Absolutely not! Unemployment. Poverty. Poor health care. Cold houses. Poor quality food. My parents were born in the 1930s. Life was hard for the majority. Life wasn't all Brief Encounter.
I would like to live in London apart from the war years of course.as long as I was middle class and not poor as there were some very bad impoverished areas as any other city.But then you look now the same can be said once again. At least in those days you could walk on a street and not worry about being stabbed, or someone carrying a machete or a sword. You could always find a friendly policeman on the street if you were lost or needed help. A telephone box if you needed to make an emergency call. If you lost or had your mobile telephone stolen today, you can't even phone someone for assistance. There was common sense back in the day for the majority and respect to all . During the war years I would prefer to live in the countryside if not fighting for my country.😊 Give me a time machine and I would be gone from this age to an earlier decade of decency
Watched this again with my mum who is 98 and remembers London like this, she loved having this view back into time and was very impressed with the quality. Watching this together and my mum sharing her memories of this time has made a lovely memory for us both. Thank you again
And YOU'RE brilliant! You were born when radio was still new and roughly when this was filmed... and here you are commenting on UA-cam!! I'm honoured to be able to comment on your comment!
@@halloeverybodypeeps I'm only 84, but travelled on those buses and trams post-war. The 36 tram to Woolwich; the 58 tram became the 185 bus, following more or less the same route. Lovely memories.
Looks almost like it was filmed yesterday with the condition of the fillm...I was born in 1960,s sheffield and horse and carts were still used by some people,(rag and bone man for 1)
I was born in the mid 1960s and can just about remember parts of London being like this. The London I really grew up in during the late 1970s and 1980s was still fun but definitely more crowded and busier than depicted in this film. It was also getting dirtier. I am struck, watching this how calm it feels compared to 2024 and how clean everything seems. My father spent his working life in the City and told me that it was a really enjoyable place to work. Walking with him c.1985 through Threadneedle Street he commented that it was never as manically busy and frenetic in the past. Sadly he's dead now but I'd have loved to watch this with him and hear his comments. What a gem this film is and a precious record of a gentler, kinder age.
@michaelb2388 No I don't think it is. The West End, City etc weren't like the film, I agree but areas like Hampstead, St John's Wood and Ealing were. In other words the areas on the periphery of those in the film. I have a clear memory in c.1968/9 visiting an Aunt in St John's Wood and the road was clear of cars. Coming into the West end down the M1 we went through Swiss Cottage, down Avenue Road to Regents Park and then around South Carriage Drive (Hyde Park) and through Edinburgh Gate with the Pan Statue into Knightsbridge. That journey was busy but nothing like today. I don't think Edinburgh Gate is open much either today.
My grandfather remarked in 2008 when I passed my driving test that he didn't enjoy driving anymore, that the roads were so busy. There is definitely an issue with overpopulation I think.
You are so correct…all destroyed now by mass migration and / or invasion by the Third World. All thanks to the likes of Tony Blair, Angela Merkel et al.
..hmmm "the good old days" - 50% of deaths from infection (no antibiotics), kitchen maids put into mental hospitals by the lord of the manor, because he got her pregnant (no mental health act), people didn't lock their doors (they had almost nothing to be stolen), black soot covered builds (and lungs) - and on and on.. - ah those were the days.
@@LucyKelly-of6cu Even the people in the poor parts had pride in their streets, I remember all the old girls washing the doorsteps in Hoxton, It did not get much poorer than there.
This is wonderful because it gives me a glimpse of London through my grandads eyes. He would have been a young man of 22yrs in 1930. To see the sights and sounds of what he would have seen is a very special thing. Thank you.
This is just FANTASTIC! I feel like I’ve just been there. Stunning film to start with and I’m sure that there are buildings in there which might have survived the war but later succumbed to ‘progress’. They really did know how to build in those days. I love groupings - factory buildings, leafy suburbs, small terraced houses, familiar buildings. The Firestone and Coty factories and those beautiful ‘Tudor’ style houses with their sloping gardens and the clothes! 💖 Colourisation and the soundscape are perfect. It is absolutely heavenly. Thank you so much for sharing.
Wow, thanks so much for uploading. London is such a beautiful city and so proud to be a London though only 2nd Generation Ethnic Londoner. London looks clean and glad to recognise Trafalgar Square, Westminster bridge, Big Ben, Saint Paul's (I think), Regents park or At James's park (?). Mostly men on the streets back then and ethnic Europeans.Great city. Couldn't help but think probably 99% of the people captured in the video have left our world, and 100% of the horses, Chickens, Pigeons and dogs would have gone! God is great indeed! Thanks for sharing.
So true. I was filling up at a petrol station today and everyone seemed in a tearing hurry to get somewhere. It feels quite odd these days no one has time to chat.
This is an outstanding piece of work, and the colourisation, which can so often be a let-down, here looks really convincing. Some of those scenes look so real I could almost smell the streets- horse dung, tobacco smoke, and leaded petrol fumes.
Magnificent architecture so full of detail. We are forever indebted to all the skilled architects and labourers who built these many grand beautiful buildings. Astounding 👏 👏
Fantastic video. The contrast between green and beautiful London and the blackened wreak of an industrial city like Manchester is almost too much to appreciate. Without heavy industry London remained a decent place to live in. Post war reconstruction never even tried to rebuild the city then recently lost...post war reconstruction was obviously done on the cheap, probably because of the extent of the bombing damage Only historical videos like this can give us a better appreciation of what was really lost during 39 and 45.
