1964: CHANGING Times in SOUTH LONDON | South of the River | Voice of the People | BBC Archive

[@RamblesBrambles]

At last!! A full documentary on the channel...please please please, for prosperities sake, and for the curious minds who love the rich History of this wonderful Country , please upload more like this. 👍

[@dean6816]

Instead of having to rely on people's VHS tapes..

[@scuzzy983]

I agree, more full-length documentaries would be very welcome. Personally I’d love to see What the Hell ever Happens in Marlborough (first broadcast 19 October 1969) 👌

[@themadplotter]

There’s a couple of 40min docus uploaded 👍

[@ashcross]

Yes, the clips are fascinating but we need a bigger archive of full length documentaries and programmes.

[@samhailess]

posterity

[@WilliamBarrington-k8s]

Black man here, I was born in South East London 1958 a lot of this documentary brought back a lot of memories. They were the good old days

[@greenblue6935]

Did you experience much racism? My grandparents were londoners and the stuff they used to say was disgusting.

[@WilliamBarrington-k8s]

@greenblue6935 me personally yeah but not much, I could look after myself. Lol

[@miamitten1123]

@@greenblue6935what did they go through? I guess it’s ‘better’ than 1950’s/60’s America

[@WilliamBarrington-k8s]

@@miamitten1123 50s/60s America was disgusting apartheid everywhere. England was much more civilised. I can remember from personal experience the majority of white people in our neighbourhood were friendly we all knew each other, of course your gonna get the small minority of arse holes

[@Sardarji-bq6oj]

Indian Heritage and born in 65 Plumstead south East London 😊

[@1958RBS]

What a find! I was a small child, growing up in SW London when this was made, yet the London shown here brings back so many memories. What strikes me most is how decent and well-behaved people were and how articulate those who left school at 14 were. We have lost a great deal in so many ways.

[@thomaspolice9400]

Yup, lost Rickets, Polio, T.B. the Krays, Smogs, Razor Gangs, Misogyny, ignorance, poor Health and Safety, low wages and snobbery.

[@robertandrews5640]

​@@thomaspolice9400what a negative misery

[@integrito3323]

​​​@@thomaspolice9400 and intolerance! Agree! I grew up there then, too!

[@Splozy]

@@thomaspolice9400 We lost low wages? what?

[@gaycha6589]

@@thomaspolice9400 Innit

[@norman7527]

I was 6 years old when this was made. I was born in Lambeth Hospital, which no longer exists. Lived in Nine Elms.Bloody hard times for my mum and dad and pretty much everybody. Thank you to the person that uploaded this.

[@lambethlongshanks7990]

@@norman7527 Hi neighbour! I'm from next to Vauxhall Park. Criminal what they've done to 9 Elms recently in terms of sticking up tacky-looking high rises. Hope you're keeping well.

[@norman7527]

@lambethlongshanks7990 Hello friend! I went for a walk down memory lane earlier this year, but I couldn't hardly recognise the area, to be honest. I was brought up in a block of flats (not longer exists) in what is now Bramley Crescent and went to the nearby Springfield School, which has also disappeared. Hard but great and mischievous times All the best.

[@kathdevi481]

I was 11. Also lived in Nine Elms. Hard times but lovely caring people. Happy and sad to see this❤

[@kathdevi481]

​@@lambethlongshanks7990I went to Wyvil just up the road.

[@norman7527]

Does anybody remember the nearby Wilcox Road and Lambeth Walk markets? and if they still exist. I remember going with my mum to do shopping.

[@hilaryepstein6013]

A full documentary! Thank you for this beautiful treasure of a film of London 60 years ago. The lives of these people had not been easy but it gave them a chance to share their thoughts and impart their wisdom.

[@BinnyBongBaron_AoE]

Surprised the BBC would share this these days. I do enjoy these archives.

[@lambethlongshanks7990]

Why are you surprised?

[@wilhelmtauber836]

@@lambethlongshanks7990 They normally hide this kind of history, and tell us how to remember things with modern BBC lies, don't they!

[@LAMF24]

@@lambethlongshanks7990 Because it's not diverse enough.

