London in the 1920's and the 1930's in colour

[jagnut66]

Hi,
Is this really 100 years ago?
Thought these might be a cheerful distraction.......
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXS_yHDakaA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRAOrIfcvkU
What we missed out on.......
Anyone in the 1920's film who was 30 or over could count themselves a Victorian!
Plus there are two Chelsea Pensioners near the end displaying Crimea medals.
Best wishes,
Mike.

[alanworland]

Only had time for a glimpse but looks good! Love looking into a window of the past, thanks for the links.

Alan

[Edward1949]

Great footage.
And how about this from August 1939 :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz4eva5YTh0

[viewsonic1]

Great videos, a fascinating look from our past. And this from the 1960s:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N795jKDefAo

[jagnut66]

Wonderful to see.
England in all it's glory.
Before Luftwaffe Inc. started the brutalist urban redevelopment plan, that we completed in the 1950's and 1960's.
(Witness concrete Coventry)
Shame there's no sound to allot of these films.
Best wishes,
Mike.

[philipkearney]

I thought much the same as you Mike when I watched this one https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JkmytA-4GkE

Not all progress is good progress.

[Mick Lynch]

Anyone in the 1920's film who was 30 or over could count themselves a Victorian!

And all of them can count themselves dead by now...
Even the vast majority of the babies and toddlers in the 30s one are ‘pining for the fiords’ by now which is sobering.

Time has no master.

[Chief]

So, can anyone tell me why you had to get off an escalator right foot first?

Similar theme for things I find strange, Last January I went on the London underground. It had been many years since I'd been on it (30+ years ago as a child) and so I didn't know you were meant to keep on the right side of escalators.

I still find this weird, since it goes against everything I was taught from childhood onwards.

In every school I went to (England & Scotland) you had to keep on the Left when walking the coridoors.

When driving we drive on the Left.

So in the London underground everyone has to walk on the right (unless overtaking, which would be undertaking, which.... ).

[geoberni]

So, can anyone tell me why you had to get off an escalator right foot first?

Historic by design, to do with copyright/TM. As I understand it, until the 1920s, early escalators by the Otis Elevator Company were designed as shunt escalators, which is what you see in that film, because stepping straight off was patented to an American firm.
Rather than the parallel comb design we now see at the step on/off point, basically you were directed off to one side. Watch that sequence again but look at the way the steps level off and then run flat for while.
The section I've highlighted is moving under the end wall, so lead with the right foot.

shunt.JPG (52.46 KiB) Viewed 3337 times

I believe these shunt designs started to get replaced from the late 20s. But historically it's why we are instructed to stand on the Right, even though leading with the right foot is no longer required.

[myoldjalopy]

Not all progress is good progress.

If its not good then its not progress...

[jagnut66]

I thought much the same as you Mike when I watched this one https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JkmytA-4GkE

In the early summer of 1939, Margaret and Denys Gardiner, married. For a honeymoon they chose to tour East Anglia, the Fenlands and Yorkshire in their Morris 8 Convertible, along with their cat, Edgar. The trip was documented by the couple's cousin-twice-removed, Eldred, an accomplished photographer.....

Wonderful, a world gone by, before it was torn apart by WW2 and then the 'modernisers' that followed it.
The world went and got itself in a hurry and we covered allot of our beautiful countryside in housing estates and business parks.
Sad.
Denys Gardiner was a young man then, I wonder if he survived the war?.........
Best wishes,
Mike.

[Chief]

Thanks for the reply about the escalator. I see now from your screen-capture it's probably meant to have been read as Step off Right - Foot First, as opposed to my reading of it as Step Off - Right Foot First

No mention of Denys that I could find online, but Eldred (the photographer) died from TB a year after the holiday and Margaret died in 2014, aged 100.

They did however have children, and the photos which had passed to Denys after Eldreds' death were lost until 2014 when the family found them again while sorting out Margarets' estate.

I wonder how many people these days would go tenting with their cats. We've always taken ours on holidays but that's always been in caravans, hotels, etc. rather than cat claw susceptible fabric.

