After the hardships and suffering of WW2, Britain began the 1950s with a spirit of hope and rebuilding.
New tower block flats in South London, 1959. You can see the ‘Prefabs’ in the foreground that were used as emergency housing after the bomb damage. Some stlll exist today.
Models show off the latest skirt fashions in a department store, 1956.
A girl proudly shows off the family motorcycle, 1953. You can see the Coronation bunting on the shed, which tells you the year.
Harlow New Town in Essex, 1958. The modern flats had indoor bathrooms and even central heating!
A middle-class mother and daughter in Manchester, 1954. The girl seems to love her new tricycle.
A husband and wife stand next to their new car, 1953. Car ownership was rare for the working classes before then.
Stevenage New Town in Hertfordshire, 1958. The concept of a modern estate with shops and all amenities nearby was first tried out in the many ‘New Towns’ created after WW2.
A family that has just moved into their modern council house, 1958. It must have seemed like a dream home to them.
This smiling lady pushes her baby past a row of recently constructed council houses, early 1950s.
After this, came the ‘Swinging Sixties’. Sadly, all that hope and optimism was not to last.
beetleypete 
It’s hard to come to grips with the fact that plumbing and heating were considered new and modern in the 50’s.
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As a family, we didn’t have an indoor bathroom until 1960, and no central heating until 1968, Jennie.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Holy cow! Best to you, Pete.
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Such a hopeful and prosperous decade! đź’•C
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It was. Probably the most hopeful decade in modern history.
Best wishes, Pete. x
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I went out with a guy in the late sixties whose family still lived in a Dagnham prefab. As temporary housing, they aged better than some of those new flats.
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They were incredibly popular with most of the residents too. There are still almost 1,000 lived in across London, Cathy.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Very impressive. There had changed so much to better, in the UK. We here in Germany had the N… again in the government and offices, till the midst of the 1980th. The result of a new study. xx Michael
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Things got better after WW2 here, but only until 1970. Then it started to go downhill.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Reblogged this on NEW BLOG HERE >> https:/BOOKS.ESLARN-NET.DE.
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What a contrast with the photos of poverty you posted last week.
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Exactly, Liz. That boom did not last long.
Best wishes, Pete.
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More’s the pity . . .
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In 1957 my first wife made a trip from Indiana to NY City. Someone there asked her if there were sidewalks in Indiana. (The indoor plumbing reminded me of that) Warmest regards, Theo
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Yes, city life was exceptionally different back then. But sidewalks did not make up for overcrowding and slum living conditions of course.
Best wishes, Pete.
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(1) We can’t get a 3D photo of those flats?
(2) The outfit worn by the lady at left is the better one. I”m sure you agree since you always lean left.
(3) June 2, 1953. Hurry up, girl! The Coronation is about to begin!
(4) Jean Harlow moved from Kansas City to a new town in 1923. The new town was…Hollywood. #SexAppeal
(5) An old political sticker on the back of the girl’s tricycle reads: I LIKE TRIKE.
(6) In the U.S. cars are like cats. They own their humans.
(7) Amenities? Amen!
(8) Dorothy’s home sweet home was in Kansas, but she dreamed of the Emerald City.
(9) There’s no baby in the pram. Just cans of food. Still, the lady needs to watch out for anything driven by Gene Hackman or Sandra Bullock.
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The Wizard of Oz is a regular favourite. Pleased to see it back.
Best wishes, Pete.
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HI Pete, if I remember my mom’s stories correctly, this is also when educational opportunities expanded to include a lot more young people. A very good time in Britain’s history.
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Yes, in 1948-1950, they introduced Comprehensive Senior Schools, with ‘streaming’ of pupils. I went to one in 1963, and had a marvellous education.
It was a wonderful decade that sadly did not last into the 1970s, because the Conservatives regained power.
Best wishes, Pete.
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That is a great pity. I do not understand the attitudes towards education throughout the world.
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Oh, the 50’s! A time of hope. A good time to grow up in…especially for a white boy in the northern part of the US, and your folks had employment.
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It was the same for me in London, Don. Ten years of hope and enthusiasm.
Best wishes, Pete.
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It’s all cyclical, isn’t it? You’ve found some images that perfectly illustrate the times and the hopeful feelings. Thanks, Pete!
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Glad you liked them, Olga.
Best wishes, Pete.
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such a clearly hopeful time depicted in these pics
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How tragic that it all fell apart because of Margaret Thatcher’s policies.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Our prefab had central heating. As Mum went past the thermostat she turned it up, and when Dad went past he turned it down.
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Sounds just like my mum and dad once we had central heating in 1968. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Don’t know!
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The high rise blocks were a terrible idea with the best of intentions; the low-rise blocks of Harlow look like the best compromise, but I don’t know what life was like there. Cheers, Jon.
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I can remember some of our neighbours being excited to move into a 20th-floor council tower block flat. Later on they had issues when the lifts broke, they never got to know any of their neighbours, car parking became a real problem, and a sense of isolation pervaded the whole estate where they lived. The only positive they could draw from it was that they had central heating, and a marvellous view.
Best wishes, Pete.
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The 50s a happy time and a time for progress…..how did that work out? Great photos as usual chuq
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I don’t think there was ever a more hopeful decade. Shame it didn’t continue.
Best wishes, Pete.
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So true and sad at the same time. chuq
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If you remember the 60s Pete – you weren’t there!!
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Ha! I remember that retort as well. 🙂
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I missed a few days when I tried Mescaline. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Hope and optimism, indeed….
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Yes, the bright new world of 1950s Britain.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Cool reflection of the past in pics there, Pete.
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I have been doing a long series of these recently, Doug.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Yep.. been sucking up the pectoral history. The prefab residences of this entry I hadn’t heard of before.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prefabs_in_the_United_Kingdom
🙂
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Wow… 170,000 of them things were built… out of the 500,000 expected… by the year I was born.. 1951. Thanks for thelink!
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I live in a brick clad prefab to this day. Cold as hell in winter, boilingly hot in summer!
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Did they remove all that asbestos, Jack?
Best wishes, Pete.
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