Secret History: Harold Wilson - The Final Days

Channel 4's 'Secret History' series investigates the sudden resignation of Harold Wilson, and claims of involvement of various intelligence agencies with Wilson's political life.
Made by 3BM Television. TX 15.8.96. Preceded by a contemporary trailer for 'The Politician's Wife'.

[@jamesmonaghan6843]

Mr Wilson refused to commit me to the Vietnamese War & resisted huge American pressure by LBJ. I shall always be grateful!

[@georgejob7544]

James, I,m of the same generation, so glad Harold Wilson said No to LBJ, our generation could have been wiped out like the American one!! Thank God we didn't agree!

[@philipcummings4604]

Shame Phoney BLAIR did’nt followed suit!

[@valeryanderson615]

Hi

[@dakrontu]

I suspect the US 'support' for Suez had something to do with that.

[@jamesmonaghan6843]

@@dakrontu No I don't think so. The British had previously fought a war in French Indo China when they kicked the Japanese out. At the same time the USA were upset with the British for fighting Ho Chi Minh who the Yanks armed & financed. It turned into an awful Diplomatic Row with the Yanks calling for colonialists to leave but the British prevailed & returned the country to the French. The Yanks then backtracked and curiously sent their military to South Vietnam & wanted the British to return.

[@JohnClayCa]

I love how the commercials are intact! It gives such a glimpse of British culture! Thank you!

[@TheClive1949]

I worked closely with Harold Wilson for several years after he was Prime Minister. He was a nice man and both he, and Lady Falkender, treated me very well. I will always remember them with great fondness.

[@DangerousDavies2008]

Thanks for keeping us out of Vietnam Mr Wilson.

[@moretimeneeded56]

Yes

[@MrGoneTroppo]

The dong in your pocket...

[@jackieking1522]

Yes... for me, that most of all.... I tried ( at 18 years old in '66 ) to 'research' both sides of the Vietnam conflict and decided that if "my" government was to draft me to fight against the commies then I would accept their judgement and do so. But I wouldn't have accepted such a decision from a Tory government.

[@williamcarrington61]

No thanks from Rhodesia, lan Smith had more guts than you .

[@bobbobson4069]

England condemns Wilson for keeping England out of Vietnam!

[@aislingmichaelaoneill1028]

When he resigned, Wilson said his aunt had developed Alzheimer’s Disease at the same age and he was noticing the same symptoms. A Soviet cultural attaché in London later told a colleague of mine that when he visited Moscow, Wilson’s memory, especially for names, became progressively worse. For example, he used to address Gromyko as “Mr Molotov”. Wilson was no spy or Soviet stooge. He was an ill man being bullied by those on both sides of the Atlantic whose duty it was to defend democracy but who were attempting to betray it, either out of paranoia or out of a search for personal power.

[@russellhartwell5404]

,, ,, THANK, - "U," !!,

[@johnschlesinger2009]

At the height of his career Harold Wilson was perhaps the most brilliant politician of his generation, and certainly had a marvellous sense of humour. That such a razor sharp brain was destroyed by a beastly disease saddens me greatly.

[@normanpotts5538]

7

[@barrybarnes96]

@@donaldgoodinson7550 The correct rendering is an idiot, ...not "a idiot". Ya folla?

[@MorganMadej]

​@@donaldgoodinson7550 Harold Wilson was a better man than you will ever be! He was an astute politician who made it possible for First Time Buyers to get a Mortgage! A resounding success at the time when the only three options were: 1) Come from a family with Unearned Income. 2) Rent a room or a flat. 3) Continue living with one's parents. Young couples of my generation will be forever grateful to Harold Wison for his empathy and his human qualities as a Prime Minister!

[@miam4u]

I attended a talk he gave in 1985 at a Business School. In the middle of a very interesting talk he completely lost the thread. Eventually he recovered it but his illness was revealed a few years later and I thought perhaps I had seen a glimpse of that. I think we now know that people who experience dementia may find it very unsettling at the early stages so I would not be surprised if his view of the outside world changed, or he became paranoid, partly because he might be doubting himself. It also makes me think how brave of him to resign.

[@MrGregglesC]

He was also paranoid because Mi5 planned a coup d'etat and were trying to destroy him

[@MarkHarrison733]

He knew he had Alzheimer's in 1975.

[@Muninman]

He had reasons for some of his paranoia

[@brianwarden7250]

Did you see him in the U.S.??? He gave a series of speeches and one of them was in the mid west. I just can't place the school. Was basically a discussion on social democracy and Reaganomics.

[@olwens1368]

I remember people saying Wilson was not trustworthy- wow, if only we'd known what was waiting for us in 30 years time we'd have been pathetically grateful for him.

[@flowerofscotland8839]

Right wing propaganda. We were all fed it.

[@jenniferholden9397]

It's not paranoia when they are really out to get you.

[@charleschapman6810]

He'srememberedtothisdayat Valparaiso u.becausethe galootsin suitsdecidedto trearrgenselvesto a big shot guest speakrbyunventingan award to givehimandinvitinghim to comegiveaspeechon thestsgeofthe theatreto grtit-whivh requiredthe theatrejidsto teardown fourweeksworthofsetthey'dbuiltsi Haroldcouldhavethewholestageto himself!

[@simonsimon2888]

When you're in the 'limelight' that will breed 'a political jealousy' from anyone and anywhere with 'personal attacks' hitting below the belt. A great price to be paid for any heroism in popularity. Well, "EVERYBODY WANT TO RULE THE WORLD" as happened of the past history in the march of time. CHECK-MATE!

[@cBearTV-]

It's a bit unfair to say he was paranoid, when quite clearly we now know MI5 had bugs in number 10 and the break ins of so many close to him were highly suspicious, and of course there was a file on him, so to say he's paranoid is unfair.

[@antonclark3420]

Didn’t Mountbatten try to mount a coup against him in the late ‘60!s too?

[@gordonbrown1773]

@@antonclark3420 Yes

[@th8257]

If he was paranoid, I think it was largely about imagining others in the labour party were after his job. He was notorious for imagining people were lining up to stand against him.

[@grahamfigg5817]

The main instigator of the 1960’s coup attempt against Wilson was the newspaper publisher Cecil King. He approached Mountbatten who did not indisputably indicate his willingness or otherwise. Mountbatten may have been annoyed with the Labour Party because Denis Healey had removed him from his position and had recently cancelled the CVA01 aircraft carrier which essentially meant the end of fixed wing naval aviation once Ark Royal, Eagle and Victorious were paid off.