On a happy note, Edgar the cat isn't mentioned so must be still going strong

Wonderful, a world gone by, before it was torn apart by WW2 and then the 'modernisers' that followed it.

Like that naughty Alec Issigonis with his new fangled idea for modern car styling

[jagnut66]

I wondered how they managed to keep Edgar from wandering off / trying to get home, as they do. I suppose he must have been one of the first cats to be put on a lead.
Glad they found the photos though and shared them online. A nice memorial to Denys & Margaret and to Eldred and his work.

Like that naughty Alec Issigonis with his new fangled idea for modern car styling

I've always thought that post war car design flowed on nicely from the pre-war 30's designs, they had style and individualism.
Something that they continued to have through the 50's, 60's and even the 70's, until they lost the plot and succumbed to the jellymould and ridgid adherance to all designs looking similar sometime in the mid to late 1980's. Now they all look pretty much same. So boring.
I'll be shot down for that comment
Best wishes,
Mike.

[geoberni]

I've always thought that post war car design flowed on nicely from the pre-war 30's designs, they had style and individualism.
Something that they continued to have through the 50's, 60's and even the 70's, until they lost the plot and succumbed to the jellymould and ridgid adherance to all designs looking similar sometime in the mid to late 1980's. Now they all look pretty much same. So boring.
I'll be shot down for that comment
Best wishes,
Mike.

Until the fuel shortage in the 70s, I doubt any designer ever gave much thought to using a wind tunnel to improve fuel efficiency, with all those flat fronts on most cars. I seem to recall that the biggest engine Ford Capri (3.0L V6) even had extra weights added in the Sills to improve handing; probably not anything they would consider these days.
That's why cars are now very similar looking, to get the most mileage from the least fuel and emissions possible.

[jagnut66]

That's why cars are now very similar looking, to get the most mileage from the least fuel and emissions possible.

And, to my eye at least, as dull as ditchwater......
Add to that advanced technology by which modern cars virtually drive themselves, throw in electric cars and then driverless cars....
I'm afraid I lost all interest long before we got to the last option.....
They may not be quite as reliable (but then not as unreliable as some would have us believe) but at least with old cars you have human involvement / interaction.
I know, I was born too late.....
Best wishes,
Mike.

[Matt]

I seem to recall that the biggest engine Ford Capri (3.0L V6) even had extra weights added in the Sills to improve handing; probably not anything they would consider these days.

Whilst modern cars do tend to be designed to be as light as practical - they most definitely do still have weights added if of benefit. The most common reason is for NVH (noise vibration harshness) reduction. Even some modern vans (where payload sells) have additional NVH weights on leaf springs and axles.

[Mick Lynch]

A few London street scenes. Later that the 30s though. Love to know what happened with the landcrab and yellow lorry.

[ManyMinors]

Very interesting. That isn't a "Landcrab" though, I reckon it's a Fiat

[Flywheel]

Mick Lynch, your last photo caught my eye.

The two London Transport RT double deck buses, now that's taking me back.

I worked on those at LT Poplar garage, Leven Road E14, as an engineering garage trainee in 1971. I was aged 16 then.

At 21 I had to report to Chiswick works, and undergo bus driver training. The training and test procedures were the same for engineering and platform staff. They certainly put everyone through the mill. What with city of London traffic and the skid pan, I was having a great time.

Thanks for posting. Happy days.

[Chief]

They certainly put everyone through the mill. What with city of London traffic and the skid pan, I was having a great time.

I found a video channel on YouTube a couple of months ago that would have interested you, however inspite of the channel looking official (logos, copyright information etc.) it appears to have been closed down for violating copyright by the real owners of all the content.

The channel contained all the videos for a Rank Organisation produced series "Look At Life" and the episode that would interest you (available on DVD from the actual content owners: https://networkonair.com/all-products/1 ... -transport) is called: Driving Test.

It ended (last two minutes or so) with the London Bus drivers doing their skid pan training.

So as you did it yourself, was it as scary as it looked because the 1960's bus they kept showing sure liked to lean wayyy over in skids !

The part of it about police driving, and IAM was pretty interesting too.