14 January 2016

British class system, 1937

"Toffs and Toughs is a 1937 photograph of five English boys: two dressed in the Harrow School uniform including waistcoat, top hat, boutonnière, and cane; and three nearby wearing the plain clothes of pre-war working class youths. The picture was taken by Jimmy Sime on 9 July 1937 outside the Grace Gates at Lord's Cricket Ground during the Eton v Harrow cricket match."

7 comments:

  1. Dressing in the Harrow outfit in my neighbourhood,(in the 50s), would have been hazardous to ones health.

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  2. Ghastly. The privilege is bad enough, but dressing kids like that is way over the top. They don't do that anymore, do they?

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  3. Apparently it sounds like they do, at least on Sundays:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrow_School#Uniform

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  4. Hit him with your Smelting stick, Dudley.

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    Replies
    1. http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Smelting_stick

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  5. I remember an interesting article a year or so ago in which one of the toffs was interviewed, and said that they'd been looks and catcalls on the street and were actually quite nervous - I think this gets closest to it

    https://saintanselmhistory.wordpress.com/2014/03/27/toffs-and-toughs-the-problem-with-iconic-images/

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