[@Min-xm8tp]

Once (in the 80s) outside the Houses of Parliament, I asked this old chap ambling past me for a light (I smoked back then) to which he replied 'Course you can Lad'. Wasn't till he was walking away I realized it was Harold Wilson, nice Chap!

[@ggff3761]

Min 1066 that true? If it is sound man

[@Min-xm8tp]

Honest Onions! I found out later that after his political career was over he still liked to be 'knocking about' down there, and he was in the House of Lords. This would have been 1986, I can remember as I was down there with my then girlfriend to see the Damned on their 10th Anniversary gig at Finsbury Park.

[@damianbylightning6823]

@@Min-xm8tp I was at that gig - The Fall played support if I remember correctly. Good day it was. My local MP told me he was well on his way to losing his marbles by late 80s. 'You used to be Prime minister'. He thought they were playing games.

[@jdjones4825]

@@damianbylightning6823 the fall and dementia...to serious subjects

[@damianbylightning6823]

@@jdjones4825 Apparently, the aged and famous economist, Milton Friedman, was working on risk perception in his 90s - which asks us why people are scared of insects that can't harm them and are not scared of toasters, showers-baths, which definitely can and do can; they kill many more than spiders! Friedman fell and died in his bathroom before completing. If true, as a battling economist who fought superstitions all his life, it was the way he would have wanted to go.

[@rogerhudson9732]

I used to see him walking across the Scillies with his lone police escort when in retirement, very sad. Compare with Blair with his small army and fleet of armoured cars. Wilson sent the Army into NI and only got one bodyguard.

[@cBearTV-]

Good point, and actually if you think about he could still of been at risk of reprisals many years after retirement from would be terrorists angry about British involvement in N.Ireland....when you make the comparison you just did I can't help but wonder if secret services or those in charge of protecting former PM's were still uneasy about him,and so didn't give him the protection he obviously should have gotten, let's not forget how close the IRA came to assassinating a UK prime minister! I think channel 4 were very biased in this documentary too,as quite clearly he wasn't paranoid he was correct MI5 did have open files in him, & we'd be silly to not assume that it was MI5 or such who were responsible for all the break ins that his family and close friends homes suffered, the KGB & other secret services were also taking an "interest" in him and his leadership, so the way channel 4 tried to make him look like someone who was paranoid about everything for little to no reason is very weird, channel 4 is normally far more unbiased so I'm not sure what happened with this documentary, but it did say that his MI5 file etc are to remain secret for many years to come so maybe that has something to to with it! ... Like you say it does indeed seem odd that his protection seems so lacking especially given what was happening politically at the time.

[@stephensaunderson237]

Yes but Blair is a war criminal with the blood of millions on his hands. If you thought Boris is a liar then Blair should have a PHD in lie telling.

[@patagualianmostly7437]

@@stephensaunderson237 It would of course be a plastic Phd....like those he insisted be given young people in exchange for a hefty debt.

[@cBearTV-]

@Ru22eLL ah yes I see what you mean the Isle of scilly isn't huge so they'd have known if someone new had arrived on the island. Yes good point, well that explains it I couldn't understand why his security was seemingly so small, but it was in proportion for the environment 👍

[@geraldmcmahon8889]

😂😊😂😊😂😊WELL SAID, YEAH HE JUST BENT OVER FOR GEORGE BUSH JR, AT LEAST, HIS FATHER GEORGE BUSH SNR, STOOD UP FOR WILSON WHEN HE WAS THE head OF THE C.I.A. SAYING WE HAVE NOTHING ON WILSON AND DIDN'T SEE HIM AS A THREAT.

[@michaelbritton9778]

One of the best priministers. Of our time. Cheers mr Harold Wilson.

[@MarkHarrison733]

He was a complete disaster.

[@huub1989]

Worth watching for the ads that brought me right back to my thirties! Thanks!

[@pr4442]

There may be trouble ahead...

[@davidc3839]

Let's face the music and dance.

[@dommidavros2211]

When was this aired?

[@GrainneScarlett]

@@dommidavros2211 circa 1996. Commentator at start said 20 years ago he left office. So that was 1976 I think.

[@robboles5233]

The lets face the music add was wonderful!!

[@BillHalliwell]

What a ridiculous last line in this ineffectual documentary: "...Wilson allowed his own fears and frailties to break him." Nobody, in their right mind, which he obviously was; (sufficient to know that his attention span and memory was going when he retired) would 'allow' his fear to 'break' him. If Wilson's Cabinet Secretary knew of some 'malcontents' in MI5 etc., then Wilson would have known that as well. If indeed, Wilson was, for some years before, wary of intrusion into his life by a security service which his Cabinet Secretary confirms, then Wilson did the logical thing. He quietly bowed out. This is not the action of an agent of a security service or of a 'guilty' man in the eyes of MI5... or at least this should have been the case. It's a bit like MI5 heard these scant rumours and thought, 'I say, that's a good idea, let's look into that'. Since the day of Wilson's retirement and up till and after the collapse of the Soviet system, there were no mammoth security blunders that stemmed from Wilson's time in office. There were no mass ejections of Soviet or British staff from either embassy. No subsequent banner headlines barked out that Wilson was a Communist mole in Number 10. Decades past and, suddenly, nothing happened. This film dwells far too long on Wilson's perceived private fears and 'obsessions'. The documentary producers present a pitifully small list of interviewees on this topic and their main 'source' seems to be 'the [unquoted] words or the whispers of those in the know...'. They do make the, valid, point that none of this was ever published. Could this have been because there was nothing of substance to report. Several years ago I saw a dramatized program about this period of Wilson's life and even in a medium that was supposed to have conflict to generate 'entertainment', there was little to nothing 'uncovered'. As for this documentary blaring that they now could tell us why etc., etc., in the end, of course, they didn't. This is merely the sad tale of a man in the early onset stages of what later became as serious mental health issue. It is a pity that Wilson lived in a time where newspapers and political insiders were so hungry for potential victims to be thrown into the press arena in the most public of ways. Harold Wilson easily beat them all to it... simply because there wasn't much there to begin with. BH

[@kevinlongman007]

His resignation may have shocked the nation but apparently he had told his closest advisers he would only stay on for two more years after winning in 1974, as is confirmed in this documentary.

[@markharrison2544]

His resignation did not shock anyone.

[@kevinlongman007]

@@markharrison2544 It was totally unexpected.

[@markharrison2544]

Hardly. He was 60 but looked 80. He was an alcoholic, he had colon cancer and Alzheimer's.

[@kevinlongman007]

@@markharrison2544 Yes but nobody was aware he had alzheimers in 1976 or that he was a heavy drinker. And 60 is not exactly old...

