South Parade Pier, Southseaplaceholder image
South Parade Pier, Southsea | Britain in the 1930s by Steven Brindle and Maureen Hill from Atlantic Publishing, £50

Portsmouth and Hampshire in the 1930s: Pictures show a bygone era and a decade of change

A new book provides an emotive flashback to years gone by

Life in 1930s Portsmouth and Hampshire has been recreated in a new book of evocative photos from the decade.

Britain in the 1930s, which is published next month, has pictures from across the UK, including Portsmouth and Hampshire.

Amon the 600 black and white photographs are shots of The Hard, South Parade Pier from above, and a busy beach at Southsea during what was no doubt a beautifully warm day. Elsewhere there are eye-opening shots of the Alfred the Great statue in Winchester, revealing field, not a city centre, in the background, as well as residents getting water from a standpipe, and pupils being taught at Bedales in Petersfield.

The book explores how Britain in the 1930s was a land of contrasts with economic depression and mass unemployment devastating some industrial communities while in other areas, prosperity, suburban growth and consumer culture transformed daily life.

Britain in the 1930s by Steven Brindle and Maureen Hill from Atlantic Publishing, £50, published on November 5.

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