Beatniks and Teddy Boys were both around at the same time and more prevalent in the 50s. Beatniks (the Beat Generation) were more or less an American phenomena and first mentioned in the late forties while Teddy Boys were home-grown British.
Mods and Rockers were much later and appeared in the 1960s. I remember reading about all of the punch-ups between the Mods and Rockers at various seaside resorts, notably Brighton when I was around ten-years old. (wonder if UJ was a Mod or a Rocker? 
)
Thanks for that. I suppose there have always been rebellious young people in every age; it’s part of growing up. However, I wonder whether there were any specifically individualistic groups in existence before the above mentioned. When I think about pre-war societies, I imagine that all - young and old - would have at least dressed in the same way. Perhaps I’m wrong.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/revolution_zps843621f6.jpg
1960: Two Clichés Collide
At the time Central and South American countries were almost always run by military dictatorships. The juntas could not be voted out but military coups generally did the trick. Although they have now largely become democracies they still have fiestas, the other thing that everyone knows about those places.
The cartoon suggests that the celebrations were more widely popular than revolutions and this was probably true.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/litter_zpsb2ecf8de.jpg
1960: Not a New Problem
The picnickers can’t see that they are the problem.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/chatterlay_zps866d2d14.jpg
1960: Sensational Trial
It was in 1960 that the famous Lady Chatterley obscenity trial was held. It certainly held the public’s attention. It was up to the jury to decide whether the book’s artistic merit could overcome the traditional response in banning the book. This Punch cartoon gives a quite accurate example of the public’s attitude to those in favour of banning it.
The trial was an important milestone in freeing up attitudes to morality and censorship in the country as a whole.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/missing_zps45fc4a82.jpg
1960: The Root of the Problem
This simple scene requires no dialogue or commentary.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/GivingUp_zps0ec6661a.jpg
1960: Giving Up Smoking
I see that the medical argument comes only seventh out of eight little pictures. Reading the Lancet isn’t the same as seeing headlines in a tabloid saying ‘smoking will kill you.’
Once again I find myself surprised that such a cartoon could have appeared as early as 1960. What I can clearly recall is the near universality of smoking. During my army basic training the NCOs used to say ‘Fall out for a smoke and those who don’t smoke can go through the motions.’ This applied to only a few of the recruits.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/thrilling_zps1c82cc0b.jpg
1960: Believing the Advertising Hype
The point of the joke is that there is no truth in the hype.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/raffia_zpsc5ff73d2.jpg
1960: Occupational Therapy
In case we hadn’t spotted what was going the cartoonist has included a notice on the wall telling us the name of the ward in which this scene occurs. I think that the idea at the time was that making these objects was not only useful for recuperating patients but was also commercially viable. The suggestion in the joke is that these objects have no sale value at all.
Matrons really did look like that. It wasn’t just Hattie Jacques.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/skipper_zps2bd457e9.jpg
1960: Pre Thatcher Britain
There are some special details here which remind us of the days before the Thatcher revolution. I can identify the following:
How things have changed since 1960.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/KidsTV_zpsfec0da20.jpg
1960: Another TV Inspired Cartoon
The growth of television did much to hasten the final downfall of Punch. Here we see the problem of getting the kids to go to bed and leave the TV behind. There was no idea then of kids having TV in their bedroom let alone all the other electronic stuff that they own and use nowadays.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/palmistry_zpscd4121e7.jpg
1960: As the Vicar said to the Clairvoyant….
There is no end to the jokes about ‘psychics’ not anticipating what is going to happen next. Neither of the protagonists here appears to have any faith in her crystal ball.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/breakfast_zpsebbed084.jpg
1960: Uniformity in the Boarding House
This joke merely reflects the standards of the time. The wives are all unwilling participants in this ritual. Broadsheet newspaper had not yet discovered the antidote: separate sections. It was about 1965 or thereabouts that this innovation appeared.
That was me back in the 60`s, i used to sneak down the stairs and peak through the curtain at the tv.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/CarLights_zpsbffc48b0.jpg
1960: Some Mistake, Surely…
The speaker either is naïve or joking in the face of adversity.
I’m not sure whether the coppers are just after one individual (who may or may not be the speaker) or whether they are raiding the place because of illegal gambling. In these days of deregulation it is sometimes hard to remember all the various restrictions that used to exist. Perhaps a gambling permit hadn’t been applied for though that would hardly justify such a large number of the plods all arriving at the same time.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/FirstTerm_zps8b93f5d3.jpg
1960: Maintaining the Family Tradition
In accordance with tradition young Robin is being sent to start his Prep School career which will ‘prepare’ him for his later entry into a Public School. We note the huge trunk for all that sports kit etc. which has to be wedged into the boot with the door still open.
It is equally traditional for Robin’s mother to try to soften the blow thereby amusing his future fellow pupils. They will certainly remind him of this in the weeks to come. Interestingly his father doesn’t claim that it had not done him any harm merely saying that he had survived.
In earlier decades this upper middle class situation would have seemed quite normal to most of the readers of Punch. I wonder whether this was still the case by 1960. By then there are not that many jokes with this kind of theme to be found.
Robin’s sister feels that she has the best of the bargain although there will be no dormitory feasts for her.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/kennels_zpsb0511132.jpg
1960: Letters from Home
This nice little joke belongs to a category known as a conceit in which one pretends that something is true, knowing that it isn’t. So we can smile at the thought of Bonnie, Rover and Rex eagerly grasping a letter from home between their respective teeth. They aren’t going to read them though are they?
Akin to those adverts about adopting an animal of some description for a small monthly fee. In return, they send you letters and cards detailing their daily lives. Puleese…
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/beatnik_zpsf8556fd3.jpg
1960: A Clash of Cultures
Once again I am reminded that beatniks were around long before my memory tells me that they were.
As rebellions go this one isn’t particularly extreme. She hasn’t adopted any of the physical manifestations of that culture nor has she dressed for the part yet.
