan Collins and Betty Ann Davies and Charles Frank's Intimate Relations - starring Harold Warrender, Marian Spencer, Ruth Dunning and William Russell - premiered.
Charles Crichton's The Titfield Thunderbolt - starring Stanley Holloway, George Relph, Naunton Wayne, John Gregson, Hugh Griffith, Gabrielle Brune and Sid James - premiered.
Burnley remained top of the First Division with a two-nil win at Chelsea. Wolverhampton Wanderers beat West Bromwich Albion by the same score. Highlight of the day's dixtures was Manchester United's five-two victory over Prston North End. Seventeen year old David Pegg and twenty one year old Tommy Taylor each scored twice. In the Third Division (South), promtion-chasing Brostol City beat bottom side Walsall six-one with two goals each for John Atyeo and Jim Regan.
John Paddy Carstairs' Top Of The Form - starring Ronald Shiner, Anthony Newley, Harry Fowler, Jacqueline Pierreux and Alfie Bass - premiered.
The Goon Show episode The Mystery Of The Cow On The Hill broadcast. Charles Walters's Lili - starring Leslie Caron and Zsa Zsa Gabor and Terence Fisher's Mantrap - starring Paul Henreid, Lois Maxwell, Kieron Moore, Lloyd Lamble, Bill Travers and Kay Kendall - premiered. Marcia Mary Josephine Fitzalan-Howard born in Bonn, West Germany. Frankie Laine's 'I Believe'/'Your Cheatin' Heart' and Freddy Randall & His Band's 'Clarinet Marmalade'/'Original Dixieland Onestep' released.
The first episode of The Pattern Of Marriage broadcast.
The first episode of Epitaph For A Spy broadcast. Burnley beat Manchesater United two-one to stay at the top of the First Division.
Excerpts from Emile Littler's Love From Judy broadcast featuring the TV debut of Barbara Windsor (still credited under her real name, Barbara Deeks).
Patrick Troughton became television's first Robin Hood. The Goon Show episode Where Do Socks Come From? broadcast. Compton Bennett's Desperate Moment - starring Dirk Bogarde, Mai Zetterling, Muriel Box's Street Corner - starring Peggy Cummins, Terence Morgan, Anne Crawford, Rosamund John and Barbara Murray and Philip Friend and Jack Lee's South Of Algiers - starring Van Heflin, Wanda Hendrix and Eric Portman - premiered.
Delmer Daves' Never Let Me Go - starring Clark Gable, Gene Tierney and Bernard Miles - premiered.
Shaun Sutton and Rex Tucker's The Kentish Robin broadcast.
Ida Lupino's The Hitch-Hiker - starring Edmond O'Brien, Frank Lovejoy and William Talman - premiered.
Blackpool beat Spurs two-one at Villa Park and Bolton Wanderers defeated Everton four-three at Maine Road in the FA Cup Semi Finals. Wolverhampton Wanderers returned to the top of the First Division with a three-nil defeat of Liverpool. George Robledo scored twice as Newcastle won at relegation-threatened Derby County, Sunderland and Manchester City shared six goals at Roker Park. Roberto Inglez & His Orchestra's 'Romanza'/'Heart & Soul' released.
George Bernard Shaw's Captain Brasshound's Conversion broadcast. The 10 Rillington Place murders - by the serial killer John Christie - were uncovered. Charles Friend's The Cruel Sea - starring Jack Hawkins, Donald Sinden, Denholm Elliott, Virginia McKenna and Stanley Baker - premiered.
Jacques Cousteau's The Silent World broadcast.
Of the top four sides in the First Division, only Charlton Athletic won (two-one at Liverpool).
John Sturges's Jeopardy - starring Barbara Stanwyck and Barry Sullivan - premiered.
The Goon Show episode The Man Who Never Was broadcast.
Don Siegel's Count The Hours - starring Macdonald Carey and Teresa Wright - premiered.
Ed Wood's memorably terrible Glen Or Glenda premiered.
PD Cummins' A Flower On The Torn Tree broadcast. Victoria Burgoyne born in London. Once again, it was static at the top of the First Division with all of the top four sides - Preston North End, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Charlton Athletic and Burnley drawing. One point separated the top four. The largest attendance of the season, seventy two thousand six hundred were at Stamford Bridge to watch Chelsea and Arsenal draw one-each. Newcastle United beat Middlesbrough one-nil in the Tyne-Tees derby. Nat Lofthouse scored three in Bolton's five-nil defeat of Sunderland.
Wolves returned to the top of the First Division with a three-nil victory over Stoke, helped by Preston's two-two draw and Sunderland and Charlton losing at home to Manchester City. Arsenal beat Liverpool five-three. Bobby Mitchell scored twice as Newcastle won two-one at Chelsea. Portsmouth defeated Sheffield Wednesday five-two. Manchester United's four-one defeat at home to Cardiffy City saw the debut of sixteen year old England schoolboy international Duncan Edwards. Sheffield United moved five points clear at the top of the Second Division with a two-one win over Nots County. Huddersfield also improved their promotion chances, beating Leicester City one-nil. Barnsley were relegated after a one-nil loss at home to Southampton.
John Eldridge's Laxdale Hall - starring Ronald Squire, Kathleen Ryan, Raymond Huntley and Sebastian Shaw - premiered.
Arsenal moved third in the First Division, defeating Chelsea two-nil. Wolves remained top, beating Portsmouth four-one but both Arsenal and Preston had games in hand. West Ham United's three-two win at Fulham saw the club debut of Noel Cantwell, the first of four hundred and fifty seven matches for The Hammers, Manchester United and the Republic of Ireland in a career that lasted until 1967.
The Goon Show episode The Building Of A Suez Canal broadcast. Ewald André Dupont's Problem Girls - starring Helen Walker, Ross Elliott and Susan Morrow - premiered. Promotion-chasing Huddersfield Town thrashed Everton eight-two in the Second Division, Jimmy Glazzard scoring four. In the Third Division (North), Bradford City beat Carlisle United seven-two. Northampton Town closed to within five points of leaders Bristol Rovers in the Third Division (South) with a two-nil win over Ipswich Town.
Wolf Rilla's Noose For A Lady - starring Dennis Price, Rona Anderson and Ronald Howard - premiered.
Reginald Le Borg's The Flanagan Boy - starring Barbara Payton, Frederick Valk, John Slater and Sid James and Small Town Girl - starring Jane Powell and Farley Granger premiered.
Richard Vernon's Street Of Shadows - starring Cesar Romero, Kay Kendall, Edward Underdown, Victor Maddern, Bill Travers and Simone Silva - premiered. Wolves drew with Preston in a battle of the top two in the First Division, allowing Arsenal (four-two winners at Manchester City) to narrow the gap. Burnley beat Sunderland five-one (Billy Holden scoring four) and Middlesbrough thrashed Blackpool five-one. Oldham Athletic inched closer to the Third Division (North) title with a tweo-one defeat of Chester.
Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel, Casino Royale published. Gilbert Gunn's Valley Of Song - starring Mervyn Johns, Clifford Evans, Rachel Thomas, Alun Owen and, in his film debut, Kenneth Williams - premiered.
The Goon Show episode The De Goonlies broadcast.
Seymour Friedman's The Saint's Return - starring Louis Hayward, Naomi Chance, Sydney Tafler, Charles Victor, William Russell, Diana Dors and Russell Napier and Bob McNaught's Grand National Night - starring Nigel Patrick, Moira Lister and Beatrice Campbell - premiered. Arsneal defeated Portsmouth four-one to go to the top of the First Division.
A statement from the Chancellor - Rab Butler - on The Budget broadcast on TV for the first time.
