A History of Tyneside

Twentieth Century Tyneside (1x6)

Air date: Nov 16, 2006

Built on Tyneside and entering service in 1907, RMS Mauritania was one of the finest liners of the early twentieth century and held transatlantic records for over 20 years. The region's armaments and shipbuilding industries boomed during the First World War, but after the war these industries along with coal mining and steel making declined rapidly leading to the 1926 miners’ strike and the famous Jarrow Crusade some ten years later. The iconic Tyne Bridge opened in 1928, one year after the world famous Newcastle Brown Ale was first produced. The coming of World War Two led to a resurgence of the region’s traditional industries, and during the war the region escaped the worst of the air raids that badly hit other areas of the country. In July 1996 Newcastle United smashed the world transfer record when they paid £15 million to bring Alan Shearer home, who was top scorer in all ten seasons he played for the club.