[@jamieroach5755]

@@lambethlongshanks7990 because they are showing how much better london was, wakey wakey...

[@cityzens634]

We must have got to the stage where it doesnt matter anymore if people know as we are so far gone to do anything about it.

[@55ablebof]

An absolute gem. What comes across is the optimism for the future and appreciation of the gains made. what a contrast to today.

[@sutapasbhattacharya9471]

The NHS, social-housing revolution and pre-1973 oil shock economic growth , pre-1979 Neoliberalism and Housing Crisis etc. were contrary to the main post-1945 story of the UK's inevitable ongoing relative decline from its once pre-eminent position under Victoria built on imperial plunder and monopolies. A person on the video commented naively that the only good thing that come out of the war was the social housing replacing the slums. In reality, countless good things came out of the war including Roosevelt and Morgenthau forcing the hypocrite Churchill to sign the Atlantic Charter [as well as sell-off UK stockholdings in US industries] in return for Lend-Lease. This commitment to the War Aim of national self-determination inevitably meant the end of the British Empire [which the US wanted] so that the British no longer had captive imperial markets to exploit as well as loot to keep themselves rich at the expense of the colonies. George Orwell wrote in The Road to Wigan Pier (1936) that a hundred million Indians must be forced to the edge of starvation so that the British can live in comfort.

[@PrivateAccount-g4b]

Agreed! This is really interesting. There does seems to be a sense of optimism.

[@spencerTaylor-f5t]

When my nan died in '75 all the stall holders in East Lane formed a guard of honour as the coffin passed through. Now you'd probably get mugged. What a shame to see how London has declined.

[@1gerard47]

Imagine if any of these ladies seen london now,they would top themselves .

[@barbarahalkyard1901]

Many did back then.

[@BanalayerPete1972]

@@1gerard47: They would've been more horrified at your bad grammar.🤣

[@MaSoNGaMeR115]

@@BanalayerPete1972 probably be slightly more shocked at their own peoples ethnic cleansing

[@ChavJag]

This is fab! My nan and grandad on my dads side brought up 10 kids in a 3 bedroom flat in tulse hill. I was born in Croydon and lived here all my life. I love learning about how things were round here way before i was even thought about and me dad was just a kid. My nan and grandad were called Ernie and Mabel. This vid is my history and heritage. 😎😎😎

[@Martinique_36]

I was 12 when this documentary was made and this brings memories back and tears to my eyes. Now look at the mess everywhere.

[@kathleenconnoley6828]

I was also 12 then &feel the same,So sad how things have turned out. I'm still here living in walworth but desperate to get out😢

[@CarolCreates]

I wasn’t born yet 😊 Born in Camden 1967 I love watching films of old Blighty. These women look rough though 😅

[@ProserpinePomegranate]

Poor in pocket , but rich in heart and kindness❤. My Grandma used to sing these songs to me😊

[@marilynsmith8054]

I grew up in Camberwell. I absolutely loved my childhood there. We could play in the streets. Hardly any cars. We weren’t poor and never went without the necessities of life. We moved away. My parents’ house which they owned is up for £1,100,000 now my father would turn in his grave if he knew.

[@joemorgan636]

Well it was still money back then my father paid £9,000 for 1 off his houses in North London now worth 1.2 million it all levels out

[@Shining-Star-]

@@joemorgan636 in actual fact someone now would need to ear £300,000.00 a year in comparison to afford it. So it’s not comparable. That’s supply and demand now for you.

[@MsWonderlicious]

Did you know Marion and her mum Beatty? They were there through the war and probably up to early 60’s. They have some stories to tell.

[@beachgirl1947]

What an excellent documentary; please show more ! I was 17 when this was made; part of the changing generation of teenagers. The best was yet to come. I cannot believe how our country has changed now on so many levels…and not for the better. We have so much and yet we are the most unhappy country in Europe, apparently. We’ve lost our way. It’s heartbreakingly sad to see it unfold.

[@thomaspolice9400]

Too many years of Tory crap.

