I was born in London, I grew up in the 50`s and 60`s. What wonderful memories I have of those days. Sadly it is no longer the same place, I am happy to live my senior years in a country village.
I lived in London for 2 years , that was 20 years ago . I loved Covent garden and the art gallery’s but the Londoner’s weren’t very friendly unfortunately. They are nice enough though . I wish I was there in the 60s
I was born in ‘53 and did my schooling there. I walked a mile to school and back every day in Stepney on my own up until going to Grammar at age 11. No parental worries and no issues then. We moved to the outskirts in the 60’s and then I went back to work in London, just off fleet street and the Temple. Travelled all over London for work. Went back to visit a few years ago and everything I knew has gone. We had the best of it.
People are awfully dressed these days..... I simply do not understand at all ( thought about it yesterday again as I was doing some shopping), I was simply appalled I take pride being always perfectly clean with smart and suitable clothes. It is so agreeable to be respectful of oneself and others. A Tracksuit bottom, dirty, out shape t-shirts for men, women in leggings, hair not even combed etc. etc. What is wrong with all these people? No dignity at all......
Also the London of smogs and joblessness. The cars you see and fancy in this video are actually not very energy efficient and emitted a lot of pollutants in the air. Thank God most cars in London today are hybrids.
@@remarkableshailesh nope, india ki poverty k liye india ke log khud responsible, bcz of overpopulation, castesim, dirty plitics, narrow minded, aj hamara india aisa ho gya,,,over -population is the root cause of every problems in india
@@Napoleon4778 You know I've never understood people who never look at the benefits and great things which the British Empire has brought to the world. Instead they only focus on the negative aspects. I mean, how fast do you think things can improve? You mention cars. In a mere one hundred years, which is a drop in the bucket in terms of history, cars were invented, produced and used. It became evident that they polluted. So the people and inventers set about rectifying that. Britain produced The Magna Carta. They were the FIRST country in the world to abolish slavery, stating that every human being has a precious soul and is made in the image of God and the slavery was therefore evil. I take pride in the fact that my ancestors came from Britain.
@@Coupal1 It's progressives and left leaning political minds being unable to accept that conquest built society. To them all conquest is evil and needs to be atoned for on a constant basis regardless of if it supplied the world with a better standard of living.
@@bmwman5 You do realise they only filmed the bits that looked good? Ask my friends who grew up in the East End if that was stylish and if everyone was polite and well mannered round the docks😂
@@granthayter-menzies8602 Oh I'm sorry. Is responding to comments on UA-cam only by invitation? And lecture? 2 sentences, my friend, do not constitute a lecture.
Is this meant to reflect London or a very small part of it, the 'flashy' one of the 'middle' and upper class of the time? Aren't Brixton, north London, East London, etc. part of London? What if this was 10 minutes longer?
I remember watching these films when I was 10yrs old at Junior school, to be watching them at almost 60 yrs old I really appreciate the excellent presentation and information from these films. Even after 50 years I havnt forgotten the back ground music. Ironically I went on to live and work in the city for 20 years. Thank for showing these films. By the way I'm a black women, not that it makes any difference.
it was the urban planners, made a mockery of our nation's cities because of their obsession with brutalism, "new towns" and big decrepit tower blocks@@ABB-bw6tc
Everyone looks so nice and pleasant and this was what I remembered of my grandparents and the calm, clean polite London. Thank you for sharing our traditional London , which we have lost !
Yes I’ve observed this too. The people are well dressed and well focused. Not like today distracted by mobile phones, the streets filled with heavy traffic and all the nonsense we see today
I say old chap would you have the time 1.32 old boy thank you kindly. THESE DAYS EXCUSE ME WOULD YOU HAVE THE TIME. LOOK ON YOUR MOBILE PHONE MORON. THANK YOU KINDLY AND GOOD DAY TO YOU 2 SIR FINGERS AGGRESSION STABBINGS 2DA LOO
Looks can be deceptive what do you not see that you see today greed and I want it now.wtight now look we've caused tail backs yes I can drive to get it now
Utterly heart breaking to see how an entire city has been destroyed within the space of a single lifetime. All that community, all that culture, all that civility - gone forever. For anyone with any knowledge of how London, (and other parts of the UK), used to be, it is absolutely tragic witnessing the London of today. It feels like a piece of your heart has been trampled on by fools.
I can't think of many locations in that film that aren't much the same now as they were when it was made. The biggest difference is that the buildings look cleaner as we no longer burn coal. Funnily enough, the director seems to have avoided the bombsites that pock-marked the city at the time.
@@Katie-rx8ql I would be interested in defining what you mean exactly by immigrants?London, like the UK in general, has had quite a few of them alright. In The Romans, Vikings, Anglos Saxons, Normans and not forgetting the Flemings and French Huguenots. I admit the Vikings and their raids did "run the place down" a bit.
@@dweir2584 I replied but it's disappeared so I will reply again. 3rd world immigration of today has ruined most of England. It is predicted that white English will be in the minority in 2066. Some cities are already in the minority like London. Ppl need to wake up.
I was born in1948 and my father, as thousands of other ex-servicemen, was happy to be alive. They got on with life as those depicted in this clip were doing. I must have been six years old when mother and I accompanied him on a business trip to London from Bolton. Coming from the grimy, smoke ridden North (cotton and heavy engineering hadn't been allowed to decline by third-rate politicians then), I have childhood memories of an amazingly (relatively) clean metropolis. While father carried out his business, mother and I wandered around the parks, toy shops and ended up having afternoon tea at Lyons Corner House. I went more recently to visit several museums and, I am sad to say, felt a cloud of depression engulfing me. A much grubbier, unfriendly, yob ridden place it had become. How sad.
When this was filmed London was still reeling from the Blitz with bomb sites everywhere and rationing was still in effect. What it shows is a city on its way back to normality and prosperity, a city bustling and active. A far cry from the place modern historians would have you believe it was. We were not on our knees and were not begging our colonies for help to re-build.
of course they are rewriting history, doesn't look very ''diverse'' to me, it's a crime what they are doing, not only are they wiping Britons off the map they can't even let them have their own history they have to destroy that as well, I'm surprised they haven't banned this footage as ''hate'' or white supremacy
We didn’t need help from colonies. If 1920s Germany could go from bankruptcy to European domination in a decade or two, it shows that you don’t need to import assistance.
So stylish and elegant. A forgotten world swiftly moving from memory to history. I wonder what they’d think if we could take a video of todays London back in time to show them.
Please do!! Many of my ancestors and old countrymen and women have cried under the rule of the fancy and supposedly mighty UK! Karma has come a calling... with a dose of your own medicine!
So you admit that "Divershitty" isn't a strength and it's being used to destroy Britain? Thanks for confirming what I and many other Millions of British people already knew!
A sort of delicate 'pastel': you can see the same kind of colour-palette in some British pictures of the '40s and late '30s (e.g. "Blithe Spirit", "The Divorce Of Lady X")
The video, the accompanying music and eloquent commentary are a poignant reminder of times gone by. This was a time, when London was one of the greatest cities in the world. Just look at it today.
It is only now that I am of a certain age that I appreciate why my grandparents and parents reminisced so vividly of their past. I appreciate that all was not perfect but as opposed to now I wish I could go back to my childhood days. Now we are overcrowded and a high percentage of people have no respect for their city. It was extremely rare to see people walking about drinking alcohol and causing mayhem. I expect the next generation might even say the same. Alas, not all things have changed for the better. Thanks to British Pathe for uploading this delightful video.
Beautiful cinematography. Rex Harrison has such a soothing voice. To think this was only 70 years ago. I love seeing London then and even now. I miss my hometown. ❤️
They are only showing the best bits, there were still a lot of bombed out areas and run down areas. A new film could still easily show London in very good light if the locations were picked well!
@@blzebub2 It is more violent, dangerous and culturally fractured. London's traditional centuries-old communities have been overrun in the last 30 years and most "real" Londoners would agree
It breaks my heart to see what we have lost, and how the lives of young people today have been blighted by reprehensible, self serving politicians who lie, bully and instil fear on the people.