The first appearance of the Roger The Dodger strip in The Beano. England drew two-two with Scotland at Wembley in the Home International championship. Ivor Broadis scored both goals for the hosts and Laurie Reilly netted a brace for the visitors - the second coming with the last kick of the match. As both countries had an identical record, the championship was shared. The teams were presented to Field-Marshal Lord Alexander of Tunis, the Minister of Defence, prior to the match. Also guests of the Football Association were the Australian cricket team, who had recently arrived in England for the summer Ashes series. In the First Division, Doug Lishman's hat-trick took Arsenal to the brink of the title with a three-one win over Stoke. Wolves kept up the pressure on The Gunners, beating Burnley five-one. Elsewhere, Aston Villa beat Sheffield Wednesday four-three, Derby County kept their slim survival hopes alive with a five-nil demolition of Manchester City and Portsmouth beat Newcastle five-one. Sheffield United were promoted from the Second Division with a three-one win over West Ham United. Huddersfield Town's four-two victory against Fulham virtually guaranteed them of joining United in the First Division though Luton retained an outside chance of promotion. Charlie Chaplin announced that he was leaving the United States for good, after arriving in London to promote his new film, Limelight. Though born in England, his success had been from an American residency, but his outspoken political views had led the authorities to believe (almost-certianly incorrectly) that he was a Communist sympathiser and told him that he would have to apply for a re-entry permit if he was to return. He later moved to Switzerland where he lived until his death in 1977.
Jack Lee's Turn The Key Softly - starring Yvonne Mitchell, Joan Collins, Kathleen Harrison and Terence Morgan - premiered.
The Goon Show episode The Conquest Of Space broadcast.
John Boyd-Brent's Tom's Goblin broadcast. George Stevens's Shane - starring Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur and Jack Palance - premiered.
Jonathan Coy born in Hammersmith. Timothy Oliver Woodward born in Kensington.
The first episode of Michael Pertwee's Strictly Personal broadcast. Leeds United's one-all draw with Doncaster Rovers in the Second Division saw the league debut of seventeen year old Jack Charlton - the first of seven hundred and seventy three games for The Peacocks in a career that lasted until 1973 and which remains a record for the club. Born into a footballing family in Ashington, Jack was initially overshadowed by the career of his younger brother, Bobby, who signed for Manchester United soon afterwards whilst Jack was doing his National Service with the Household Cavalry. Their uncles were Jack Milburn (Leeds United and Bradford City), George Milburn (Leeds United and Chesterfield), Jim Milburn (Leeds United and Bradford Park Avenue) and Stan Milburn (Chesterfield, Leicester City and Rochdale) and the Newcastle United and England centre-forward Jackie Milburn was Jack and Bobby's mother's cousin. In the First Division Tom Finney and Carlie Wayman scored as Preston beat Arsenal to take the First Division title to the final day of the season. Wolves, who had led the league for much of the season, ended their campaign with a disappointing three-two defeat at Spurs. West Brom moved fourth with a two=nil defeat of Portsmouth. Despite a heroic six-one victory over Blackburn Rovers, results elesewhere meant that Southampton were relegated from the Second Division. Huddersifled's goalless draw at Rotherham saw them clinch the second promotion spot. A point against Stockport County was enough to see Oldham Athletic promoted from the Third Division (North) as champions. Wrexham defeated Chester seven-nil. Geoff Bradford scored a hat-trick as Bristol Rovers beat Newport County three-one to moved within a point of the Third Division (South) title. Raoul Walsh's Sea Devils - starring Rock Hudson, Yvonne De Carlo and Maxwell Reed - premiered.
Excerpts from Three Cheers - a Coronation Revue, hosted by Brian Johnston - broadcast.
The first episode of Seven Little Australians broadcast. The Goon Show episode The Ascent of Mount Everest broadcast.
Derby County (defeated one-nil by title-chasing Preston) and Stoke (without kicking a ball) were relegated from the First Division. In the Third Division (South) Bristol Rovers picked up the point the needed to secure the title, drawing at Aldershot.
Many Moon broadcast.
The BBC brought into service transmitters at Pontop Pike (in County Durham) and Glencairn (in Belfast) to improve coverage prior to the Coronation broadcast. Arsenal won their second league title of the post-war era, beating Burnley three-two at Highbury thanks to Jimmy Logie's late winner. They finished ahead of runners-up Preston North End on goal average. Wolves ended third, three points behind. They were a point ahead of local rivals West Bromwich Albion. Defending champions Manchester United, in a period transition as Matt Busby's experienced team, captained by Johnny Carey, started to make way for a younger generation of players, finished eighth. Liverpool, the 1947 champions, avoided the drop by two points.
The first FA Cup Final to be broadcast live on BBC television in its entirety. And it was an auspicious one, Stanley Matthews starring as Blackpool beat Bolton Wanderers four-three in a classic.
Robert S Baker's The Steel Key - starring Terence Morgan, Joan Rice and Raymond Lovell - premiered.
The Goon Show episode The Story Of The Plymouth Hoe Armada broadcast.
The first episode of Reggie Little At Large broadcast.
The Johnny Dankworth Seven's 'Honeysuckle Rose'/'Swingin' released.
Eric Sykes's A Good Idea, Son! - starring Max Bygraves - broadcast.
Seagulls Over Sorrento broadcast featuring the TV début of William Hartnell.
W Lee Wilder's Phantom From Space - starring Ted Cooper, Noreen Nash, Dick Sands and Burt Wenland and Robert Parrish's Rough Shoot - starring Joel McCrea, Evelyn Keyes and Herbert Lom - premiered.
A doctor gave evidence to magistrates in Blackpool that seventy nine-year-old Sarah Ricketts had been well on the day before she died, the previous month. Her housekeeper, Louisa Merrifield, was convicted of her murder using rat poison and was hanged in September. Merrifield had earlier convinced Sarah to change her will and then boasted to friends that the old woman would soon be dead. Louisa's husband, Alfred, who who also lived at the house, was cleared of the murder, but still inherited the bungalow until the old lady's daughters contested it and gained five-sixths of it. In later years, Alfred made money from the crime fronting a sideshow where he talked about the murder.
England's friendly international against Argentina in Buenos Aires was abandoned after thirty six minutes due to torrential rain. Referee Arthur Ellis signalled for the teams to return to the dressing-rooms and said to Billy Wright: 'If we stay out any longer we'll need lifeboats!' Manchester United duo of Tommy Taylor and Johnny Berry made their England debuts. Three days earlier, Argentina had beaten an FA representative side three-one in an unofficial international watched by a crowd of one hundred and twenty including Juan and Eva Peron.
Robert D Webb's The Glory Brigade - starring Victor Mature and Lee Marvin - and Robert Wise's The Desert Rats - starring Richard Burton, James Mason and Robert Newton - premiered.
George Sidney's Young Bess - starring Jean Simmons, Stewart grainger, Deborah Kerr and Charles Laughton - premiered.
Ben Travers' Rookery Nook broadcast.
England beat Chile two-one in a friendly international in Santiago. Tommy Taylor and Nat Lofthouse were on target. Stephen Clarkson's Death Goes To School - starring Barbara Murray, Gordon Jackson, Pamela Alan, Jane Aird, Beatrice Varley, Anne Butchart, Imogene Moynihan, Sam Kydd, Nina Parry and Sandra Whipp - premiered. Laura Elizabeth Campbell born in Sydney. Alfredo Molina born in Paddington.
Terence Fisher's The Four-Sided Triangle - starring Stephen Murray, Barbara Payton, James Hayter and John Van Eyssen- premiered.
Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo born in Bushey, Hertfordshire.
