This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/nov/27/housing-crisis-nick-hedges-photography-slums
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Charity traces the children in famous Sixties slum photos Charity traces the children in famous Sixties slum photos | |
| (3 days later) | |
| They were the images that shocked a nation into action. Staring out at the camera, often huddled together for warmth, the families cut shellshocked figures. Nick Hedges’s photographs of life in Britain’s slums provide a counter-narrative to the popular view of the swinging 60s, an era remembered as a time of great social progress. | They were the images that shocked a nation into action. Staring out at the camera, often huddled together for warmth, the families cut shellshocked figures. Nick Hedges’s photographs of life in Britain’s slums provide a counter-narrative to the popular view of the swinging 60s, an era remembered as a time of great social progress. |
| Hedges’s fieldwork for the housing charity Shelter, along with Ken Loach’s 1966 drama-documentary Cathy Come Home, convinced MPs of the urgent need to tackle the dreadful housing in Britain’s inner cities, a programme delayed by the second world war. But what happened to Hedges’s subjects? | Hedges’s fieldwork for the housing charity Shelter, along with Ken Loach’s 1966 drama-documentary Cathy Come Home, convinced MPs of the urgent need to tackle the dreadful housing in Britain’s inner cities, a programme delayed by the second world war. But what happened to Hedges’s subjects? |
| After the Observer published a selection of his photographs in February, a nationwide appeal to find out was launched, which next week will bear fruit in a documentary on Channel 5 which suggests that growing up in poor housing both then and now can have a devastating effect on people’s life chances. | After the Observer published a selection of his photographs in February, a nationwide appeal to find out was launched, which next week will bear fruit in a documentary on Channel 5 which suggests that growing up in poor housing both then and now can have a devastating effect on people’s life chances. |
| Among Hedges’s subjects was Claire Evans, who lived with her parents and five siblings in a tiny damp basement flat in a tenement in Whitechapel, London. | Among Hedges’s subjects was Claire Evans, who lived with her parents and five siblings in a tiny damp basement flat in a tenement in Whitechapel, London. |
| Evans, who was christened Shirley Rump but later married and also changed her first name, most remembers the darkness. Hedges had to fit a new light bulb because it was so gloomy. “Even the weeds wouldn’t grow it was that dark,” she said. “And we were always hungry.” | Evans, who was christened Shirley Rump but later married and also changed her first name, most remembers the darkness. Hedges had to fit a new light bulb because it was so gloomy. “Even the weeds wouldn’t grow it was that dark,” she said. “And we were always hungry.” |
| Until the age of six she had a dummy, partly she thinks, to keep her hunger at bay. She slept in the same bed with two of her siblings because the family could not afford to heat the flat. One of her brothers, Peter, had a hole in his heart and Shelter’s intervention, which helped relocate the family to Peterborough, was a life-changing event. “Living in those conditions, I don’t think he would have survived,” Evans said. | Until the age of six she had a dummy, partly she thinks, to keep her hunger at bay. She slept in the same bed with two of her siblings because the family could not afford to heat the flat. One of her brothers, Peter, had a hole in his heart and Shelter’s intervention, which helped relocate the family to Peterborough, was a life-changing event. “Living in those conditions, I don’t think he would have survived,” Evans said. |
| “The new house had a garden with an apple and a pear tree. There was space. It was like someone winning the lottery nowadays.” | “The new house had a garden with an apple and a pear tree. There was space. It was like someone winning the lottery nowadays.” |
| Today Evans lives in Birmingham and has little interest in returning to east London. “When people say where do you come from, I can’t really describe what it was like. But these photographs tell the story.” Hedges also photographed the Pryde family at their house in Moss Side, Manchester. Paul had been a coal miner in Scotland but the family moved south when mining went into decline. There was no hot water and the eight children were forced to wash in the kitchen sink. Pryde’s son recalls a teacher saying “Go away you smelly little boy” – his first experience of being made to feel different. A council tenant all his life, he is now in arrears and fears losing his home. | Today Evans lives in Birmingham and has little interest in returning to east London. “When people say where do you come from, I can’t really describe what it was like. But these photographs tell the story.” Hedges also photographed the Pryde family at their house in Moss Side, Manchester. Paul had been a coal miner in Scotland but the family moved south when mining went into decline. There was no hot water and the eight children were forced to wash in the kitchen sink. Pryde’s son recalls a teacher saying “Go away you smelly little boy” – his first experience of being made to feel different. A council tenant all his life, he is now in arrears and fears losing his home. |
| Hedges visited the Newlove family in Bradford. Colin was one of six siblings who all slept in one room, the youngest in a drawer. His father bred dogs. Often puppies would be in the drawer below. | Hedges visited the Newlove family in Bradford. Colin was one of six siblings who all slept in one room, the youngest in a drawer. His father bred dogs. Often puppies would be in the drawer below. |
| Colin’s sister fried a mixture of flour and water for the children’s dinner. Sometimes Colin would steal meat from the bins behind the butcher’s. When he went to school he was dressed in his father’s clothes. “He was about 3ft bigger than me, I was a laughing stock. It was humiliating,” Newlove said. | Colin’s sister fried a mixture of flour and water for the children’s dinner. Sometimes Colin would steal meat from the bins behind the butcher’s. When he went to school he was dressed in his father’s clothes. “He was about 3ft bigger than me, I was a laughing stock. It was humiliating,” Newlove said. |
| Although he wanted to be a chef, his father told him it was a job “only for queers” so he left home at 17 and joined the army. “It was a mistake, I was trying to prove something.” | Although he wanted to be a chef, his father told him it was a job “only for queers” so he left home at 17 and joined the army. “It was a mistake, I was trying to prove something.” |
| Today, Newlove’s experiences of growing up in acute poverty have left their mark. “I’m a bit of a loner. I have friends who maybe I text once a year. I personally feel like I never fit in,” he said. Two of his sisters have remained in Bradford. “They’re still living in the same conditions [as they grew up in]. They’re in council properties that are run-down.” | Today, Newlove’s experiences of growing up in acute poverty have left their mark. “I’m a bit of a loner. I have friends who maybe I text once a year. I personally feel like I never fit in,” he said. Two of his sisters have remained in Bradford. “They’re still living in the same conditions [as they grew up in]. They’re in council properties that are run-down.” |
| It is a reminder that, while the slums have gone, according to Shelter a more insidious housing crisis has taken its place. “Our drastic shortage of affordable homes means millions of people right across the country are desperately struggling to keep up with sky-high housing costs and face a lifetime of instability, with far too many ultimately losing their homes,” said the charity’s chief executive, Campbell Robb. | It is a reminder that, while the slums have gone, according to Shelter a more insidious housing crisis has taken its place. “Our drastic shortage of affordable homes means millions of people right across the country are desperately struggling to keep up with sky-high housing costs and face a lifetime of instability, with far too many ultimately losing their homes,” said the charity’s chief executive, Campbell Robb. |
| “Over 120,000 children will be homeless and living in temporary accommodation this Christmas, and we know that when people grow up without a safe, secure and affordable home the impacts can be felt for a lifetime.” | “Over 120,000 children will be homeless and living in temporary accommodation this Christmas, and we know that when people grow up without a safe, secure and affordable home the impacts can be felt for a lifetime.” |
| Slum Britain: 50 Years On is on Channel 5 at 10pm on 6 December | Slum Britain: 50 Years On is on Channel 5 at 10pm on 6 December |