[@markharrison2544]

It was obvious from his exhausted appearance at the European talks in December 1975 that Wilson would soon stand down.

[@gavintownend719]

The CIA and MI5 were angry at Wilson for not being harder on the unions and not committing us to the Vietnam war! The last independent PM,respect!

[@LordGeorgeRodney]

Why would we want to commit to war that the US lost?

[@LordGeorgeRodney]

@Daniel Clark Clark yeah Iraq pt II.

[@LordGeorgeRodney]

@Daniel Clark Clark no there weren't. Even if there were, they had no British passports & were fighting as volunteers to the units they were in. Aussie or NZ SAS.

[@LordGeorgeRodney]

@Daniel Clark Clark a small number then!? A drop in the ocean.. Because that is going to make a difference in a war the US humiliatingly lost?

[@LordGeorgeRodney]

@Daniel Clark Clark 'British' troops no. British men as Aussie or NZ SAS yes. big difference.

[@cBearTV-]

So basically channel four are saying Wilson was paranoid but MI5 the kgb and others were bugging him and plotting against him... Um I think I've misunderstood the definition of paranoid ❗❗🤷🤷

[@Peasmouldia]

Just because your paranoid, it doesn't mean they're not out to get you.....

[@cBearTV-]

@Gayle Elizabeth I will admit the fact that the classified secret MI5 files are still secret does lend to the idea that there was more going on, and indeed all those trips to Russia given that period of time is either extremely bad judgement or deliberately planned for a purpose we haven't yet been told, so I do understand why our secret services of course took such a big interest I'd expect them to, I just thought some of the language in the documentary was well odd for want of a better word. I wonder whether we'll ever know the truth, as we're clearly not being told everything, but yes I agree with you I just thought the tone and language of documentary was weird. 👍

[@magirusdeutzjupiter2234]

I have always liked Harold Wilson, he was definitely not a liar, and did his best against a huge battle with the unions and terrible economic situations. Best PM we ever had under the circumstances.RIP Harold.

[@norman7527]

@@donaldgoodinson7550 Have you been looking in the mirror again!

[@johnhooper7040]

MagirusDeutz Jupiter: Absolutely! I agree with you 100%. As with all Labour governments he was let down by the City of London. My generation have him to thank for our not dying in the un-winable US war in Viet Nam when he refused to send British troops when asked by President Johnson despite offers of desperately needed financial assistance for the UK. One of the last PMs with integrity.

[@magirusdeutzjupiter2234]

@@johnhooper7040 Thank you.

[@AGMundy]

I rather disagree. I have read political biographies, autobiographies of friends and enemies. He emerges as a selfish arch manipulator and paranoid almost as much as Nixon. It is interesting to note that many within the Labour Party intensely disliked him and indeed union leaders found it easier and more compromising to work with Edward Heath. His greatest legacy is probably the Open University.

[@johnhooper7040]

@@AGMundy I recall that I was at home on the day Harold Wilson died and listening to the radio, I was surprised how warmly everybody interviewed spoke of him, even his political oponents. So unlike some of his successors as PM! Yes he was a manipulator, a true politician. His paranoia in later life was due to early onset dementia, the reason for his resignation but he had good reason for paranoia for fear of the forces of the reactionary right, that worked to subvert him and his Labour government. The recent 'dirty tricks' campaigns directed against Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbin are nothing new! Until the power of the right-wing media is broken it is not possible for any Labour PM and government to rule unimpeded by attempts to undermine them, while the most inept Tory PM and government, like we have now has an 'easy ride' from the right-wing media

[@winchesterwings8795]

An excellent documentary..honest and impartial

[@paulholyoak5436]

He stood on the Town Hall steps in Preston during the '64 election campaign and declared that if he was elected, he would not cancel TSR2.

[@markbenjamin1703]

That TSR2 would've dropped anything from either the USSR or USA, really would've been a great plane

[@andrewsingh7860]

Didn't stop the Marples/Beeching cuts to the railways either, even though it was an election promise in 1964. My late Dad was a lifelong Labour man but never trusted Wilson, "all smoke and mirrors son!"

[@paulfisher3181]

Great. Thanks for posting.

[@AndyJarman]

The adverts made me nostalgic, they must be decades old by now!

[@malcolmcurran6156]

They must of loved him in Liverpool He was mp for huyton when I actually wrote to him about council mortgages and a pub in knowsley village is called the pipe and gannex after his pipe and raincoat Good old Harold

[@barrybarnes96]

@@donaldgoodinson7550 You can't even spell the words 'traitor' or 'plans' correctly...my parakeet can correctly spell those words.

[@roywatling7036]

Since when has "to of" been a verb, Mal?

[@james09995]

Anyone ever falsely accused of adultery, as I have, will realise the dreadful upset such an accusation can cause. I have nothing but contempt for the people who did this to a man who was clearly innocent of that charge.

[@BernieHollandMusic]

I agree - and likewise I would say that anyone ever falsely accused of antisemitism or extremism will realise the dreadful upset such an accusation can cause. We should have nothing but contempt for the people who continue to do this to a man who remains clearly innocent of any such charges, however, blinded by media lies, we voted him out

[@pontifixmax]

Wilson has Alzheimer's, of which paranoia can be a symptom. Even so, given the external forces at play while he was prime minister, at least some of his paranoia was justified.

[@BobSmith-in2gn]

Heath had a few skeletons in his own closet

[@DBIVUK]

Heath's personal life was astronomically dull; the attempts to implicate him in sexual scandals have all failed. Lord Armstrong of Ilminster was almost certainly correct when he described Heath as “almost completely, if not completely asexual”. There are however issues over his business links to China and Chinese linked companies which raise difficult questions.

[@ian_b]

@@DBIVUK Indeed. It seems gossip abhors a vacuum.

[@philipgrice1026]

Ted Heath was as bent as a corkscrew.

[@th8257]

Nope. If you're alluding to the allegations of child sex, they've been completely discredited. "Nick", the man who made the allegations, is how in prison. It was discovered that he himself was a paedophile and had invented the claims to get compensation out of the tax payer.

[@Dbdbe1]

@@philipgrice1026evidence? Or are you just homophobic?

[@starlight76able]

Thank you for posting this remember very well when it first came on , enjoyed it them and will now . I may not have been around when Harold Wilson was PM , but he was one of the few finest Prime Minister Britain has ever had . I certainly was around when he passed away , was grown then

[@CarlyWaarly]

Fascinating to listen too whilst working away on the desktop!

[@davidl63]

Love the adverts!

[@tomdevlin9274]

Absolutely riveting.

[@barryroach1980]

What a great documentary.