[@gaycha6589]

Yes. 40% population growth changes things irrevocabley. Especially when sucessive Govts have also failed to serve the wider population

[@janedoe1146]

Well, whiners are going to whine. They don't know how hard life has been many years ago

[@rthholland2496]

All those lovely songs, my dad used to sing them to me. I still remember the words

[@DaraM73]

That’s a great long form doc. So glad you didn’t butcher it into a series of YT clips. More please!

[@MareeMarshall]

Love seeing the oldies all singing an dancing,not so lonely then , families closer seeing each other quite often,but lot of poverty an hard life ,

[@debrahmcshane977]

Thanks for this lovely video. Lovely people in our London.

[@stephenrose783]

I was born in Plumstead in 1952, I remember my gran, in the boozer on a Saturday. Night doing knees up muvver Brahn with her old China’s . Returning to the table taking another swig of her milk stout. Great times. All gone now. Thank you BBC, real gem of a documentary.

[@lesleyscott938]

A London I definitely remember ❤

[@Flip5ide]

More full documentaries please 🙏🏼

[@barrowboy61]

Fascinating. I was born and grew up in Bermondsey. My family were dockers. I went to Snowsfields and St Olave's Grammar School. What a lost world, it's hard to believe now that it ever existed.

[@emgee81]

And what's more heartbreaking is that the people that live there now and the powers that be behave as if Londoners like you and I never existed there at all! 😔

[@lambethlongshanks7990]

​@emgee81 in what way, MG?

[@EagerSnowyOwl-qx5wx]

​@@lambethlongshanks7990 If you don't know......I won't bother telling you.

[@jeshkam]

​@@EagerSnowyOwl-qx5wxNo, please do!

[@LloydLaughalot]

@@jeshkamhave to be so coy over the obvious fact that these people have been ethnically cleansed and replaced.

[@Traveller69]

Absolutely facinating. All those stories, all those lives. They were all so realistic with their views and despite often admitting they lacked much education, they all vocalised their feelings with such clarity and honesty. To even think that fiesty lady who was 87, was therefore born in 1877! 🤯 Filmed 60 years ago, seems like 600.

[@kaysmith8992]

It's really striking how well they spoke back then - I don't mean posh or grammatically correct, but just with firmness and a sort of storytelling tone.

[@annawarner7516]

What a blast from the past! I was 2 years old when this film was made. I just about remember sitting in a big pram like these kids and i remember the old songs my gran used to sing! I am one of the last generation to experience such things. 😢

[@woodhammer8341]

Wonderful, insightful video. As close to time travel as one can get. Thanks for uploading.

[@awakeningwithreiki9451]

I am fascinated by this documentary. I live in Bermondsey now, in 2024, and recognise many of the streets.

[@heatherives8646]

I was born in 1964 my dad was born in Catford but he always used to say that looks like the back streets of Bermondsey I never knew what he meant was it really bad my dad was a snob sorry if I've offended you

[@scroggins100]

Dear BBC, You have the history of the 20 century on video. Please, more like this.. Many thanks,.

[@rytesize]

As a "Sarf Lundanar" this is excellent

[@peterellicott58]

I was born in Rotherhithe and I’m proud to see and hear so many people in this video competently express themselves. Their use of grammar is better than that used by most university students of today.

[@Lin.J333]

Oh if only they could see us now ..I really would love to go back and have our children be brought up in my time 60s 70s ,we are so unrecognisable now .

[@carldowd406]

Loved Sarf London, my family moved to Balham from Whitechapel for a better life in the mid 1800s. I went to the same Primary School as my Great Grandmother, St Mary's Balham and really enjoyed the strength of friendships and strong community back in the day. My Mother lived in the same premises, a block of flats in Balham High Road for 58 years on the third floor and in that time she climbed the height of Everest approximately 22 times...

[@etherealdreams7936]

Du-Cane court ?

