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Gerry Samuels@GerrySamuels12 · Jun 26, 2026

Lots of Boomers seem to be remembering the summer of 1976 with rose tinted spectacles, & think that they ‘just got…

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Summary

A thread debunks the nostalgic narrative about summer 1976 by showing contemporary newspaper reports revealing significant hardship: excess deaths (particularly among elderly), school closures, railway disruption, airport strikes, factory walkouts, and a crime wave. The takeaway is that people didn't simply "get on with it"—they experienced serious challenges that often go unremembered.

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  1. #1

    Lots of Boomers seem to be remembering the summer of 1976 with rose tinted spectacles, & think that they ‘just got in with it’ Let’s have a look at what the newspapers of the day had to say in 1976…. 🧵

  2. #2

    First, there were a huge number of excess deaths - up around 20% on normal death rates This article shows 1,000 excess deaths in just 2 weeks in the Thanet area of Kent alone, mainly elderly people

  3. #3

    Many schools closed early

  4. #4

    There was major disruption on the railways

  5. #5

    Heathrow airport closed when staff walked out over the heat

  6. #6

    A number of factories saw strikes resulting from disputes over working in the high temperatures

  7. #7

    Some wanted bonuses for working in the heat

  8. #8

    There was a crime wave to accompany the heatwave, with burglars exploiting open windows and doors Burglary rates today are a small fraction of 1976 levels

  9. #9

    Just because you don’t remember the bad side of 1976, doesn’t necessarily mean you just got on with it