Yes, it's painful to watch, the country i was born into only a few months later, bright clean orderly crime free, seven decades later it's a cesspit where violent crime is openly committed on the streets while the complacent mayor brushes it off as all part of life in the big city, I'm privileged to have seen it during the good times of my youth, these films and my memories are all that remains of London and England as a whole, may god rest its beautiful soul, amen.
@@monteceitomoocher if you voted for the conmen all the way through like a gullible sheep then you have responsibility for it too. My generation will never know the Britain you did. You threw it all away for money, or got too comfortable and let it be stolen. Feels like we were born without a chance. How could you let this happen? What were you all thinking?
It was much safer then than now before immigrants arrved .Also theft was rare Many years later I went to one of the schools where I used to teach and I told the caretaker where I used to leave my scooter.He said you couldn't do that now then kids would wreck it
The atmosphere was much better, life was not so serious but straight forward, hardly ever any chewing gum or cigarette found on the floor, and people could concentrate easily on their lives, although I must admit, the quality of life was not very good. No online shopping, no Internet, no mobile phones and hardly any CCTV cameras in the world. I'm aware of all that despite being born in the late 80s.
They are only showing the best bits, there were still a lot of bombed out areas and run down areas. A new film could still easily show London in very good light if the locations were picked well!
@@леонидмирнов Спасибо ! I have been fascinated by Siberia region and the Russian Far East for a very long time. I had not heard of the city of Bratsk and will enjoy reading and learning more about it. Thank you for answering my question - much appreciated. Всего наилучшего. Arthur
Are you delusional? Freedom? For who? For the colonizers? You people have zero knowledge of anything really, and yet you are nostalgic towards an illusion
After 1985 England went down hill , with mass immigration , and our values were chipped away at , if you are white English you are polarised in your own country , our rotten government is to blame ,
@@blumoon7274 It went down hill when the Tories pitted everyone against each other in the scramble to the bottom of de-regulation and smashing and grabbing industries for the private sector. It's not because a few hard working brown and black people turned up here to work hard. England is still predominantly white you old fool. The only thing sinking England is xenophobia and pathetic whining for a time ruled by colonialism when the English were despised for their torture and barbarity. You're a sham and a joke.
Safe, quiet, and sane! Lots of high culture, respect, elegance, curiosity toward the world, strong human connection, and positivity. All gone, but hopefully will be brought back.
ladies fashions blossomed in the early 50s after the austerity of the war period, I remember the elegance & wonderful fabrics & designs. Even the clouds were fluffier & prettier.
yuri Lemming I love all handbags in this video, they were not crossbody or tote but really elegant, not too small but enough for all a lady need, really what it was called “handbag”.
Even better join a religious group stuck before 1900 :) Life expetancy in teh Uk 1950 was maybe 65 years? Sure I whould liek to have a longer life, all the new tech and soem old things but we can always CHOOSE to use some old stuff and styles. They copuld nevre have ours.
They are only showing the best bits, there were still a lot of bombed out areas and run down areas. A new film could still easily show London in very good light if the locations were picked well!
London had a certain charm about it back then. I was born in the early 50s.....and l can remember being taken on trips to London in the early to mid 60s: it was a magical place back then, men with bowler hats and breifcases....there was a hint of class about the place. Contrast that with how it is today....sadly a bit of a mess, with crime seemingly out of control, and that magical feel about the city gone forever. Time and tradition always moves on over the decades......and sadly: not always for the better.
Remembering it as a kid it would seem nice, but the film is only showing the best bits, there were still a lot of bombed out areas and run down areas. A new film could still easily show London in very good light if the locations were picked well!
Look how clean, orderly and elegant the city once was! O: There's no comparison to what the city looks like today. The background buildings are same as today, but everything else is like from another world and dimension.
Coming from the North of England, this is how I still imagine London in my mind. I travel to London about once a year for work and am always very, very, very disappointed. Fortunately we still have these videos.
I really love all the videos from British Pathé. Everytime I watch I feel like I am travelling back in time. So amazing! Thank you for all these wonderful videos... 💞
The only 2 problems with these videos is they focus on the nice parts and everyone thinks the whole of Britain was perfect and like this with no problems. Second problem of course is those who say "look how lovely and WHITE the people are"
@@Roy1-ub9ijAll Europeans are being genocided, it's still ongoing. The scourge of anti- nataliat agendas and flooding our lands with hordes of hostile foreigners means that we may be completely extinct within a century
They are only showing the best bits, there were still a lot of bombed out areas and run down areas. A new film could still easily show London in very good light if the locations were picked well!
It was never like that. Most of London was either destroyed in the war, under maintained or derelict, foggy, damp with extreme poverty in many parts of the city exacerbated by the loss of empire and industry.
Its not a dump!! Things change so do people that contribute to a city’s problems. You obviously hve never lived or visited London. 47❤️% is green. Worlds first urban forest, the history, culture, diversity, vibrancy, opportinities etc etc. I dont know where you live.
Mate at the time of this filming we still had an empire that covered the globe where we still stole resources from the people that lived there. We should be thankful that we conducted the largest smash and grab in history since Gehngis Kahn and got away with it.
@@Juan_laudawe didn't steal we use trade, it benefited us and them. When this was filmed the British empire was getting read to deconstruct itself and it did. We didn't import mass immigration to India, a well established country and take over, we sent some Brits, we used trade, that benefited both parties, and we have them the infrastructure and governance tools they're using today to make India a better place for it's people, who are now by and large free and enjoy democratic rights. Singapore is another example of success. You can say yeah but look at America, the difference is the Americas by and large were not as built up and populated as the like sod India, so when people arrived, initially simply going out to find answers; was there anything further west? They found land that had, given the size of the land, a small population, a land that was largely uninhabited, unlike the old world of Europe, the middle east, the far East and norhtern Africa. It's the same story with Australia and New Zealand, when Europeans arrived to these lands they seemed uninhabited until they came accord people. By which point the old world diseases these peoples had never come into contact with, died in large numbers. More died from old world diseases Europeans didn't know they were carrying, than died from wars with the Europeans. So no mass immigration to the UK and Europe is not the same thing. Above all else those coming here are not adding anything of great significance to our societies, they're not giving us modern medicine, the industrial revolution, or modern democracy, as we have to the world.
The problem is if you behave like this today, people consider you as an arrogant snob. Most people don't know how to behave properly and think you're old-fashioned.
They are only showing the best bits, there were still a lot of bombed out areas and run down areas. A new film could still easily show London in very good light if the locations were picked well!
I also remember London in the 60s and 70s. Some of it was lovely, but I also remember the grimy bombed out neighbourhoods in the East End, which were around right up until the 90s. North London was my home, and yes i have great memories 😍 Finsbury Park, Holloway and Hornsey before the Sobell Centre was built 🤩
Fabulous video, look how clean it is, look how civilsed and smartly dressed everyone is, just as many remember. Change is only good if it's an improvement, what has been done to our Country is the complete opposite of improvement
While it's easy to romanticize the past, and bear in mind WW2 was fresh in the mind of the city's inhabitants, one can only help but admire how beautiful the ladies looked in their dresses, how clean the streets were and how everyone wasn't staring at a phone.
Wow. I have a longing and nostalgia for something I never knew, because it was stolen from me. If this was not on video, people would deny it had ever existed.
You wouldn't last a week without the internet. My Nana in the 50's had it hard 5 kids no central heating ,little or no money to live on.my grandad was always down the pub ( nothing else to do)Buses never used to turn up for hours sometimes. Only middle class people could afford cars.my mum never went on holiday once when she was a kid.People have the decency to look at the past with rose tinted glasses. "Nostalgia not what it used to be"
lucas Chapman what a miserable person you are . I’m 63 and do remember everything you say I’m from the north and certainly do not have rose tinted glasses on . I certainly wasn’t middle class . I certainly do not have to justify my comment you you . I’m glad I am not as bitter as you that’s for sure
I even see photos of my Great Grandfather sitting by the beach - in suit, tie, starched collar and with a homburg hat and walking cane. Times have changed
The vivid portrayal captures the essence of London's vibrant tapestry of history, commerce, and culture. Kudos to the author for painting such a rich and dynamic picture of the city!
They do things differently now: I wouldn't go into London unless I had to; it's an alien, hostile place and nothing to be romantic about; it's somewhere to endure, not enjoy.