[@carldowd406]

@etherealdreams7936 no no, they have lifts I seem to remember, but good observation! Thx for replying 👍👍

[@etherealdreams7936]

@@carldowd406 Ah no worries I'm originally from Pimlico to Tooting Bec, then Balham and now Streatham hill 👍

[@carldowd406]

@etherealdreams7936 well you're getting around a bit eh, great old film made about Pimlico back in the day... I had family in Leigham Court Streatham... By the sounds of it? In time, you ll make it all the way to the south coast 👍👍

[@etherealdreams7936]

@carldowd406 Ah yes hopefully I'll make it out of the big smoke in my latter years 🙏

[@Bob-Horse]

Really like the old Londoners, always got on really well with them. I was four years old when this was shot, which I do have fond memories of. Thanks for posting.

[@kareneroglu4438]

I was 8 years old in 1964 and not from London but what a lovely documentary this is about a time gone by.

[@louiseowusu246]

This is a great watch. Was just saying to a friend that I've been fascinated by SE London/East End history since we studied it in A'Level Sociology (30 years ago!🙃). Ive spent Christmas reading and watching everything I can get my hands on! This is the latest. Great commentary which gives an insightful and personalised social history. On a different note... that lady at 38.29 mins in looks like Pat Butcher from East Enders....

[@terrymarsh1875]

This is amazing! The road shown at 0.54 is Rouel Road, where I was born. The tall building was known to us all as the Synagogue. The woman interviewed at 33.02 is Edie Jones. Husbands name is George. They were friends of our parents and we knew them as Aunt Edie and Uncle George. The two girls are Carol (eldest) and Jennifer. This brings back so many personal memories.

[@JohnDayart]

I was born in 49 in Brook st hospital lived in kennington, Brixton and Tulse Hill untill I got married. Loved this video, it brought back so many great memories especially the East Lane ❤

[@benbrown3782]

"... and versa vice." Love it 😊

[@LOCATION_REDACTED]

I’m amazed the BBC hasn’t ‘lost’ these archives.

[@willduffay2207]

Grow up

[@LOCATION_REDACTED]

@ I don’t understand your comment.

[@Hankydoodle1]

@@willduffay2207WTF 😂

[@TheMockatiel]

@@willduffay2207 Lighten up

[@willduffay2207]

@@TheMockatiel I'm super light, thank you. Just have to keep the fascists in check from time to time.

[@chrisbayes2972]

"One of mine isn't so bright" - Scathing honesty!

[@Opinion-k7k]

Heartbreaking looking at England now...

[@fionarabaiotti9518]

Yes we should go back to poverty and rickets…ah the good old days. The war, the Cuban missile crisis. Jimmy Saville. The Profumo scandal. This modern medicine…who needs it

[@joannedibben2352]

Yes it's totally heartbreaking what this country has been reduced to

[@algiles881]

@@joannedibben2352 Eight years of Sadiq Khan and his damned virtue signalling has left us off far worse than we were back in the sixties.

[@fionarabaiotti9518]

@@algiles881 oh I miss those days of slums and the Cuban missile crisis

[@algiles881]

@@fionarabaiotti9518 Sorry Fiona I didn't realise you had lost your sight - we still have slums and though we don't have Cuba, we have Ukraine, the Middle East (made far worse by Blair's illegal war) and far more drug and knife crime in Sadiq's cesspit.

[@Aubury]

A glimpse of a generation, with two world wars, an economic depression, amidst poverty for most part. Memories of my grandparents in Redan Terrace, Camberwell.

[@trytellingthetruth.2068]

I was born Christmas 1961 at home on a small estate next to Rotherhithe tunnel, a stones throw from the Mayflower pub. Our family moved along to Surrey Docks a few years later, and lived on the Silwood estate. My parents moved us out to what seemed like the suburbs in early 73, and now i live in a small village on the West Kent, East Sussex border. I went back to Surrey Docks and the surrounding areas a few years back to see what it what like. What a shame that it has changed so much, not the knocking down, and building of new homes, but demographically, its totally different.

[@cecilefox9136]

Sure.😮

[@iseegoodandbad6758]

I heard home birthed people are healthy and have this wisdom and peace about them that hospital birthed people don't have? 🤔

[@ramsey633]

London has no white Londoners left and the newcomers have made it dangerous

[@timjmyall]

I was born on the 15th December 1961. Happy Birthday to us!

