London - The Roaring 20's

[stevo728822]

Just watched a more enhanced version of this footage.

[barrowboy1991]

One word: Fascinating.

[TheYaom]

nice, no pakis or blacks!!!

[staypress]

@TheYaom of course cool innit

[escapefromryazan]

@TheYaom

yea, but loads of irish/jews/russians instead. twat.

[Edgey1988]

@escapefromryazan 'Loads' In 1927 I don't think so. It is the east end of London so there they may be a few jews and irish even in those days, but Russians?? that's news to me.

[escapefromryazan]

@Edgey1988

from the end of the 19th century large numbers of russians (many Jews and political refugees) fled to Britain and settled in the east end, fleeing pogroms and political repression.

for the irish and jews, 'a few' would be a massive understatement, the london docks were overwhelmingly manned by irishmen, and the east end was the centre of textile production in the city - the jewish 'sweating' shops. the east end has always been an immigrant hub dating back to the huguenots in 1600s

[crazy3d]

@TheYaom pfff i'm light brown skined, are you going to discriminate me because i have some melanine on my skin? discriminate people by their behaviour, i know that big blacks in u.s look like brutes but whatever, don't judge people just by they appareance.

[chanctonbury63]

Funny to think that around 35 years later it would be me posing in front of that old statue in Ken Gardens.

[umkeeper]

WOW all those awsome caps in the beginning hard to find these days

[Hellishcrusade]

@umkeeper - Glad I found a comment about caps!

A public statement of 'belonging' was what you wore on your head.

The flat cap said you were working-class, the bowler hat said you were middle-class, and no hat might be saying that you were a homosexual ...so, everyone wore a hat!

[SarahMcCartneyRandel]

Amazing stuff. Particularly all that activity on the river.

Although I would have prefered the original Binnie Hale version of Spread a Little Happiness, rather than Sting. He doesn't really have the right feel for it.

[kenjohnxiv]

This is taken from a DVD called the Open Road it was and I quote from the booklete that comes with it the all new BRITISH FRIESE-GREENE Natural Colour Process. You can get it Via the BFI or Amazon, Loads of goodies on it as they go from Lands End to John O'Groats. enjoy

[kenjohnxiv]

This is taken from a DVD called the Open road it was and I quote from the booklete that comes with it the all new BRITISH FRIESE-GREENE Natural Colour Process. You can get it Via the BFI or Amazon, Loads of goodies on it as they go from Lands End to John O'Groats. enjoy

[GoneWithTheSinners]

I've been to many of the places seen in this video and I find it surreal, especially with the Peter Pan statue and the Greenwich Observatory, that people were standing in the same places 90 years before me.

[crazy3d]

@GoneWithTheSinners surreal that the time passes, people die, you live on the same planet and film was invented, fucking yea, it's crazy.

[duncr]

If that was a policeman today approaching someone filming on Albert Embankment like at 6:24 they'd question them on being a terrorist

[TheDepotCat]

@duncr "If that was a policeman today approaching someone filming on Albert Embankment like at 6.24 they'd question them on being a terrorist"

LoL - Surely you mean at 3:15, but yes you are right...Although I think section 44 whereby the police over stepped the mark by harrassing ordinary photographers has been ended. But I think it is now illegal to take a photograph with a policeman in it...Or something like that.

[ggoldie604]

Very good! The colour and music made it come alive!

[alfamonk]

loving the hats!

[urbanecondetroit]

Good job! I have included this video on my channel for the benefit of my Urban Economics students at Wayne State University. -- John Sase

[Landy13oy]

now that is a place and time i could live

[PBLEY]

Reminds me of the Hercule Poirot and Jeeves and Wooster periods.

[Butchuk2007]

I love the road traffic scenes. Those buses belonged to the LGOC the largest private bus operator in London. Strange to think that the buses, Underground and some tramways were run by private companies back then until 1933.

Another favourite part starts at 4:23 showing Richmond...Just a bus ride away from me on the H22.

Sobering to think that everyone in the footage must be dead by now...Or mabye some of the kids may still be alive...I wonder..??

[NelsonClick]

I would rather live in Old London than Old New York. It's cleaner, brighter and more civilized. Of course I'd be filthy rich for comfort and I wouldn't mix socially with any one society or even speak so as not to expose my Texas accent to the eye rolling disgust of 20's era Londoners who at this time still thought they were better than Yanks. And I wouldn't get sick or have dental problems because health care wasn't good yet. You know what? I changed my mind - I'm not going.

[chrisappleford]

spanish flu and casual racism....ahhhh the good old days

[01geTnM]

@chrisappleford lol

[JollyRodders]

@NelsonClick I wouldn't mind going back to the 1920s & 30s.....If I could get back to this one again. I wonder if people in 100 years time will be looking at all the video available from this time period and wishing they could pop back..??

[edj66]

@JollyRodders I'd hope not lol.

[JollyRodders]

@edj66 Ha Ha - I can't disagree with you there.

[jimthewreck]

@NelsonClick Not going??? great stay in the US and ruin your own Country you moron

[chanctonbury63]

@NelsonClick You never know. London was neither clean nor bright. Witnessed by the tens of thousands of people either crippled or killed by the filthy smogs from coal burning. And the millions of tonnes of raw sewage draining into the Thames.

[gamblemadman]

@NelsonClick Hahaha. You talked yourself out of it huh?

[churchwardwen]

This is an absolutely invaluable piece of film that covers a period of immense interest to anyone who had family living in London at that time. It shows so much of the 'ordinary' things that were going on, and the musical accompaniment fairly rounds off the whole picture.

Many many thanks for this peek into the past.