Henry Cornelius's Genevieve - starring Dinah Sheridan, John Gregson, Kenneth More and Kay Kendall - premiered.

Jacques Cousteau's Underwater Television broadcast. Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norgay became the first men to reach the peak of Mount Everest as part of Colonel John Hunt's expedition. News of the feat didn't reach the West until several days later. Billy Wilder's Stalag Seventeen - starring William Holden - premiered.
Eighteen-year-old Maureen Connolly, from San Diego, won the women's singles at Paris to add the French Tennis Championship to the three other Grand Slam tournaments (Wimbledon, United States and Australian) where she was the reigning champion. She would go on to become the first woman to win all four titles in the same year, though her career would end, just over a year later, following a horse-riding accident and she died, from cancer, at the age of thirty in 1969.
World champions Uruguay beat England two-one in Montevideo in a friendly international. Tommy Taylor scored for the visitors.
Ken Hughes's The Missing Man - starring Tristan Rawson and Evelyn Moore and C Pennington-Richards' The Oracle - starring Robert Beatty, Michael Medwin and Virginia McKenna - premiered. Gordon Richards became the first jockey to be knighted, when the Queen's Coronation Honours list was published. Five days later, at the age of forty nine, he won the Derby for the only time, on Pinza and became the Flat Racing Champion Jockey for the twenty sixth and final time, won over a period of twenty nine years. He retired, a year later. Sir Gordon also won four thousand eight hundred and seventy races in his career, another all-time British record.
The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Sales of TV sets rose sharply in the weeks leading up to the event. This was also one of the earliest BBC broadcasts to be recorded on film for posterity. Michael Waldman's A Queen Is Crowned - narrated by Laurence Olivier - premiered.
The Goon Show episode Coronation Edition broadcast.
John Moulder-Brown born in London. Lewis Gilbert's Johnny On The Run - starring Eugeniusz Chylek, Sydney Tafler, Michael Balfour and Jean Anderson - premiered.
Joseph Makiewicz's adaptation of Julius Caesar - starring Marlon Brandon, James Mason and John Gielgud - premiered.
Godfrey Grayson's The Fake - starring Dennis O'Keefe, Coleen Gray, Hugh Williams and Guy Middleton - premiered.
The first episode of Stand By To Shoot broadcast.
RF Delderfield's All On A Summer's Day broadcast.
Postponed from the previous day due to rain, England beat the USA six-three in a friendly international at Yankee Stadium in New York arranged to celebrate the Queen's Coronation. Tom Finney and Nat Lofthouse both scored twice with further strikes from Ivor Broadis and Redfern Froggatt. British Commonwealth ex-Serviceman took part in a Coronation pageant and march before the match. Vice-Admiral E Rollo Mainguy, chief of the Canadian Naval Staff, was invited to take the salute. This was the first England match to be played under floodlights. The pitch was only three-quarters covered with grass, the shale baseball infield occupying a large area near one goalpost. So, there were remarkably few sliding tackles over on that side. The US team, playing its first international in over a year, included Terry Springthorpe, recently of Coventry City. Before that he had been a Wolves team-mate of Billy Wright. Scotland Yard requested that the River Thames be drained between Teddington Lock and Richmond Weir in an attempt to find clothing and a weapon, following the murders of two teenage girls, Christine Reed and Barbara Songhurst, a week earlier. Alfred Whiteway was hanged, six months later, for the rape and murder of the girls.
The first episode of The Heir Of Skipton broadcast. Anthony Kimmins' The Captain's Paradise - starring Alec Guinness, Charles Goldner, Miles Malleson, Yvonne De Carlo, Celia Johnson and Bill Fraser, Peter Brook's adaptation of The Beggar's Opera - starring Laurence Olivier, Hugh Griffith, Dorothy Tutin, Stanley Holloway, Daphne Anderson and Athene Seyler and John Reinhardt's Man Nennt Es Liebe - starring Winnie Markus, Curd Jürgens and Helen Vita - premiered.
Roy Boulting's Sailor Of The King - starring Jeffrey Hunter, Michael Rennie and Wendy Hiller - premiered.
The first Ashes test at Trent Bridge ended in a draw when rain prevented all bar ninety minutes play on the fourth and fifth days. Earlier, Lindsay Hassett scored a century and Ray Lindwall took five wickets for the visitors whilst Alec Bedser's match figures were fourteen for ninety nine.
Sam Fuller's Pickup On South Street - starring Richard Widmark, Jean Peters and Themla Ritter - premiered.
Eileen Blackburn's Stranger In The House broadcast.
The first episode of Born British In The Twenties broadcast on The Home Service, featuring Tony Benn. 'A group of talks by representatives of the Queen's generation.' Ken Hughes's The House Across The Lake - starring Alex Nicol, Hillary Brooke, Sid James, Susan Stephen and Joan Hickson and Arthur Crabtree's Stryker of The Yard - starring Clifford Evans, Susan Stephen and Jack Watling - premiered.
Otto Preminger's The Moon Is Blue - starring William Holden, David Nivel and Maggie McNamara - premiered.
Martyn Webster's The Broken Horseshoe - starring Robert Beatty, Elizabeth Sellars, Peter Coke, Janet Butler, Vida Hope, Ferdy Mayne, James Raglan and Roger Delgado and Brian Desmond Hurst's Malta Story - starring Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Anthony Steel, Muriel Pavlow and Flora Robson - premiered.
Terence Fisher's Spaceways - starring Howard Duff, Eva Bartok and Alan Wheatley abd Lewis Milestone's Melba - starring Patrice Munsel, Robert Morley and John McCallum - premiered.
The first episode of Song Hunter - featuring Alan Lomax and presented by David Attenborough - broadcast.
The second Ashes test at Lord's ended in a tense draw when a final day stand of one hundred and sixty three between Willie Watson (one hundred and nine) and Trevor Bailey (seventy one) got England to safety. Earlier, Lindsay Hassett, Keith Miller and Len Hutton all scored centuries whilst Alec Besder took eight wickets. There were also half-centuries for Alan Davidson, Neil Harvey, Arthur Morris and Ray Lindwall for Australia and Tom Graveney and Denis Compton for England.
The radio debut of Philip Larkin on The Third Programme's First Reading. Howard Hawks's Gentlemen Prefer Blondes - starring Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell - premiered in Atlantic City. Roy Rowland's The Five Thousand Fingers Of Doctor T and Cy Endfield's Colonel March Investigates - starring Boris Karloff, Ewan Roberts, Richard Wattis, John Hewer, Sheila Burrell, Anthony Forwood, Patricia Owens, Ronald Leigh-Hunt and Joan Sims - premiered.
George Marshall's Houdini - starring Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh - premiered.
The first episode of Stars At Blackpool broadcast.
The first episode of The Great Detective broadcast.
The first episode of Why? broadcast.
Emeric Pressberger's Twice Upon A Time - starring Hugh Williams, Elizabeth Allan, Jack Hawkins, Yolande Larthe and Charmian Larthe - premiered.
The TV début of Charlie Drake on an episode of The Centre Show.
John Wyndham's The Kraken Wakes published.

Francis Searle's Murder At 3AM - starring Dennis Price, Peggy Evans and Rex Garner - premiered.
BBC Home Service Wales broadcast extracts from the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod. One recording, the Obernkirchen Children's Choir version of 'Der Fröhliche Wanderer' would subsequently be released on Parlophone early in 1954 and become an international hit single.
Humphrey Lyttelton & His Band's 'Jail Break'/'Shake It & Break It' released.
Basil Dearden's The Square Ring - starring Jack Warner, Robert Beatty, Joan Collins, Maxwell Reed, Kay Kendall, Bernadette O'Farrell and Bill Owen and Maurice Elvey's House Of Blackmail - starring William Sylvester and Mary Germaine - premiered.
