London - Life in the Post-War Years

In the years immediately following the Second World War Douglas Whitworth took an important series of photographs of central London's place in the City that provide the material for this evocative album of a city recovering from the trauma of conflict.

These superb photographs show the extent of Blitz damage to famous streets and buildings, even in the very heart of the city, and illustrate how the City of London looked, in its parks, streets and shops, as life began to get back to normal.

The photographs record the aftermath but also the new confidence and spirit that followed, aided by those two tonics to the nation the Festival of Britain in 1951 and the Queen's Coronation in 1953.

This is one man's portrait of a great city at a significant time in its history.