1928: A Very Different England

~ beetleypete

(Photos can be enlarged, by clicking on them)

Ten years after the end of WW1, England was a very different place to the country we know today. The photo above shows two girls working in hay fields in Lancashire.

Trafalgar Square, London. Double-decker buses look very different, in 2019. And there are more cars and motorcycles these days too.

The arrival of the RMS Mauretania in Southampton. State-of-the-art luxury sea-travel.

Buying an ice cream, in Cornwall. That hasn’t changed so much, as Kelly’s ice cream is still sold now. The ladies’ fashions are delightful indeed.
I missed my ‘era’.

The iconic red telephone kiosk, and red post box. These are in Oxford, and many are still around today of course.

A look into the past, eleven years before WW2 changed so much here.

86 thoughts on “1928: A Very Different England”

  1. Pingback: 1928: A Very Different England — beetleypete – Truth Troubles

    1. I understand, Robbie. My liking for the era is based on many things, but I am well-aware that life was not equal for most people, between the wars. It’s just a nostalgic fancy for me.
      But 1928 was the year that women got to vote at the age of 21, the same as men.
      ‘1928: Women received the vote on the same terms as men (over the age of 21) as a result of the Representation of the People Act 1928’. (Wikipedia)
      Best wishes, Pete.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      2. Kathryn and her clan were from Keswick – do you know that area??? Up north maybe, near Scotland? Many years ago there was a Jacqueline Pearson who was a penpal with me and she lived in the UK somewhere – the 1960s time period.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  8. I think you know how fascinated I am by this stuff, Pete…and one reason I enjoyed “Downton Abbey” so much, as it infused the stories with so much “real life” moments from that time…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

        2. I just found this. Women got the vote in 1928, after that long struggle.
          1928: Women received the vote on the same terms as men (over the age of 21) as a result of the Representation of the People Act 1928. (Wikipedia)

          Like

          Reply

        1. The last emails I got were the ones with photos of the girls, and the soap received reply. Nothing since, and nothing in Spam. (I checked) Let me know what they were about, and I will try to answer them here.
          Cheers, Pete.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply

  17. My apologies for being a “little” off topic, but we are, after all, talking about England here.. 🙂 how is our idiot President being received there? Seems he’s continuing to provide some Brexit advice to you folks (don’t pay ’em and sue the bastards! LOL) and still in this love/hate thing with the mayor of London.
    From my vantage point it bothers me that he is allowed that close to the Queen and allowed to breath the same air.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. He is more or less despised by most of the general public. But the government and royalty are sucking up to him in the hope of some post-Brexit trade deals. That’s about the size of it, Doug. The news is reporting his tweets as ‘childish’, and ‘not fitting his office’.
      Best wishes, Pete.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

        1. He will be on the move soon, Doug. Your country voted for him, so you are stuck with him. And I would bet he will win again next year! He has found the ‘heart’ of America, like it or not. Time to buy some more guns, it seems. Just like everyone else over there. Sadly.
          Best wishes, Pete.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply

  19. how delightful to see pictures of old, Pete. the cart in the first photo reminds me of my own country’s early transport. i have a souvenir picture in London standing next to a red phone koisk 🙂 you for sharing 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  20. Actually, those two girls were not working in the hayfields of Lancashire. The photo was taken in Transylvania the day after the village rallied against Dr. Frankenstein’s monster. The girls in the photo are looking at one of the pitchforks used by the mob, after one of them has just said, “A riot is an ugly thing.”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  22. I love looking back into an era I was never to witness. My grandmother had an old stereograph photo viewer with images of times gone by. As a child I dreamed of living a life so elegant. But, with every era there is always an undesirable time.

    I cannot imagine living during the war. It had to be horrific and frightening. Regardless of the futility of war, it seems to always loom as the ultimate threat.

    The photos are great and the way I always imagined life in England to be. Someday I hope to see for myself, but I know so much of the iconic ideas I have about your country may have changed a great deal.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  25. I’ve previously posted about Arthur Mee’s Children’s Encyclopedia from that era, especially the pictorial quizzes such as “What’s wrong in this room?” and “What’s wrong with this steamer?” which must have been much easier for people of time than today. They show you how much our everyday world knowledge alters over a hundred years.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks, David. I confess to a fascination with that era. Though if I had lived during that time, I doubt my existence as a working class Londoner in the dockland district would have been very enjoyable. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

      Like

      Reply

  26. Gorgeous pics. I’ve been doing my fair bit of reading historical books and looking back at how things have changed and it’s amazing at how different things look like in such a short time (and that is considering the UK is usually quite good at keeping at least some traditions going). Thanks for sharing, Pete.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. The bombing mainly affected the big cities and ports of course. But then a lot of building started, the aspirations of people changed, and there was a boom in the economy during the 1950s. England changed in so many ways after WW2, but images like these could still be found in my childhood.
      Yes, I would like to have lived in the 1920s, though that would probably have meant serving in the war later. I love the styles, the music, the fashions, most things about that era, GP.
      Best wishes, Pete.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  28. Oh Pete these are wonderful! I just love photos of England in times gone by, particularly if they’ve got colour. I know that I romanticise this era, but in terms of the beauty of England before plastic, motorways and McDonald’s took over, I would love to step back in time and see it. Thanks for this post. It’s lovely! Katie

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  29. Pete….a bit off topic…I hear a foreign policy wonk say on TV that there could be a time when the UK could break up and leave only England and Northern Ireland….he tributes all the political division….is this accurate in any way? chuq

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. If Scotland ever votes for independence, then we will say goodbye to them as part of the UK. I think Wales is unlikely to ever do the same though. They don’t have a strong enough economy to fund their own social services, health service, unemployment, etc. There is a small Welsh Nationalist party, but they rarely do well in mainstream elections, unlike the Scottish Nationalists, who are very dominant up there.
      Best wishes, Pete.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

All comments welcome

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.