Happy 50th birthday AONB

 

Did you know that 50 years ago on 10th September 1959, North Devon's Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty was born.

Following the National Park Commission decision at their June 1959 Meeting, the Designation Orders for the North and South Devon AONB's were sealed and signed by the NPC Chairman Lord Strang, and the Deputy Chairman Mrs Dower, and sent to the Minister for Housing and Local Government, the Rt. Hon. Henry Brooke MP, with the supporting documents. The 10th September 1959 was a Thursday, as it is today!

As today, it was a fine summer's day but unlike this year, 1959 was a fine very dry summer - the driest on record until 1976. The good weather continued well into October

• No1 In UK Music Chart was Living Doll by Cliff Richard & the Shadows
• Ben Hur starring Charlton Heston was the top movie having won several oscars
• The Conservatives were in government with Harold MacMIllan as the Prime Minister (He would win another term in October)
• Dwight D Eisenhower was the American President and Nakita Kruschev was Russia's Leader
• Niko Nestor swam the English Channel (Calais to St Margarets Bay) in 12 hours
• Hurricane/Typhoon ‘Patsy' in the Pacific (near Midway) Formed on 6th September and dissipated on 10th September 1959 No deaths were recorded but the highest windspeed record in Pacific was set at 175 mph
• The Moon race was in full flow, the Americans were doing tests on the Mercury Space rocket. Russian Spaceship Luna 2 was about to head towards the Moon. The first man made object to land on it on 14th September
• The Mini car had just been launched by BMC a couple of weeks before
• It was a quiet day on the national and international stage.

On the sporting front:

The English Division 4 Football results that day were:

Northampton Town 2-1 Gillingham
Walsall 0-1 Carlisle United
Workington 3-3 Aldershot

(Workington and Aldershot town are no longer in the Footbal League!)

On this day the North Devon Journal reported, that:

"Female ‘undies' were hoisted up a Lynmouth flagpole by tourists and that the Chimneys at Yelland Power Station were to be heighted by 50 ft to alleviate dust and soot nuisances".

North Devon Coast AONB page

North Devon Coast AONB website