The first episode of The Story Of The Treasure Seekers broadcast. The third Ashes test at Old Trafford was drawn. Again rain ruined the game with more than half of the scheduled playing time washed out. Neil Harvey scored a century for Australia between the showers whilst, on the final afternoon with the match dead, Johnny Wardle, Alec Bedser and Jim Laker took eight Australian second-innings wickets, with none of the batsmen reaching double figures.
The first episodes of The Quatermass Experiment, Sooty Introduces and a performance of the Moscow State Variety Theatre at the Playhouse Theatre, Manchester broadcast.
The first episodes of Billy Bean & His Funny Machine and The Good Old Days broadcast.
The first episode of The Little Waster Bobby Thompson's Bob's Yer Uncle! broadcast on The Home Service North. Lionel Tomlinson's Take A Powder - starring Julian Vedey, Max Bacon and Isabel George - premiered.
Gordon Parry's Innocents In Paris - starring Alastair Sim, Ronald Shiner, Claire Bloom, Margaret Rutherford, Claude Dauphin and Jimmy Edwards - premiered.
The first episode of Vice Versa Or A Lesson To Fathers broadcast. Graham Alan Gooch born in Whipps Cross, Essex. Ken Annakin's The Sword & The Rose - starring Glynis Johns, James Robertson Justice, Richard Todd, Michael Gough, Jane Barrett, Peter Copley, Ernest Jay, Jean Mercure, DA Clarke-Smith, Gérard Oury, Fernand Fabre, Gaston Richer, Rosalie Crutchley and Bryan Coleman - premiered.
The fourth Ashes test at Headingley was drawn. On a pitch affected by damp, England batted cautiously, making just one hundred and forty two for seven in five-and-a-half hours on the first day, Tom Graveney top-scoring with fifty five. Lindwall took five for fifty four. Australia batted more enterprisingly, with Harvey making seventy one and Graeme Hole fifty three and were all out at the end of the second day with a lead of ninety nine. Rain prevented play for more than four hours on the third day and across the the fourth England batted doggedly, with Bill Edrich making sixty four, Denis Compton sixty one until he had to retire hurt and Trevor Bailey thirty eight in more than four hours. They left the Australians one hundred and fifteen minutes in which to score one hundred and seventy seven and, despite thirties from Arthur Morris, Harvey and Hole, they finished thirty runs runs short. Bailey restricted the scoring by bowling wide of the leg stump.
Philip Davis born in Highgate.
Vernon Sewell's Counterspy - starring Dermot Walsh, Hazel Court, Hermione Baddeley, Alexander Gauge and Bill Travers and Michael Anderson's The House Of The Arrow - starring Oskar Homolka, Yvonne Furneaux and Robert Urquhart - premiered.
Nigel Kneale's adaptation of Golden Rain broadcast. The first episode of What Do You Know? - later Brain Of Britain - broadcast on The Light Programme.
John Gilling's Recoil - starring Kieron Moore, Elizabeth Sellars and Edward Underdown and Francis Searle's Wheel Of Fate - starring Patric Doonan, Sandra Dorne and Bryan Forbes - premiered.
Dick James's 'Mother Nature & Father Time'/'Don't You Care' released.
Fred Zinnemann's From Here To Eternity - starring Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed and Franki Sinatra and William Keighley's The Master Of Ballantrae - starring Errol Flynn and Roger Livesey - premiered.
Vincente Minnelli's The Band Wagon - starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse and Terence Fisher's Spaceways - starring Howard Duff, Eva Bartok, Alan Wheatley, Philip Leaver and Michael Medwin - premiered. Lesley Nicol born in Manchester.
The first episode of What's In Store? broadcast. Disney's The Sword & The Rose premiered.
Roberta Tovey born in Shepherd's Bush. Candace Glendenning born in London.
Dylan Thomas appeared on Speaking Personally. The Caddy - starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Wolf Rilla's Glad Tidings - starring Barbara Kelly, Raymond Huntley, Ronald Howard and Jean Lodge and Daniel Birt's Three Steps In The Dark - starring Greta Gynt, Hugh Sinclair and Sarah Lawson - premiered.
Terence Young's The Red Beret - starring Alan Ladd, Leo Genn, Susan Stephen, Harry Andrews, Donald Houston, Anthony Bushell and Stanley Baker - premiered.
Ralph Smart's Always A Bride - starring Peggy Cummins, Terence Morgan, Ronald Squire and James Hayter - premiered.
The first episode of Guess My Story broadcast. Byron Haskin's adaptation of The War Of The Worlds- starring Gene Barry - premiered.
Anthony Asquith's The Final Test - starring Jack Warner, Robert Morley, Richard Wattis and Ray Jackson - premiered. Orson Welles visited Edinburgh International Film Festival to give a lecture in which he warned that 'the film industry is dying.' But, it wasn't. David MacDonald's Operation Malaya - starring Chips Rafferty, John Humphrey, John Slater and Wynford Vaughan-Thomas - premiered.
London Laughs - with Jimmy Edward, Tony Hancock and Vera Lynn - broadcast.
England beat Australia by eight wickets in the fifth test at The Oval to regain The Ashes for the first time since 1934. The series being undecided, six days were allowed and the match began, unusually for a test in England, on a Saturday. Lindsay Hassett made fifty three and Harvey and Hole scored thirties, but Ray Lindwall top-scored with sixty two and last five wickets more than doubled the Australian score. Fred Trueman, in his only match of the series, took four wickets. Len Hutton scored eighty twp, but at the end of the second day England were still forty behind with three wickets left. The lead was not gained until the last pair, Trevor Bailey and Alec Bedser, were together; Bailey made sixty four. When Australia batted for the second time, Hutton turned to Jim Laker and Tony Lock and they took nine of the ten wickets to fall, the other being a run-out. Lock finished with five for forty five and Laker four for seventy five. England got the one hundred and thirty two needed for victory.
The First Division season began with nine games producing twenty seven goals. Champions Arsenal lost two=nil at West Bromwich Albion. Burnley beat Wolves four-one and Charlton defeated Sunderland five-three. In the Second Division, John Charles scored four in Leeds United's six-nil hammering of Notts County whilst Luton and promoted Oldham shared eight goals at Kenilworth Road. West ham United beat Lincoln City five-nil (Dave Sexton scoring twice).
Naomi Capon's adaptation of King In Motley broadcast.
Louis Bimpson scored a hat-trick for Liverppol in their four-all draw with Manchester United in the First Division. Wolves won four-nil at Manchester City, Bobby Foster scored three in Preston North End's four-nil victory at Middlesbrough, Bobby Mitchell and Vic Keeble were on target as Newcastle united opened their season with a two-one win over Sunderland, Sheffield United defeated portsmouth four-three and Arsenal's stuttering start continued with a goalless draw against Huddersfield. Birmingham City beat Swansea Town six-nil in the Second Division (Peter Murphy scoring three) whilst John Charles got another hat-trick in Leeds United's four-two defeat of Rotherham United. West ham United were the early pace-setters, beating Leicester City four-one (Fred Kearns score this in this one). In the Third Division (North) Carlisle United spanked Rochdale seven-nil whyilst in the Third Division (South) Swindow Town also hit seven against Newport. There was remarkable game at Gay Meadow, Shrewbury beating Watford six-four.
Michael Anderson's Will Any Gentleman ... ? - starring George Cole, Veronica Hurst, Heather Thatcher, Jon Pertwee, James Hayter, William Hartnell, Sid James and Diana Decker - premiered.
The first episode of Thames Tug broadcast.
