Forty years on – we look back on the year that Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer were married, the first-ever London marathon was held – and Cumbria hosted a variety of entertaining events.
On these pages you can see how busy the county was in 1981, with notable moments including the visit of TV star Noel Edmunds to Whitehaven, an inspiring sponsored walk by pupils from a Carlisle school, and a school netball team achieving remarkable success.
In politics Roy Jenkins, Shirley Williams, David Owen and Bill Rodgers announced a plan to form a new party which became the SDP, and Arthur Scargill was elected leader of the National Union of Mineworkers.
The United Kingdom had a rare Eurovision win with Bucks Fizz singing Making Your Mind Up and number ones for the year included John Lennon’s Imagine and Prince Charming from Adam and the Ants.
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