ON THE COVER 1969 Beatles, Rockets & 50p Pieces

All eyes were on the skies and the amazing leaps being made in the world of aviation. Concorde, a joint UK-French venture to produce the world’s first supersonic passenger airliner, made its first test flight on March 2 in Toulouse and first went supersonic on October 1. In April, the Harrier Jump Jet, the Vertical Take Off And Landing Aircraft which seemed to be the stuff of science fiction, entered ser vice with the RAF.

But the world’s eyes were trained on the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. In March Apollo 9 tested the lunar module in Earth orbit, and in May, Apollo 10 undertook a dress rehearsal in lunar orbit. By July, all was ready. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed in the Sea of Tranquillity and Armstrong uttered the famous words, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

After a stay of 21 hours and 36 minutes, during which time they conducted experiments, collected samples and took photographs, they rejoined Michael Collins in the command module.

In the world of music, there was a four-way draw for first place at the Eurovision Song Contest. The UK entr y, Boom-Bang-a-Bang by Lulu, had to share the honours with Spain, France and the Netherlands.

In the US, over 400,000 people trekked to Woodstock for a music festival, more than double the numbers expected. Billed as “3 Days of Peace & Music”, images of the festival included Jimi Hendrix, peace signs and people covered in mud!

Back in the UK, the Beatles gave what would be their last live per formance – an impromptu gig on the roof of the Apple offices in London. Other outstanding UK moments… Tony Jacklin won the Open at Lytham St Annes, Robin Knox-Johnston was the first person to sail non-stop single handed round the world, the fabulous QE2 entered ser vice in 1969, and it was the beginning of the end for the 10 shilling note, as the 50p piece entered circulation.