15 years of History

15-Years of History

The chassis of our Ruby was completed in Sept. 1967. Her coachwork was built in January 1968. She started a 15-year service career in March 1968. By July 1983, when Ruby was withdrawn from passenger service, a great deal of important history had taken place. The green shoots of the lifestyle we enjoy today took hold in these 15-years - read on . . . 

Year: month: event:
1967 Sept. BBC radio programmes were recast; Radio 1 was launched.
1968 Aug. British Rail runs its last steam-hauled passenger service, with loco Oliver Cromwell
1969 Jan. State-owned National Bus Company was formed. It absorbed Red & White.
March The Queen opened new Victoria Underground line.
April British Concorde prototype makes its first flight, from Bristol Filton Airport.
July Charles is invested with title: Prince of Wales in Caernarfon Castle. Swansea granted City status.
Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon.
1970 Jan. The first Boeing 747 Jumbo jet landed at London (Heathrow) Airport.
April Paul McCartney announces he has left pop group The Beatles.
Sept. First Glastonbury Festival takes place.
Nov. BBC 1 & ITV start regular colour broadcasts.
1971 Feb. Decimalisation day, when our currency changed to 100pence in the pound.
June UK began negotiations for membership of the European Economic Union (EEC).
Dec. The final English section of the M4 was opened (between Maidenhead & Swindon).
1972 Jan. National Union of Mineworkers began a 7-week strike, leading to nation-wide power cuts.
March Britains last trolleybus system (in Bradford) closed.
Sept. Carrefour opened the first hypermarket in the UK, at Caerphilly.
1973 April Value Added Tax (VAT) is introduced.
Sept. IRA starts a bombing campaign around Britain. It would last 10-years.
Dec. Three-day week electricity consumption started, due to coal shortages caused by strikes.
1974 Jan. Government announces a three-day working week to conserve power during miners strikes.
April Local Government Re-organisation; Newport & Monmouthshire are transferred to Wales.
June In a referendum, 67% of UK voters support continuing EEC membership.
1975 Aug. British Leyland Motor Corporation is nationalised.
Sept. The National Railway Museum is opened in York.
Dec. The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 & Equal Pay Act 1970, come into force.
1976 Feb. The Queen opens the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham.
June A heatwave begins, by August a serious drought is in place across the UK.
Oct British Rail introduce the InterCity 125 High Speed Train into service.
1977 Jan. The Ford Fiesta goes on sale.
June The Queens Silver Jubilee celebrations take place across the UK.
Sept. Freddie Laker launches a new budget Skytrain airline service from Gatwick to New York.
1978 May Early May Bank Holiday observed for the first time.
June Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Evita opens at Prince Edward Theatre.
1979 Jan. Thousands of public workers go on strike, it becomes: Winter of Discontent.
April The last RT-type double deck buses run in London.
May Conservatives win General Election; Margaret Thatcher is UKs first female Prime Minister.
Dec. Government publishes Housing Bill giving council house tenants the right to buy their homes.
1980 Oct Deregulation of express coach services. British Coachways competes with National Express.
Dec. Ex-Beatle, John Lennon is shot dead outside his home in New York City.
1981 Feb. National Coal Board announces widespread pit closures.
The engagement of Charles, Prince of Wales to Diana Spencer is announced.
March Sinclair Research ZX81 a pioneering British home computer goes on sale.
April Unemployment reaches 2.5-million for the first time in over 50-years.
July Race riots take place in Liverpool, London & various other cities.
Over 30-million people watch the Royal wedding live on tv.
Sept. British filling stations start selling fuel by the litre.
1982 April Falklands War begins as Argentina invades Falkland Islands.
June Pope John Paul II visits the UK, including a tour of Cardiff.
June UK wins Falklands war & regains control of the Islands.
July British Rail train drivers go on 15-day strike. National Express coaches very busy.
Aug. St David's Hall, Cardiff opens.
Nov. The Welsh language television station, S4C, launches in Wales.
1983 Jan. Seatbelt use for drivers & front seat passengers becomes mandatory.
March The Compact Disc (CD) goes on sale in UK.
June Margaret Thatcher's Conservatives win a landslide victory in the General Election.
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