1950s Childhood Gallery

Police Public Call Box, London

A police officer using a Police Public Call Box on a London street. The Metropolitan Police introduced police boxes throughout the London area between 1928 and 1937. The one pictured is a Mackenzie Trench style police box, made famous by the long-running TV series, Doctor Who. The boxes were installed so that members of the public could make emergency calls to the police, but many boxes are now disused or have been withdrawn from service because of the prevalence of the mobile phone

© Mary Evans Picture Library

Metropolitan Police officers teaching road safety

Metropolitan Police officers teaching road safety to children. The man in the white outfit with traffic lights on his front is Safety Sam, a character invented to encourage children to think about road safety. A sergeant stands with four little girls in the foreground, and a large audience of children watches from the other side of the road. Date: 1949

© Mary Evans Picture Library

Childrens party, 1953

Four children enjoy a charming (if a little sparse) looking Christmas tea party. The girls are wearing smocked party dresses by Lindsay Maid and two of them pull crackers while their companions look on politely. Date: 1953

© Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans

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