'A shared experience unlike any other in Britain since the Blitz': What have we learned since summer 1976

It was the summer of a new Labour Prime Minister (James Callaghan), the birth of punk rock and the film Carry on England; Terry Pratchett released his first novel, appropriately titled The Dark Side of the Sun, and Agatha Christie’s last (Sleeping Murder) was published a few months after her death.

In sport, Sue Barker won the French Open; the West Indies, spearheaded by the incomparable Viv Richards, won the Test Match series, which came as a shock to English spectators; the swimmer David Wilkie won gold at the Montreal Olympics. Extraordinarily, a British band (Brotherhood of Man) triumphed in the Eurovision Song Contest. The Ford Fiesta was launched, creating 3,000 new jobs in Dagenham, Essex. Big Ben’s clock broke down. There was a plague of ladybirds.

The famous heatwave (temperatures peaked at 35.9˚C in Cheltenham, Gloucester-shire) and drought of exactly 50 years ago saw not only hosepipe bans, but queues at standpipes and the unfortunate residents of South Wales had their water supply cut off every night. The problem was compounded by the fact that the drought was preceded by a winter of lower than average rainfall and reservoir levels were dangerously down.

Despite the fact it was widely considered to be a one off, Callaghan appointed a drought minister, Denis Howell, and, hey presto, it began to rain a few days later, over the August bank holiday. However, the population was 20% smaller then and there were no water-sapping data centres. There were fewer arguments about land management, but also fewer wildfires. It was, wrote Herefordshire farmer and author Evelyn Cox, ‘a shared experience unlike any other in Britain since the Blitz’. What has the country learned since?

Not enough, it seems, despite more sophisticated weather forecasting and greater awareness of a changing climate. As we reported last month, there have been no new reservoirs built for 34 years and those in the pipeline are years off completion. Some water companies remain complacent and have done lamentably little to stem leakage. Fish are gasping (the Environment Agency carried out 38 fish rescues on two West Midlands rivers alone) and many city dwellers are blissfully unaware that food shortages could loom as cattle run short of grass and crops wither.

However, as Defra made clear last week, at least the drought is galvanising action: greater investment in infrastructure by water companies, research into desalination and less red tape for farmers and landowners, not to mention a bit of common sense on the part of the public. It even prompted the Prime Minister to send the an emergency alert linked to the wildfires.

Even Natural England is beginning to consider fuel management to combat wildfires. We’re all in it together, just as we were half a century ago.

This feature originally appeared in the August 19, 2026, issue of Country Life. Click here for more information on how to subscribe.