1947. The age of Varsity. The age of a few other cultural triumphs, too. As Britain bathed in the glory of winning WWII, frugal times meant the only things in abundance were rationing coupons. Hope was lingering round the corner with the birth of rock ‘n’ pop legends David Bowie, Meat Loaf, Gerry Rafferty and the genius that is Elton John. Ziggy Stardust, flares and the Lion King owe it all to this year of creativity. Topping the charts at the time were loved-up tunes such as Ted Weems’s 'Heartaches' and Francis Craig’s 'Near You'. Literary imagination was also up to scratch with Steinbeck producing The Pearl and The Wayward Bus, and Evelyn Waugh also whipping out 2 novels: The Loved One and Scott-King’s Modern Europe. Dr Faustus and the Diary of Anne Frank also made their first appearances – an indisputably whopper year for reading. 1947 was a year for filling bookshelves.

The 101st Grand National took place at Aintree, with the 100/1 Irish outsider Caughoo winning a very lucky year for some. Arsenal were at the top of the first division of the Football League and Tommy Lawson, the 28-year-old centre-forward, became Britain’s first £20,000 footballer in a move from Chelsea to Nottingham County. Jack Kramer won the 61st Wimbledon Men’s championships and Margaret Osborne triumphed in the Women’s. To top things off, English endurance swimmer Tom Blower became the first person to swim the North Channel. Cor’ blimey, what a flippin’ sporty time.

Education becomes serious as the legal minimum age to leave school changed to 15 and… this one’s a biggy… women are finally allowed to enter the esteemed establishment that is the University of Cambridge… to study. Need we say anymore about the revolutionary year of ’47?

Hot to trot gals at that time included Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Martine Carol, and Joan Crawford, with the curvy and angelic Barbara Walker voted as Miss America. Christian Dior launched the first collection of the House of Dior, which founded the "new look", comprising of a sassy below-mid-calf full-skirt, well pointed bust, small waist, and rounded shoulder line. If you were lucky enough to get your hands on a pair of spandex and nylon stockings you’d be on point for the time. For the fellas, jeans and a shirt were a novel look making its way over from America.

If you’re reading this eating popcorn or any Sainsbury’s inspired ready meal, then thank your cotton socks for 1947. This was the year of the microwave. The first microwaves were a gigantic 5.5 feet tall, weighed 750 pounds and cost about $5,000 apiece. Not only was this the birth of the microwave but it was also the year that the mobile phone was conceived, the first ever telephone conversation between a moving car and a plane took place, and the fastest plane flight took place, with the plane exceeding 600 mph; a technological time indeed.

Theatre and Film were at large, with Arthur Miller’s All My Sons premiered in New York and A Streetcar Named Desire hitting Broadway, both to much acclaim. "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers" from A Streetcar Named Desire became the quote of the year. Brighton Rock, Hue and Cry, Black Narcissus and Holiday Camp are just a few of the illustrious films to hit the screens. The first ever Edinburgh Festival and second ever Cannes Film Festival took place, the cherries on the cake to celebrate a year of creative prowess.

It was the year that a smiley princess Elizabeth married her Prince Charming. Shown in black and white on TV to an audience of 400,000, this footage is renowned as the oldest surviving telerecording in Britain. Pound sterling became fully convertible to U.S. dollars, a moment coined ‘the convertibility crisis’ as the UK unwillingly renounced power to the West. 1947 was the start of charity shopping and the vintage look, with the first ever Oxfam Charity Shop opening on Broad Street, Oxford.

Undeniably, 1947 was a year of multiple creations, innovations and revolutions but the highlight of it all was, without a shadow of doubt, the inception of the institution that is Varsity.