Federico Fellini's I Vitelloni - starring Alberto Sordi and Franco Fabrizi - premiered. Jimmy Baxter scored three in Preston North End's six-nil thumping of Sheffield Wednesday in the First Division.
William Wyler's Roman Holiday - starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn - premiered.
Doña Croll born in Jamiaca. Newly promoted Huddersfield Town were the First Division's early pace-stters, leading the division with seven points from four games following a fiveone thrashing of Portsmouth. West Brom (two-nil winners at Preston also had seven points. Manchester City won five-four at Sunderland, Stan Mortensen scored three in Blackpool's four-three victory at Sheffield United, Burnley beat Sheffield Wednesday four-one and Artsenal's poor early-season form continued, losing for the third time in four games, two-one at Aston Villa. Highlight of the Second Division fixtures was Lincoln City's eight-nil hammering of Blackburn Rovers (Andy Graver scored four). Dennis Pacey scored three for Leyton Orient in their five-nil win over Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic in the Third Division (South).
TS Eliot's The Confidence Clerk - starring Denholm Elliot - broadcast.
Brendan J Stafford's Men Against The Sun - starring John Bentley and Zena Marshall - premiered.
Glenn Melvyn's The Love Match - featuring Arthur Askey - broadcast.
Ray Ashley, Morris Engel and Ruth Orkin's Little Fugitive and Maurice Elvey's Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary? - starring Bonar Colleano, Diana Dors, David Tomlinson and Diana Decker - premiered. West Bromwich Albion went top of the First Division, beating Manchester United two-nil. Newcastle won four-nil against Liverpool and Sheffield Wednesday defeated Preston North End four-two.
Eric Sykes's The Big Man broadcast.
Richard Talmadge's Project Moon Base - starring Donna Martell, Hayden Rorke and Ross Ford - premiered.
West Bromwich Albion remained top of the First Division, beating Tottenham Hotspur three-nil. Blackpool defeated Huddersfield Town by the same score and Burnley also one three-one at Middlesbrough. Prwston North End thrashed Liverpool five-one at Anfield. Wolverhampton Wanderers won three-two at Arsenal. The Second Division was led by Doncaster Rovers who beat Hull City four-one. Port Vale were the early pace-setters in the Third Division (North), with a three-one victory over Hartlepools United. Carlisle United beat Mansfield Town five-nil. Game of the day came at Haig Avenue where Southport defeated Scunthorpe & Lindsey United by the odd goal in seven. The Five Smith Brothers' 'Cushie Butterfield'/'On Ilkla' Moor Baht 'At' released.
Libel broadcast.
Don Siegel's China Venture - starring Edmond O'Brien and Barry Sullivan - premiered. Billy Gray scored three for Bunrley in their four-two victory over Spurs in the First Division. Mal Griffiths also grabebd a hat-trick for Leicester City as they won four-nil against Stoke City in the Second Division. Sidney Gilliat's The Story Og Gilbert & Sullivan - starring Robert Morley and Maurice Evans - premiered.
A Fish In The Family broadcast.
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy arrived in Ireland on board the SS America to begin what would turn out to be their final theatre tour. Janet Claire Mahoney born in Brisbane. Ipswich Town were top of the Third Division (South) after a six-one victory over Gillingham.
The first episode of Rag, Tag & Bobtail broadcast in the Watch With Mother strand.The New Shilling broadcast.
Forty seven goals were scored in eleven First Division matches. Charlton Athletic led the way, thrashing Middlesbrough eight-one (Eddie Firmani one of three hat-tricks in the top flight on the day). Sunderland handed champions Arsenal a seven-one hiding (Trevor Ford scoring three). Wolves beat Portsmouth four-three (Dennis Wilshaw with three). League leaders West Brom won four-one at Burnley (Johnnie Nicholls scoring twice), Huddersfield beat Chelsea three-one and Preston and Newcastle played out an entertaining two-two draw at Deepdale. Doncaster remained at the top of the Second Division despite losing four-one at second-placed Everton. Watford were the top scorerers in the Third Division (South), defeating Gillingham six-one (Jimmy Bowie and Roy Brown each hitting two).
Arsenal finally got their first victory of the season after an eight game First Division winless run, defeating Chelsea two-nil at Stamford Bridge. In the Third Division (North), Trameme beat Wrexham six-one whilst Bristol City hammered Exeter City five-opne in the Third Division (South).
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Waterloo broadcast as part of the Wednesday Theatre strand. Henry Koster's The Robe - starring Richard Burton, Victor Mature and Jean Simmons - premiered. West Brom increased their lead at the top of the First Division with a seven-three victory at Newcastle. Manchester United won four-one at Middlesbrough and Portsmouth and Blackpool drew four-all.
JM Barrie's The Twelve Pound Lock broadcast. Sixty five thousand eight hundred and sixzty nine squeezed into Hiughbury as Arsenal drew two-two with Manchester City. Huddersfield Town narrowed the gap at the top of the First Division to two points with a six-three victory at Sheffield United. Portsmouth beat Sunderland four-one. Louis Bimpson scored all four of Liverpool's goal in their win over Burnley. Game on the day came in the Second Division were Nottingham Forest defeated Stoke City five-four (Alan Moore scoring three). Herbert Wilcox's Laughing Anne - starring Margaret Lockwood, Wendell Corey, Forrest Tucker and Ronald Shiner - premiered.
The first episode of Journey Into Space broadcast on The Light Programme. Trevor Cooper born in London.
Gary Frederick Holton born in London.
The first episode of Garrison Theatre broadcast.
The first episode of Guess My Story broadcast.
The first episode of A Place Of Execution broadcast. Wolverhampton Wanderers thrashed Chelsea eight-one in the First Division (Johnny Hancocks scoring a hat-trick). Charlton Athletic hammered Liverpool six-nil (Stuart Leary hitting four). Aston Villa beat Sheffield United four-nil. Jackie Milburn hit a late winner for Newcastle who won two-one at Burnley. Sixty thousand were at Roker Park to watch Sunderland beat Blackpool three-two. Leaders West Bromwich Albion won by the same score at Sheffield Wednesday. Everton went top of the Second Division with a three-two victory over Derby County.
Ken Hughes's The Candlelight Murder - starring Gerald Case, Jack Lambert and Robert Cawdron - premiered.
Mark Bevan's Nor Care Beyond Today broadcast. The Goon Show episode The Dreaded Piano Clubber broadcast.
John Harlow's The Blue Parrot - starring Dermot Walsh, Jacqueline Hill and Ballard Berkeley and Gilbert Gunn's The Good Beginning - starring John Fraser, Eileen Moore, Peter Reynolds and Lana Morris - premiered.
Christopher Fairbank born in Hertfordshire.
The first episode of Heidi broadcast. JE Hay, the, Mayor of Brighton, welcomed delegates to the conference of the National Association of Remand Home Superintendents & Matrons with some kind and thughtful words. 'I realise you have not got an easy task. Very often a lot of these cases could be cured by what we used to have when I was a youngster - a damn good hiding and orders to behave.'
The Goon Show episode The Man Who Tried To destroy London's Monuments broadcast. John Ford's Mogambo - starring Clark Gable, Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly and Maclean Rogers' Behind The Headlines - starring Gilbert Harding, John Fitzgerald, Adrienne Fancey and Vi Kaley - premiered.