I remember London in the late 60s and early seventies the buildings were sooty and London was known as the smoke if you know where to look you can still see the remains of this, where the upper buildings are cleaner due to rain fall and the lower part is still a bit sooty, all since the clean air act banning house coal, what could happen if all cars go green!
Yes the film dates from 1936. Four new vehicles in the film carry 1936 vehicle registration plates. The rest of the vehicles with visible plates date from the 1920s up until 1935, so the four newest vehicles in the film date from 1936.
What an amazing video. As someone with an interest in architecture I particularly the shots of buildings lost over the years like the Imperial Institute, Imperial Hotel, Queen's Hall, etc
That is crazy, a 36 tram to Abbey Wood. It went all the way down the Old Kent Rd and Victoria Embankment. It would be amazing to see the infrastructure with all the tram lines in the roads everywhere.
A lot of the tram lines are still there as is the cobbled stones - When I was a kid living in Islington in the 80s, they resurfaced Essex Road and the original cobbles were still there and the metal tram tracks as well, they just tarmaced over it.
One of my clearest memories of being a young child in the early 1960s in Newcastle, Australia, was riding to the city with my mum and grandma in one of those double-decker buses - the exact same 1930s model! I think it was because of WW2 and the rationing and austerity even after the war that the city buses had not been replaced for 25 years - so the buses I rode in as a child were pre-war or wartime buses. Can I tell you it was a very different experience from anything remotely modern. Doors and windows didn't seal in their frames - they didn't even try to make buses weatherproof. Or smellproof. Or noiseproof. The noise, rattles and shuddering vibrations of the weak, ancient, smelly diesel engine were a real experience. In bad weather draughts of wind and rain mist would go through the whole bus. And they only had (I think) a 3-speed transmission and combined with paltry engine power they were unbelievably slow, and would labour up hills at literally jogging pace. Of course I only realised much later that I had - in 1964 - actually experienced pre-war 1930s motoring! It was the type of motoring of only about 20 years after the dawn of the age of popular motoring - the rudimentary type of motoring when those very buses still shared the road with horse carts!
I know depressing. The A40 is not a leisurely ride now as it was with many of the 30s buildings demolished by speculators demolishing them over a weekend before preservation orders could be obtained.
Compared with what these images are in silent black and white this is pure magic ( even if I have a doubt with certain colours , like some reds or other colours that don’t seem too accurate ) Congratulations, really interesting vid.
What a fascinating film and great restoration and digitisation! Some familiar locations that I noticed. Technical note: increase playback speed to 1.3x for a much more realistic speed - you'll see people moving and walking more naturally. I suspect the speed discrepency came in during the digitisation process.
I’m a London black cab driver and still so surprised how I can recognise all the central London streets and main sites! 😂. All the fundamentals of London have still not changed which is amazing
Many thanks. Wonderfully recreated sense of how London looked and felt before it was reshaped by the Luftwaffe. Plenty of poverty, so not exactly ‘the good old days’, but the place can look wonderful in these clips.
This film brings a strong sense of nostalgia to British people, and with it, comparisons of life today. You just KNOW that a lot of comments have been removed for being honest!
Londoner 71 years fantastic footage it’s a shame that the blitz destroyed a lot of beautiful buildings and then local councils pulling down thousands of Victorian homes and those fantastic art deco factories along the A40 some managed to survive
London's finest years and during the war the British population pulled together in unity.......fast forward to the present and i weep for my children and grandchildren.
Finest years? Are you insane? Chronic poverty, slum living, no such thing as the NHS. Child labour, unregulated pollution, nothing fine about London in the 30s pal.
You are looking at an extremely low resolution film that has been subsequently highly altered. On top of that, the original film maker specifically chose their subjects to present whatever they wanted to present.
You wouldn't think London was "clean" or "smart" with a little jaunt down to a canning factory, with few labour protections (if you lose your hand, tough luck; you'll get some money but no substantial restitution); or the innards of a Workhouse where people were kept away from their family members because the administrators though it boosted productivity (they wouldn't be defunct until 1948). People were still pooping in wooden sheds in their backyard in those days. London was a beautiful place if you were rich, a member of the professional classes or protected by membership to a Livery company or something akin. Some things never change
Very interesting. I have some 35mm Kodak cinefilms from that time I intend scanning at some point (my step-Dad worked for Kodak all his life, as did his father who recorded the films). One inparticular should be interesting, the can is marked, "London Zoo, 1941", presumably a wartime break when my step-Dad would have been 5.
@@Tim091 Alas I won't be able to until sometime next year (planning a house move atm), but thankfully it's Kodak stock so it should be fine (has a good rep). I already scanned in most of a 35mm slide collection, plus there are some audio reels. I obtained a vintage projector and scanning module, but atm I don't have the space to set it all up, nor the time. I forget the other cinefilm titles offhand (those that had any, about two thirds were unmarked), though I think one of them had something like, "Moving house, 1951." Apt I suppose. :D I kept many other interesting items, including a late 1800s mini writing desk which, according to its inscription, belonged to a teenage schoolgirl (she was 14 in 1897). Lots of old photos, as far back as the late 1800s, old science books (oldest was mid 1700s), early prints of books by Wilde and Dickens. I would include picture links but of course YT hates URLs in posted comments.
Scans of 35mm Kodak cinefilms' should produce nearly ultra high resolution (UHD) video. Could be quite a treasure trove of information. Maybe offer to loan your stock to the British Film Institute?
In one of those clips is Adelaide House just across London Bridge right hand side, I worked there in early 70's as a typist, the old office where I worked was down in the basement area, everytime the Thames flooded over so did this office. That old office always smelt like an old stagnant pond.
