The Post War European Trip Collection-London Calling 4

It must have been a hard place to live, London 1948.  Buildings that still hadn't been repaired or replaced, food rationing.  Also fascinating I'd think.  Click on The Post War European Trip Collection in labels to see more. 

The Post War European Trip Collection-London Calling 2

Let's continue with a tour of post war London, bombed out ruins and all.  Click on The Post War European Trip Collection in labels to see more.

The Post War European Trip Collection-London Calling 1

It's time to return to this collection.  It's been awhile so I'll give some basics and let anyone who want's to get more detail to click on The Post War European Trip Collection in labels to get more info.

Gloria Lee Bigewet was a teenager from the St. Louis area.  She was visiting Europe on an American Youth Hostel cycling trip.  There's a much bigger collection of her travel materials for sale at a used book store in St. Louis.  At least there was when I started posting this lot.  I couldn't afford it, so I'm limited to what I originally purchased.  I thought about posting the entire London guide at once, but for those who  want to bring things up in a bigger window and actually read the whole thing, it'll have to be done in four parts.  There is some damage, making things a bit tricky in the scanning, but hey, it is what it is.

English Theater, Funny Hats

There are no identifying marks on this print at all.  No photographer's stamps, no writing, nothing.  So why do I think this image is from England?  Only the English would wear such stupid hats.  And those who watch PBS, of course. 

English Theater, The Kiltie Show

Ah, those Brits.  It's always a leg show.

Anyway, like yesterdays' post, there's lots of info on the back, including hand written stuff that looks a lot like the writing on, well, yesterday's post.  So, starting on the stamped info, "KIN 5638 ORDER No.  PHOTOCRAFT OF KINGSTON, 3 & 4 EMPIRE CHAMBERS RICHMOND ROAD, KINGSTON-ON THAMES."  And the hand written entry, "Laughing Room Only, Comin' Thru' the Rye.  Finale of Kiltie Show.  Oct. 1951." 

So, if it the same handwriting, rather than an example of a rigid school system that made sure everyone's handwriting looks exactly the same, was it the photographer or a cast member? 

English Theater, Sincerely Hazel Bray

There's a lot of information on the back of this print.  A stamp, "KEMSLEY NEWSPAPERS LTD., MANCHESTER, COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH."  And hand written, "Puss in Boots.  Panto: Scene 3-Courtyard of the Inn.  Hazel Bray and Jean Adrienne. [Principal girl and Boy]" 

A panto is a form of musical comedy aimed at family audiences, preformed mostly in England.  Hazel Bray has an IMDB listing.  She had four film credits from 1944 to 1947.  Not very extensive, as far as film work, but clearly she worked on the stage.  Jean Adrienne did a bit better with her film career, but not by much.  She appeared in seven films from 1932 to 1938.  She was born in India in 1905 and died in London in 1994. 

English Theater

This one is labeled, "Castleford-FEB.-1951."  Actually, there's a Castleford in Idaho, but the 1950 census lists a population of 274.  I'm guessing the city in England is a far better bet. 

I'm Keeping My Eyes On You

My mother was English, and she occasionally slipped and referred to laundry detergent as soap chips, and 3.10 has to be  three shillings, ten pence.  So, this one was taken somewhere in the British Isles.  I have a feeling this lad spent his days in front of this store eyeing the passersby.

Egypt via France

I've been picking up Egyptian postcards for a few years now, and I think it's about time to start posting them.  I'm breaking my usual practice of not publishing the backs of cards because I like the Arabic script, and because I'm too tired to try and decipher the hand writing.  And yes, it is Egypt.  Le Caire means Cairo.

Lost 10-Won 1

Well, it says soccer, rather than football on the front, so I'm going out on a limb and say that a team of American soldiers got beat big time by locals who had been playing the game for most of their lives.  I also suspect that that one win might have been thrown to make the Yanks feel a bit better about themselves.

Culver City Trash, European Trip 3

Is there more than one Tower Bridge in England?  Perhaps one kept up for the tourist trade?  Is it just me, or do the proportions look off on the top picture?  It looks like the top two images are from England, at least the Ye Olde England tourists love.  The others, I'm not so sure.

