“Let’s be honest, Carter was a terrible president” was one British headline, but he won the hearts of the people of the North East when in May 1977 he flew to Newcastle on his first official overseas visit and greeted them with that immortal phrase: “Ha’way the lads.”
His four-hour visit was arranged to promote US/UK friendship, and as he was driven away from Newcastle airport, he spotted the headlines on two newspaper bills. “Ha’way Jimmy” said one; “The Lads” said the other.
He turned to Ernie Armstrong, the Durham North-West MP and father of Hilary, who was accompanying him and asked what the phrases meant.
He might have been a terrible president, but he was an astute politician and he quickly realised he could follow in the footsteps of one of his predecessors, John F Kennedy, who had endeared himself to Berliners by declaring “Ich bin ein Berliner”.
So after a civic reception in Newcastle, he stepped outside the civic centre to speak to a cheering crowd of 20,000.
The Lord Mayor of Newcastle, Councillor Hugh White, announced he had been made Honorary Freeman of the City of Newcastle, and referring to the president’s home state, Cllr White said: “President Carter is already a Georgian. Now he is a Geordie too.”
When the noisy crowd allowed him to speak, his first words were taken from those newspaper bills: “Ha’way the lads!”
The Northern Echo’s headline the following dayAfter the hubbub died down, he made an unexpectedly weighty speech about unemployment, particularly among young people, before he was taken to the Corning Glass Factory in Sunderland. His final stop was at the National Trust’s Washington Old Hall, the ancestral home of George Washington family, the first US president, where he planted a tulip tree on the village green.
Shaking hands at the glass factory in SunderlandBoth the US president and the British Prime Minister seem a little surprised by the headgear of these Sunderland glass workersShadowed by the largest security operation ever mounted in the region, the world’s most powerful man went on a walkabout to shake the hands of members of the crowd.
Jimmy Carter waves to the crowds in Washington on his North East visit on May 6, 1977Planting the tree in Washington villageSigning the visitors’ books at Washington Old HallThen it was back to the airport with UK Prime Minister Jim Callaghan for a flight down to London and more official business.
As they left the North East, Mr Callaghan gave the president “an old second-hand book about one of the most famous men who came from this part of the world, Jack Lawson”.
Lawson had started down Boldon Colliery the day after his 12th birthday but had educated himself and become Chester-le-Street MP for 30 years, rising to a place in Clement Attlee’s Cabinet in 1945 as Secretary of State for War. Then, in 1949, he became the first pitman peer.
“The book epitomises for me the hardships, the resilience, the courage and determination of the people of the North East and of the miners,” said Mr Callaghan.
The most extraordinary chapter of the book had yet to be written, though. Lord Lawson’s nephew was a chap called George Reynolds, who became the chipboard king of Shildon and the owner of Darlington FC.
As Mr Carter left the North East, he said: “There is no way I can express the sense of friendship and common heritage that I feel with the people of Great Britain.
“I have shaken many hands – hands of strength, hands marked from hard work.
“They cemented our determination and spirit of hope and confidence which has been an inspiration to me.”
Mr Carter was only four months into his presidency when he visited the North East. He was greeted very warmly but the people could not inspire him to overcome the economic problems that beset the US at home, and its foreign difficulties, such as 52 of its diplomats being held hostage in its embassy in Tehran in Iran for 444 days. Those problems and difficulties are why Mr Carter’s presidency is not regarded as a success, although his post-presidential humanitarian work and his involvement in the lasting Egypt/Israel peace mean that he was awarded the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize.
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