‘1952 – A Year to Remember’ Temporary Exhibition

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Rutland County Museum is celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee with its special exhibition ‘1952 – A Year to Remember’. As well as exploring the death of King George VI and accession of Queen Elizabeth, the exhibition looks at many of the other historic events and firsts that occurred during 1952.

Britain’s modern pop era can be said to have started in 1952 with the first ever official singles chart. At the movies, some classic films were released including ‘Singin’ in the Rain,’ ‘High Noon’ and ‘The Quiet Man’. On children’s television ‘Watch with Mother’ was first broadcast and ‘The Flowerpot Men’ and Sooty were first seen on TV. The first TV detector van was also unveiled on 1 February 1952. On the stage, Agatha Christie’s ‘The Mousetrap’ began its 70-year run.

On the sporting front, 1952 saw the Summer Olympics take place in Helsinki, Finland and the Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway. The maiden flight of the world’s first commercial passenger jet airliner also took place, flying from London to Johannesburg. On a darker note, Britain’s first atomic bomb test was detonated off the coast of Australia on 2 May 1952 and the Great Smog over London killed up to 4,000 people.

The exhibition includes a selection of memorabilia, objects, photographs, and newspapers from 1952 to help take you back to a pivotal year in our recent history.