For 20 years between 1996 and 2016, photographer Phil Maxwell documented the old ladies he saw around the Whitechapel area of East London. (The same area famous for the Jack The Ripper murders in the 19th century.) This is just a selection of the many photos he took during that time.
I was sad to see that a few of them were homeless, and living on the streets or begging. We should look after old people better than that.
Captions are not really necessary, as we can see what Phil was trying to show us.
beetleypete 
I didn’t get past the poster girl in the first photo…
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Is that Catherine Zeta-Jones?
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It looks like her, but I can’t be sure.
Best wishes, Pete.
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So powerful, and you know behind every image is a desperately important story of a life. Hugs, C
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Very much so, Cheryl. I doubt they expected to end up like that. They had hopes and dreams.
Best wishes, Pete. x
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Poor old girls. They were young and carefree once.
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Yes, with no idea how things would turn out for them.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Yes his stories are well shown. Warmest regards, Theo
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Thanks, Theo.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Driving thru town here yesterday, Pete, I saw some pretty haggard tired faces, like we are all worn down. SAD. I felt so sad. These photos show how we do struggle.
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Yes, women who had led hard lives in a run-down district of London. It shows on their faces indeed.
Best wishes, Pete.
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So sad! But I must admit to find the first amusing.
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Yes, the juxtaposition of the young model and old lady was well spotted by the photographer, Don.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Old and sad. Only the lady in the last photo seems to have any life left. It is shameful to see such images taken so recently. We are supposed to be civilized. It’s the same in many cities here although there are also Medicaid homes and I think I would rather live on the street as I have seen what those are like. Obscene.
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Those ladies lived hard lives in a run-down area, Carolyn. It is still going on today, sadly.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Oh my word, Pete, 2016 was just a few years ago. How absolutely awful to see pictures like this taken in a city like London.
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This is a part of London few people would visit unless they live there. It has hardly changed since Victorian days, and Phil’s photos are evidence of that, Robbie.
Best wishes, Pete.
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You’re right, no captions necessary. Best to you, Pete.
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Thanks, Jennie.
Best wishes, Pete.
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You’re welcome, Pete. Best to you.
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Some things don’t seem to change, or only in the detail, not in the essence. Although terrible, as you say, these images speak for themselves. Thanks for sharing them, Pete.
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Thanks, Olga. Not much had changed for ladies like those in 100 years.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Truly shocking…desperately hard lives
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You can see it in their faces of course. Hard lives, in an unforgiving, often depressing area.
Best wishes, Pete.
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You absolutely can
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These are such evocative images.
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They are indeed, Liz. Hard lives lived, in a poor and run-down area of London. Things had not changed much there since the 1880s.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I fear that the divide between the “haves” and the “have nots” gets wider with every passing year.
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Adding to above comments, they remind me of late 40s early 50s shots. Good grief!
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The side of London that tourists and visitors rarely see, PV.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I agree with Chris, Pete I would have said these were earlier images and certainly not what I would have expected then quite shocking xx
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I know, Carol. 2016? Hard to believe. But as I was still in London in 2012, I used to see such ladies all the time.
Best wishes, Pete. x
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They look more like the 1950s, we should be ashamed that there are still people living like this, Pete đŸ˜”
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Yes indeed, Chris. If you showed someone the photos taken in 2016 without telling them the year, it would be easy to believe they were taken 70 years earlier.
Best wishes, Pete.
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