Garnett Keeler Public Relations was formed by former British Army officer and journalist Philip Keeler and his late wife Sylvia in 1966. Early clients included Lambretta scooters and AC cars, beginning a tradition of transport-related PR which continues to the present day (the company now has a specialist transport practice and is a market leader in that sector). Philip and Sylvia retained an involvement with the company well into the 21st Century. Here’s a flavour of 1966:

• Manuel Santana won the men’s singles championship at Wimbledon. Billie Jean King won the women’s singles.
• The Baltimore Orioles beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the US World Series. The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Buffalo Bills in the AFL Championship.
• The West Indies cricket team toured England in a five match test; they beat England 3-1, with one draw.

The US President was Lyndon B Johnson, Harold Wilson was the British Prime Minister and Charles De Gaulle was the President of France. Indira Ghandi became Prime Minister of India, the Soviet leader was Leonid Brezhnev and the German Chancellor was Kurt Georg Kiesinger.

• The boxer Mike Tyson was born.Walter McGowan won the world flyweight title and Cassius Clay (later to become Muhammed Ali) defeated Henry Cooper at the Arsenal football ground - Highbury - in London. Arsenal recently moved to the Emirates stadium and Highbury is now a residential development, but retains the spirit of the historic ground; apartments have been created out of the old building and the pitch is now a designer garden.
• Jack Brabham, the Australian automobile racer, won the world driving championship in a car of his own construction.

England won the soccer World Cup. Despite having many of the world’s top players, and frequently having teams which (on paper) are the best in the world, they have never repeated this. Theories as to why abound. The game was invented by the English and sports presenter (and former England striker) Gary Lineker summed up the feelings of all English fans more than a decade ago: "Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win".

• Those topping the US Hit Parade during the year included Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass, The Animals, the Beach Boys, the Beatles, The Byrds, James Brown, Ray Charles, Bobby Darin, Neil Diamond, Donovan, Lee Dorsey, Bob Dylan, Herman’s Hermits, The Hollies, The Kinks, The Monkees, The Righteous Brothers, Simon and Garfunkel, The Supremes, Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder and the Yardbirds.
• John Lennon claimed The Beatles were bigger than Jesus; he later backtracked.
• British Prime Minster Harold Wilson’s proposals for majority rule were rejected by Rhodesian leader Ian Smith, who then took his country out of the Commonwealth. Basutoland gained independence from the UK, renaming itself Lesotho.
• In New York , the Metropolitan Opera House opened.

The Soviet Luna 9 made the first rocket-assisted landing on the moon. Later, Luna 10 became the first spacecraft to orbit the moon.

• Dan Rather was four years into his career as a CBS Correspondent; the BBC’s best known newscaster was Kenneth Kendall, whose career ultimately spanned decades, but 21-year old Angela Rippon became the corporation’s first female newsreader. She later blew away the perceived stuffiness of BBC News (and astonished the nation) by appearing in a humorous but highly glamorous high-kicking dance routine in a Morecambe & Wise Show which became a milestone in British broadcasting history.
• It is believed that 125 people were killed trying to cross The Berlin Wall, but the figure may be higher.