Sixties Birmingham: Swinging 60s Birmingham in 35 pictures

The sixties were a defining era for the world with it being one of the most tumultuous and divisive decades in history with Birmingham not being immune to the decade fo counterculture.

It was a decade where The Beatles shot to fame, Neil Armstrong became the first man on the moon and Martin Luther King Jr made his historic “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington to an audience of 250,000 people. It was also the last time England won the World Cup.

In contrast to these milestone events the US increased their military authority in Vietnam, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated and there was the threat of nuclear war between the US and Soviet Union after the Cuban Missile Crisis.

As Birmingham looked on, the city was starting to rapidly change in the post-war years with many still suffering from poverty. The city centre looks a lot different these days with New Street Station being completely rebuilt.

The car industry was key and celebrations for the millionth and two millionth minis made at Longbridge were held. There were protests about fluoride being put in our tap water and people travelled across the world to attend sports events at St Andrew’s, Villa Park and Edgbaston.

The following 35 pictures show snapshots of live in Birmingham in the defining decade of the 60s: