What Happened in 1997?

Last week we held the British Engines Annual Awards 2022 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Each year, the awards night celebrates our long serving employees, who have been a part of the group for 25 years, as well as the achievements of our apprentices.

Employees celebrating their 25th anniversary with the group each received a watch of their choice, whilst the apprentices were presented with an engraved award for their hard work.

To mark the occasion, we’ve taken a look back at what happened in 1997 when our long serving employees were just starting their careers at the British Engines Group…

22nd February 1996: Dolly the sheep, the first ever mammal successfully cloned from an adult cell, was revealed to the world.

14th March 1996: Olympic gymnast, Simone Biles, was born.

30th March 1996: Channel 5 was launched on televisions across the UK.

31st March 1996: Teletubbies was aired on the BBC for the first time.

13th April 1996: Tiger Woods became the youngest ever golfer to win the masters at the age of 21.

2nd May 1996: Tony Blair became Prime Minister of the UK.

3rd May 1996: The UK won Eurovision for the first time since 1981 with ‘Love Shine a Light’ by Katrina and the Waves.

1st June 1996: The popular Ford ‘Puma’ coupé was launched in the UK.

28th June 1996: Mike Tyson infamously bit Evander Holyfield’s ear during a boxing match resulting in his suspension from the sport.

30th June 1996: The first book in the immensely popular Harry Potter series was published. It has since gone on to sell over 120 million copies worldwide, making it the third best-selling book of all time!

30th July 1996: Sunderland’s Stadium of Light, the largest football stadium to be built since the 1920s, was opened by the Duke of York.

10th August 1996: World famous influencer, Kylie Jenner, was born.

21st August 1996: Oasis released their album, ‘Be Here Now’, which went on to sell a record 350,000 copies on its first day!

31st August 1996: Princess Diana was tragically killed in a car accident in France after being chased by the Paparazzi.

6th September 1996: Princess Diana’s funeral was held at Westminster Abbey. It was watched by a record breaking 1.5 billion people worldwide.

11th September 1996: Scotland voted to create its own Parliament after 290 years of union with England.

15th October 1996: The Lion King Musical debuted for the first time on Broadway.

31st October 1996: Professional footballer and campaigner, Marcus Rashford, was born.

20th November 1996: The Queen and Prince Philip celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

23rd December 1996: The last ever ‘Rover 100’ was produced by the Rover Group.

Congratulations to everybody who received an award last week. We were delighted to join you and your families in celebrating your hard work and incredible achievements!

Are you interested in a career at the British Engines Group? Take a look at our latest vacancies.