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I’M
BACKING BRITAIN - ORIGINS & BACKGROUND
"I'm
Backing Britain" was a patriotic campaign from the late
1960s which started spontaneously when five Surbiton secretaries
volunteered to work extra hours without pay in order to boost
their company's productivity during a period of economic downturn.
The secretaries urged others to follow their example to help
Britain overcome the troubled times.
The
campaign received popular support from the British public,
becoming a nationwide movement within a week.
The Union Flag was adopted as the visible manifestation of
the campaign - being used in a variety of ways including badges,
shopping bags and even as a "I'm Backing Britain"
postal franking mark which featured on 84 million letters
during that period.
In
1968, to add support to the campaign, a song called "I'm
Backing Britain" was written and released as a 45rpm
single with Bruce Forsyth providing the lead locals. All parties
involved in making the record took a cut in their fees or
royalties so that the single could be sold at a discounted
price.
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