They had electric powered trains in London from 1890, now part of the Northen line, the track to Wimbledon was electrified in 1915, we still have trains picking up fro the 3rd rail all over the South East, so I do agree the sound edit was odd !
This was filmed in 1936. Four of the vehicles in the video carry 1936 registration plates. Also one of the advertisement posters on show dates from 1936.
Amazing to see Portland Place - so different without the trees down the middle. And next to All Souls Church, Langham Place is the Queen's Hall - the original home of The Proms - which was destroyed during the war.
Great nostalgic film with really good clarity of shots of London in the 1930s, and the added editing of colour really is a master stroke to make it much more watchable and enjoyable. Apologies to any puritans! Who knew then what was about to happen in 1939?
It looks so lovely quiet and peaceful there at that time unlike the busy chaotic times we live in now! Thank u to the person who originally took this film and to the person who cleand them up so we can watch them now !❤
@4:20, that's ironic given that this film was originally black and white. There still seemed to have been quite a lot of traffic around at least in central London. @6:38, Hornsey Lane as it crosses Archway Road. @9:07, those newly built factories and commercial premises were beautiful. That was a lovely look back and thank you.
Both my parents grew up in London in the 30s, their parents having come to the capital from Scotland, Yorkshire, Dorset and Norfolk. My dad was from Queens Park in west London and my mother from Wood Green in north London. Both were working class and relatively poor but, as many did, lived modest lives and saved for holidays and any luxuries. Most of the vehicles seen in the film would have been commercial, like taxis, and cars for those that could afford them. Even growing up in the late 50’s and early 60’s our road you could count the number of vehicles on one hand - if you went back today every house would have a car outside it. Another aspect that isn’t obvious or portrayed in this film is te amount of dirt and grime caused by domestic coal fires and steam trains. This contributed to horrendous choking yellow smog that was common in those days. The clean air act and removal of steam trains from the capital in the early 60s had a dramatic impact on air quality. Many buildings caked in decades of grime were cleaned after the last regular steam trains finally left the capital in 1967. The absence of litter has been remarked upon, and that fast food is a major contributor to today’s litter. The only take away food in most areas in the 30s would have been the Fish and Chip shop, and that was still the case when I grew up in the 50s/early 60s. When we bought fish and chips we would take it home to eat, and eating on the steet was generally frowned upon. Also, wherever we went on family outings, sometimes into central London where my dad worked, we took any litter we produced home with us if a bin could not be found. I recognise many of the sights in the film which are still with us today, like the old BBC building and Greenwich Park, with the observatory in the background. London is still a great city, and improvements like the magnificent Elizabeth Line, are still being made.
Nice work, a few of the clips are a bit slow, judging by the speed of the horses' gaits, I spend every day watching horses work. Interesting how heavy horses lingered on in service for urban delivery work. Looks like a different London than the London I see in the news footage these days...
The colourising technology has a way to go yet, but nevertheless, many thanks for making the effort to produce this (and thanks also to the original camera men/women who shot this footage). It takes us tantalisingly closer to an earlier time than black and white ever does. And to those who say that it's wrong and inauthentic to colourise old film - the original still exists. It's not like you've added a moustache and glasses to the actual Mono Lisa.
@@martinwebb1681 Would you care to go in to detail? By every metric I can think of, it's gone downhill. Definitely not great anymore. Londoners leaving en masse, "cultural enrichment" and nazi bombs saw to that
I was a courier for 30 years and I only managed to recognise 60% of the buildings that are still standing. The buildings in London overall since the war are abominable and crude.
I was too and keep going onto google Earth trying to find them. Loved Archway Bridge and the 36 tram to Abbey Wood where I live now. Was a cycle then motorbike courier in the 90’s and 2000’s.
What went so horribly wrong, we all know, but daren't say, those people of the 1930's would be horrified to see how London has changed - it is pretty unbelievable what has been deliberately done in such a short space of time.
@dpstrial what stupid mental gymnastics. The British have completely changed the demographics of the USA, Canada, Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand. The natives in all of these places are tiny minorities if not extinct. The Brits and other Europeans are only making things worse by having so few children.
I’m thinking this must have been filmed on or around 6th March 1935! Why? The newspaper seller’s board read ‘Bullion Robbery in London’ (8:42) There was a very famous and well publicised case ( in London) that happened in the early hours of the morning on the 6th March 1935. Anyway! Thank you for this excellent video giving us a glimpse into life all those years ago! Amazing! Even though I was born long after this was filmed I still find it so nostalgic!
It was filmed in 1936. Four of the vehicles in the film were registered in 1936 and carry 1936 registration plates. Also one of the posters shows an advent that took place in 1936.
Re: ‘Bullion Robbery London’ I still think it’s 1935! But! Hey! The more likely explanation is that this is a film compilation! So both dates / years are correct! Having said that your powers of observation are remarkable!
Recognise a good 50% of this - Dick Wittingtons cat is still there at the bottom of Archway now as it was then. It was impressive to get trams up and down Highgate Hill as it's rather steep. Also showing the A1 to the other side of Highgate with what I will call here self deletion bridge (as the locals know it by) to stop YT removing my comment.
@@MsSamanthaTKO Absolutely, when i was very young in the 70s it was already nicknamed this so I heard this name from probably 7-8 years onwards. Also, it was very busy then with lots of large lorries going along at it's a main route.
Amazingly a lot of this has somehow survived! (Buildings). What's changed is the atmosphere and spirit of the place. Love all the cars and clothes and the elegance of the architecture. The industrial buildings and factories are works of art!
