London In The 1930s: Heatwaves

~ beetleypete

1930 was one of the hottest summers on record, and 1932 was almost as hot. Londoners enjoyed the warm weather in a variety of ways.

These girls are at a main line station, going off on holiday.

Old Caledonian Market, King’s Cross. Some of the shoppers are still wearing far too much clothing for a heatwave.

The water company man has opened a street water main so the children can cool off.

Crowds gather by The Serpentine in Hyde Park. A cool spot in the heart of Central London.

A temporary swimming pool erected in Piccadilly.

These dressmakers are working on the roof of the workshop, wearing less clothing to keep cool.

The ice cream man by the River Thames was more popular than ever.

This little girl is taking her cat to The Cat Show at Olympia. She is still wearing an overcoat, despite the heat.

The little boy in his toy bus will not let the warm weather stop him wearing full uniform.

Female tennis players at Wimbledon cool off during the Junior Championships.

26 thoughts on “London In The 1930s: Heatwaves”

  3. (1) Backwards rickshaw.
    (2) Those heatwave girls should have taken a hint from Marilyn Monroe.
    (3) Is that street water main on Main Street?
    (4) Hiding in Hyde Park Lake is a large serpentine creature eager to devour the crowd.
    (5) That Piccadilly pool is one dilly of a pool.
    (6) Those dressmakers on the rooftop are still wearing way too much.
    (7) At least one child is sure to give the ice cream man a cold shoulder.
    (8) I took my cat to the show, too. But after standing in the fee line a while, I realized I’d left my wallet back at the house. “Doggone it!”
    (9) Do toy buses have air conditioning? (And will I take some heat for asking such a question?)
    (10) Nice rack! …ets

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  5. Pingback: London In The 1930s: Heatwaves — beetleypete | Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News

  9. Britain always seemed ill-equipped to deal with hot weather I suppose because it was a fairly rare phenomenon. To me being overly hot is almost worse than being cold. Those poor girls working on the roof! Of course I liked the little girl with cat best.

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    1. I knew you would like the cat-girl. London is insufferable in temperatures above 30C. In 1976 during the long heatwave, I hardly slept at all for weeks. I wandered around like a zombie, dreading bedtime.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  12. some bizarre things. The girls going on hols in 30s in mini skirts, the sewers photo I think staged, the ice creams would have melted, the coats in warm weather. Nevertheless it took me a while to be entertained by these gems. We got to 30C today, I’m trying to sleep now & its 22 still & sun set at 10pm.

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