[@trytellingthetruth.2068]

@timjmyall Happy birthday to you 🎉🥳

[@bettinaairaksinen215]

In 1966 I was in Maidstone as a pupil. First word I heard was "Hallo love!" and - 5 oclock in the in the morning time - " would you like a cup of tea dear"? Wonderful people and beautiful language and humor. Warmhearted Guestparents.

[@rabbit64sj91]

Fascinating documentary! I was born in February 1964, & first moved to London in December 1966. Makes me feel quite old watching this now I'm sixty. 😀

[@denise5052]

Wonderful to hear those echoes through time.

[@janweed3646]

My granddad worked on the docks at tower bridge unloading boats. One day a sugar bale snapped its cable and fell on my grandad and he lost his leg. Two weeks later he was back at work, working in the stores, he had a job for life after this, he worked till he was 73. Nowadays that would have been a massive payout but this was 1929

[@jnuttso1]

Aww our beautiful country as it used to be

[@Woke_White_Woman]

Wow! I just turned 60 years old in September So this was London when I was born! It is a real eye opener I am going to have to watch it again to really process all these sights and sounds

[@bettinaairaksinen215]

Ich liebe das britische Volk und die englische Sprache von Kindheit an. 1965 erstmals in Maidsstone and London. Unforgettable!

[@Nancy-tm9mc]

I just Loved this doc from the BBC. Such humble hard working People. Friends from USA

[@peterhaines6535]

Love the way the people burst into song all the time not sure why but it must be a comfort thing .....God help what they would think of London today.

[@stephenomara9343]

A lot of living room ms had a piano very few had tvs

[@matthewgartell6380]

My dad was born in Battersea in 1936. I loved his stories about growing up south of the river. Watching this I feel his soul . RIP dad x Edit: I hope Alan made it out unscathed

[@derin111]

Absolutely brilliant documentary! I was 2 years old then in South London. I don’t care what anyone says, life is so much better now than then! And, as some of the older people said in this film, it was already much better for them than their forbears. The difference is, they acknowledged and were grateful for it. Unlike the fools today who look back with rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia and think the past was better. It wasn’t! Thank you for uploading this.

[@lambethlongshanks7990]

Well said, Derin! I agree with every word. 👍🏾

[@paulw6183]

For you maybe, another spoonfed baby boomer. Not for the 2 year old starting their life now.

[@clivebaxter6354]

Waiting times to see a GP dentist and A&E were far better then. Then London was over 90 white now it's less than 40%, being invaded is not better.

[@matthewwilliams3827]

But it was better in terms of their mentality, they were more contented with less.

[@MyPronounIsGoddess]

That view depends upon what you value in life.

[@MrCtsSteve]

Love all these old videos from our cousins across the pond . Interesting

[@jasonayres]

Many years ago, I had to call the bingo as part of my day job. Bizarrely (or not?), on several occasions I accidentally hypnotised myself. That's the best way I can describe it. Repetitively calling the numbers, I would just begin to nod off. I'm having trouble with sleeping recently. I might start reciting the numbers and see what happens.

[@Nickster_P]

When trying to sleep there's 2 things. Lay there and focus on counting backwards from 1000. you'll soon drop off. Another is to not worry about not getting to sleep. Resting and relaxing in bed is just as good for you. I was told this by a great therapist, that sleep is overrated. Be relaxed about not getting to sleep and you'll naturally drift off. So that's a couple of mind tricks you can try. Good luck.........👌

[@jasonayres]

@Nickster_P Hey, thanks very much 👋 I'll try this counting exercise tonight.

[@1gerard47]

I tried counting sheep,but some run round to jump the fence then I have to start again,it's always the same ones.😂

[@whitelines3097]

I was born in Brixton 1951 and watching this makes me sad. Our society has been destroyed

[@lambethlongshanks7990]

I love this. Wonderful documentary.

