See Photos Of Christmas In London From 1914

James Drury
By James Drury Last edited 111 months ago
See Photos Of Christmas In London From 1914
4th Battalion Grenadier Guards look to the camera during their Christmas meal at Chelsea Barracks, 1914.
4th Battalion Grenadier Guards look to the camera during their Christmas meal at Chelsea Barracks, 1914.
Christina Broom with her stall at the Women’s War Work Exhibition, Princes’ Skating Rink, Knightsbridge, 1916.
Christina Broom with her stall at the Women’s War Work Exhibition, Princes’ Skating Rink, Knightsbridge, 1916.
The ‘Bermondsey B’hoys’ from the 2nd Grenadier Guards appear at ease for this informal photograph taken inside their base at Wellington Barracks sometime during 1914 or 1915.
The ‘Bermondsey B’hoys’ from the 2nd Grenadier Guards appear at ease for this informal photograph taken inside their base at Wellington Barracks sometime during 1914 or 1915.
Soldiers from the 1st Life Guards with their wives at the platform of Waterloo Station, before departing for the front, May 18th 1915.
Soldiers from the 1st Life Guards with their wives at the platform of Waterloo Station, before departing for the front, May 18th 1915.
Women police officers and Inspector Mary Allen, a former suffragette, at the Women’s War Work Exhibition, London, 1916
Women police officers and Inspector Mary Allen, a former suffragette, at the Women’s War Work Exhibition, London, 1916
An early Broom photograph taken along Oxford Street, c.1905.
An early Broom photograph taken along Oxford Street, c.1905.
An early Broom photograph of a J. Lyons tea stall on the platform at Victoria Station, c.1905.
An early Broom photograph of a J. Lyons tea stall on the platform at Victoria Station, c.1905.

This selection of images were taken by Christina Broom, who is widely regarded as the UK's first female press photographer with her work featured in publications such as Tatler, The Daily Sketch, Illustrated London News and Country Life. She began her photography career in 1903 aged 40, and continued until her death in 1939, also selling the images she made as postcards from a stall at the gates of the Royal Mews.

Her photos offer a fascinating look at life before the widespread use of cars (look at the Oxford Street image from 1905) and include moving images of soldiers from the First World War, as well as more everyday sights like a tea stall at Victoria station (long before Starbucks).

The shots are set to be featured in an exhibition at the Museum of London Docklands, which opens in June 2015. It will be the first exhibition dedicated to Broom and will include a cross section of her work, including many photographs that have previously been in private collections and have never been on public display.

Soldiers and suffragettes: the photography of Christina Broom runs at Museum of London Docklands from 19 June-1 November 2015. Entry is free.

Last Updated 10 December 2014