Anon Anon Goodness, I think you’re exaggerating slightly, I went twice this year and it was lovely to stroll around and explore and no one causing any trouble. There are still plenty of wonderful places to go in London and most people are good people. But sadly we’ll never go back to the London of the 50’s, there are just too many people on this planet and manners have coarsened over the decades with the influence of trashy tv and online.
@@None-zc5vg Agreed. I visited last year for the first time in several years. It used to be a place I'd wander happily around for hours. Now, it's just a place to escape ASAP. When the history of a place no longer holds any positive meaning for, or connection with, the people who live there, it loses its specialness.
@@None-zc5vg you would love to take your lady to 1. ealing soo many educated upper crust proffesionals 2. Bluewater just outside edge of london area white and black communities bettering themselves with goodwill peace understanding. 3. Vauxhall full of amazing arty techi proffssionals 4. Stratford 5. Shoreditch 6. Elephant and castle 7. Romford eateries 8. Gidea park suburbs 9. Osterley posh 10. All of south east london is native. The most amazing thing is both natives and non natives understand why it is vital to preserve British and english culture. So many historic places,clean, it is not racist. The natives are big hearted there and just wantbto preserve their sanctity within london. It is not all bad mate. To make things better we all have to come together You will love some bits hate others
Rubbish, They are only showing the best bits, there were still a lot of bombed out areas and run down areas. A new film could still easily show London in very good light if the locations were picked well!
^ Cute fallacy. The reality is that the main parts of London were safer & cleaner in 1950, before the mass influxs of the unwanted began. This is an empirically demonstrable fact.
Yes, ladies looked so feminine. I love 50s fashion, I do have 50s style full circle skirts and dresses that I often wear. I have made a few beautiful circle skirts xx
@@WisdomToAll You do know the Anglo-Saxons are the English, there was not such thing as an England before the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons you sub 80 iq weapon
A sheer lack of diversity in this film, thank god for HR offices pushing DE&I and AD agencies casting black people in all the roles. This film clearly demonstrates how terrible it is when white English culture is allowed to flourish. Now we have the joys of ULEZ - Ultra Low English Zone. 😂😂😂
This is truly a rare and beautiful film of what the U.K. and London in particular was like. I dread to think what it will be like in another 70-80 years. Fortunately for me I won’t witness it but what a mess we are leaving our grandchildren.
No one drinking in the street , no one spitting , no one letting their dog foul the street , and let’s not forget no one getting stabbed on an industrial level . No Mayor of London either , there wasn’t any need back then .
Good that Pathe has released these newsreels. On viewing the women look elegant & the men smart. Not much evidence of grime despite the recent war. Poverty not touched on here but the Englishness & London life is visible.
The film only showing the best bits, there were still a lot of bombed out sites and rough run down areas. A new film could still easily show London in very good light with well picked locations!
i have lived in London 40 years, the highlight of my summer is to visit all the parks, Regents park will always remain special, St James park, and Hyde park, the Queen Mary rose gardens in Regents park i always visit end of june each year, the smell of the roses just wonderful, my old land lady used to come with me, she is dead now, back in the 80s we would get tea and sit outside and all the little sparrows would be chirping away, was in rose garden this summer and the sparrows have gone, yes London has changed so much, but you can still find joy in the small stuff.
Wow how much we have lost, women in beautiful summer dresses, guys in smart suits, no american size people, no scruffs with tats & piecing's. Clean streets, all looking heathy & getting on with life amazing considering only four years after WW2.
@@bootchop88 I think it was but not now, it's not immigration that's the problem it's mass immigration, the infrastructure isn't big enough for all the people to have Jobs and everything
As an overseas doctor who has served in the NHS for 38 years, I can testify to this decline first hand. We heard so much about London in our childhood and this city lived up to its reputation. It breaks my heart to see the fabric of society, communities torn apart and 'The British Culture ' for which I earned to see and be part of is being trampled by immigrants right left and centre. In my opinion only highly educated people should have been allowed in limited numbers who have cultural affinity and a compulsory assimilation commitment. If I were in a British establishment I would make an interview process a must at the beginning and after 5 years to see if the person is fit to be a citizen. While I was so fascinated with British history culture traditions and language and would visit museums, historical sights, stately homes cathedrals, universities, churchyards and countryside I could see most immigrants creating a bubble or coccon of their own culture which they carried on their shoulders and tried to graft it in this soil, with no interest in their chosen country. whenever I challenged them only antagonism hatred and resistance I encountered. It is being in love with a place and then purposefully destroying it that's what people from my own and other countries are doing. I didn't come to the UK to eat the same 32 tastes of foods available in our inner cities offered in Britain, it's not why I was here and I could feel the pain and helplessness of indigenous British people. I have brought up my children to be intelligent, confident, highly educated and take every opportunity offered to them and not hide in a cultural coccon of their own, that's fair to them and that's fair to our adopted country. At present I am as far away from London as I possibly can in Scotland. My advice to European countries, do not allow Immigration for cheap labour as this is not going to be a cheap bargain in the long term.
Beautifully put. I stay out of the cities and large towns now as I find them unrecognisable and demoralising. But, living in a small town and only visiting the places that you mention (plus gardens, arboretums and village social activities) I can still retain a feeling of belonging with my place of birth and ancestry. I wish you and your family all the best - we are lucky to have you here. God bless.
Not all immigrants are bad. My Indian, Chinese and African friends are very well assimilated, hard-working and generally good people. The religion of peace on the other hand...
Born in Hackney left aged five, went back in 1974 and left in 79 the best years of my life, went back in the 1990s. All my family and friends moved out due to white flight, they did not want to, having stood up to Hitler, protecting their homes but they knew what was coming, that the camaraderie and good neighbours would be broken up and have been proven right ie Sadiq Khan. I recall even my Uncles, tough Cockneys who had fought in WW2 crying their eyes out as they got into the taxis or the removal van. I don't remember much as a child except for family get togethers and lots of laughter. When I went back as a young man, its history, the parks, the shops, the discos, parties and an endless number of girls it was a magical but then in the 1990s it started to change it became filthy, scary, people were different and from different lands and I was glad to leave. Have not been back since 2003, don't expect I ever will and don't really want to, as I scared and dread what I will find there. This video is really before my time but in its essence I recognize my home, my people and my culture - which was effectively by over time, stealth and my leaders (ie traitors) taken it all away from true Londoners without their permission. It is all made worse by the very stand that Londoners made against Hitler who truly believe he could win the war by bombing people like my family to pieces but instead they did not give in, died or leave London. Hitler thought a swarm of Londoners fleeing would lead to England giving in, but we did not and gave vital time for America to produce the armaments to enter the war and go on to beat the Nazis. It sickens me that we had such traitors as our so-called politicians that for the sake of cheap labour for their fat cat friends began the immigration which has effectively decimated London as we see now every day. What capital in the world that played such an important part in defeating fascism that we all could be living under now was 'rewarded' by its long term and historial populace in effectively being forced out, so after only 50 years is no longer the same city. I am close to tears as I write this, and I expect it will be some time before I watch this video again. Or I end up being arrested for being racist, which I certainly am not.
'which I certainly am not' - really? You speak of 'white flight' - what, or who, were they fleeing from, eh? Those Windrush people who actually believed in Britain enough to want to move there - far more than the ten-pound Poms (yes, I'm Australian) who couldn't wait to leave the slums that you don't see here. You're close to tears? Here's a tip, son - don't comment while drunk.
![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)
I was born in London, I grew up in the 50`s and 60`s. What wonderful memories I have of those days. Sadly it is no longer the same place, I am happy to live my senior years in a country village.
I lived in London for 2 years , that was 20 years ago . I loved Covent garden and the art gallery’s but the Londoner’s weren’t very friendly unfortunately. They are nice enough though . I wish I was there in the 60s
If only we had a Time Machine . Sadly this beautiful London is lost for ever . Enjoy the village life .
yep, good old immigration destroys something beautiful, thank you lefties
May I ask which village or which general area - I ahve wanted to live in England and an English country village my entire life.
