A portrait of street “urchins” in The East end of London
Three young boys stand barefoot against a worn brick wall in the East End of London, their expressions a mix of resilience and resignation. Captured in 1903, this haunting portrait reflects the harsh realities of childhood poverty in Spitalfields, an area known at the time for overcrowding, destitution, and waves of migration.
Their patched clothes and thin limbs speak volumes about the struggle for survival in Edwardian London’s underbelly. These were the so-called “street urchins”—children who sold matches, begged for pennies, or scavenged for coal, living mostly unseen by the wealthy society just a few miles west.
📷 Photos like this are a stark reminder of a not-so-distant past.
💬 Do you have old family pictures from London’s East End or elsewhere?
📤 Share them on Oldpik.com and help us rescue the forgotten faces of history.
Their patched clothes and thin limbs speak volumes about the struggle for survival in Edwardian London’s underbelly. These were the so-called “street urchins”—children who sold matches, begged for pennies, or scavenged for coal, living mostly unseen by the wealthy society just a few miles west.
📷 Photos like this are a stark reminder of a not-so-distant past.
💬 Do you have old family pictures from London’s East End or elsewhere?
📤 Share them on Oldpik.com and help us rescue the forgotten faces of history.
Contributed by OldPik on August 28, 2024
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