![London 1945 in color, Post World War II [60fps,Remastered] w/sound design added](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/WPNZZSXqJjQ/mqdefault.jpg)
![London 1945 in color, Post World War II [60fps,Remastered] w/sound design added](/img/tr.png)
![A Glimpse of San Francisco 1930s in color [60fps,Remastered] w/sound design added](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/-AZvlypStEw/mqdefault.jpg)
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Would you like to live the 1930s?? Which city??
yes
@@popatyourecords yes
Absolutely not! Unemployment. Poverty. Poor health care. Cold houses. Poor quality food. My parents were born in the 1930s. Life was hard for the majority. Life wasn't all Brief Encounter.
I would like to live in London apart from the war years of course.as long as I was middle class and not poor as there were some very bad impoverished areas as any other city.But then you look now the same can be said once again.
At least in those days you could walk on a street and not worry about being stabbed, or someone carrying a machete or a sword.
You could always find a friendly policeman on the street if you were lost or needed help. A telephone box if you needed to make an emergency call.
If you lost or had your mobile telephone stolen today, you can't even phone someone for assistance. There was common sense back in the day for the majority and respect to all .
During the war years I would prefer to live in the countryside if not fighting for my country.😊
Give me a time machine and I would be gone from this age to an earlier decade of decency
Yes! I’d like to go back to 1930’s St Albans in Hertfordshire 😊
Watched this again with my mum who is 98 and remembers London like this, she loved having this view back into time and was very impressed with the quality. Watching this together and my mum sharing her memories of this time has made a lovely memory for us both. Thank you again
98! You are blessed. Lost my mum last year at age of 92. What changes those ladies lived through.
How lovely. 😊
FANTASTIC, I WISH YOU BOTH A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS, AND A MUCH BETTER NEW YEAR.
Lovely story, I bet she cooks in Lard or has her cook cook her food in lard 😂 none of this modern seed oil that causes cancer
💕💪🧠🤝🎄.🙏
Wonderful gift by someone who filmed all this 90 years ago, and someone who has spent the time to refurbish it and republish it on UA-cam.
thank you very much
Yes indeed..It's a valuable slice of social history...
Before 2nd ww. A lot of the buildings are still tp be seen. The most obviouse differences are the clothes and the vehicles.
Yes, totally agree, thanks all round.
Hear, hear!
I'm 85, love this film, well done marvellous, trams, old style taxis horse n carts, bowler hats, all seems so calm and orderly, thanks, brilliant
Very orderly. No wonder these people went on to win the Second World War for us.
And YOU'RE brilliant! You were born when radio was still new and roughly when this was filmed... and here you are commenting on UA-cam!! I'm honoured to be able to comment on your comment!
@@halloeverybodypeeps I'm only 84, but travelled on those buses and trams post-war. The 36 tram to Woolwich; the 58 tram became the 185 bus, following more or less the same route. Lovely memories.
And I think that you can say that this is the depicts the decade you were born in.
Looks almost like it was filmed yesterday with the condition of the fillm...I was born in 1960,s sheffield and horse and carts were still used by some people,(rag and bone man for 1)
I was born in the mid 1960s and can just about remember parts of London being like this. The London I really grew up in during the late 1970s and 1980s was still fun but definitely more crowded and busier than depicted in this film. It was also getting dirtier. I am struck, watching this how calm it feels compared to 2024 and how clean everything seems.
My father spent his working life in the City and told me that it was a really enjoyable place to work. Walking with him c.1985 through Threadneedle Street he commented that it was never as manically busy and frenetic in the past. Sadly he's dead now but I'd have loved to watch this with him and hear his comments.
What a gem this film is and a precious record of a gentler, kinder age.
I was born in 1962 and can't remember London being anything like this. I think your memory is playing tricks on you.
@michaelb2388 No I don't think it is. The West End, City etc weren't like the film, I agree but areas like Hampstead, St John's Wood and Ealing were. In other words the areas on the periphery of those in the film. I have a clear memory in c.1968/9 visiting an Aunt in St John's Wood and the road was clear of cars.
Coming into the West end down the M1 we went through Swiss Cottage, down Avenue Road to Regents Park and then around South Carriage Drive (Hyde Park) and through Edinburgh Gate with the Pan Statue into Knightsbridge. That journey was busy but nothing like today. I don't think Edinburgh Gate is open much either today.
Bill Gates can help you with the crowd problem
My grandfather remarked in 2008 when I passed my driving test that he didn't enjoy driving anymore, that the roads were so busy. There is definitely an issue with overpopulation I think.
Being a Londoner, I managed to recognise about half the scenes in this wonderful film, and not just the obvious ones either!
Im a northerner but recognised a fair few myself.
park lane near the beginning were the dorchester is now i think
@coops1964 well done!
But did you notice dick whittingtons cat, ?
Yes, that's one of the problems or delights of London. You can never hope to discover all of it.
This is really precious. It's like stepping back in time to a simpler place .
How clean and tidy it was, and the people took a pride in their appearance. Modern life is a shambles.
You are so correct…all destroyed now by mass migration and / or invasion by the Third World. All thanks to the likes of Tony Blair, Angela Merkel et al.
..hmmm "the good old days" - 50% of deaths from infection (no antibiotics), kitchen maids put into mental hospitals by the lord of the manor, because he got her pregnant (no mental health act), people didn't lock their doors (they had almost nothing to be stolen), black soot covered builds (and lungs) - and on and on.. - ah those were the days.
having said that - excellently rendered footage, it really brings everything to life, thank you.
You are not seeing the poor parts. Do you think they didn't exist, or don't you care?!
@@LucyKelly-of6cu Even the people in the poor parts had pride in their streets, I remember all the old girls washing the doorsteps in Hoxton, It did not get much poorer than there.