I was born in ‘53 and did my schooling there. I walked a mile to school and back every day in Stepney on my own up until going to Grammar at age 11. No parental worries and no issues then. We moved to the outskirts in the 60’s and then I went back to work in London, just off fleet street and the Temple. Travelled all over London for work. Went back to visit a few years ago and everything I knew has gone. We had the best of it.
So emotional watching that. Everything was so clean, smartly dressed, people took a pride in themselves and their country.
I've just said very similar x and so civilised
People are awfully dressed these days..... I simply do not understand at all ( thought about it yesterday again as I was doing some shopping), I was simply appalled I take pride being always perfectly clean with smart and suitable clothes. It is so agreeable to be respectful of oneself and others. A Tracksuit bottom, dirty, out shape t-shirts for men, women in leggings, hair not even combed etc. etc. What is wrong with all these people? No dignity at all......
Yeah the rich people, not everyone.
This shows only the elite part of society the 10%
No takeaways and not an overweight person in site.
The days of the empire, when the British still enslaved 75% of the planet.
Those were wonderful times! I wish I could go back in time!
Me Too.
This was the London everyone dreamed of visiting. Thank God they documented it.
Also the London of smogs and joblessness. The cars you see and fancy in this video are actually not very energy efficient and emitted a lot of pollutants in the air. Thank God most cars in London today are hybrids.
Shailesh M and now you do it all on your own India not really moved up much, has it.
@@remarkableshailesh nope, india ki poverty k liye india ke log khud responsible, bcz of overpopulation, castesim, dirty plitics, narrow minded, aj hamara india aisa ho gya,,,over -population is the root cause of every problems in india
@@Napoleon4778 You know I've never understood people who never look at the benefits and great things which the British Empire has brought to the world. Instead they only focus on the negative aspects. I mean, how fast do you think things can improve? You mention cars. In a mere one hundred years, which is a drop in the bucket in terms of history, cars were invented, produced and used. It became evident that they polluted. So the people and inventers set about rectifying that. Britain produced The Magna Carta. They were the FIRST country in the world to abolish slavery, stating that every human being has a precious soul and is made in the image of God and the slavery was therefore evil. I take pride in the fact that my ancestors came from Britain.
@@Coupal1 It's progressives and left leaning political minds being unable to accept that conquest built society. To them all conquest is evil and needs to be atoned for on a constant basis regardless of if it supplied the world with a better standard of living.
This was the London my parents knew, before i was born. It's hard to believe how much things have changed in a few generations. Almost unrecognisable.
And yet we're gaslit into believing it's not the fault of multiculturalism
One generation, it's taken one generation to destroy it. Largely it's happened in the last 30 years.
The best part was how nobody brushed their teeth
Yes much better now.
@@Ratchet299 🤣🤣🤣
Everything looked so clean, the people were so polite, well-mannered and dressed stylish. Can we please get back to those times?
@@bmwman5 You do realise they only filmed the bits that looked good? Ask my friends who grew up in the East End if that was stylish and if everyone was polite and well mannered round the docks😂
@dianacoles1017 Always a lecture, especially when nobody asked.
@@granthayter-menzies8602 Oh I'm sorry. Is responding to comments on UA-cam only by invitation? And lecture? 2 sentences, my friend, do not constitute a lecture.
Where the sand bo’s
@@granthayter-menzies8602 Not a lecture. Just bursting this daft nostalgic bubble crap about the nonexistent golden past.
This was my London growing up and I miss it. Wonderful.
It was your generation who gave it away.
@AndrewGill-co2mr nah it's the younger generation
@@nicko1397 Andrew Gil is right 👍 the world citizens been piling in for several decades , the old times dodnt know how good they had it
Where’s the sand bo
Thankful that British Pathe decided to put these videos up for all of us to view. What a great historical resource.
Lindo parabens..queria que brasil fosse a metade..
All built on imperialism ,genocide , colonisation and exploitation of the world.
Reconquista: Hinduism pack it in
Is this meant to reflect London or a very small part of it, the 'flashy' one of the 'middle' and upper class of the time? Aren't Brixton, north London, East London, etc. part of London? What if this was 10 minutes longer?
I remember watching these films when I was 10yrs old at Junior school, to be watching them at almost 60 yrs old I really appreciate the excellent presentation and information from these films.
Even after 50 years I havnt forgotten the back ground music.
Ironically I went on to live and work in the city for 20 years.
Thank for showing these films.
By the way I'm a black women, not that it makes any difference.
Oh wow, how lovely the world felt in those days. I'm 65 and remember feeling so safe ❤
It actually hurts my heart to see how London was then - peaceful and united and to know what has happened to it now.
There is no place like Egypt the mother of the world❤️❤️
@@mohamedbelal8989 up yours too!
London today is better
@@olivermccall9770 london now lose the historical impression about it as alot of skyscrapers filled the city and make the city lose its old sprit
@@mohamedbelal8989 yes... the skyscrapers
So sad 😭 breaks my heart I’m 90 years old and remember london vividly like it was yesterday not like what it is today
wow, you were the same age when this video was filmed as i am now
74 years ago i remember all these landmarks absolutely destroyed this country
it was the urban planners, made a mockery of our nation's cities because of their obsession with brutalism, "new towns" and big decrepit tower blocks@@ABB-bw6tc
@@ABB-bw6tcIndeed England changed too much. The English society is dying unfortunately. I was born in the wrong era.
Yes back then it was a foggy bombed out dump. Now it's a modern vibrant city.
Not a Takeaway or Machete in sight…
Pure bliss.
No dropping of T"s
Yes. You could just eat your boiled potato and gammon in pure bliss.
A small price to pay@@marklangley7135
@@marklangley7135 And walk clean safe streets, bonus 👍
😂😂😂😂😂
Everyone looks so nice and pleasant and this was what I remembered of my grandparents and the calm, clean polite London.
Thank you for sharing our traditional London , which we have lost !
Yes I’ve observed this too. The people are well dressed and well focused. Not like today distracted by mobile phones, the streets filled with heavy traffic and all the nonsense we see today
I say old chap would you have the time 1.32 old boy thank you kindly.
THESE DAYS
EXCUSE ME WOULD YOU HAVE THE TIME.
LOOK ON YOUR MOBILE PHONE MORON.
THANK YOU KINDLY AND GOOD DAY TO YOU 2 SIR FINGERS AGGRESSION STABBINGS 2DA LOO
Toddle lou arce hole today's manorisms F U & F U 2.
LOVE YOU REPLY THEN OHH DARLING
TODAY
LOVE YOU OHH WHATEVER
Looks can be deceptive what do you not see that you see today greed and I want it now.wtight now look we've caused tail backs yes I can drive to get it now
Thats when '''real''' English people lived in London. Now it is a rat hole.
I was born in 1958 when my home town London was still a beautiful place to be.
*city
Where do you live now.
Sad that those days are gone forever.
Cmon guys I am from Sydney and London isn’t that bad . I visited 6 years ago
Look at the state of London now END OF. breaks my heart in 2022😠😩
Utterly heart breaking to see how an entire city has been destroyed within the space of a single lifetime. All that community, all that culture, all that civility - gone forever. For anyone with any knowledge of how London, (and other parts of the UK), used to be, it is absolutely tragic witnessing the London of today. It feels like a piece of your heart has been trampled on by fools.
🎯 yes yet hardly anyone cares!! My heart literally aches at the loss! All by design 😢
Enoch Powel was right.
A beautiful city, SOLD from under US 🆘😢🇺🇸🇮🇱😵🧐🤥⚖️🗣️📢🤫
🙏💯 GOD help US 🇬🇧🤑🙈
Brought a tear to my eye.
I totally agree with you
This is Britain! Old fashioned and clean, well mannered, cultured and independent.
...and rose-tinted 🕶
@@GroundhogRoy Impossible not to be, there were so many more roses back then.
@@bryanlawsmith I disagree and the stats and facts agree with me.
Peoples smelt back then though. It's only over the past 15 -20 years people started bathing/showering everyday!
@@rosahacketts1668 Er... nope. Try 45-50 years. What planet are you on if you think people weren't showering every day in 2007, lol?
That London I always dreamed to visit, civilised, peaceful with beautiful fashion.
I worked in Oxford Street in 1960 .
Its nice to remember how it was.
London used to be such a lovely city.
I can't think of many locations in that film that aren't much the same now as they were when it was made. The biggest difference is that the buildings look cleaner as we no longer burn coal. Funnily enough, the director seems to have avoided the bombsites that pock-marked the city at the time.
It still is - just different.
@@dweir2584 no it isn't nice!!!! It's full of Immigrants who have run the place down.
@@Katie-rx8ql I would be interested in defining what you mean exactly by immigrants?London, like the UK in general, has had quite a few of them alright. In The Romans, Vikings, Anglos Saxons, Normans and not forgetting the Flemings and French Huguenots. I admit the Vikings and their raids did "run the place down" a bit.
@@dweir2584 I replied but it's disappeared so I will reply again. 3rd world immigration of today has ruined most of England. It is predicted that white English will be in the minority in 2066. Some cities are already in the minority like London. Ppl need to wake up.
I was born in1948 and my father, as thousands of other ex-servicemen, was happy to be alive. They got on with life as those depicted in this clip were doing. I must have been six years old when mother and I accompanied him on a business trip to London from Bolton.
Coming from the grimy, smoke ridden North (cotton and heavy engineering hadn't been allowed to decline by third-rate politicians then), I have childhood memories of an amazingly (relatively) clean metropolis. While father carried out his business, mother and I wandered around the parks, toy shops and ended up having afternoon tea at Lyons Corner House. I went more recently to visit several museums and, I am sad to say, felt a cloud of depression engulfing me. A much grubbier, unfriendly, yob ridden place it had become. How sad.
I grew up in London in the late 50s and 60s, it breaks my heart to see what has happened to the city I love, the city shown in this newsreel.
@@daviddavidk2352 It's very, very sad.
How right you are. So sad. London was the most wonderful place to live. No longer
@@ursulaschneider5166 Very sad.
Lyon’s Corner House! I remember it well. Born in 1950 and loved a trip on the Underground to Marble Arch. Happy days…
When this was filmed London was still reeling from the Blitz with bomb sites everywhere and rationing was still in effect. What it shows is a city on its way back to normality and prosperity, a city bustling and active. A far cry from the place modern historians would have you believe it was. We were not on our knees and were not begging our colonies for help to re-build.
of course they are rewriting history, doesn't look very ''diverse'' to me, it's a crime what they are doing, not only are they wiping Britons off the map they can't even let them have their own history they have to destroy that as well, I'm surprised they haven't banned this footage as ''hate'' or white supremacy
Rationing finished in 1953 ,along with national service, this film was shot summer 1955.
@@peterstudley1804 I'd based it on the film saying This Is London Reel 1 (1950), not This Is London Reel 1 (1955, two years after rationing stopped).
@@peterstudley1804check your date regarding National Service
We didn’t need help from colonies. If 1920s Germany could go from bankruptcy to European domination in a decade or two, it shows that you don’t need to import assistance.
Absolutely broke my heart to watch this, and see how lovely it was back then to now. So called progress of the 21sr century has ruined everything
Drama much
100% right.
I too could weep at what we've become...God bless
I agree,
Bring back 20th century my favourite 50s,80,90,
@@nicko1397yes, yes post war when London still had slums and you'd get your head smashed in for being any darker shade of olive
So stylish and elegant. A forgotten world swiftly moving from memory to history.
I wonder what they’d think if we could take a video of todays London back in time to show them.
They would be horrified...
@@bobobo4527 they'd consider comiting genocides. lol
They'd have sided with Hitler.
Idiot, what is the Indian legion? wasn't this army recruited by hitler?
The London that my mother used to talk about...I could sit down and cry seeing the London today 😢
Please do!! Many of my ancestors and old countrymen and women have cried under the rule of the fancy and supposedly mighty UK!
Karma has come a calling... with a dose of your own medicine!
thanks for admitting that multiculturalism and mass migration is actually about revenge and a bad thing.@@proudindiancitizen2494
So you admit that "Divershitty" isn't a strength and it's being used to destroy Britain? Thanks for confirming what I and many other Millions of British people already knew!
What's up with you, sill a wonderful place, loads to see and do, more so than in the 1950's.
I love the soft, muted colour these old Pathe films have.
A sort of delicate 'pastel': you can see the same kind of colour-palette in some British pictures of the '40s and late '30s (e.g. "Blithe Spirit", "The Divorce Of Lady X")
And the lovely speaking voice of Rex Harrison or anyone else who narrated them.
It will be the film stock used and the age before digitized. Something about film always feels more real to me for some reason.
white is the best colour in this video :) demographics of a sean connery james bond film, lovely.
I thought maybe the film had faded.
Prior to the hideous architecture and 21st century decline. What a breath of fresh air.
BINGO!
The video, the accompanying music and eloquent commentary are a poignant reminder of times gone by. This was a time, when London was one of the greatest cities in the world. Just look at it today.
It is only now that I am of a certain age that I appreciate why my grandparents and parents reminisced so vividly of their past. I appreciate that all was not perfect but as opposed to now I wish I could go back to my childhood days. Now we are overcrowded and a high percentage of people have no respect for their city. It was extremely rare to see people walking about drinking alcohol and causing mayhem. I expect the next generation might even say the same. Alas, not all things have changed for the better. Thanks to British Pathe for uploading this delightful video.
Beautiful cinematography. Rex Harrison has such a soothing voice. To think this was only 70 years ago. I love seeing London then and even now. I miss my hometown. ❤️
Bring back Rex Harrison we are sick of Allison Hammond
Always puzzled by Harrison's success. Awful plummy voice, not good looking, limited actor.
Breaks my heart to watch this ! What have we done to this once fabulous country ! 😢
SarahWilliams we never voted for this destruction we were never asked how different it is now
Not racist enough sadley take me back to then i would rather live in that period than now
No us ..the traitors in Parliament ..we wasn't asked ..
They are only showing the best bits, there were still a lot of bombed out areas and run down areas. A new film could still easily show London in very good light if the locations were picked well!
Well done for completing missing the point!
Hard to believe London looked like this, my grandparents era. Who are still alive today. 🙂
“London is a city of change”. It sure has changed - more than Rex Harrison could have imagined.
Imagine what would those people do if they knew what London looks like today
My old mum or dad could be in there somewhere, came from a big London family, they've all gone now, along with London.
Depressing what they have done to my home country :(
Unless we stand up our civilization will only exist in the history books.
Too late!
Liberalism...Everything they touch turns to Sh++t.
Bring back £-s-d. That’ll fix it.
The narrators voice makes this video even better, ah the good old days
Film actor Rex Harrison, one of the biggest stars of the day.
Me met my grand mother before she married
the faboulous voice of Rex Harrison. England Personified.
A fine actor with a lovely voice, but apparently a bit of a "ladies' man". Married six times. This film is wonderful, and his narration is spot on.
Its dr Doolittle actor rex Harrison. Did u no he could really talk to the animals.aka brats
Splendid video 🏴🇬🇧It’s such a shame that London isn’t like this anymore😢
It's far nicer now.
@@blzebub2 It is more violent, dangerous and culturally fractured. London's traditional centuries-old communities have been overrun in the last 30 years and most "real" Londoners would agree
It breaks my heart to see what we have lost, and how the lives of young people today have been blighted by reprehensible, self serving politicians who lie, bully and instil fear on the people.
You're being very vague here bruh
Yes, it's painful to watch, the country i was born into only a few months later, bright clean orderly crime free, seven decades later it's a cesspit where violent crime is openly committed on the streets while the complacent mayor brushes it off as all part of life in the big city, I'm privileged to have seen it during the good times of my youth, these films and my memories are all that remains of London and England as a whole, may god rest its beautiful soul, amen.
This is the London I want to live in..
You cant blame it all on politician's John. Many people's standards of behaviour have dropped as well.
@@monteceitomoocher if you voted for the conmen all the way through like a gullible sheep then you have responsibility for it too. My generation will never know the Britain you did. You threw it all away for money, or got too comfortable and let it be stolen. Feels like we were born without a chance. How could you let this happen? What were you all thinking?
Enoch Powell said it all I was teaching there in 1956 had a scooter parked on the street overnight never touched
Fantastic.
I take it you weren't teaching English.
@@zivkovicable I do not see the point that you're trying to make in the remark perhaps you would put another to reply
@@ijg4427 His or her point is that you have terrible written English
It was much safer then than now before immigrants arrved .Also theft was rare
Many years later I went to one of the schools where I used to teach and I told the caretaker where I used to leave my scooter.He said you couldn't do that now then kids would wreck it
100 times better than it is now.
No your wrong ..at least 10,000 times better.
@@spinynorman8217yep
So true
The atmosphere was much better, life was not so serious but straight forward, hardly ever any chewing gum or cigarette found on the floor, and people could concentrate easily on their lives, although I must admit, the quality of life was not very good. No online shopping, no Internet, no mobile phones and hardly any CCTV cameras in the world. I'm aware of all that despite being born in the late 80s.
They are only showing the best bits, there were still a lot of bombed out areas and run down areas. A new film could still easily show London in very good light if the locations were picked well!
Back when people were neatly dressed, polite, orderly, disciplined, elegant, no vandalism. Everyone looks happy and no one is playing social media.
And white
@@jh-mt6yw are you white??
@@naufala93 no
@@jh-mt6yw are you asian? or african? btw I'm asian living in one of Asian countries
@@naufala93 im black and in uk
Elegant, heartfelt, kind and desirable times! From Siberia with love! Born in 1971.
What part of Siberia if you don't mind me asking ?
@@Creighton-Jones Sir, I'd love to answer your unexpected question! Eastern Siberia, Irkutsk Region, the city of Bratsk (7 747.4 km from London).
@@леонидмирнов Спасибо ! I have been fascinated by Siberia region and the Russian Far East for a very long time. I had not heard of the city of Bratsk and will enjoy reading and learning more about it. Thank you for answering my question - much appreciated. Всего наилучшего. Arthur
So much freedom then, none of the restriction we have today...such a shame how London and Britain as a whole had degrnerated! It was beautiful then.
It was decimalisation what caused the decline.
@@TP-om8ofand education
Are you delusional? Freedom? For who? For the colonizers?
You people have zero knowledge of anything really, and yet you are nostalgic towards an illusion
Freedom to oppress everyone else if you’re a white British male or what?
@TP-om8of Actually it was immigrants of non European origin
Beautiful era, i wish to come back and live a period between 1950 and 1985, who has a time machine?
Dr. Emmett Brown.
Yes, I agree.
After 1985 England went down hill , with mass immigration , and our values were chipped away at , if you are white English you are polarised in your own country , our rotten government is to blame ,
@@blumoon7274 We are happy with ur govt😎😎
@@blumoon7274 It went down hill when the Tories pitted everyone against each other in the scramble to the bottom of de-regulation and smashing and grabbing industries for the private sector. It's not because a few hard working brown and black people turned up here to work hard. England is still predominantly white you old fool.
The only thing sinking England is xenophobia and pathetic whining for a time ruled by colonialism when the English were despised for their torture and barbarity.
You're a sham and a joke.
It makes you weep doesn't it.
Sure does
Certainly can
Really does.
no
It does. ( I am not English)
Safe, quiet, and sane! Lots of high culture, respect, elegance, curiosity toward the world, strong human connection, and positivity. All gone, but hopefully will be brought back.
Where are these type of British's now. 😢😭 Lovely ,& full Dressing , looking Beautiful. 🤠
It was all destroyed.
ladies fashions blossomed in the early 50s after the austerity of the war period, I remember the elegance & wonderful fabrics & designs. Even the clouds were fluffier & prettier.
nowadays some ladies fashions are gross, nose ring ,tattoes and pumped rubber lips all topped off by leopard print hooker skirts and green hair, YUCKY
yuri Lemming I love all handbags in this video, they were not crossbody or tote but really elegant, not too small but enough for all a lady need, really what it was called “handbag”.
andy pandy You can change your clothes but you cant come back from bad tattoos & hideous body piercings
Ladies fashion was no more blossom in the 50s than any other decade
kipper You didn't look at women then?
I wish London was like this now. Heaven.
Even better join a religious group stuck before 1900 :)
Life expetancy in teh Uk 1950 was maybe 65 years? Sure I whould liek to have a longer life, all the new tech and soem old things but we can always CHOOSE to use some old stuff and styles. They copuld nevre have ours.
Me too
They are only showing the best bits, there were still a lot of bombed out areas and run down areas. A new film could still easily show London in very good light if the locations were picked well!
@@mrbigarms delusion!
Far more delusion viewing this film and thinking all of London was like this, do some research and educate yourself! @@danielclemence3689
London had a certain charm about it back then. I was born in the early 50s.....and l can remember being taken on trips to London in the early to mid 60s: it was a magical place back then, men with bowler hats and breifcases....there was a hint of class about the place. Contrast that with how it is today....sadly a bit of a mess, with crime seemingly out of control, and that magical feel about the city gone forever. Time and tradition always moves on over the decades......and sadly: not always for the better.
Remembering it as a kid it would seem nice, but the film is only showing the best bits, there were still a lot of bombed out areas and run down areas. A new film could still easily show London in very good light if the locations were picked well!
Look how clean, orderly and elegant the city once was! O: There's no comparison to what the city looks like today. The background buildings are same as today, but everything else is like from another world and dimension.
Coming from the North of England, this is how I still imagine London in my mind.
I travel to London about once a year for work and am always very, very, very disappointed.
Fortunately we still have these videos.
I felt the same when I visited Bradford!
Wonderful to see; London in 1955 ... instantly recognisable, yet very different.
A Different world.
I really love all the videos from British Pathé. Everytime I watch I feel like I am travelling back in time. So amazing! Thank you for all these wonderful videos... 💞
The only 2 problems with these videos is they focus on the nice parts and everyone thinks the whole of Britain was perfect and like this with no problems.
Second problem of course is those who say "look how lovely and WHITE the people are"
Yes and then you step out into this world and think YUCK
@@bettyboossister3918
Your britian was never rich. It was just built on exploitation and racism .
@@reconquistahinduism346 Thank You for your kind thoughtful words
@@reconquistahinduism346 and million of People like you love to live here, isn't that strange?
I'm glad my grandpa didn't live to see England fall to the hordes. This was the England he loved. Thanks for uploading.
Where did the British people go no one genocided them. Where did they go.
@@Roy1-ub9ij The British moved to other continents and genocided the locals.
@@Roy1-ub9ij they didn't go anyway they just stayed and made the best of a bad situation
@@Roy1-ub9ijAll Europeans are being genocided, it's still ongoing. The scourge of anti- nataliat agendas and flooding our lands with hordes of hostile foreigners means that we may be completely extinct within a century
Was your grandpa a racist too?
Our once great great London , the envy of the world , now look what they've done to it .
Great to see how it was
Yeah I'm not a fan of all those soulless skyscrapers either
They are only showing the best bits, there were still a lot of bombed out areas and run down areas. A new film could still easily show London in very good light if the locations were picked well!
It was never like that. Most of London was either destroyed in the war, under maintained or derelict, foggy, damp with extreme poverty in many parts of the city exacerbated by the loss of empire and industry.
Sill a wonderful place, loads to see and do, more so than in the 1950's.
Wow, amazing and shocking to see how beautiful London once looked, so sad to see the dump it's become.
Its not a dump!! Things change so do people that contribute to a city’s problems. You obviously hve never lived or visited London. 47❤️% is green. Worlds first urban forest, the history, culture, diversity, vibrancy, opportinities etc etc. I dont know where you live.
London is a dump now
@@philliplloyd6977 You are correct, London is NOT a dump....it's a fcuking sihthole.
Yep it's a dump. Sadly the rest of the uk is quickly following suit
@@philliplloyd6977Diversity you can stick it.
It’s certainly a stark reminder of what’s been lost.
Sounds peaceful and full of positive energy.
Our civilization and identity is dying, due to our pathological altruism. Heart-breaking to watch these videos. All good has to come to an end.
Mate at the time of this filming we still had an empire that covered the globe where we still stole resources from the people that lived there.
We should be thankful that we conducted the largest smash and grab in history since Gehngis Kahn and got away with it.
We the people don't suffer from pathological altruism, those who givern is do and the rest of the new elites.
@@Juan_laudawe didn't steal we use trade, it benefited us and them. When this was filmed the British empire was getting read to deconstruct itself and it did.
We didn't import mass immigration to India, a well established country and take over, we sent some Brits, we used trade, that benefited both parties, and we have them the infrastructure and governance tools they're using today to make India a better place for it's people, who are now by and large free and enjoy democratic rights. Singapore is another example of success.
You can say yeah but look at America, the difference is the Americas by and large were not as built up and populated as the like sod India, so when people arrived, initially simply going out to find answers; was there anything further west? They found land that had, given the size of the land, a small population, a land that was largely uninhabited, unlike the old world of Europe, the middle east, the far East and norhtern Africa.
It's the same story with Australia and New Zealand, when Europeans arrived to these lands they seemed uninhabited until they came accord people. By which point the old world diseases these peoples had never come into contact with, died in large numbers. More died from old world diseases Europeans didn't know they were carrying, than died from wars with the Europeans.
So no mass immigration to the UK and Europe is not the same thing. Above all else those coming here are not adding anything of great significance to our societies, they're not giving us modern medicine, the industrial revolution, or modern democracy, as we have to the world.
@@libertasdemocratiam887 Regretfully, you are delusional.
@@libertasdemocratiam887you just wrote a bunch of nothing Lad
I live in London - it's a crying shame what happened to her!
Decimalisation was the cause.
who is her?
They look so well dressed, and sound well spoken.
brazil biba and slim
Yes probably because they were more disciplined back then, had three meals a day and not many snacks and fast food. Win win
The speaker is a posh actor.
The problem is if you behave like this today, people consider you as an arrogant snob. Most people don't know how to behave properly and think you're old-fashioned.
“London is a city of change and contrast” they quote at the beginning- sadly 70 years later and not for the better.
I think you need to remove those rose-coloured spectacles Wey Man.
They are only showing the best bits, there were still a lot of bombed out areas and run down areas. A new film could still easily show London in very good light if the locations were picked well!
These films need preserving and protecting at all costs .
People were happier because they didn't expect much back then and they didn't have social media to compare their lives.. they just lived life.
Said while posting on social media. The irony
@@simonyeo3246 Still doesn't make what she said any less true.
A very profound statement
Not happy for all. Gay men were still imprisoned for falling in love. Their lives were blighted by the stupid rules of those days.
@@simonyeo3246 did he had to send fax to let us know instead of UA-cam
Who wants our culture and beautiful way of life back
How lovely it was. Loved the commentary and background music too. Thanks for this 👍
Women were elegantly and modestly dressed. Good old days!
They’re still modestly dressed; just in burkhas.
prefer a view of camel toe
I also remember London in the 60s and 70s. Some of it was lovely, but I also remember the grimy bombed out neighbourhoods in the East End, which were around right up until the 90s. North London was my home, and yes i have great memories 😍 Finsbury Park, Holloway and Hornsey before the Sobell Centre was built 🤩
I remember the Sobell centre!
Fabulous video, look how clean it is, look how civilsed and smartly dressed everyone is, just as many remember. Change is only good if it's an improvement, what has been done to our Country is the complete opposite of improvement
While it's easy to romanticize the past, and bear in mind WW2 was fresh in the mind of the city's inhabitants, one can only help but admire how beautiful the ladies looked in their dresses, how clean the streets were and how everyone wasn't staring at a phone.
Remembering my late Wife,16 in 1950 ,so elegantly dressed.
Or holding a knife to your throat if you looked at them the wrong way.
This is pathé, it is mostly set up, edited and polished. The camera was not pocket size...
@@pigeonlove That is so true all VERY carefully edited and arranged to look a certain way. Still wonderful though.
@@gameofthrows9357 Yeah, there was no crime then. No cops, no courts, no jails. Yeah 😀
I love seeing old film of London when it was full of good British people that love our country and it's history, unlike what's there now.
Hear Hear x
Its (without an apostrophe)
Wow. I have a longing and nostalgia for something I never knew, because it was stolen from me. If this was not on video, people would deny it had ever existed.
I’d love a time machine and go back for a day !
yes, we all want to do that. But not only for a day, rather forever
@Marie Williams yes...THE JEWZ!!!
You wouldn't last a week without the internet. My Nana in the 50's had it hard 5 kids no central heating ,little or no money to live on.my grandad was always down the pub ( nothing else to do)Buses never used to turn up for hours sometimes. Only middle class people could afford cars.my mum never went on holiday once when she was a kid.People have the decency to look at the past with rose tinted glasses. "Nostalgia not what it used to be"
lucas Chapman what a miserable person you are . I’m 63 and do remember everything you say I’m from the north and certainly do not have rose tinted glasses on . I certainly wasn’t middle class . I certainly do not have to justify my comment you you . I’m glad I am not as bitter as you that’s for sure
@@jackierowe380 hey my Dear Ilove Londan so Beautiful
I From Mumbai
When casual wear was a shirt and tie 😂
1940s fashion was amazing
My grandad always wore a shirt and tie when digging the garden.
When we had standards - not like now 😢
I even see photos of my Great Grandfather sitting by the beach - in suit, tie, starched collar and with a homburg hat and walking cane. Times have changed
array s - Think you’ve been watching Greta too much 🙈
The vivid portrayal captures the essence of London's vibrant tapestry of history, commerce, and culture. Kudos to the author for painting such a rich and dynamic picture of the city!
"The past is a foreign country. They do things differently there"
(L P Hartley: "The Go-Between)
They do things differently now: I wouldn't go into London unless I had to; it's an alien, hostile place and nothing to be romantic about; it's somewhere to endure, not enjoy.
Anon Anon Goodness, I think you’re exaggerating slightly, I went twice this year and it was lovely to stroll around and explore and no one causing any trouble. There are still plenty of wonderful places to go in London and most people are good people. But sadly we’ll never go back to the London of the 50’s, there are just too many people on this planet and manners have coarsened over the decades with the influence of trashy tv and online.
@@arriesone1 Maybe it's me: I'm too thin-skinned !
@@None-zc5vg Agreed. I visited last year for the first time in several years. It used to be a place I'd wander happily around for hours. Now, it's just a place to escape ASAP. When the history of a place no longer holds any positive meaning for, or connection with, the people who live there, it loses its specialness.
@@None-zc5vg you would love to take your lady to
1. ealing soo many educated upper crust proffesionals
2. Bluewater just outside edge of london area white and black communities bettering themselves with goodwill peace understanding.
3. Vauxhall full of amazing arty techi proffssionals
4. Stratford
5. Shoreditch
6. Elephant and castle
7. Romford eateries
8. Gidea park suburbs
9. Osterley posh
10. All of south east london is native. The most amazing thing is both natives and non natives understand why it is vital to preserve British and english culture. So many historic places,clean, it is not racist. The natives are big hearted there and just wantbto preserve their sanctity within london.
It is not all bad mate.
To make things better we all have to come together
You will love some bits hate others
When London was beautiful. Before it became the worlds dumping ground.
France is worst..
Rubbish, They are only showing the best bits, there were still a lot of bombed out areas and run down areas. A new film could still easily show London in very good light if the locations were picked well!
^ Cute fallacy. The reality is that the main parts of London were safer & cleaner in 1950, before the mass influxs of the unwanted began.
This is an empirically demonstrable fact.
@@mrbigarms There isn't any 'best bits' now.
@@jimtaylor294 Agreed.
The "new" London is nothing more than a hell hole, thanks to diversity...
I wish it was like that again. No rubbish, lovely feminine smart clothes, no sportswear or trainers.
Some women look like ducks going to the gym.
Yes, ladies looked so feminine.
I love 50s fashion, I do have 50s style full circle skirts and dresses that I often wear. I have made a few beautiful circle skirts xx
Diptheria, polio, killer fog, rationing & bombsites. Paradise, eh?
@@blzebub2 but no Aids, COVID, humans stabbing eachother, blatant shoplifting etc.
When our capital city was truly OURS.
WHEN ?