[@gargamunidas9478]

I was born in St Olaf’s rd Fulham 1964. This documentary is absolutely wonderful

[@RobertHoward-d8g]

I was born in 1949, and grew up just off the Old Kent Road. Sadly, what used to be a thriving community has been decimated and scattered. Where once there used to be Victorian bay fronted houses, tenement blocks, back street pubs and corner shops, now sits Burgess Park. A soul-less expanse of real estate. Former occupants transferred to Thamesmead and Erith and similar areas once known as marshland, or to 'new towns'. Ah, well. It seems the (then) GLC succeeded where the Luftwaffe failed.

[@1gerard47]

The torys and now labour allow an invasion every day.

[@kailashpatel1706]

Living in the Elephant and Castle on an estate in the 1970s was pretty tough...it was no walk in the park..

[@RobertHoward-d8g]

@@kailashpatel1706 Ah... One of the 'Rodney Road' crowd?

[@kailashpatel1706]

@@RobertHoward-d8g Around Law Street..it was called that?

[@RobertHoward-d8g]

@@kailashpatel1706 Ah, no... I mis-placed you to south of the E&C roundabout. I now realise you were north of it. Rodney Road once had a telephone exchange which gave the area its 'code'. In the same way that Scotland Yard's phone number was Whitehall 1212 - Whitehall being the exchange - my parents phone number was Rodney 4988. You were closer to the river than me. Almost the only times I strayed into your neck of the woods was to seek treatment from Guys hospital after being involved in street fights - they came with the territory. Thanks for the contact... Be well.

[@teddiemack8071]

Imagine any of these people returning to that area now and seeing it now. They would not even believe it was England. Yet just remember everybody..........there is no replacement because the media and authorities simply tell us that it is not happening.

[@givemeabreak100]

What goes around comes around, suck it up...

[@alanhargreaves-thevoiceofr2361]

@@givemeabreak100 the 'british empire' is a proven fraud . do not believe a word of it .

[@bugandbay]

What a gem to view, some wise words spoken from the lips of a past generation instead of the voice over of a narrator, if the BBC still produced the likes of this (which they never will) I would probably purchase a tv & licence tax but I gave up on that 20 years ago 🙂

[@jojojo8835]

Have you heard anything from ‘the listening project’? It’s a radio4 podcast very like this but obviously without the pictures. Each is about 15mins long, and 63 are available on my phone’s generic podcast player.

[@johnjephcote7636]

Same here, I thought the TV was worthless and gave it up when it went digital. I was 16 in 1964 and was really only familiar north of the river (tho' I knew the trams in Welling). Things would be very familiar if I went back to that time. There were so many bomb sites until the 1960s and the docks and river traffic and the liners at Tilbury and the big ships sitting on the mud at low tide.

[@whitemountainapache3297]

It's incredible to think that when this was filmed, the Richardson Gang were at the height of their powers, and England was still two years away from winning the world cup.

[@Zebra-yq8lr]

Everyone is so slim!!

[@lordwalker71]

lol not everyone

[@johnarnehansen9574]

I would love to some more newsreels as well as some more documentaries and interviews!..

[@scuzzy983]

I really enjoyed this, thanks for uploading. If you’re going to be posting more full-length documentaries I’d love to see What the Hell ever Happens in Marlborough (first broadcast 19 October 1969) 👌

[@michaelfarnham8261]

I was born in 1951 in Lambeth hospital in Brook Drive. Went to secondary school just off the Lambeth Walk. Family lived in the Cut . The market no longer exists, where they street traders. All the families moved away. The community were destroyed by the city planners. We will never see the like again.

[@sebastianohalloran9093]

This was an absolute delight. So sad that within a decade containerisation reeked such havoc in the area.

[@michaelharrison3602]

Those old pictures of Brandon, Aylesbury and Heygate estates bring back memories

[@michaelharrison3602]

I remember so many of these sights ive lived here for seventy odd years. My dad worked in Surrey docks.Iwas born on Tooley Street. The tower of London was on our doorstep i hated history in school but i loved wandering about the tower and hearing about its history. This led to a fascination about the history of Southwark and which still conLambeth which still continues today

[@Alison-LoveAndUnity]

The stories. All thanks to the creation of the NHS, council housing and Our welfare state. And now they have almost succeeded in taking it all back from us and return us to that poverty, disease and struggle 😢

[@mrnobody3276]

I bet you smell like cheese

[@dariusdoodoo]

I’d be delighted to see end of the NHS

[@kateh1743]

​@@mrnobody3276you are clearly as thick as cheddar.