[@TheRichardSpearman]

Nice to see the famous "Pound in your pocket" extract. I did not know a copy had survived.....it sums up all we need to know about the UK economy in the 1960s and 1970s.

[@cBearTV-]

Yep you're right those two decades for the UK were terrible, the unions had so much power they were able to at will bring governments and the very country to its knees. Thatcher and her legacy aren't popular but it has to be said when she took office the country really was in a mess, bodies weren't buried, three day working weeks and the drop in wages that went with it had become part of normal life, rubbish filled the streets and more, whoever had taken office would have had to take the decisions she did, or at least very very similar decisions. It's an awful shame that those charges were made so quickly and brutally, but I don't know if it could've been done any other way given the situation, Wilson himself had terrible trouble trying to stop strikes and the mayhem it caused, but as with other PM's he seem to give even more power to the unions. In regards to this documentary I must say it seems quite biased against Wilson, let's remember he was right to be what they above say was "paranoid" as MI5 agents were even not officially spreading rumours and spying on him and his associates.

[@hArtyTruffle]

I believe my grandfather was involved with factions determined to smear Mr. Wilson. If he hadn’t resigned when he did, they may have succeeded. He got out in good time IMO. R.I.P. Mr Wilson (the best PM this country has had).

[@hArtyTruffle]

@Mira Ferriviario well IMO he is still the best. It’s not all about money ya know... his intent and his genuiness has not been repeated. EDIT: and he deployed British troops to bring about peace, at the request of the Unionist Government in Northern Ireland. Comparing that to Vietnam is ridiculous regards to scale. He was a man for the workers. He was disliked by the elite. Nuff said.

[@MarkHarrison733]

Wilson was the worst PM we ever had, by far.

[@hArtyTruffle]

@@MarkHarrison733 In your opinion.

[@MarkHarrison733]

@@hArtyTruffle He was a Soviet agent like Foot.

[@hArtyTruffle]

@@MarkHarrison733 I would urge you to read more history. That lie has been proven to be just that… a lie. They were trying to set him up because they didn’t see him as part of the “establishment”. He was a peacemaker. Not interested in warmongers making their obscene profits and all that goes with that kind of thinking.

[@brianhaskard1042]

"Stir up an apple cart" lol

[@emoran5482]

You’re not paranoid when there _is_ a plot.

[@wesfudge]

When you're sticking your nose up the ass of the Soviets during the cold war, you're right to suspect a plot. What an absolute asshole

[@locorum9103]

​@wesfudge Except he wasn't doing that, was he? Even this documentary, which passively tries to associate Wilson with the USSR, states multiple times that he had no dealings with them. At 30:30 : 'far from cooperating with the KGB, Wilson was constantly haunted by the fear that they were after him'. It's well known that the US helped to initiate military coups against leaders they disliked everywhere from Indonesia to Chile during the Cold War. In Australia, the CIA and MI5 assisted in removing Gough Whitlam from power. It looks like they wanted to try something similar in the UK.

[@boychildnew1]

The basic message being that various organisations, along with the capitalist elite, have and continue to undermine democracy...and that we should not let them do it.

[@redpilledpict2747]

wonder what edward heath's file was called-must be many other INTERESTING files hidden deep in the basement....

[@susancolquhoun2179]

I am beginning to wonder WHO selects our premiers and politicians and ensures their election results are successful. So many of them appear to have axes swinging over their heads which could fall should they refuse to work according to the rules of blackmail! Harold Wilson, Heath, Thorpe, Cyril Smith . Not one of them clean! And all were covered up.

[@shlomosaulgolnenbaumgolden7426]

*rubs hands*

[@sheepieone4017]

Democracy? you surely cannot be foolish enough to believe that you live in a democracy.

[@hazelwalsh3269]

Sean Michael Wilson There is no Democracy anymore!!

[@bobshaw4063]

In the beginning of the video I love the pipe he was smoking as he was walking down the street

[@dpj1]

Barb Mulvaney you notice Bob is smoking a pipe in his profile pic...? I might hazard a guess...Bob likes pipes...? 🤷‍♂️ his comment is also two years old.

[@krismartinez2334]

@@dpj1 yes,but what was in it

[@floridagolf2010]

Judging by this documentary crack

[@nevillemason6791]

The arch hypocrite was all for image. He preferred cigars but it didn't fit the image he wanted to project. Also he was James Harold Wilson. He dropped the James because that didn't fit, not working class enough. The huge hypocrisy was his championing of comprehensive education. There must be no selection and everyone treated the same irrespective of ability. So where was his son educated? Eton of course and then on to Oxford University. Do as I say, not as I do. Elitist of the elite.

[@xtrahandz]

@@nevillemason6791 I think is greatest achievement was the establishment of the Open University.

[@norman7527]

Some things never change within the British establishment ie MI5/Media (2020)

[@gerrycoogan6544]

What a disgusting programme. Even in the course of revealing that, yes, Wilson really WAS targeted by M.I.5, threatened by the Armed Forces and opposed by the upper classes, the commentary accuses him of paranoia then blames him for being overwhelmed by these treacherous bastards. Wilson was absolutely right and it's no wonder that he had trust issues when you see smug slimebags like Haines, Donoughue and Hunt, who should have been on his side, still smearing him and contemptuously laughing off any suggestion that the Establishment was out to get him. The fact is that they WERE out to get him and they succeeded in the end, destroying the man's health in the process.

[@damianbylightning6823]

It is clear that he was a bit unhinged and a bit vulnerable. The most obvious explanation for much of the action against him is natural to those who don't think like him; pressure - as a weapon. Ultimately, they wore him down and knocked him out. They knew his weaknesses and wouldn't stop attacking them. He was, indeed, paranoid and vulnerable to delusions, paranoia and fits of alcoholism. Among his failures were: he made his weaknesses too obvious. A more private man would have done better - he gave away too much to his staff and they in turn, probably innocently, leaked it out. Not sure how clear you want that to be? Intelligence is not a conspiracy - but in those days it undoubtedly had some exotic fruits like Wright - who did write some bullshit. Wright has it that he stole the central list of membership of the CPGB. Why would he steal it when intel would have told them who they all were anyway and the CPGB deliberately kept no such list. It's a world full of manipulators and deceivers who do things for reasons, When not checked, they will do wrong. Wilson was not up to the job of handling their tricks. He let it get to him and this made them all the more determined to squash him. It wouldn't happen now - more's the pity given that a real nutjob leads Labour. If you have a better theory, let me know. However, I suspect any theory you propose is likely to be the typical product of inventive minds who see plots everywhere. It's hardwired into us, you know. Most people are able to resist it, we call ourselves the sane community.

