National Service could be set to return for the first time in over 60 years, so we're asking the question: Just how different was Stevenage in 1960?
18-year-old Brits could be mandated to do a years National Service under a future Conservative government, as part of controversial new plans announced by the Prime Minister last week.
The programme was abolished back in 1960, when Britain was a very different country - one still emerging from the post war blues and about to hurtle head first into the swinging 60s.
Harold Macmillan was Prime Minister, having led the Conservatives to a majority in the previous year's General Election.
In November 1960, (the month National Service was scrapped) Elvis Presley topped the UK charts with 'It's Now or Never', but he was to be pipped to Christmas number 1 by Cliff Richard's 'I Love You'.
The First Division Champions (that's the Premier League, for younger readers) were Burnley, while the FA Cup was won by Wolverhampton Wanderers.
In the European Cup, Real Madrid triumphed, winning the final against a German team on British soil. Some things never change!
Stevenage was a baby town in 1960, having been designated the first 'New Town' in 1946, shortly after the Second World War.
A year before the end of National Service, Stevenage town centre was opened by The Queen. Taking inspiration from Rotterdam, it became the first purpose-built traffic-free shopping zone in Britain.
Knebworth House wasn't the rocking festival venue that it's known as today. Years before Elton John, Oasis and Robbie Williams packed the field with revellers, it was a struggling stately home that had felt the effects of economic depression and high taxes.
The first Knebworth Festival wouldn't take place until 1974, when 60,000 people packed the field for an event headlined by The Allman Brothers Band.
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Stevenage FC as we know it today didn't exist back in 1960. The club, now playing in League One, wasn't even a professional side until the 1980-81 season.
Back in 1960, a non-professional club of the same name finished 10th in the Delphian League, an amateur league for London and the surrounding area.
So, 60 years on, we can all agree that a lot has changed for Stevenage since the end of national service. How different will things look in 2064?
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