What happened in 1963? - UK
We look at events, new products, films and music from 1963.
In the news
January and February 1963 were known as the Big Freeze. Record cold temperatures and snowfalls brought Britain to a standstill.
- 18 January - Labour Party leader, Hugh Gaitskell, died unexpectedly
- 23 January - Kim Philby disappeared from Beirut and defected to the Soviet Union
- 11 February - The Beatles recorded their first album Please Please Me at the Abbey Road Studios in London
- 14 February - The Labour Party elected Harold Wilson as its leader
- 21 March - the first automatic train (without a driver) ran on London underground. It had no passengers
- 24 April - Princess Alexandra of Kent married Angus Ogilvy at Westminster Abbey
- 27 March - Dr Richard Beeching, the Chairman of the British Transport Commission, issued a report recommending the closure of a large part of Britain's rail network as uneconmic
- 5 June - Secretary of State for War, John Profumo, resigned after admitting he lied to Parliament about his relationship with Christine Keeler
- 8 August - The great train robbery - a gang stole £2.6m from the Glasgow to Euston mail train
- 18 October - Harrold Macmillan resigned as Prime Minister. Alec Douglas-Home replaced him the following day
- 23 November - the first episode of Dr Who was broadcast starring William Hartnell as the Doctor
Facts
- The population of the UK in 1963 was 53,800,000
- Britain's Prime Minister was Harold Macmillan (Conservative) until 18 October, followed by Alec Douglas-Home (Conservative)
- Britain's best-selling cigarette was Embassy Filter
- In 1962 81% of households had a television set
- The UK's most common bird was the chaffinch
Image: Richard Hoare / Oswestry station / CC BY-SA 2.0
For more information see How much did things cost in 1963?
Films
Some of the most popular films in 1963 were:
- Doctor in Distress - comedy in the long-running 'Doctor' series
- The Fast Lady - comedy about a vintage Bentley sports car
- Heavens Above! -comedy with Peter Sellers
- In Search of the Castaways - Disney shipwreck adventure
- On the Beat - comedy starring Norman Wisdom
- The VIPS - posh folk stuck at the airport
- The Wrong Arm of the Law - comedy with Peter Sellers
- Girls! Girls! Girls! - musical comedy starring Elvis Presley
- It Happened at the World's Fair - musical starring Elvis Presley at the Seattle World's Fair
- The Longest Day - film about D-Day
- Sodom and Gomorrah - biblical drama
Source: 'Most popular films of 1963' published in The Times, 3 January 1964
Television
Children's TV
Children's TV programmes which started in 1963 included:
- Doctor Who
Music
The best-selling singles in the UK in 1963 were:
- From Me To You - The Beatles
- She Loves You - The Beatles
- You'll Never Walk Alone - Gerry and the Pacemakers
- I Like It - Gerry and the Pacemakers
- How Do You Do It - Gerry and the Pacemakers
- The Next Time/Bachelor Boy - Cliff Richard and the Shadows
- Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard and the Shadows
- Do You Love Me - Brian Poole and the Tremeloes
- Wayward Wind - Frank Ifield
- Bad To Me - Billy J Kramer and the Dakotas
Source: UK Top 100 Singles by Paul Gambaccini, Tim Rice and Jonathan Rice, published by Guinness in 1993
Sport
Manchester United beat Leicester City 3-1 to win the 1963 FA Cup
Everton topped the Football League for the 1962-3 season
Ayala, ridden by Pat Buckley and trained by Keith Piggott, won the 1963 Grand National. Ayala started at 66/1. Joint owners were the trainer Keith Piggott (Lester Piggott's father) and the hairdresser, Raymond Bessone, known as Mr Teasy-Weasy.
Relko, ridden by Yves Saint-Martin, won the Derby at Epsom
Oxford won the 1963 Boat Race, although Cambridge started ahead
Cars
New models launched for the UK market in 1963 were:
- Alvis Three Litre Series III TE 21
- Aston Martin DB5 - as driven by 007 in Goldfinger
- Austin Mini Cooper 'S' 1071cc
- Austin 1100
- Bristol 408
- Hillman Minx Series V
- Hillman Imp
- Humber Sceptre Mk I
- Jaguar S-Type
- Jenson CV8 Mk II
- Morgan Plus 4 Plus
- Morris Mini Cooper 'S' 1071cc
- Rover 2000SC
- Singer Gazelle Series V
- Sunbeam Rapier Series IV
- Triumph Herald 12/50
- Triumph 2000
- Vanden Plas Princess 1100
- Vauxhall Victor FB
- Wolseley Hornet MkII and MkIII
Source: 'British Cars of the Sixties', by Doug Nye, published by the Nelson in 1970
More on the 1960s
By Steven Braggs, October 2022
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