Rag Rag : The Rag Rag Annual Magazine, 1955

University of Manchester Student Union

Rag Rag

<p style='text-align: justify;'><b>Content warning: As an historical item, some content in this magazine contains language and imagery that reflect the prejudices of the era, which are offensive, oppressive and may cause upset. This is not condoned by The University of Manchester, but we are committed to providing access to this material as evidence of the inequalities and attitudes of the time period.</b></p><p style='text-align: justify;'>The 1955 Rag Rag magazine was produced by students to raise money for medical charities across Manchester. A quarter of the money raised went to Manchester hospitals; other beneficiaries included the Cripples’ Help Society, the Boys’ and Girls’ Refuges, the Wood Street Mission and the NSPCC. At this time the space race between the US and Russia was rapidly developing, and space was one of this volume’s themes.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Features include ‘The Driving Test’, a story about a disastrous driving test, and ‘Rag-rag’s guide to vocational guidance’, revealing institutional rivalry with the Manchester College of Technology and the School of Medicine. There are also jokes referencing space travel, the hydrogen bomb and aliens. Cartoons reflect the space travel theme, and some cartoons show sexualised female imagery, including nudity, and racial stereotypes. Congratulatory letters are printed from the mayors of Manchester and Salford.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>There are comedic advertisements for J. T. Richards turf, Robert Carlyle & Co. builders, Autodrome engineers, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Hatchett & Co engineers, the Refuge Assurance Company, Crown wallpapers, Whitworth Park laundry, Smithfield Market, Salford Electrical Instruments Ltd., Walpamur paints and others. </p>