[@mrnobody3276]

@@kateh1743 I'm more like a wedge of wensleydale. I crumble when I'm touched.

[@kateh1743]

@mrnobody3276 😁 oh I simply can't resist a bit of wenslydale, but then I love dogs called Gromit too. Personally, I think you sound far more like a lovely bit brie after this comment, rather gooey.

[@JaneRoss-ff3wp]

Thsbk you for showing this ! Its so important and to know what its like today is heartbreaking. Id give a lot to go back in time to Uk in those days. I was born in 64 and ive witnessed so much chsnge in just 30 yrs .

[@Shemra]

I was born in Hackney Hospital in 65, but moved to Huntsman St in 69. Went to Surrey Square, and spent many a Saturday morning running down the Lane.

[@michaelgregory9929]

Did you have pie & mash from Arments too...

[@LondonGoldie7]

It was 68 when you all moved 👍🏼

[@TravisBennett-hx7gt]

So sad to see how it's all changed now, hopefully it will get better in the future🤞🤞

[@krishnan-resurrection714]

The importation has only just started ...unfortunately ..

[@Captck]

Funny how a lot of what they said then can be applied to today. Things like kids having to learn things for themselves, instead of being spoonfed and protected. I often think that my children are worse off because they couldn't just go off and explore/play with their friends like I did in the 80s. Also about how they may have been poorer, but they were happier and how much it has changed since they were little. All things I could apply to today and most likely in another 20-40 years.

[@wilhelmtauber836]

It's a place in a country that has been lost to time forever. It's like looking at another planet. Such decent and trusting ordinary poor folk who became extinct in only a few post war years, caused by wicked Westminster politicians as usual.

[@markwhalebone751]

I was three when this was made and I was brought up where it was made. My grandad worked at the chocolate factory with the swimming pool ( Shuttleworths) when this was filmed and most of his working life apart from the war. Nan worked around the corner in Peak Freans.

[@leiwarl]

Everything changes but, London has not changed for the better,IMO.

[@dancingdingo]

I love documentaries like these!

[@ColinAtkins-j3h]

Nice to see none on the streets great video 👍🦊

[@heinkle1]

A totally lost London, with it gone a wholly different society and outlook.

[@kevinsavage808]

Home sweet home. I was born in Guys Hospital in February 1953 and can remember the streets and people like these. The people have been betrayed by successive governments, and London now has hardly any indigenous people left.

[@iseegoodandbad6758]

Your " home birthed" counterparts say there's not enough diversity 😂😂!!!

[@angelaglanville9377]

Indigenous? Brits have many bloodlines from the Romans, vikings and the French. And for all the ‘ foreigners’ who now live in Britain blame the bygone British Empire greed. I’m proud to be a Brit in some ways but ashamed of our history in other ways. Move on!!

[@kevinsavage808]

@angelaglanville9377 Our blood lines are white European and the British empire gave so much to the world, I am proud of our history including our contributions to mankind.

[@angelaglanville9377]

@@kevinsavage808 it gave so much but also took too much.

[@kevinsavage808]

@angelaglanville9377 Sorry Angela, I just don't agree, however I accept people have different views.

[@princegroove]

I imagine these were the best of times! The small faces, stones, and the Beatles, musical groups I only know via my father, were so fresh and exciting.

[@John-h7l9e]

I lived in London until it became unbearable. We moved out for the safety of our children. I miss the London of my childhood. It was a great city.

[@ChavJag]

i ws born in 77 and over 45+ years i've seen it changed so much and not for the better.

[@mus139]

London...Unrecognizable now.

[@apebass2215]

I miss it too. I'm sad my daughter can't experience the sense of family roots and community that used to exist. Politicians had no business selling off her culture and heritage.