Everyone’s so smartly dressed. Thanks for sharing this great era when people were filled with decency,discipline and respect!
Yes indeed, and not to mention natural courtesy and good manners!
❤
@@NASS_0And not 1 fat person....
@@davidblofield3323 So in the 1930's everyone was polite. Can you tell me at what point we all become rude and disrespectful....What time exactly!!!!
@@DavidDragonettiIN MY OPINION ( I WAS A TEENAGER ) IT BEGAN IN THE LATE 1950'S, AND EXCELLERATED IN THE 60'S. ETC
A masterpiece of evocative scenes from a bygone age.
It was like another world back then 💕🏴
it’s like another country now 😅
@kurtsmith2547 Haha BRILLIANT comment. I concur wholeheartedly!!
The pre British Raj Indians must've said the same! 😂
It actually is a different world.
Pre British Colonial rule Africans must have said the same
This is wonderful because it gives me a glimpse of London through my grandads eyes. He would have been a young man of 22yrs in 1930. To see the sights and sounds of what he would have seen is a very special thing. Thank you.
Before Hitler blew it to pieces
This is just FANTASTIC! I feel like I’ve just been there.
Stunning film to start with and I’m sure that there are buildings in there which might have survived the war but later succumbed to ‘progress’. They really did know how to build in those days.
I love groupings - factory buildings, leafy suburbs, small terraced houses, familiar buildings.
The Firestone and Coty factories and those beautiful ‘Tudor’ style houses with their sloping gardens and the clothes! 💖
Colourisation and the soundscape are perfect. It is absolutely heavenly. Thank you so much for sharing.
Great job on this film. Looks nice and clear
I'm especially loving London's famously purple trams.
thank you very much
Wow, thanks so much for uploading. London is such a beautiful city and so proud to be a London though only 2nd Generation Ethnic Londoner.
London looks clean and glad to recognise Trafalgar Square, Westminster bridge, Big Ben, Saint Paul's (I think), Regents park or At James's park (?). Mostly men on the streets back then and ethnic Europeans.Great city.
Couldn't help but think probably 99% of the people captured in the video have left our world, and 100% of the horses, Chickens, Pigeons and dogs would have gone!
God is great indeed!
Thanks for sharing.
Well no one seemed to be in a hurry. A nice historical film.
So true. I was filling up at a petrol station today and everyone seemed in a tearing hurry to get somewhere. It feels quite odd these days no one has time to chat.
The frame rate is wrong and slower than real-life.
Unlike in the 1920s when ppl rushed around like lunatics
This is an outstanding piece of work, and the colourisation, which can so often be a let-down, here looks really convincing. Some of those scenes look so real I could almost smell the streets- horse dung, tobacco smoke, and leaded petrol fumes.
not sure about the orange steam from the steam train though !
Thx!!❤
@@JayTee-bc4xm Agreed,... or the blue London buses. Nevertheless a spectacular tour of old London
Everything in this stunning film looked beautiful !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
Magnificent architecture so full of detail. We are forever indebted to all the skilled architects and labourers who built these many grand beautiful buildings. Astounding 👏 👏
BUT SO MUCH LOST, IN THE HELL TO COME.
Before we had the great and wonderful CULTURAL ENRICHMENT and now look at *LONDONISTAN* an absolute CESSPIT
Fantastic video. The contrast between green and beautiful London and the blackened wreak of an industrial city like Manchester is almost too much to appreciate. Without heavy industry London remained a decent place to live in.
Post war reconstruction never even tried to rebuild the city then recently lost...post war reconstruction was obviously done on the cheap, probably because of the extent of the bombing damage
Only historical videos like this can give us a better appreciation of what was really lost during 39 and 45.
I remember London in the late 60s and early seventies the buildings were sooty and London was known as the smoke if you know where to look you can still see the remains of this, where the upper buildings are cleaner due to rain fall and the lower part is still a bit sooty, all since the clean air act banning house coal, what could happen if all cars go green!
That is fascinating. Love the poster for Chaplins' Modern Times (1936) next to one for the Harry Roy Dance Band.
The newest car I recognized was a 1936 Ford. So that and the poster pretty much nails this was filmed in ‘36.
October 1936 edition of Film Fun at 18:08
I saw the Harry Roy poster, famed for his 1931 song 'My Girl's Pussy'
Yes the film dates from 1936. Four new vehicles in the film carry 1936 vehicle registration plates. The rest of the vehicles with visible plates date from the 1920s up until 1935, so the four newest vehicles in the film date from 1936.
What an amazing video. As someone with an interest in architecture I particularly the shots of buildings lost over the years like the Imperial Institute, Imperial Hotel, Queen's Hall, etc
That is crazy, a 36 tram to Abbey Wood. It went all the way down the Old Kent Rd and Victoria Embankment. It would be amazing to see the infrastructure with all the tram lines in the roads everywhere.
A lot of the tram lines are still there as is the cobbled stones - When I was a kid living in Islington in the 80s, they resurfaced Essex Road and the original cobbles were still there and the metal tram tracks as well, they just tarmaced over it.
As a kid around 1950, I found myself cycling between two trams. I survived and never tried it again.
It’s true, London was very diverse then, all of those different cars trucks and buses!
🤣
I was thinking the same thing!
And all British made..
@@keijak1very true!
😂😂😂
How beautiful. As a native of London in the sixties, thankyou!
Wow what a gift to watch randomly, video just popped up - thank you for all the hard work to put it up on UA-cam - love it!!
thank you very much
Thank you for taking the time to produce this incredible work. I dread to think what the people in the film would think of how life is now.
It was much harder then!
An epic throwback film from the greatest city in the world, London
One of my clearest memories of being a young child in the early 1960s in Newcastle, Australia, was riding to the city with my mum and grandma in one of those double-decker buses - the exact same 1930s model! I think it was because of WW2 and the rationing and austerity even after the war that the city buses had not been replaced for 25 years - so the buses I rode in as a child were pre-war or wartime buses. Can I tell you it was a very different experience from anything remotely modern. Doors and windows didn't seal in their frames - they didn't even try to make buses weatherproof. Or smellproof. Or noiseproof. The noise, rattles and shuddering vibrations of the weak, ancient, smelly diesel engine were a real experience. In bad weather draughts of wind and rain mist would go through the whole bus. And they only had (I think) a 3-speed transmission and combined with paltry engine power they were unbelievably slow, and would labour up hills at literally jogging pace. Of course I only realised much later that I had - in 1964 - actually experienced pre-war 1930s motoring! It was the type of motoring of only about 20 years after the dawn of the age of popular motoring - the rudimentary type of motoring when those very buses still shared the road with horse carts!
That's a great story.
lovely to see the Hoover Building in it's prime - it's protected but now a Tesco flagship store (Perivale on the A40).
I know depressing. The A40 is not a leisurely ride now as it was with many of the 30s buildings demolished by speculators demolishing them over a weekend before preservation orders could be obtained.
But Firestone,despite having a preservation order was flattened!Charrington's coal merchant was along there as well,where we ordered our coal.
No way. How utterly disappointing.
Absolutely fascinating. Thank you for taking the time to create this!
thank you very much
Compared with what these images are in silent black and white this is pure magic ( even if I have a doubt with certain colours , like some reds or other colours that don’t seem too accurate )
Congratulations, really interesting vid.
What a fascinating film and great restoration and digitisation! Some familiar locations that I noticed. Technical note: increase playback speed to 1.3x for a much more realistic speed - you'll see people moving and walking more naturally. I suspect the speed discrepency came in during the digitisation process.
Amazing! I feel like I can jump right in like a time machine! Perfect for a history buff like myself!
I immediately subscribed! Keep them coming. 😊
I’m a London black cab driver and still so surprised how I can recognise all the central London streets and main sites! 😂. All the fundamentals of London have still not changed which is amazing
Many thanks. Wonderfully recreated sense of how London looked and felt before it was reshaped by the Luftwaffe. Plenty of poverty, so not exactly ‘the good old days’, but the place can look wonderful in these clips.
Our once beautiful London 😢
This film brings a strong sense of nostalgia to British people, and with it, comparisons of life today. You just KNOW that a lot of comments have been removed for being honest!
Oh yes, Censorship to present a FALSE positive narrative!
@@jabberwockytdi8901 The TRUTH, presumably.
@@jabberwockytdi8901 I don't need to imagine - neither do you.
You mean about mass Thirld World migration and its effect on civil society,culture and quality of life?
Londoner 71 years fantastic footage it’s a shame that the blitz destroyed a lot of beautiful buildings and then local councils pulling down thousands of Victorian homes and those fantastic art deco factories along the A40 some managed to survive
Very nice video that I like ! Thank you for sharing . Happy Sunday to you !
❤
London's finest years and during the war the British population pulled together in unity.......fast forward to the present and i weep for my children and grandchildren.
Too true when we now have an anti English mayor of London doing his best to trash it.
Only the lies of corrupt politicians are "stopping" you from achieving that again!
@@BukLao-v5h Totally agree 👌👌
@@BukLao-v5h Not forgetting the importation of too many foreigners with no wish to integrate.
Finest years? Are you insane? Chronic poverty, slum living, no such thing as the NHS. Child labour, unregulated pollution, nothing fine about London in the 30s pal.
The streets look so clean, no one eating and drinking in the street, people look so smart.
They were civilized. Even for Britain post WWI which was a major cultural change, along with increased industrialization
You are looking at an extremely low resolution film that has been subsequently highly altered. On top of that, the original film maker specifically chose their subjects to present whatever they wanted to present.
You wouldn't think London was "clean" or "smart" with a little jaunt down to a canning factory, with few labour protections (if you lose your hand, tough luck; you'll get some money but no substantial restitution); or the innards of a Workhouse where people were kept away from their family members because the administrators though it boosted productivity (they wouldn't be defunct until 1948). People were still pooping in wooden sheds in their backyard in those days.
London was a beautiful place if you were rich, a member of the professional classes or protected by membership to a Livery company or something akin. Some things never change
Why don't you people have the balls to say what you really mean?
@@thisisnev what do you mean by “you people”? 🤔
Very interesting. I have some 35mm Kodak cinefilms from that time I intend scanning at some point (my step-Dad worked for Kodak all his life, as did his father who recorded the films). One inparticular should be interesting, the can is marked, "London Zoo, 1941", presumably a wartime break when my step-Dad would have been 5.
Do it very quickly before the film deteriorates any further.
@@Tim091 Alas I won't be able to until sometime next year (planning a house move atm), but thankfully it's Kodak stock so it should be fine (has a good rep). I already scanned in most of a 35mm slide collection, plus there are some audio reels. I obtained a vintage projector and scanning module, but atm I don't have the space to set it all up, nor the time. I forget the other cinefilm titles offhand (those that had any, about two thirds were unmarked), though I think one of them had something like, "Moving house, 1951." Apt I suppose. :D
I kept many other interesting items, including a late 1800s mini writing desk which, according to its inscription, belonged to a teenage schoolgirl (she was 14 in 1897). Lots of old photos, as far back as the late 1800s, old science books (oldest was mid 1700s), early prints of books by Wilde and Dickens. I would include picture links but of course YT hates URLs in posted comments.
Scans of 35mm Kodak cinefilms' should produce nearly ultra high resolution (UHD) video. Could be quite a treasure trove of information. Maybe offer to loan your stock to the British Film Institute?
@@AnthonyHigham6414001080 Indeed I will be exploring such options nearer the time; it depends what the footage is.
In one of those clips is Adelaide House just across London Bridge right hand side, I worked there in early 70's as a typist, the old office where I worked was down in the basement area, everytime the Thames flooded over so did this office. That old office always smelt like an old stagnant pond.
How long did you stay there?
Is building still there? If so wonder if basement used just for storage🤔
Fascinating to see Covent Garden as a real market.
My grandpa worked there .
Great to see this, thank you. Belisha beacons were introduced in 1935 so that's the earliest possible date for the film. Thanks again.
Great job. I did have a little chuckle at the steam-puffing electric trains though 😆
Me too!
They had electric powered trains in London from 1890, now part of the Northen line, the track to Wimbledon was electrified in 1915, we still have trains picking up fro the 3rd rail all over the South East, so I do agree the sound edit was odd !
Amazed! Thank you for the restored footage
Fascinating. Thank you so much for posting
thank you very much
Wonderful video. Just like you’ve gone on a journey in a Time Machine back to 1935. Loved this😁😁
thank you very much
This was filmed in 1936. Four of the vehicles in the video carry 1936 registration plates. Also one of the advertisement posters on show dates from 1936.
Amazing to see Portland Place - so different without the trees down the middle.
And next to All Souls Church, Langham Place is the Queen's Hall - the original home of The Proms - which was destroyed during the war.
Thanks, one of the venues I forgot
What a fabulous and enviable city to be living in at that time …..this was the time to enjoy London ….and the country at large .
What a lovely record. Wonderful London. I can’t wait to visit again soon.
Well I wish you luck with that.
It's not quite the same anymore, so dont be too optimistic 😂😂... london has fallen!
Great video nass, amazing work and footage of London, very nice 👌👍😀
Thx!!❤
Absolutely AWESOME!🎞🎥⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐snapshot of England's crowning glory.🎩👑🇬🇧
thank you very much
Great nostalgic film with really good clarity of shots of London in the 1930s, and the added editing of colour really is a master stroke to make it much more watchable and enjoyable. Apologies to any puritans!
Who knew then what was about to happen in 1939?
thank you
It looks so lovely quiet and peaceful there at that time unlike the busy chaotic times we live in now!
Thank u to the person who originally took this film and to the person who cleand them up so we can watch them now !❤
👍
@4:20, that's ironic given that this film was originally black and white. There still seemed to have been quite a lot of traffic around at least in central London. @6:38, Hornsey Lane as it crosses Archway Road. @9:07, those newly built factories and commercial premises were beautiful. That was a lovely look back and thank you.
Thx!!❤
This is incredible. It looks as if it was filmed today!
It would be nice to visit London in the 1930s it looks so calm and serene
Great work. Fascinating.
Wow what a video. So lovely to see how London looked before the second world war. Smartly dressed and civilised people. Where did it all go wrong.
Currupt politicians and Currupt think tanks distroyed society...
mass immigration
Superb work - thank you! ❤
thank you! ❤
So very interesting. Good to see also so many different types of districts beyond the usual tourist magnets of central London.
Both my parents grew up in London in the 30s, their parents having come to the capital from Scotland, Yorkshire, Dorset and Norfolk. My dad was from Queens Park in west London and my mother from Wood Green in north London. Both were working class and relatively poor but, as many did, lived modest lives and saved for holidays and any luxuries. Most of the vehicles seen in the film would have been commercial, like taxis, and cars for those that could afford them. Even growing up in the late 50’s and early 60’s our road you could count the number of vehicles on one hand - if you went back today every house would have a car outside it. Another aspect that isn’t obvious or portrayed in this film is te amount of dirt and grime caused by domestic coal fires and steam trains. This contributed to horrendous choking yellow smog that was common in those days. The clean air act and removal of steam trains from the capital in the early 60s had a dramatic impact on air quality. Many buildings caked in decades of grime were cleaned after the last regular steam trains finally left the capital in 1967.
The absence of litter has been remarked upon, and that fast food is a major contributor to today’s litter. The only take away food in most areas in the 30s would have been the Fish and Chip shop, and that was still the case when I grew up in the 50s/early 60s. When we bought fish and chips we would take it home to eat, and eating on the steet was generally frowned upon. Also, wherever we went on family outings, sometimes into central London where my dad worked, we took any litter we produced home with us if a bin could not be found.
I recognise many of the sights in the film which are still with us today, like the old BBC building and Greenwich Park, with the observatory in the background.
London is still a great city, and improvements like the magnificent Elizabeth Line, are still being made.
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
I wouldnt want to live in the past, but I wish I could visit for a little while
I am happy to be the age I am 63, The future does not look too bright :(
What a charming time! It looks lovely!
;)
Nice work, a few of the clips are a bit slow, judging by the speed of the horses' gaits, I spend every day watching horses work. Interesting how heavy horses lingered on in service for urban delivery work.
Looks like a different London than the London I see in the news footage these days...
thank you very much
I thought many scenes were a bit too slow. NASS usually gets this spot on.
The year my mum was born. I lost her last year, but to think she witnessed this blows my mind .
The film dates from 1936.
