NorthOfNorth wrote on Mar 16
th, 2015 at 7:20am:
They were tough days, that's for sure
Industrial Revolution destroyed cottage industries and forced them into crowded slums in order to find work and survive
Amongst those in the photos you posted, you would find many from continental Europe. Did you know 8000 Italians landed in one hit, seeking work. They were starving at home. And many descendants of those Italians (and all the rest) are still there, selling ice-creams in Morcambe and Blackpool to this day. Tens of thousands flocked to the UK seeking work and worsened already dire situations
Had you posted photos of towns and cities in Italy, France, Greece, Spain, Poland, etc. during that same period, they would have been far worse photos. They wouldn't have been standing straight upright like the lads in those photos, nor would they have had boots or clogs. Even in WW2, Allied soldiers were revolted by wartime Europe and wrote home to the US about seeing thousands of continental Europeans squatting in doorways and on balconies, picking nits and lice from each other's hair, etc.
So not much point posting selected photos from the past to spoil Herbert's good-cheer, is there ?