Curious photos from the past of Great Britain (21 photos)

Let's take a look at how the people of the United Kingdom lived and what they did.





Mrs. House of Southampton, accompanied by her dog and sheep, goes shopping, 1934.



Miss Morris and the dance class, ca. 1922.

British dancer, choreographer and teacher, as well as an artist. In the 1920s, she opened a comprehensive school where, in addition to the usual school subjects, dance and acting were taught.

After the Second World War, she moved to Scotland, where she developed a national ballet, which became very famous in Europe.





Photographer: Alvin Langdon Cockburn

A sketch of the ruins. London, 1940.

In 1940, the British Minister of Information commissioned artist Ethel Gabein to paint a picture of the war. Here she is painting after the German air raids in London's East End.



A housewife from the slums of Newcastle in her kitchen. England, 1972.

Photo by renowned photographer Nick Hedges. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he traveled around the cities of England and captured the everyday life of the working class.



Winston Churchill feeds an albino kangaroo, 1947.

Churchill visits a kangaroo at the London Zoo, which was a gift from the owner of an Australian zoo.



A fruit vending machine on the London Underground, 1920s.

A machine that claims to sell fruit but actually offers kitchen cupboard essentials such as oxo cubes, tins, matches and Colgate products.



Experimental asbestos suits for RAF firefighters. UK, 1940.



Hop pickers on stilts in Faversham, England, 1920.

How do they keep their balance? A fall from such a height could be fatal. Risky guys.



Young girls on a motorbike buying turkeys at a farm in Tewkesbury, England, 1934.



A Bedford coal merchant and his horse Sam in a bar in the 1930s.

They became celebrities every week playing dominoes and drinking beer. They made other guests' evenings unforgettable.



A giant snowman in Aberdeen, Scotland, January 3, 1963.



US Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels (1862-1948) inspects a cannon on the ramparts of Edinburgh Castle. Scotland, 1919.



Men rescue residents of Rotherhithe, south London, from flooding caused by the Thames overflowing its banks, 1928.

The flood was the last major flood to hit central London until now.



A woman driving a miniature car in London, 1939.

The car was only 150 cm long and could reach speeds of up to 65 km/h. The car was produced by the British Motorboat Manufacturing Company in a run of about 1,000 copies.

During WWII, many British women served in the auxiliary units of the Air Force and Navy. Therefore, like other servicemen, they wore uniforms and helmets.



Christine Combs leaves a bakery in Hornsey, London, after bread was rationed due to a workers' strike on 26 July 1946.

It was only a year after the end of World War II, so it was no surprise that bread was being rationed.



Harold Stevens, a Weymouth magistrate, sleeps on the steps of London's Embankment to get a glimpse of homeless life, 1926.



Cat meat vendor. London, 1933.

Cat meat vendors were a common sight in London and other major cities from the mid-1800s to the 1930s.

During this period, most cities had their own abattoirs and horse slaughterhouses, and the meat unfit for human consumption was sold as cat food.



Behind the wheel of a car. Winnie Collins and Phyllis Dare enjoy a drive in Hyde Park, London, 1922.



A baker delivers bread during a flood in Langport, England, 1935.



A young boy dressed as a policeman holds a car to allow a flock of geese to cross a country road, 1934.