In 1953, the world was a very different place to how it is now, and indeed it was a very different place from the previous 60 years. The world had experienced war at a whole new level and the events that concluded World War Two and the resulting weapon developments made the prospect of any further worldwide conflicts a terrifying prospect.
But life continued, as the world rebuilt and got on with it despite the tension building as a result of the cold war.
To have an idea of life in the United Kingdom at the time, let's look at some of the fact's and figures from 1953.
In 1953 a pound in your pocket would buy:
16 pints of beer 15 portions of fish and chips Enough stamps to send 96 letters
In 1953:
Two thirds of the nation rented their homes
For those who wanted to buy, the average house price was £2750
The average wage was £9.25 per week, and they worked an average of 44.95 hours a week
Ian Fleming published his first James Bond novel, Casino Royale
Celebrated the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
Myxomatosis reached the United Kingdom
Tony Blair, Nigel Mansell and Victoria Wood were born.
On September 1st 1939 Hitler's armies invaded Poland, starting World War II in Europe.
Exactly fourteen years later on September 1st 1953, David Gale travelled from his home in Marlow to Gosport on the south coast aged just 15.
His destination was HMS St Vincent, a Royal Navy boys training establishment.
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HMS St Vincent was originally commissioned in 1927 as a training establishment for boys and juniors. On the outbreak of the second world war, the boys were evacuated to the Isle of Man to merge with those from HMS Caledonia to form HMS St George.
HMS St Vincent became a training establishment for officers of the Fleet Air Arm and an overflow for the Royal Navy Barracks.
St Vincent reverted to being a boy's training establishment after the end of the war, and reopened as such on the 1st of December 1945.
Upon David's arrival at St Vincents the first thing that would of struck him was the impressive front gates, the figure head and mast in the parade ground.
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