England beat Wales four-one at Ninian Park in the Home International championship. This season's tournament also acted as qualifiers for the 1954 World Cup. Nat Lofthouse scored twice as did debutant Dennis Wilshaw of Wolverahmpton Wanderers. Sheffield Wednesday's Albert Quixall also made his first interntional appearance. Ivor Allchurch had opened the scoring for the hosts. In the First Division, the largest attendance of the season, sixty nine thousand eight hundred and twenty one saw Arsneral win the North London derby four-one at White Hart Lane. Ronnie Allen score three in West Brom's four-nil defeat of Huddersfield Town. Liverpool beat Aston Villa six-one, Bolton defeated Manchester City three-two and Charlton beat Blackpool four-two. Bedford Jezzard scored four in Fulham's five-two defeat of Derby County in the Second Division. Nottingham Forest beat Notts County five-nil and Plymouth thrashed Everton four-nil allowing Rotherham (who beat Bury) to go top of the division. Ipswich town rmeained at the head ofr the Third Division (South) with a three-two victory at Bristol City (the excellently-named Jimmy McLuckie scoring twice). Terence Fisher's Blood Orange - starring Tom Conway and Mila Parély - premiered. Minge Urine was born in Cambuslang. Sadly.
David John Threlfall born in Manchester. Leslie Dennis Heseltine born in Liverpool. Seymour Friedman's The Saint Returns - starring Louis Hayward, Naomi Chance, Sydney Tafler, Charles Victor, Jane Carr, William Russell, Diana Dors and Sam Kydd - premiered. Arsenal beat Blackpool three-one in the FA Charity Shield.
Gilbert Gunn's The Good Beginning - starring John Fraser, Eileen Moore and Peter Reynolds - premiered.
Fritz Lang's The Big Heat - starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame and Lee Marvin - premiered.
Priscilla Ussher's In Search Of Maitland broadcast. George Sidney's Kiss Me Kate - starring Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel - premiered.
Brinsley Allan Forde born in Islington. The Goon Show episode The Ghastly Experiments Of Doctor Hans Eidelburger broadcast. Frankie Laine's 'Answer Me (Mutterlein)'/'Ramblin' Man' released.
Laurel and Hardy - in the midst of their final theatre tour of the UK - made their only live appearance on BBC television on an episode of Face The Music. Ollie informed Stan at one point that the programme had an estimated audience of six million viewers and that host Henry Hall was 'going to introduce us to them' to which Stan replied: 'That's going to take a long time, isn't it?' Six of the day's eleven First Division fixtures resulted in away wins; highlights included Burnley's five-tweo victory at Arsenal, Preston North End winning four-one at Manchester City, West Bromwich's two-one win at Sheffield United and Newcastle United defeating Aston Vilal by the same score. Rotherham United remained at the top of the Second Division, winning three-two at Oldham Athletic. The largest score of the day came in the Third Division (South), Millwall thrashing Swindon Town six-one.
Guy Hamilton's The Intruder - starring Jack Hawkins, George Cole, Dennis Price, Michael Medwin, Duncan Lamont and George Baker - premiered.
Anthony Pelissier's Personal Affair - starring Gene Tierney, Leo Genn and Glynis Johns - premiered. Second-half coverage of a floodlit friendly between Falkirk and Newcastle United broadcast. The game is notable for being the first televised professional football match in Scotland. Falkirk won three-two.
England and a Rest Of The World side drew four-four at Wembley in a match to celebrate the ninetieth anniversary of the Football Associaton. Barcelona's Hungarian centre-forward László Kubala and Juventus's Giampiero Boniperti each scored twice for the Rest Of The World whilst England's goals came from Stan Mortensen, an Alf Ramsey penalty and a brace from Jimmy Mullen. Charlton Athletic's Derek Ufton made his England debut. Alfredo Di Stéfano was originally named in the Rest Of The World squad but was not permitted to play because of a dispute between the Spanish FA and Colombian FA over the players' recent transfer to Real Madrid from Millonarios Fútbol Club. Five hours after the international match, First Division Champions Arsenal staged a floodlit friendly at Highbury against Anderlecht, the crack Belgian side, who won three-two. Twenty-year-old Mickey Davies testified that he had not used a knife in the gang fight which had resulted in the death of seventeen-year-old John Beckley following a chase through Clapham Common. Davies was found guilty of the murder on the following day, and sentenced to death, but after having an execution date set, twice, was reprieved by the Home Secretary, Sir David Maxwell Fyfe. Davies was released from prison in 1960.
The Goon Show episode The Building Of Britain's First Atomic Cannon broadcast. Charles Walters's Torch Song - starring Joan Crawford, Terence Fisher and Charles Saunders' Three's Company and Christian-Jaque's Lucrèce Borgia premiered.
The first episode of Variety Parade - featuring Max Bygraves and Morecambe and Wise - broadcast. Ben Marden scored a hat-trick for Arsenal in their five-one victory at Charlton Athletic in the First Division. Charlie Wayman also scored three in Preston North End's six-two thrashing of Sunderland, as did Ronnie Allen as West Bromwich Albion beat Chelsea five-two. Johnny Gordon hit three for Portsmouth in a four-all draw at Sheffield Wednesday. Leicester City led the Second Division, an Arthur Rowley goal giving them victory over Oldham Athletic. Tommy Bannan and Eric Betts both scored hat-tricks in Wrexham's eight-nil walloping of Workington in the Third Division (South).
The first episode of Westward Ho! broadcast. Disney's Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue - starring Richard Todd, Glynis Johns, Michael Gough, Finlay Currie, Jean Taylor Smith, Geoffrey Keen and James Robertson Justice - premiered. Roger William Allam born in London.
Peter Macintosh Firth born in Bradford.
The Disagreeable Man broadcast.
Hurrah For Halloween broadcast.
Richard Brooks's Take The High Ground - starring Richard Widmark and Karl Malden - premiered. The Goon Show episode The Gilbraltar Story broadcast.
Forty five goals were scored in eleven First Division matches. Highlights included Caridffy City's five-nil victory over Charlton Athletic, Chelsea beating Liverpool five-two, Sunderland's four-three defeat of Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal winning four-one against Sheffield Wednesdau and Blackppol beating West Brom by the sam score. Len Pickard scored four in Bradford Park Avenue's six-four defeat of Accrington Stanley in the Third Division (North). Leo Harden also scored four as Hartlepools United thrashed Rochdale six-nil. In the Third Division (South), Northampton defeated Crystal Palace six-nil and Southend beat Norwich City five-two.
Hugh Ross Williamson's Gunpowder, Treason & Plot broadcast. The - probable - first TV apperance of the naturalist Maxwell Knight on the Children's Hour strand Animal Friends. Maclean Rogers' Forces Sweetheart - starring Hy Hazell, Harry Secombe, Michael Bentine and Freddie Frinton - premiered.
Wolf Rilla's Marilyn (aka Roadhouse Girl) - starring Sandra Dorne, Maxwell Reed, Leslie Dwyer, Vida Hope and Ferdy Mayne, Carol Reed's The Man Betwen - starring James Mason, Claire Bloom, Aribert Wäscher, Ernst Schröder and Hildegard Knef and Maclean Rogers' Flannelfoot - starring Ronald Howard, Mary Germaine and Jack Watling - premiered.
Ralph Thomas' The Dog & The Diamonds - starring Kathleen Harrison, George Coulouris, Geoffrey Sumner, Barbara Brown, Molly Osborne, Jane Nicholls, Sandra Scott Carr and Boffin The Dog - premiered.
Richard Bare's Prisoner Of The Casbah - starring Gloria Grahame, Cesar Romero and Turhan Bey, George More O'Farrell's The Heart of The Matter - starring Trevor Howard, Elizabeth Allan, Maria Schell and Denholm Elliott and Daniel Birt's Background - starring Valerie Hobson, Philip Friend and Norman Wooland - premiered.