Yes its OURS the saxons ,viking ,normans before englishmen
@@WisdomToAll You do know the Anglo-Saxons are the English, there was not such thing as an England before the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons you sub 80 iq weapon
A sheer lack of diversity in this film, thank god for HR offices pushing DE&I and AD agencies casting black people in all the roles. This film clearly demonstrates how terrible it is when white English culture is allowed to flourish. Now we have the joys of ULEZ - Ultra Low English Zone. 😂😂😂
On a similar note, this came up as a recommendation which is perfect for black history month, make what you like of that!
So scenic and traditional looking. Like an old Disney Film. Not the ghetto London is now. Went with friends recently, never again.
You can't escape. London is coming for wherever you are. Won't be long now.
It's more like some middle Eastern Gotham city now 😂
@@Smartacus420 What a ridiculous comment.
@@gordonbennett5638 A factual comment
London has changed and all this has gone. Hope it will return and flourish again!
This is truly a rare and beautiful film of what the U.K. and London in particular was like. I dread to think what it will be like in another 70-80 years. Fortunately for me I won’t witness it but what a mess we are leaving our grandchildren.
Imagine a city, a capital city like this one.. fabulous
This makes you realise our country as it once was is lost, never to return.
So much glamour! British culture was highly admired then, not so much now.
No one drinking in the street , no one spitting , no one letting their dog foul the street , and let’s not forget no one getting stabbed on an industrial level . No Mayor of London either , there wasn’t any need back then .
no burkas or thobes
@@mcclay9483 jee' London reality resembled London back in the 50s!
@@mcclay9483 Oh shut up! When we bully your religion then it's a big thing. so shut up.
@@mcclay9483 yeah but there are still racist bigots like you . Drongo
Say you’re a racist baby size 🍆 without saying you’re a racist baby size 🍆 😅😅😅
I used to work in "The City" and it was nice to see a money broker at the beginning in his top hat.
Loved Rex Harrison's voice
People: I want to go to the future!!!
Me: I want this.
Yeah I prefer the past
Same here.
Good that Pathe has released these newsreels. On viewing the women look elegant & the men smart. Not much evidence of grime despite the recent war. Poverty not touched on here but the Englishness & London life is visible.
@PurelyAfrican Ignorant comment. I was there and it is exactly as it depicts.
Probably because it's the city center. There was plenty of grime and poverty around the East End and elsewhere
Risible ignorance.
@@samnicholson5051 yes I remember the streets with dog waste and litter. It's good to see the majority today pick up after themselves.
Fantastic, I was born in 51 , I easily remember how Fantastic it was
That ‘young’ tree in front of the Dorchester is still there, but unsurprisingly it is now huge and imposing
wow - looks beautiful back then!
The film only showing the best bits, there were still a lot of bombed out sites and rough run down areas. A new film could still easily show London in very good light with well picked locations!
i have lived in London 40 years, the highlight of my summer is to visit all the parks, Regents park will always remain special, St James park, and Hyde park, the Queen Mary rose gardens in Regents park i always visit end of june each year, the smell of the roses just wonderful, my old land lady used to come with me, she is dead now, back in the 80s we would get tea and sit outside and all the little sparrows would be chirping away, was in rose garden this summer and the sparrows have gone, yes London has changed so much, but you can still find joy in the small stuff.
Oooh, if I could go back in time this is what I would choose. Rex Harrison is the narrator, thought that voice was familiar.🥰🥰🥰🥰
Wow how much we have lost, women in beautiful summer dresses, guys in smart suits, no american size people, no scruffs with tats & piecing's. Clean streets, all looking heathy & getting on with life amazing considering only four years after WW2.
Today's people would have tattoos everywhere.....v classy🤔
Lol. You might as well say British sized people. People in the UK are now enormous as well.
@@Annie-fz2gvFat because of America
@@RS__7 Fat from junk food and lack of exercise.
@@Annie-fz2gv America made junk food ...their culture has caused a lot of poor health
This makes me very nostalgic for the London of my childhood, growing up in Kensington in the late 50s and 1960s....
Nearly 70 years ago ...how its changed my God
When London was a Safe Place and a beautiful place to live
but now they say : diversity is a strength
@@bootchop88 I think it was but not now, it's not immigration that's the problem it's mass immigration, the infrastructure isn't big enough for all the people to have Jobs and everything
As an overseas doctor who has served in the NHS for 38 years, I can testify to this decline first hand. We heard so much about London in our childhood and this city lived up to its reputation. It breaks my heart to see the fabric of society, communities torn apart and 'The British Culture ' for which I earned to see and be part of is being trampled by immigrants right left and centre. In my opinion only highly educated people should have been allowed in limited numbers who have cultural affinity and a compulsory assimilation commitment. If I were in a British establishment I would make an interview process a must at the beginning and after 5 years to see if the person is fit to be a citizen. While I was so fascinated with British history culture traditions and language and would visit museums, historical sights, stately homes cathedrals, universities, churchyards and countryside I could see most immigrants creating a bubble or coccon of their own culture which they carried on their shoulders and tried to graft it in this soil, with no interest in their chosen country. whenever I challenged them only antagonism hatred and resistance I encountered. It is being in love with a place and then purposefully destroying it that's what people from my own and other countries are doing. I didn't come to the UK to eat the same 32 tastes of foods available in our inner cities offered in Britain, it's not why I was here and I could feel the pain and helplessness of indigenous British people. I have brought up my children to be intelligent, confident, highly educated and take every opportunity offered to them and not hide in a cultural coccon of their own, that's fair to them and that's fair to our adopted country. At present I am as far away from London as I possibly can in Scotland. My advice to European countries, do not allow Immigration for cheap labour as this is not going to be a cheap bargain in the long term.
Beautifully put. I stay out of the cities and large towns now as I find them unrecognisable and demoralising. But, living in a small town and only visiting the places that you mention (plus gardens, arboretums and village social activities) I can still retain a feeling of belonging with my place of birth and ancestry. I wish you and your family all the best - we are lucky to have you here. God bless.
Not all immigrants are bad. My Indian, Chinese and African friends are very well assimilated, hard-working and generally good people. The religion of peace on the other hand...
Born in 1959, have travelled into London countless times, it just get better, never seen or had a bad experience, great city!
Born in Hackney left aged five, went back in 1974 and left in 79 the best years of my life, went back in the 1990s. All my family and friends moved out due to white flight, they did not want to, having stood up to Hitler, protecting their homes but they knew what was coming, that the camaraderie and good neighbours would be broken up and have been proven right ie Sadiq Khan. I recall even my Uncles, tough Cockneys who had fought in WW2 crying their eyes out as they got into the taxis or the removal van. I don't remember much as a child except for family get togethers and lots of laughter. When I went back as a young man, its history, the parks, the shops, the discos, parties and an endless number of girls it was a magical but then in the 1990s it started to change it became filthy, scary, people were different and from different lands and I was glad to leave. Have not been back since 2003, don't expect I ever will and don't really want to, as I scared and dread what I will find there. This video is really before my time but in its essence I recognize my home, my people and my culture - which was effectively by over time, stealth and my leaders (ie traitors) taken it all away from true Londoners without their permission. It is all made worse by the very stand that Londoners made against Hitler who truly believe he could win the war by bombing people like my family to pieces but instead they did not give in, died or leave London. Hitler thought a swarm of Londoners fleeing would lead to England giving in, but we did not and gave vital time for America to produce the armaments to enter the war and go on to beat the Nazis. It sickens me that we had such traitors as our so-called politicians that for the sake of cheap labour for their fat cat friends began the immigration which has effectively decimated London as we see now every day. What capital in the world that played such an important part in defeating fascism that we all could be living under now was 'rewarded' by its long term and historial populace in effectively being forced out, so after only 50 years is no longer the same city. I am close to tears as I write this, and I expect it will be some time before I watch this video again. Or I end up being arrested for being racist, which I certainly am not.
Cope
You clearly are privileged and never ventured into the slums
@@d16024 Sounds like you're doing that yourself
'which I certainly am not' - really? You speak of 'white flight' - what, or who, were they fleeing from, eh? Those Windrush people who actually believed in Britain enough to want to move there - far more than the ten-pound Poms (yes, I'm Australian) who couldn't wait to leave the slums that you don't see here. You're close to tears? Here's a tip, son - don't comment while drunk.
Cope harder!