England In Colour: 1924-1926

~ beetleypete

Taken over two years, this uncredited photographer captured London life and other (unmentioned) parts of England using early colour film.

You will notice the same large car in some of the photos, with a distinctive mascot at the front. It was the occupants of this car that took all of the photos.

Hiking In The countryside.

A seaside holiday town and its funfair.

Barges were still used extensively on a network of canals. Goods were transported on them all around the country, and the Bargees and their families lived on them.

Filling up at a petrol station in rural England.

The centre of a small county town.

Old and new transport passing on a country road.

Small boys and a pet cat.

London.

A busy street market in the capital.

A policeman directing traffic consisting mostly of taxis and buses.

A view of Trafalgar Square.

The southern approach to Tower Bridge. (Near where I lived as a child.)

London Bridge. (Much more traffic there these days.)

Women and children outside a small shop, somewhere in London.

The busy Port of London, just west of Tower Bridge. The barges used to line up from one side of the Thames to the other.

38 thoughts on “England In Colour: 1924-1926”

    1. They were called ‘lighters’, and the operators were known as ‘Lightermen’. They were used to bring goods from ships to the wharves nearby, where they were unloaded. Many ships were too big to dock next to the wharves. This from the Web.
      ‘Lightermen carry goods – they lighten (that is, unload) a ship and transfer her cargo to another vessel, or to shore. Since 1700, both watermen and lightermen have been members of the same livery company or guild, The Company of Watermen & Lightermen of the River Thames’.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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    1. If the current mayor (Khan) has his way, he will price cars off the streets of London with his zones and other charges. Of course, rich people will always be able to afford the fees though.
      Best wishes, Pete. x

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        1. BP, Shell, and Texaco are the main petrol retailers here, mostly on stand-alone main road sites and motorways. But most petrol is actually sold by the big four supermarkets. They discount it slightly to attract customers, and have the biggest share of the market by far.

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  5. (1) “Next time, let’s just stop at McDonald’s.”
    (2) Headline: “One Helluva Time to Drive Angry!”
    (3) That fishing resort is not the REEL deal.
    (4) After the photo was taken, she stuck a feather in her hat and called it macaroni.
    (5) Now that’s my kind of hot tub!
    (6) Cheap goods were transported on bargain barges.
    (7) “Smile, my little mud puppy!”
    (8) “I beep for BP!”
    (9) “They went and put that building right smack in the middle of the street. There’s no way to drive around it!”
    (10) Automobile driver: “I’ve got two extra wheels and more horsepower!”
    (11) “My cat times his tail swings with mum’s rocking chair. But he’s getting old because every now and then I hear a screech.”
    (12) “Where’s my husband?”
    (13) That bus is being driven by Walham Green. I’m not saying he’s drunk, but he just picked up a lady outside the local brewery and called her a beautiful swan!
    (14) Wouldn’t it be cool if someone made a chessboard with a name printed on every square? (I’d name the king’s square Trafalgar.)
    (15) It was nice of London to build Tower Bridge near where you grew up. Did you have any say in the construction plans?
    (16) That’s London Bridge? It doesn’t look like Arizona to me!
    (17) “I told Everett to meet me outside a small shop, somewhere in London. I don’t know what’s keeping him…”
    (18) I remember back when I played bridge. I erected a tower with the cards.

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  8. Pingback: England In Colour: 1924-1926 | Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News

  12. I remember barges. Lovely to see so little traffic in most of those shots. Little English boys always seemed to be scruffy with their socks (if they had them) falling down and dirty faces. I love the boys with the cat )of course) Ladies knitting like that make me think Madame Desfarge!

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