David Butler's Calamity Jane - starring Doris Day and Howard Keel and Joseph Pevney's Back To God's Country - starring Rock Hudson, Marcia Henderson and Steve Cochran - premiered.
How To Marry A Millionaire - starring Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable, Lauren Bacall and William Powell and John E Blakeley's It's A Grand Life - starring Frank Randle and Diana Dors - premiered. Roberto Inglez's 'A Girl Called Linda'/'Wish You Were Here' released.
The Goon Show episode Through The Sound Barrier In An Airing Cupboard broadcast. Donald Taylor's The Straw Man - starring Dermot Walsh, Clifford Evans and Lana Morris and Valentin Vaala's Siltalan Pehtoori - starring Helena Vinkka, Erkki Viljos and Oiva Sala premiered.

The first episode of Johnny, You're Wanted broadcast. Ken Hughes' Black Thirteen - starring Peter Reynolds, Rona Anderson, Patrick Barr and Lana Morris - premiered. Harry Hassall scored three in Bolton Wanderers six-one defeat of Portsmouth in the First Division. Newcastle United beat Cardiff City four-nil and Middlesbrough and Wolverhampton Wanderers drew three-all at Ayresome Park. West Bromwich Albion remained top of the league, winning two-nil against Sunderland. Forty five goals were scored in eleven top flight matches. Dave Hickson scored three as Everton won four-two at Stoke City in the Second Division. Nottingham Forest closed the gap at the top of the of the division with a four-two victory over Derby County whilst leaders Leicester City were losing at home to Hull City. John Dick scored three for West Ham UNited in their five-nil hammering of Bury. In the Third Division (North), Carlisle United beat Crewe Alexandra five-nil.
James Hill's The Clue Of The Missing Ape - starring George Cole, Roy Savage and Nati Banda - premiered.
Humphrey Lyttelton & His Band's 'Red For Piccadilly'/'Kater Street Rag' released. Ralph Thomas' A Day To Remember - starring Stanley Holloway, Joan Rice, Odile Versois, Donald Sinden and James Hayter - premiered.Ttwo thousand posters were distributed by Carmarthenshire Constabulary appealing for information in the search for farmer John Harries and his wife, Phoebe, who had gone missing from their Llangynin farm. Six days later, their bodies were found in a shallow grave at a farm owned by John's cousin, ten miles away. The cousin's son, Ronald Harries, had told neighbours that he had taken them to the railway station as they left on a holiday to London and he acquired the cattle and farming equipment from Llangynin, following the disappearance. He was arrested and charged with the murders and was hanged five months later.
The first episodes of Panorama and The Rose & The Ring broadcast. England beat Northern Ireland three-one at Goodison Park in the Home International championship. Harold Hassell scored twice for the hosts with his Bolton Wanderers team-mate Nat Lofthouse adding a third (he received a nasty cut over his eye in the process and missed Bolton's next game). West Bromwich Albion's Stan Rickerby made his England debut. Eddie McMorran header was bundled into his own net by Gil Merrick for the visitors goal. Ireland's goalkeeper Billy Smyth, diving at the feet of Jimmy Mullen, broke his nose and was replaced in goal for the final fifteen minutes by Billy Dickson. By winning this match England qualified for the 1954 World Cup finals.
The Goon Show episode The First Albert Memorial To The Moon broadcast. Richard Thorpe's All The Brothers Were Valiant premiered. Juliet Hammond-Hill born in London. Diana Weston born in Toronto.
Forty goals were scored in eleven First Division matches. The highlights included Aston Villa's five-three defeat of Middlesbrough (Tommy Thompson socring three), Arsenal's four-three victory over Bolton Wanderers (Cliff Holton scored a hat-trick), Manchester United's six-one win at Cardiff City (with Dennis Viollet, Tommy Taylor and Jackie Blanchflower all of the scoresheet) and Sunderland beating Liverpool three-two. Jimmy Mullen scored the winner as Wolverhampton Wanderers beat West Bromwich Albion in a top of the table clash at Molineux, watch by fifty six thousand. John Charles hit three as Leeds United drew four-four with Bury in the Second Division. Ernie Whittle also hit a hat-trick for Lincoln City in their four-three win over Rotherham United.
Sewell Stokes and Christine Jope-Sade's Britannia Of Billingsgate broadcast. The first of six programmes in The Reith Lectures series, Science & The Common Understanding featuring Professor Robert Oppenheimer broadcast on The Home Service.
Lance Comfort's The Girl On The Pier - starring Veronica Hurst, Ron Randell, Charles Victor and Anthony Valentine and Harold French's Isn't Life Wonderful - starring Cecil Parker, Eileen Herlie, Donald Wolfit, Peter Asher and Eleanor Summerfield - premiered. Griffith Rhys Jones born in Cardiff.
An Evening Diversion Proffered On The Anniversary Of The Session Of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth I broadcast.
Barbara Woodhouse made her broadcasting debut on Woman's Hour. The Goon Show episode The Missing Bureaucrat broadcast.
The Piltdown Man, discovered in 1912 and thought to be the fossilised remains of a hitherto unknown form of early human, was exposed as a hoax.
In the FA Cup First Round, Great Yarmouth Town of the East Counties League beat Third Division Crystal Palace with a Derrick Rackham goal. The day's other big surprises were Nuneaton Borough's three-nil victory over Watford, Wigan Athletic thrashing Scarborough four-nil and last year's giant-killing heroes Walthamstow Avenue starting another cup run with victory against Gillingham. Southern League Headington United reached the Second Round with a three-two win at Harwich & Parkeston. Elsewhere, Scunthorpe & Lindsey United thrashed Midlands League Boston United nine-nil, Aldershot beat Wellington Town five-three, Barnsley defeated York City five-two, Chesterfield won four-one at Gainsborough Trinity, Brighton & Hove Albion were five-one winners over Coventry City and Barrow won three-nil at Spennymoor United. First Division leaders West Bromwich Albion thrashed Cardiff City six-one with Ronnie Allen scoring four. Second-placed Wolves also won, two-nil at Charlton Athletic. Bobby Robson and Johnny Haynes both scored twice in Fulham's five-one defeat of Hull City. Top of the table Leicester City thrashed Lincoln City nine-two (Derek Hines hitting five).
Edward Percy's The Shop At Sly Corner broadcast.
Charles Saunders' Love In Pawn - starring Bernard Braden, Barbara Kelly, Jeannie Carson, John Laurie and Laurence Naismith and Lewis Gilbert's Albert RN - starring Jack Warner, Anthony Steel, Robert Beatty, William Sylvester, Anton Diffring and Michael Balfour - premiered.
The first episode of The Rose & The Ring - featuring the TV début of David McCallum - broadcast.
Charles Eric Maine's Time Slip broadcast. At Wembley, led by 'The Galloping Major' Ferenc Puskás, the Magical Magyars of Hungary gave England a jolly humbling footballing lesson, becoming only the second overseas team to beat England on home soil in a memorable six-three victory. Puskás scored twice, Nándor Hidegkutu hit a hat-trick and József Bozsik added another for the vistors who contained seven members of the Honved squad. England's goals came from Jackie Sewell, Stan Mortensen and an Alf Ramsey penalty. Blackpool's Ernie Taylor and Tottenham's George Robb had the misfortune to make their England debuts in this game. The result led to an unprecedented review of antiquated training and tactics and the subsequent adoption of continental practices at both international and club level in the English game. John Huston's Beat The Devil - starring Humphrey Bogart, Jennifer Jones and Gina Lollobrigida - premiered.
