World War II Photos - Can anyone ID these?

[Carole]

I found these photos in a box of old family photos that my parents had. My mother was born and raised in England and my father was stationed in England for a period of time.

I'm thinking these were taken in Trafalgar Square as the statue in the first photo on the right side looks like the statue of Sir Henry Havelock. I'm just wondering what this event was. Perhaps it was to celebrate the end of the war? I'm hoping someone on here was around at that time and can give me some information about these photos.

Thanks!

Carole

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[davidh2497]

Can't ID them but they are quite interesting, particularly the last one. Thanks for sharing them.

David

 

[cajun angel]

WOW, I can't help with ID either, but how they're so interesting! Hope you find many more treasures and we get to see em!

 

[shtarka1]

Amazing Piece Of History! Wish I Could Help!

 

[Peter H]

Hi Carole

This is fascinating: I can 100% confirm that the first one is Trafalgar Square. Looking between the two large "Thanksgiving Week" hoardings you can just see the top of Admiralty Arch, the start of The Mall, at the other end of which is Buckingham Palace.

I'll see if I can find out more about the events being photographed, although these wonderful old photos largely speak for themselves.

 

[Carole]

Thanks, everyone. I am hoping that perhaps someone on here knows someone old enough to remember this event. I have a lot of old photos here, and I just wish that whoever took them had labeled them on the back.

Carole

 

[Peter H]

I've spoken to my Dad who lived in London throughout the war, and he remembers that there were celebrations everywhere for weeks after the war in Europe ended, and then again a few months later when the war in Japan ended. He knows there were parades in Trafalgar square but can't add any detail I'm afraid.

If you really would like to know more I suggest you send them to the Museum of London - http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/ - email- info@museumoflondon.org.uk -who will almost certainly know more than anyone about this. They are currently holding an exhibition of London street photography through the ages so they'll have a particular interest in these I should think.

 

[dossy]

Carole, these are a great find! I love the historical detail in the last shot. Please post if you get more info.

 

[Carole]

I've spoken to my Dad who lived in London throughout the war, and he remembers that there were celebrations everywhere for weeks after the war in Europe ended, and then again a few months later when the war in Japan ended. He knows there were parades in Trafalgar square but can't add any detail I'm afraid.

If you really would like to know more I suggest you send them to the Museum of London - http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/ - email- info@museumoflondon.org.uk -who will almost certainly know more than anyone about this. They are currently holding an exhibition of London street photography through the ages so they'll have a particular interest in these I should think.

Thanks, Peter. I will do that now. Maybe they can shed some light on when these photos were taken. I'll let you all know what I find out

Carole

 

[Naptown]

#1 is a German V1 "Buzz Bomb."
#2 looks like a naval torpedo.
#3 guessing an 88mm gun and a Tiger tank.

 

[Carole]

Thanks, Jacques.

I've sent them to the museum to see if they could date them for me, and perhaps tell me what the event was.

Carole

 

[soxOZ]

What a great find Carole, cant help as I wasn't even born then (some say I still may look it...), but it certainly looks like an exhibition of the enemies weaponry to the public maybe after the war..!!!

Just as a side note there was a find in a barn in France of hundreds of glass plate negatives of Aussie Diggers taken on the Western Front from WW1 (Diggers is slang for Australian Soldiers)...
These type of photos are priceless as they hold so many memories not only for relatives but for everyone to see life and history as it happened...
Link to Facebook site showing photos... This worth a look...

So please keep us all informed if you find out more info on your photos...

 

[Carole]

What a great find Carole, cant help as I wasn't even born then (some say I still may look it...), but it certainly looks like an exhibition of the enemies weaponry to the public maybe after the war..!!!

Just as a side note there was a find in a barn in France of hundreds of glass plate negatives of Aussie Diggers taken on the Western Front from WW1 (Diggers is slang for Australian Soldiers)...
These type of photos are priceless as they hold so many memories not only for relatives but for everyone to see life and history as it happened...
Link to Facebook site showing photos... This worth a look...

So please keep us all informed if you find out more info on your photos...

I wasn't born yet either :biggrin: Since I don't know the date of these photos, I don't even know if my parents were married when they were taken. I found a similar Facebook page for WW2, so I posted them on there. Maybe someone knows something about them

Carole

 

[Carole]

Well, some very nice gentleman on Facebook informs me that the photos are a celebration that was held in Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus, VE Day, May 8th 1945.

So now at least I know what the photos are of.

Now if I could only figure out who the people are in a ton of other photos I have :smile: There should be a law stating that you have to write on the back of photos who is pictured in them!

Carole

 

[Kiwi Geoff]

Well, some very nice gentleman on Facebook informs me that the photos are a celebration that was held in Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus, VE Day, May 8th 1945.

So now at least I know what the photos are of.

Now if I could only figure out who the people are in a ton of other photos I have :smile: There should be a law stating that you have to write on the back of photos who is pictured in them!

Carole

Lovely story Carole, good luck with your search!:smile:
I do hope you are keywording and captioning your files.:wink:

 

[Carole]

Lovely story Carole, good luck with your search!:smile:
I do hope you are keywording and captioning your files.:wink:

Yes, I am :smile: And I'm dating them as well.

You know what I've been thinking though. Years from now if someone is doing a family tree and searching for photos, there won't be boxes of old photos to go through. After I die, my computer will be long gone along with all the photos I've taken. That's sad. :frown:

Carole

 

[philpage]

Very interesting photos - no 3 is an 88mm and a Panzer IV, rather than Tiger. I would concur that these are taken on VE day or just afterwards - there can't be any other reason that a Soviet flag would be shown, background right, in picture 2.

The Imperial War Museum may be interested in these scans.

 

[Kiwi Geoff]

Yes, I am :smile: And I'm dating them as well.

You know what I've been thinking though. Years from now if someone is doing a family tree and searching for photos, there won't be boxes of old photos to go through. After I die, my computer will be long gone along with all the photos I've taken. That's sad. :frown:

Carole

Not unless you do something about that. External storage (labelled) is a must. Think of an external HD as that box of negs.:biggrin:

 

[GreenUmi]

Nice shots! I love looking at old photos!

...
#3 guessing an 88mm gun and a Tiger tank.

That's a 88mm Flak 18 (or 36) but the tank is a late war Panzer IV.
EDIT: And, I was late, tottaly missed the whole second page... :-D

 

[Carole]

A bit more information on these photos. On the back it has the name "Velox".

I did some googling and found out that this paper was invented by Leo Hendrik Baekeland (American chemist)). He received his doctorate maxima cum laude from the University of Ghent at the age of 21 and taught there until 1889, when he went to the U.S. and joined a photographic firm. He soon set up his own company to manufacture his invention, Velox, a photographic paper that could be developed under artificial light. Velox was the first commercially successful photographic paper. In 1899 Baekeland sold his company and rights to the paper.

That's your history lesson for today

Carole