Eagle and Boys' World

The Eagle comic was launched on 14 April 1950, the brainchild of the graphic artist Frank Hampson. The Eagle became wildly successful selling nearly a million copies a week. It featured the legendary comic character Dan Dare 'Pilot of the Future'. This special issue includes a four page colour supplement produced in conjunction with the General Post Office (GPO) to commemorate the opening of the Post Office Tower to the general public. In doing so, the GPO hoped to use popular science fiction to promote the achievements of British science and technology.

The Post Office Tower was opened operationally by the British Prime Minister Harold Wilson on 8 October 1965. It was then opened to the public by Postmaster-General Anthony Wedgwood Benn and businessman Billy Butlin at 3pm on 19 May the following year.

Alongside an explanation of the role of the Tower and the definition of a microwave, the supplement includes illustrations of 'do-or-die' RAF Spitfires using radar to locate enemy targets during the Battle of Britain. The development of the telephone from Alexander Bell's invention to press-button technology is also shown in a strip of pictures. A page-long comic strip tells the story of how a modern RAF pilot's life is saved using the Tower's microwave technology. A specialist surgeon is able to guide his colleague who is operating on the wounded pilot in Scotland via a television broadcast made from the Tower.