Christmas in London, 1958
I don't know if you can make it out in this copy of the picture, but there are masses of people in Trafalgar Square, just looking at the tree....
Birmingham Rag, October 1958
I'm not quite sure of the timeline here. I know my dad did National Service after he was at Imperial College, and I think that included a Masters degree.But, now that he's been demobbed, it looks like he's back at university. I think he said once that he started on a PhD but couldn't finish it as the grant ran out. So, I'm guessing that this is the PhD period, especially as it looks like he started a proper job in 1959....
London Zoo
October 1958, and presumably the crocodiles are huddled together to keep warm. That or it's some kind of reptilian orgy...
I'd like to show this photo to the current head of Health and Safety at London Zoo, just to see how pale he turns, and how quickly....
"A" Company Sports Day
These shots are from the 16th May 1958, at the "A" Company sports day at Arborfield.
The mandatory Tug O War, 5 Platoon.
Quartermaster Wells in the long jump.
"Keith" in the high jump. Is it just me, or is he going to have to be very careful about his landing in order to avoid it being really painful/dangerous? I've never seen anyone doing the high jump with a head-first dive before...
Sgts Williams and Clarke, at what is presumably the refreshment area. More of that infernal Watneys!...
"Pubs with the Wrens"
They certainly knew how to make their own entertainment in those days!
This shot, from April 1958, is on a film titled "Pubs with the Wrens". Two of them appear to have been known as "Thing" and "It"...
One thing to note is that my dad was just short of 26 when this was taken, and he has a noticeably, ahem, "high forehead". Fortunately I have not been blessed with quite such active genes in that department....
"Mum Swigging"
My grandmother at Patty-Mary Good's wedding in April 1958...
"Blizzard"
I think the word "blizzard" might be a little excessive for what doesn't really appear to be too much snow, although nowadays this much snowfall would cause the entire country to grind to a halt for a couple of days.What's really interesting is to see a policeman still out there directing traffic in Piccadilly Circus. Actually, the surprise is not that they're still out there in the snow, it's that they're out there in the first place......
Going Underground
These are Piccadilly Circus and Hyde Park Corner tube stations, from February 1958. In so many ways, these look pretty much as they do today. The second one is remarkable in that there's no-one else there - when did you last see an empty tube station?
The advert in the first one caught my eye - "We Want Watney's Brown Ale". From what I understand, it was a reasonable brew in those days, long before the dreaded Watney's Red Barrel and Party Seven....