Strathmore Cricket Union: the first 90 years a history 1928-2018

63 CHAPTER FIVE THE EXCITING FIFTIES It is often assumed that austerity finished in 1950 and prosperity began in 1951. This is clearly a gross over-simplification, for life is seldom as simple as that, but there can be little doubt that the 1950s were a decade of progressive prosperity to a level that previous generations could never have dreamed of. Unemployment had virtually disappeared, and although therewaswhat was called the ColdWar between theWest and East, built up and exaggerated by glory-hunting politicians or (possibly more markedly) by sensationalist journalists, the 1950s were, to a large extent, a decade of world peace, give or take the occasional moment of delusional madness of politicians, notably British Prime Minister Anthony Eden at Suez in 1956. 1951 however saw Great Britain becoming more and more involved in the Korean War, which had broken out the previous year when the Communist North had invaded the South. The war would eventually, by 1953, be brought to a satisfactory conclusion – but not without a great deal of bloodshed. The after effects of this conflict, of course, are still very much with us. The 1950s was also a time of National Service whereby able-bodied young men were conscripted into the Forces (and you needed to have a very good excuse to avoid it!) and taken away for a couple of years. This played havoc with romances, jobs and cricketing careers, but it did, they said, give everyone a chance to “see the world”. Seldom however were conscripts posted to a cricket playing country – Aden, Cyprus, Singapore and Germany being the most likely destinations where they were given an introduction to army brutality and sex with local ladies. In 1951, the Government tried to convince everyone that austerity was on the way out by staging a Festival of Britain. It was a brave effort, but lacked the flamboyance, for example, of the celebrations of the Empire Exhibition in Glasgow in 1938 or previous Festivals. But it was an example and indication of the growing optimism and prosperity. Cricket continued to flourish with the Strathmore Union in 1951 going from strength to strength and organising more representative fixtures against the Scottish Counties, for example. Attendances, even at mundane fixtures, continued to be high, and it was only in the late 1950s that one began to see a drop in the crowds who thronged to cricket games, watching intently