The House of Lords voted in favour of the government's proposals for commercial television. The Italian anthology movie L'Amore In Citta (Love In The City) - directed by, among others, Federico Fellini, Dino Risi and Michelangelo Antonioni, Anthony Pelissier's Meet Mister Lucifer - starring Stanley Holloway, Peggy Cummins and Jack Watling and George Sidney's Kiss Me, Kate - starring Howard keel and Kathryn Grayson - premiered. A trio of FA Cup First Round replays produced shocks with Southern League Hereford United, Eastern Counties League Cambridge United and Cheshire Counties League Rhyl all beating Third Division opposition (Exeter City, Newport County and Halifax Town respectively).
John Farrow's Hondo - starring John Wayne and Geraldine Page - premiered. The Goon Show episode Operation Bagpies broadcast. In the First Division, English football's post-Hungary hangover began with West Bromwich Albion still at the top of the table, three-two winners at Manchester City. Alf Ringstead scored three in Sheffield United's five-two defeat of Tottenaham Hotspur, Cardiff City beat Liverpool three-one and Wolverhampton Wanderers thrashed Sheffield Wednesday four-one. Third Division (North) leaders Port Vale hammered Rochdale six-nil, Stockport County won five-one at Crewe Alexandra whilst Southport won the local derby with Accrington Stanley five-three. Ray Enright's The Man From Cairo - starring George Raft, Gianna Maria Canale, Massimo Serato and Irene Papas - premiered.
Arthur Crabtree's The Wedding Of Lilli Marlene - starring Lisa Daniely, Hugh McDermott and Sid James - premiered.
Cy Endfield's The Limping Man - starring Lloyd Bridges, Moira Lister, Alan Wheatley, Leslie Phillips, Hélène Cordet, Jean Marsh, Rachel Roberts and Lionel Blair - premiered.
Noel Langley's Our Girl Friday - starring Joan Collins, George Cole, Kenneth More and Hattie Jacques - premiered.
The BBC broadcast its Television Symbol for the first time, the first animated presentation symbol in the world. Known as 'The Bat's Wings' by logo enthusiasts, it would remain in use until 1960. Bernard Knowles's Park Plaza 605 - starring Tom Conway, Eva Bartok, Joy Shelton, Sid James, Richard Wattis and Carl Jaffe - premiered.
John Guillermin's Operation Diplomat - starring Guy Rolfe, Lisa Daniely, Patricia Dainton, Sydney Tafler, Ballard Berkeley and Anton Diffring - premiered.
The Goon Show episode The Flying Saucer Mystery broadcast. John Sturges's Escape From Fort Bravo - starring William Holden and Montgomery tully's Thirty Six Hours - starring Dan Duryea, Elsie Albiin and Gudrun Ure - premiered.
Christopher Guard born in Hammersmith. First Division highlights included Burnley's five-one besting of Sunderland and Liverpol thrashing Blackpool five-two. Wolves went top of the league with a three-two win at Tottenham. In the Second Division, leaders Leciester City hammered Brentford six-nil.
The first episode of Nigel Kneale's adaptation of Wuthering Heights broadcast. John Gilling's Escape By Night - starring Bonar Colleano, Sid James, Andrew Ray, Ted Ray and Simone Silva - premiered.
George Lowe's The Conquest of Everest premiered.
Wolf Rilla's The Large Rope - starring Donald Houston, Susan Shaw, Christine Finn and Robert Brown - premiered. The Kenny Baker Quartet's 'Hayfoot, Strawfoot'/'The Continental' and Frankie Vaughan's 'Istanbul (Not Constantinople)'/'Cloud Lucky Seven' released.
The Goon Show episode The Spanish Armada broadcast.
The shock of the FA Cup Second Round occurred at The Pilot Fields where Southern League Hastings United beat Third Division Swindon Town four-one. Peterborough United defeated Aldershot two-one. In a record FA Cup attendance between non-league sides, twenty four thousand watched Wigan Athletic beat Hereford United four-one. Walthamstow Avenue were at it again, drawing two-two at Third Division (South) table-toppers Ipswich Town (though Ipswich would, narrowly, win the replay). Three other non-league sides also forced replays against league opponents. In the First Division, Portsmouth spasnked Liverpool five-one, Newcastle United won three-one at Blackpool and Sheffield United defeated Bolton Wanderers three-nil.
Karl Howman born in Woolwich.
John Paddy Carstairs' Trouble In Store - starring Norman Wisdom, Lana Morris and Moira Lister - premiered.
Headington United reached the FA Cup Third Round, beating Millwall one-nil at The Manor Ground in a replay. Phillip Leacock's The Kidnappers - starring Duncan Macrae, Jon Whiteley and Vincent Winter - premiered.
The first episode of Asian Club and Three Little Girls In View - starring The Beverley Sisters - broadcast. The Goon Show episode The British Way broadcast.
The first appearance on Minnie The Minx in The Beano. In the First Division, Chelsea beat Blackpool five-one whilst Manchester United defeated Liverpool by the same score. Sunderland and Newcastle drew one-all at Roker Park Wolves returned tro the top of the table with a three-one win over Manchester City. Alf Ackerman scored four as Hull City thrashed Oldham Athletic eight-one. John Charles scored another hat-trick for Leeds United who won four-two at Rotherham. Charlie Mitten, Johnny Haynes and Bobby Robson scored in Fulham's three-one win at Stoke. In the Third Division (North), the Bradford derby saw City beat Park Avenue three-nil. The Third Division (South)'s top scorers, Northampton Town, hammered Southend United five-nil (Jack English netting four).
Montgomery Tully's Small Town Story - starring Donald Houston, Susan Shaw, Alan Wheatley, Kent Walton, Raymond Glendenning and Denis Compton - premiered.
RF Delderfield's Follow The Plough broadcast. Knights Of The Round Table - starring Robert Taylor and Ava Gardner - premiered.
Miss Sadie Thompson - starring Rita Hayworth and Jose Ferrer and Montgomery Tully's Small Town Story - starring Donald Houston, Susan Shaw, Alan Wheatley and Kent Walton - premiered.
Adaptations of A Time To Be Born and Peter &The Wolf broadcast. In the day's only First Division game, Wolverhampton Wanderers surprisingly lost, two-one, at home to Aston Villa.
Dodie Smith's Dear Octpous broadcast. Christmas Crackers broadcast on The Home Service. West Bromwich Albion returned to the top of the First Division with a five-two defeat of Liverpool. Manchester United also won five-two against Sheffield Wednesday (Tommy Taylor scoring a hat-trick). A late Jimmy Scouler goal gave Newcastle United a three-two win at Middlesbrough. The Third Division (North)'s regular high-scorers, Stockport County, defeated Chesterfield six-one at Edgeley Park.
The first episode of The Teckman Biography broadcast. The Goon Show episode The Giant Bombardon broadcast. The largest First Division attendance of the day, sixty one thousand, three hundred and third six, watched Chelsea's two-nil victory over Cardiff City. Wolves won two-one at Aston Villa. Third Division (South) leaders Ipswich Town defeated Coventry City four-one with a John Elsworthy hat-trick. Patrick Jenkins and Sam Newfield's The Gambler & The Lady - starring Dane Clark, Kathleen Byron and Naomi Chance - premiered.
Clifford Bax's The Rose Without A Thornbroadcast.
Patricia Foy's adaptation of Saint-Saens' The Carnival Of The Animals broadcast.
Ella Adkins and Gordon Harbord's The Case Of Doctor Ambrose broadcast.
Laszlo Benedek's The Wild One - starring Marlon Brando, Mary Murphy and Lee Marvin and Cyril Frankel's Man Of Africa premiered.
Retrospect 1953 and Hogmanay Party broadcast. Hugo Fregonese's Man In The Attic - starring Jack Palance and Constance Smith - premiered.