Anyway, I may never get another chance to quote Noel Coward, so here goes...."The stately homes of England we proudly represent.  We only keep them up for Americans to rent."

Click on Culver City Trash collection for more.

Views of the World, Cheapside, London, England

Cheapside is a street in London's financial district.  Lots of horse power in the original photograph.  I thought it might be possible to find the original black & white photo on line, but no dice.   I found quite a few that were very similar, but not this exact image.

Click on Views of the World in labels to bring up other cards in this series.

Views of the World, Acropolis, Athens, Greece

The nice thing about these on going, from time to time, collections, is that there's always something to fall back on.  Anyway, I've had these tinted postcards for decades, and by clicking on Views of the World in labels, the others can be seen.

The Acropolis is actually the mountain top, not the colonnaded building.  That's the Parthenon.  Construction began on the best known buildings of the Acropolis in the second half of the 5th century B.C. under the leadership of Athenian statesman, Pericles.  The Parthenon was pretty much intact until 1687 when it was damaged during an artillery bombardment during the Morean War between Venice and The Ottoman Empire.  From 1801 to 1812, Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin stole many of the marble sculptures from The Acropolis.  He was the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, (Greece was part of the empire, at the time.)  and may have had permission to take them.  Nevertheless, I'm sticking with theft as a description.  He sold them to The British Museum.

I don't know him!

Written on the front, lower, border, "Southampton-Taking train for London."  Written on the back, "I don't know him!  He must have been standing at next compartment.  Boat comes up to dock on left, and so-to London."

Southampton has been a major British port for centuries.  It's been a hub for passenger ships since the nineteenth century.  When this picture was taken, it was also a ferry port, connecting England with Europe.

R.M.S. Aquitania

Both of these photos are labeled, "Aboard Aquitania."  There are no names or dates on these two pictures, so there's nothing for me to look up about the passengers, but it was pretty easy to find information about the ship.

R.M.S. Aquitania, owned by The White Star Line, was launched in 1913, and had it's maiden voyage between England and New York in May 1914. Along with the Mauretania and Lusitania, it was one of the grand trio of White Star liners, and was known as the ship beautiful.  It completed only three round trips before being taken over by the British Admiralty during World War 1.  Aquitania's war service started as an armed merchant cruiser, then as a hospital ship, and finally a troop transport.  After the war, it was returned to The White Star Line, and resumed passenger service on the north Atlantic run.

 The 1920s was the last great age of express ocean passenger service.  While the United States had begun restricting emigration, a major profit center for ocean liners, Aquitania had enough first and second class passengers, as well as mail contracts, to operate in the black.  After the stock market crash of 1929, Aquitania became more of a cruise ship, taking passengers on holiday to the Mediterranean.  It was quite popular with Americans and, during prohibition, became famous as a booze cruiser.

 In 1940, Cunard White Star (The two companies had merged in 1934.) had planned to retire Aquitania and replace it with R.M.S. Queen Elizabeth, but the second world war gave the ship a few extra years of service as a troop transport, mostly in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.  After the war, Aquitania was used to transport war brides and their children to Halifax, Canada.  In 1949, the ship was once again returned to it's civilian owners.  Poor maintenance during the depression and the war had taken it's toll.  The deck plating leaked in rough seas, some of the bulkheads were so corroded that a fist could be pushed through the metal.  During a party, a piano fell through the floor.  In December of 1949, Aquitania was taken out of service, and was scrapped in 1950.  Aquitania was the last four stacker (smoke stacks)  in regular service.

Aunt Alice From Australia-The Baker Family 10

And finally, the aforementioned aunt from Australia. I like to think that aunt Alice is descended from a London pick-pocket sentenced to transportation for life to Australia. Oh how things have changed. Now, having a few reprobates in the family tree makes for colorful stories. In the 1920s when these photos were probably taken, having a criminal ancestor was a shameful thing. Family shame! As always, click on Baker family in the labels section to bring up the whole lot.

The Old Folks-The Baker Family 8

The older members of the Baker family. It's just a guess, of course, but the house in the second picture has an English country side look. It goes with the Brighton, Limey and Australian aunt references. Were the Bakers immigrants to the United States or did an English branch of the family send a few snapshots? Click on Baker Family in the labels section to bring up the whole collection.