No out of proportion tall buildings,thank God
Some of those cars @ 2.32 , so amazing. My grandfather was working in the city then as a stockbroker, mid 1920's to 1930 something
This is internet gold, very well done. Sub added.
Thank you
Amazing work very well done 👏
More please 🙏 ❤
Lovely work NASS
thank you very much
Look how clean London was. This is magnificent 👏
Clean? A lot of those buildings are filthy. St. Paul’s dome looks almost black. A lot of soot and pollution in the air.
NASS vos publications sont Magnifiques..
merci a vous
Look how nice and clean London was.
Beautiful Old London Old video very nice Old is gold
Should've shown some slums and more working class areas.
Absolutely brilliant! Well done
Thank you
Hard to believe that everyone you see has died.
Quite easy to believe, actually.
Aye, we’re doomed, we’re doomed.
Don't know actually, some of the young kids in it might still be kicking about, be in their 90s albeit.
Easy to believe that was 94 years ago of course all these people would be deceased by now
Mortified 😢
I'm assumig the sound was added? Serious props to whoever did that! 💯
Amazing video, really enjoyed it. 👍🏻
Thanks !! ^^
The colourising technology has a way to go yet, but nevertheless, many thanks for making the effort to produce this (and thanks also to the original camera men/women who shot this footage). It takes us tantalisingly closer to an earlier time than black and white ever does. And to those who say that it's wrong and inauthentic to colourise old film - the original still exists. It's not like you've added a moustache and glasses to the actual Mono Lisa.
Thx!
Sad what London has now become due to poor government of this country.
I think two world wars had more impact than the government.
it's Londonstan now.
A disgrace.
Yes as is every UK city now.
@@mikehudson8884 I do not agree that it is worse than in the past. It is a human trait to remember the good things and forget the bad.
Great job. What an amazing city London was. It's nothing short of tragic what it has now become.
London is still a great city, different yes, but still a great city.
@@martinwebb1681 Would you care to go in to detail? By every metric I can think of, it's gone downhill. Definitely not great anymore. Londoners leaving en masse, "cultural enrichment" and nazi bombs saw to that
I was a courier for 30 years and I only managed to recognise 60% of the buildings that are still standing. The buildings in London overall since the war are abominable and crude.
The south bank of Thames is unrecognizable now. It's like Manhattan
I was too and keep going onto google Earth trying to find them. Loved Archway Bridge and the 36 tram to Abbey Wood where I live now. Was a cycle then motorbike courier in the 90’s and 2000’s.
@@MDonovanTravelling out of Waterloo these days, I think of it as "Vauxhall Canyon". Ghastly. All those thousands of little cubes stacked up.
@@MDonovan Only, the Americans do skyscrapers better
Bertie Wooster’s London ❤️
What went so horribly wrong, we all know, but daren't say, those people of the 1930's would be horrified to see how London has changed - it is pretty unbelievable what has been deliberately done in such a short space of time.
Probably what the Native Americans said when the British conquered the USA.
@@ronniep9272 Maybe so, but conqueror's rights. For the record my distant ancestors were conquered four times.
@dpstrial what stupid mental gymnastics. The British have completely changed the demographics of the USA, Canada, Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand. The natives in all of these places are tiny minorities if not extinct. The Brits and other Europeans are only making things worse by having so few children.
Doner kebab?
@@ronniep9272there was nothing there.
I can recognise quite a few of those buildings having spent a good few years as a Motorcycle despatch rider in the Big Smoke.
I’m thinking this must have been filmed on or around 6th March 1935! Why? The newspaper seller’s board read ‘Bullion Robbery in London’ (8:42) There was a very famous and well publicised case ( in London) that happened in the early hours of the morning on the 6th March 1935. Anyway! Thank you for this excellent video giving us a glimpse into life all those years ago! Amazing! Even though I was born long after this was filmed I still find it so nostalgic!
Thank you
It was filmed in 1936. Four of the vehicles in the film were registered in 1936 and carry 1936 registration plates. Also one of the posters shows an advent that took place in 1936.
Re: ‘Bullion Robbery London’ I still think it’s 1935! But! Hey! The more likely explanation is that this is a film compilation! So both dates / years are correct! Having said that your powers of observation are remarkable!
It’s amazing to view the London of my parents childhood.,
Many thanks for this film, its absolutely fantastic. Similar to "War Girl A Distant Void".
thank you very much
Beautiful job! Well done chaps!!
thank you very much
👍 Nicely done.
thank you very much
Fantastic. I was amazed at the pace of life, much slower than now.
Cómo no cachar fueron al pasado con cámaras de ahorita 2025 😮
Recognise a good 50% of this - Dick Wittingtons cat is still there at the bottom of Archway now as it was then. It was impressive to get trams up and down Highgate Hill as it's rather steep. Also showing the A1 to the other side of Highgate with what I will call here self deletion bridge (as the locals know it by) to stop YT removing my comment.
A grim bridge you always dread going under
@@MsSamanthaTKO Absolutely, when i was very young in the 70s it was already nicknamed this so I heard this name from probably 7-8 years onwards. Also, it was very busy then with lots of large lorries going along at it's a main route.
Amazingly a lot of this has somehow survived! (Buildings). What's changed is the atmosphere and spirit of the place. Love all the cars and clothes and the elegance of the architecture. The industrial buildings and factories are works of art!
clean, without death cult, beautiful!
born post 2000 and i struggle to recognise quite a bit, lived central my whole life. Interesting!
LOVELY STREETS PRETTY BUILDINGS THANK YOU
Thx!!!
Not when Hitler was finished with it a few years later
Great job with image restoration but the Sound design is over the top