[@gerrycoogan6544]

You seem very confused. You're telling us that, "Intelligence is not a conspiracy," and yet you contradict that yourself. Your own words are: "It's a world full of manipulators and deceivers who do things for reasons, When not checked, they will do wrong." Yet you accuse Wilson of paranoia because he agrees with you? You're sane but he's unhinged although you both think, "they wore him down," "they wouldn't stop attacking him," he "couldn't handle their tricks" and consequently that made them "all the more determined to squash him." The "sane community", whom you are apparently here to represent, will have better days, I hope. It's not the job of the spook agencies to bring down, overthrow or subvert the duly elected government of the UK, regardless of whether it's Labour, Conservative or any other party. I'm not standing up for Wilson as a Prime Minister or as a Labour leader. I've never voted Labour in my life and I probably never will but whoever wins a UK general election is entitled to the support and assistance of the intelligence community rather than have to spend his time and energy resisting their attacks. Clear enough?

[@damianbylightning6823]

@@gerrycoogan6544 My point, dear boy, is that it is generally not a conspiracy - but elements within it are a bit rogue -y. I see no problem with this and neither do sane people. Intel is duty bound to create such worlds - it's what it does and we'd be fucked if it didn't. You'd have to invest in an insurance policy of getting a loony like Wilson to believe in spook power. The man was a bit of a prick and thought he could order the assassination of troublemakers. He had to be told that those powers and abilities were not generally available, in order to control him. All in all, the programme was good, but did not go into enough detail about Wilson's slightly deranged and childlike personality. It also spent too much time speculating on the likes of Peter Wright - assuming such people weren't following a strategic plan and sowing deception. There are deliberate-seeming errors in Wright's book! If we ever have a Corbyn prem, I do so hope there's plenty of staff who can force the cretin to give up. Such shenanigans are better than a military coup. If you think we don't need such insurance policies, you think like a child. Perhaps you're a bit literal-minded and a tad naive.? Clear?

[@cn206]

You may find it helpful to watch the BBC programme "The plot against Harold Wilson", made 10 years after this programme, in 2006. It conveys the information that came out in 2006 that there was actually a lot of substance to Wilson's fears that elements of the deep state were out to get him: kzbin.info/www/bejne/omSQmIdteLp0aNE

[@drg111yt]

Wilson need not have worried - the, er, British establishment has long since been run by cultural Commies - just look at the Equality Act 2010.

[@bigyin2586]

MSM refers to Labour Party and Soviet sources and concludes, "nothing to see here, move along, move along."

[@Witheredgoogie]

As PM he use to make frequent visits to the USSR for some reason - in fact, there was a period of (I think) 24 hours where nobody knew where he actually was over there. Certainly he suddenly 'out of the blue' resigned when the country was in chaos, the unions were wanting favours returned for helping kick the tories out and militant were starting to engulf the labour party. A very mysterious man as even his pipe was a public prop - he prefered Havana cigars. Ben Pimlot's book cover of him immersed in smoke was certainly apt.

[@l.richmondchilds9548]

My graduation was the last American boys to register for the REAL DRAFT... WE also witnessed the Peace without Honor as we left in a hurry from that most horrible of wars ... a war Without public support...

[@billybabu]

I'm sure that heard about this at the Brighton Conference.

[@andyjay9346]

Very interesting doco.

[@gusjackson3658]

In some respects Britain has come a long way. People live longer, smoke less, breath cleaner air and are less judgemental about the private lives of others.

[@BelatedCommiseration]

Thing is though...by the looks of things...it seem's as if Wilson had every reason to be paranoid! What with elements of the CIA and MI5 briefing against him as some sort of imagined mole! Just because your paranoid, doesn't mean they're not out to get you! I always think Wilson is an interesting example of having a first class intellect being not in and of itself enough to handle power...it also amazes me that he was ever thought of as a 'trendy' or 'cool' figure...ganex doesn't even sound trendy or cool! But anyway, I suppose whilst he was in charge he kept the lid on Labours internal divisions, which must have been a herculean task requiring most peoples entire brain cells and nerves!

[@DBIVUK]

It was the cliché - just because Harold Wilson was paranoid, didn't mean they weren't out to get him. Wilson's period of being 'trendy' was fairly limited to the 1963-66 period; I don't think anyone thought that of him in the 1970s. He was still intelligent and good in debate but in the last period in office he drank too much, and also the early effects of the dementia from which he suffered can be detected.

[@BelatedCommiseration]

David Boothroyd Indeed...and probably because he could not proselytize is legacy as effectively as other PM's when he left office, because of his encroaching dementia, that is why he remains somewhat of a 'forgotten' figure in the land of other Labour big beasts of the time, such as Healey and Jenkins who could, of course, remain lucid enough for decades afterwards to ensure their claim to posterity in various ways. By the way Mr Boothroyd, just thought I would take the opportunity to say thank you for these uploads. Very interesting :)

[@The4preston]

But, as the documentary notes, Wilson also declared to several people close to him that he intended to resign 2 years after being re-elected as PM. So when he makes good on his word it suddenly becomes an MI5 plot to force him out of office? I fail to see any real 'conspiracy' behind this so-called conspiracy. There's another theory - which is not explored in this documentary but Tony Benn mentions it in his diaries - that shortly after Wilson retired he was showing up drunk at receptions and spinning tall tales about alleged MI5 misdeeds. MI5 got wind of this and concocted evidence of an attempted coup to scare Wilson as an act of retaliation. Who knows?

[@Kaasmof]

By what we now know about Alzheimer, his paranoid feelings do fit in the early symptoms. We also should not forget, that if you want to survive in a position like Wilson had, you have to have some form of paranoia. Only few around you can really be trusted.

[@haroldmcbroom7807]

The so called "elite" want to create conspiracies out of everything, because it's the best place to hide their OWN outrageous criminal activities! He who points his fingers the most, must have the most to deflect! I don't know anything about this man, but I don't blame him for wanting to retire, Government, regardless of country has become too burdensome, and some things are now beyond our control to manage, only Jesus Christ can fix things now!

[@alphabetaxenonzzzcat]

Thanks for posting this up. I remember watching it when this was first broadcast on Channel 4 in the 1990s. I think all the stories of plots against him are just conspiracy theories. I think he was just fed up with being PM. I also think he had discovered the first signs of Alzheimer's disease.

[@converse91970]

Wilson had apparently made it clear early on that he would do 2 years as PM than hand over, so I agree he’d had enough. Even if he’d won in 1970, the promise he made to himself and those close to him was still the same. He may well have begun to have probs with his memory too although his son Robin said in an interview a few years ago with Jeremy Vine that his father’s Alzheimer’s was diagnosed much later on.