[@thomaspolice9400]

@@mus139 Utter bollocks

[@linzieloo1]

💩

[@jonpark5203]

Loved this old documentary>> That generation reminds me of my father and much of my family who have sadly passed away ❤🙏( I was born the decade after this was made) and can still fondly remember elements of this era when you had all the local markets, social gatherings and still a sense of community spirit that London used to have>> Today its completely unrecognisable>> just like being in a different universe where you would be lucky to have a conversation with someone now !!!

[@georgewilliams8198]

Words of wisdom and happiness were spoken by hard-working Londoners who had a hard life.

[@stevewiles7132]

Born in West Ham in 56, thank god my family emigrated to Australia in 63.

[@johannesclericusparacelsus4084]

For anyone who enjoyed this, I'd also recommend 'Where the Houses Used to Be' from 1971, where London residents discuss the move from street level to high rise living. Excellent, moving, and featuring a 70s moustache of historical significance. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnnIhp1ofc99m80si=glMgWOWJmWOI_vNZ

[@KarenBeadle]

my great grand parents - grand parents & parents all from South London - still here but in north London - we were such a mix of ethnicities & characters - love London ❤

[@hopebgood]

😀❤👍

[@seanbruce2425]

Well done for getting out, we totally agree and be moving to Spain soon ourselves.

[@patboudotlamot]

formidable documentaire

[@f18357]

That life was on the way out even then. Docks did not have long to go. £50 a docker said he earned on a good week. 10 years later it was all over.

[@stephenomara9343]

When it became containerised in Tilbury 😢

[@Adrian-cw8yu]

RIP London

[@irh1738]

As someone born and raised in South West London this is amazing to see

[@chris-rfs]

I grew up and played near many of these streets and warehouses of Shad Thames and Dockhead when they began to decline in the late 60s. I was born in Southwark Park Rd and still live within a mile of my birthplace. It has changed greatly and unfortunately the area is now only affordable to outsiders which is the biggest shame. It is a sad fact that my granddaughter won't see any benefit of the mass redevelopment that continues. But i had the best of times growing up in the area in the late 60s and early 70s. I have only fond memories.

[@chrisbayes2972]

"I get up at quarter to four [...] and then I'm out." - Admirable!

[@jamessmithson-br7rm]

When they talk about sweeping away the lovely old buildings. The ones that now go for a premium and are incredibly sought after 🙈

[@SajidHussain-lj5mr]

Those were the good old days . Rest in peace , our once Great Britain ☹️

[@shorty9022]

I was only a little child about 4 yrs old, and lived facing the Deptford dockyard. Where the bridge is.

[@williamc6564]

This news item documentary is shocking the way it depicts life's difficulties. Imagine how 60 years from now in the year 2024 how difficult life will likely be for everyone? Shocking. Just shocking.

[@wendymcphail8510]

I've enjoyed watching this. My Dad was born in Lee in the early 1940s. Lived in Hither Green and Forest Hill. He talks about South East London a lot.

[@Pigdowndog]

I grew up in Lee and was born in 1943. Probably the same age as your Dad.

[@wendymcphail8510]

@Pigdowndog my Dad is 2 years older than yourself. He did his Butcher apprenticeship at Miles & Son in Kirkdale in the 1950s.

[@Pigdowndog]

@@wendymcphail8510 I hope he's still hale and hearty. I used to work in the gasworks not far from Kirkdale. It's completely changed now.

[@wendymcphail8510]

@Pigdowndog My Dad's school was next to a gasworks there. It may have been either Haseltine secondary modern or a primary school he went to. The window panez on one side were all yellow. He is doing well. Left London in the 1960s to join the Army, has been in Scotland since the 1970s. He says London now is barely recognisable. He last visited about 8/9 years ago. He says the film Hue and Cry is the London he remembers as a kid. Lots of old bombed out buildings to play in. He had a friend called Clive Morgan.

[@surreygirl2075]

My grand father lived in cambrrwell and was on the stage on my mothers side of the family my dads side lived in a cottage he was a postman and my nan was a house keeper they worked long hours both did well

[@ronniemckeown3916]

I was born in cherry garden street in the old tenement block in the 50s a stones throw from the river . attended primary schools at riverside. Never stood much of a chance in life but I wouldn’t change a thing about growing up in Bermondsey