Robert Robinson recalls the events of April 1950. Sir Stafford Cripps presented his first Budget since devaluation, Seretse Khama arrived in London, the pros and cons of flogging were debated in the press, the Eagle - a new comic - was born, and Mrs Gerald Legge used shoe cream on her eyelashes instead of mascara.
Reginald Turnill reviews the planes of the year - the Princess, the Comet and the Brabazon.
On film Arsenal beat Liverpool in the Cup Final, The Duke of Edinburgh went to Malta as a naval Lieutenant, and the first West Indies cricket team arrived with 96 bottles of rum.