[@alban1959]

This documentary is out of date. It is now a matter of public record that the CIA suspected Wilson of being a Russian spy (!), and were at least in part instrumental in his removal from office. It is also a matter of public record that the military operation around Heathrow was indeed a rehearsal for a coup. And finally it is also a matter of public record that Mountbatten offered his services to any leader of a military coup.

[@davidroberts7282]

Well, by the end of 70's, Lord Mountbatten would be blown up in his yacht by an IRA terrorist hit squad near his country estate in Ireland, so even if he had been involved in any secret MI5/MI6 coup against Wilson or the Labour party in general, he probably wouldn't have been around long enough to being a dictator of a non-party technocratic military regime based around aristocrats, military officers who were pissed that UK was a second-rate world power giving up its vast colonial empire, downsizing its once-all powerful navy. Great Britain in the 70's was seen by America and Europe as the new sick man of Europe, lack of government or private investment, the pound got devalued in 1969, Labour couldn't control militant trade factions blowing up demanding more power and influence which made Labour's governing authority harder and more difficult by mid-70's than a decade before. Northern Ireland had blown up again and would remain a powder keg until the late 90's, Britain's best and brightest and their richest were leaving for Europe, Canada, or the USA because they claimed they couldn't own and operate a business in a nation which had ridiculously high income taxes laws. See the Beatles Taxman as exhibit A. Even today, London is a city where it's next to impossible to own a home affordably, everyone rents or owns an apartment. It's lot harder to successfully run a business there too compared to NYC, Chicago, Toronto, or ______ American city. For a period in the mid-70's, UK instituted a 3 day work week due to rolling blackouts, energy crises caused by OPEC's oil shocks raising oil prices due to Arab/Israeli situation.

[@kezblu]

@@alban1959 Could you source this information, please? I'd like to read further on the subject.

[@patacorn]

@@kezblu - see Paul Foot's book 'Who Framed Colin Wallace'.

[@valeinikofff]

27:52. as for the author of Spycatcher, 've used to respect him... well, not more.

[@spursgog835]

The youngest Don at Oxford and the youngest minister.

[@jonnolee667]

A good man, not many of them in politics..

[@castlerock58]

I love the British ads. The one with the pregnancy test is one of the best ads I have ever seen,

[@vaughanwatkins7691]

I find it interesting not much has changed in 40 plus years..probably worse now..sadly..don't think we are moving forward as a species in the right direction tbh...in some ways yes..In some important ways no..

[@somethingelse4878]

One of the most stupid things people say is "That was then, this is now" A social worker once said that to me when talking about a local care home, then a few years later it came to light they were still abusing children. Oh and they got away with it and the court was blinkered so much nothing was said about the two staff who were found dead and did the most. Neither was the punishment of wearing only a towel for one year, even in winter. Same old same old Things that happened in the past, still go on

[@petertancred3507]

Uncanny the likeness in appearance between Harold and Gough in the same decade....and just who visits China 5 years after JFK's assignation??? George Bush.....

[@hugolindum7728]

It's simple: Alzheimer's. According to Dr David Owen, a medical doctor and colleague, and friend, within 4 years of resignation, ”he couldn't recall what he had had for breakfast.” Astor the idea that Marsha Williams ”drove him to the top” - Wilson drove himself to the top, with Williams as his mere personal secretary.

[@Patricia-zt8ub]

I can't remember what I had for breakfast. It is not important to busy people.

[@wildgoose5964]

Alzheimers my arse...and Mountbatten was up to his neck in it...

[@cBearTV-]

I think some of the early symptoms of dementia can also be paranoia which certainly wouldn't have helped the situation, but this documentary at times implies he was paranoid for no reason which obviously isn't true. Overall it seems a fairly biased documentary I must say.

[@brianwarden7250]

He hosted a tv chat show and did a series of speeches in the US in 85. Owen was blowing smoke. Silly

[@ironsights9448]

Guess who didn’t have the right school badge on his blazer pocket

[@georgejob7544]

Harold was one of three Labour M.P,s who resigned over prescription charges,one other was Peggy Herbison North Lanark! In the 1945-51 Labour Government!

[@jeannedarc9491]

46? Man he looks 60!

[@davidproudfoot6668]

Harold Wilson was truely a great British politician, statistician and economist. During the 70' he was certainly not coerced by the Soviets... they admired him as a western socialist with progressive views that later seeded political change in Moscow and eventually brought an end to the cold war in Europe. Let it be said HW was a true visionary for freedom and for the working man.

[@michaelscales5996]

Can't imagine Mr Wilson going on Twitter etc.etc.The politicians of that time would have thought it beneath them. Today they employ staff to monitor social media.How times have changed.

[@Atlasss97]

there was a plot or let's say plotters at the highest levels who spoke openly and frankly of overthrowing this government....frankly outstanded me.

[@th8257]

Outstanded ?

[@independentandfree6466]

Hmmmm. Nothing has changed. Corrupt as hell this politics game.

[@samsum3738]

Just because you are paranoid , it doesn t mean they are not out to get you .

[@shubbagin49]

They wore him down.

[@chrish12345]

at age 31 he looked older than in '76

[@dejantomic845]

he looked same all life, he has too old when he has young and looked younger when he has old

[@MrRedcarpet02]

Yeah he aged quite well. Once he got grey/white haired his face remained the same pretty much. Good breeding and diet!

[@dakrontu]

In his early days as a pol he had to use a posh accent to be credible. He pronounced Stafford Kripps as Stefford Creeps. Later when he was more secure due to his strong position and societal changes in the 60s, he went back to using his local accent.

[@dakrontu]

It is interesting that people with Alzheimer's can think there are conspiracies going on around them because they lose track of what is going on due to their fading short-term memory. Alzheimer's doesn't develop instantaneously. He may have been vaguely aware of the developing symptoms from years before he resigned. It is clear from his short subsequent time as a talk-show host that there was no way he had retained any of the mental capacity he had early on as PM, at which time he was credited, as I recall, with an eidetic (ie photographic) memory, able to trip other pols up by quoting their own statements from Hansard back to them.

[@brianwarden7250]

After all of the assassinations in the 60's, the Vietnam push by LBJ and devaluation I would be paranoid. His mind was truly amazing. The fact he even got through the Friday Night Saturday Morning Talk Show is testament to that. Cecil King tried to bring him down and was bankrolling a coup and MI5 was using a disinformation program against him in Northern Ireland. There was definitely some shit going on and I am sure the challenge becomes, regardless of Alzheimer's , identifying the depth and breathe of this stuff when one is in power. If this is happening here then who else is against me.

[@aarondavis8943]

James Angleton thought Kim Philby was trustworthy and competent, and that Harold Wilson was an asset. Did Angleton ever get anything right?

[@grossherman3841]

The Scilly Isles, the Russian Submarine and Harold Wilson.

[@albaproductions9602]

Gaitskill died from a flare up of Lupus and autoimmune disease which affected his heart and kidneys.

[@Taporeee]

Imagine being spied on by your own intel services

[@evanstj5]

Labour has had only three successful, i.e. reelected, prime ministers in its history: Attlee, Wilson and Blair. The Labour movement is democratic and relatively open to scrutiny. Even so, there are always powerful and shadowy reactionary forces seeking to undermine the Labour party and Labour governments because these people do not want to see their power, wealth and privileges taken away. Similar accusations were made about Michael Foot. During the cold war, Communist agencies worked away with black propaganda. Nevertheless, intriguing as many of the suggestions made in this programme may be, there has been absolutely no firm evidence whatsoever of treachery.

[@Haasenpad]

15.21 EPIC! "so hurry!"

[@conveyor2]

It was Wilson's fourth term, not second.

[@thostaylor]

No. Winning a General Election means your term continues. Only by ceasing to be PM and then becoming PM again does one get a second term.

[@grahamshepherd9305]

The terms were not consecutive so second is correct.

[@bobheatliesongs]

What a disgusting world we live in. Then....and now, and probably forever!

[@stevo728822]

Hell of a character.

[@wiltonfarm4816]

Harold kept the UK out of the Vietnam war. The British owe him a huge debt of thanks for standing up to America.

[@MarkHarrison733]

British troops served in the Vietnam War.

[@rhhmunro]

Ah yes the old 'squitters'. Gets us all in the end...38:20

[@somethingelse4878]

20:26 My god back then even young men looked so old. I bet inside he felt young

[@th8257]

If there is a major criticism to be made of Wilson, it was that he put the unity of the notoriously fragile Labour Party way too high as a priority, often even above the national interest. There was no contortion that he wouldn't make to keep the party together. In the end, he antagonised both wings of the party, which is why the likes of Tony Benn from the left and Denis Healey from the right were so savagely critical of him.

[@brianwarden7250]

Maybe the Tory party could use a bit more of that.

[@lablackzed]

Old Harold was OK .

[@chrismccartney8668]

Excellent video sad end to a brilliant and patriotic PM Who along with Wedgewood Benn pushed Briton into the Technological age.... Sadly he knew his superb mind was going down due to Alzheimer's.

[@philipcummings4604]

Shame about the TRS 2

[@Peasmouldia]

An interesting piece of propaganda in retrospect. The fact that "British Intelligence" was replete with Soviet agents at the time doesn't seem to merit a mention.

[@timburt9640]

I don't think MI5 had any actual Soviet agents at that time, despite Chapman Pincher's obsession with Sir Roger Hollis.

[@Peasmouldia]

@@timburt9640 Wish I could remember the Private Eye nickname for Mr. Pincher. Probably pretty juvenile in retrospect. As for the Soviet agents, they are called "spooks" after all's said and done. I take your point however, they had had a bit of a clear out by then. Thanks and happy new year.

[@Peasmouldia]

@@timburt9640 I may have got my spooks confused with my moles.......

[@angloaust1575]

He wasnt keen on ian smith and udi No support

[@myleschilton3473]

KGB going out of their way to say you are not one of their assets is automatically ......

[@expattaffy1954]

Britain can never have a democratically elected government. We had the same problem years ago that we have today. Too many MPs have sins that leave them open to blackmail by the FBI, the C I A , M I 6 , and even other governments. It is these blackmailers that are actually running the country. The same problem today with the Torys, which is why after two full years there is no sign of us leaving the EU

[@mookie2637]

Do you have any evidence for this? At all?

[@BernieHollandMusic]

@@mookie2637 Yes, I have evidence but my vows as a clergyman prohibit me from revealing the secrets of the confessional box - however, the actual sinners are not those we are led to believe are guilty, but are in fact the very people who undermine our democracy

[@mookie2637]

@@BernieHollandMusic Oh, I see. Well that's all ok then. Did you hear confessions from the alien lizard people as well?

[@th8257]

Paranoid conspiracy theories. Maybe have a think about why you're imagining these things.

[@haroldchurchspengler4960]

This was a very interesting documentary. However, M15 and MI6 were carrying out their remit; to monitor Soviet activity in Britain. The Soviet Union were a real threat to the West and it was incumbent on Britain to safeguard its position. 2 fledgling democratic states collapsed because of Soviet interference: ( Hungary and Czechoslovakia) Britain was nor is a perfect state but it has a proud tradition of democracy . To view otherwise, is to reveal an ignorance of history.

[@unclebill1202]

More recent research outlined in books and programmes clearly points to sinister rogue elements in MI5, the Press, the military and the "establishment" more interested in their own agenda than the welfare of the nation. Democracy was lucky. It may not always be.

[@dakrontu]

The KGB officers interviewed in this documentary are all terribly sweet people who would never do anyone wrong. Butter would not melt in their mouths. Does that not have an air of fishy odour about it?

[@NellieGCabo]

I hate the Lady,who is "Horse Faced".Played as Prima Donna on Mr.Wilson's life.

[@geraldmcmahon8889]

He wasn't that weak or stupid, he won four General elections.

[@jackiebinns6205]

He didn't allow it to happen ! His mind was not healthy ! Geez you people

[@flybobbie1449]

It mentioned Jews allowed to leave Russia. I met a woman in the US who said she was 10 when her family were allowed to leave Russia via some stan country. She said she was striped and body cavity searched at age ten, as they weren't allowed to take any money out of the country.

[@richardsharpe2966]

I have often heard over the years that in 1968 and 1975 that there were roomers that there were going to be a military coup and Wilson was going to be overthrown and replaced by a military government is it really true would like to know please

[@DBIVUK]

There certainly was a plot in 1968 led by Cecil King, chairman of the IPC Publishing company (publishers of the Daily Mirror). He wanted to get Lord Louis Mountbatten to depose Wilson and lead a non-party technocratic government. Mountbatten would have none of it and King was the one deposed - see www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/2011/07/every_day_is_like_sunday.html. The 1975 rumour sounds like it refers to Sir David Stirling's GB75 group, which was actually set up in 1974; intended to be a paramilitary force who could take over government if it broke down. It basically collapsed before it ever got launched.

[@ericdarlow9798]

Richard Sharpe just no r

[@grateful1850]

think it is very true. there was a BBC documentary on it. Lord Mountbatten was very much a part of it (was to broadcast to the Nation after the coup d'état), they say the Queen Mother too. And certain Aristocrats of that time. their complaint, England wasn't a green and pleasant land anymore'. Think there are recorded tapes too

[@hugolindum7728]

rotweissrot100 Roomers - flatmates.

[@hazelwalsh3269]

Richard Sharpe apparently Lord Mountbatten was heavily involved in this.... I’m thinking Charles would love to do the same thing!!! He wants to be the person in Charge of the Country..

[@SNP-1999]

I don't want to get involved in the arguments below, triggered by viewer George Job, about British involvement - or not - in Vietnam. I am just bloody well thankful that my school mates and I of that generation weren't called up like our American cousins to fight in that totally futile and unnecessary war. As was also said, Britain had that "problem" in Aden going on at that time - my Dad was in the RAF since 1943 and actually got stationed to Aden in about 1964, but the RAF changed the order due to his war service and that he had four kids, my three sisters and me.

[@georgejob7544]

I was in my late teens and our generation could had it been a Tory Government would have been drafted to Vietnam! Relieved we weren't!!

[@janethollman7894]

I didn’t realise how old I was. These years are fresh as if they happened yesterday. I didn’t even know what an affair was, she provided him with professional help. That’s what I thought an affair was lol. In 1974 and 1976 I had my children. What I remember about that was the power cuts trying to cope with a toddler and a baby. The miners went on strike and it brought the country to its knees. It’s only now with time on my hands that I look back and laugh. How industry , shops and homes had to run on a zoning system as when you had electric and when it would be cut off. Luckily my sister was opposite to me. When l didn’t have electric it was off to my sisters lol According to my mum it was a bit like the war, only 2” of water in your bath. Limits of washing machine cycles with a baby and a toddler great fun. But when I look back we did just get on with in we had camping stoves, paraffin lights and of course coal fires. Well I did my sister had electric heating. I think we forget just how much different our lives were. Mini skirts, midi length and maxi length. Knee high boots and platform sole shoes, Mary Quant and Ossie Clarck. Then the music of that period and meals for prawn cocktails, steak and French fried grilled tomato. Dessert was Black Forest Gateaux all washed down with a glass of Blue Nun. Then Iris Coffee maybe cheese and biscuits. You cooked fondue at home for friends again with Blue nun. I had my first Chinese at 17 and Indian at 32 the wine didn’t change always white and German.

[@H-Zazoo]

Harold Wilson, good guy, bad guy. Either way it will not affect the pound in your pocket. I think I said this at the Brighton Conference actually......

[@jean-lucpicard5510]

00:34 Changed his beard colour and his voice.

[@keyboarddancers7751]

15:56 classic advert! one of the best ever!

[@Movingmillion]

When is that footage at the end of Wilson walking from? He looks quite frail there.

[@DBIVUK]

I'm not sure, but I suspect it may have been to mark his retirement from the Commons at the 1983 election. He is going into the Norman Shaw buildings which were MP's offices and wouldn't be used by members of the House of Lords, but is noticeably older. In 1981 he had an operation after developing bowel cancer which left him very frail.

[@MarkHarrison733]

@@DBIVUK I thought it was colon cancer?

[@DBIVUK]

@@MarkHarrison733 That was his cause of death in 1995, but the operation in 1981 was bowel cancer. That being said if you know your anatomy, they aren't too far away from each other.

[@MarkHarrison733]

@@DBIVUK He already knew he had Alzheimer's in 1975.

[@wodantheviking]

Well if you listen to Michael Shrimpton, you will be told it was the Germans all along. The Russians were 'red herrings'! (Is that a double pun?)

[@DBIVUK]

But if you listen to Michael Shrimpton, you need your head examined.

[@wodantheviking]

@@DBIVUK It is surprising that he does not get sued more often though? I listen to everybody now and then make my mind up. So much of what we are told is a complete stitch up. The Dodgy Dossier is the tip of the iceberg. Deep State influence is everywhere.

[@GravityBoy72]

As if a mainstream media channel is going to tell us the truth about behind the scenes politics/intelligence/power games. If the main stream tells you a story don't trust it.

[@johntomlinson6849]

Interesting that Wilson met KGB agents at "private parties". Thatcher would never have attended them.

[@taraalan1131]

Andrew Hanson - You’re probably correct - Thatcher was too busy entertaining Saville.

[@geraldmcmahon8889]

Yes, but she clearly claimed, in 1987, WILSON WAS NOT A THREAT TO BRITISH SAFTY.

[@MorganMadej]

Did you mean like the UK PM and the Russian Oligarchs son who is now a Lord?

[@markhayward7400]

People underestimate the toll that being the Prime Minister takes on those who hold the office. The pressure is relentless. Everything that arrives on your desk is a problem to which there are no easy answers. Harold Wilson looked a lot older than his 60 years when he resigned in 1976. We should take Wilson at his word. When he took office again in 1974, he had promised his wife, Mary, that he would stay for no more than two years. Of course, that resignation was sudden and, in some quarters, unexpected. If Wilson had revealed in advance when he was going to step down, he would have been a lame duck Prime Minister without any authority.

[@MarkHarrison733]

Wilson always looked older than his actual age. His family knew he had Alzheimer's by 1975.

[@PEGGLORE]

My grandfather was chairman of the Natwest bank for the West End of London back then. Quite mad. He bankrupted Simon Dee, Hornby Railways and Meccano companies. Sorry..

[@dakrontu]

Not too bothered about Simon Dee, a TV personality contrived out of nowhere for the purpose of making the BBC seem cool and trendy, a nowhere to which he duly returned, but Hornby and Meccano? So that's what happened! They were the major toys of my childhood, and my kids, who only had Duplo, lost out big-time.

[@PEGGLORE]

​@@dakrontu Well yh. I only thought it was the Meccano for most my life, then more recently found out about Hornby and Simon Dee. I'd never even heard of him, but apparently Austin Powers is loosely based on him I read. I mean Mecanno was my dad's favourite toy, so who knows how and why this still went ahead. I myself played with my dad's Mecanno, train set, and his Bayko set if you ever had that?. That is one of my earliest greatest memories that particular one. In my Grandpa's study there was this framed photo of him shaking hands with Robert Maxwell. I'd love to know what had happened there then. But seriously, I was actually round my grandparents house when he died off his yacht. grandpa was a few metres from me when I saw it on the news. I wonder what was going through his head right then. It was a few years later that I noticed the photo in the study of them, and am like oh my God, it's Robert Maxwell. I never asked my grandpa about it, and obviously wish I did now. Seemed a bit personal though.