Comments on: John Claridge at the Salvation Army

By: David McShee

David McShee — Fri, 06 Nov 2020 11:16:26 +0000

My mum and dad were SA Officers and we lived at Victoria Home in 1965. I remember the place really well, some of the men who stayed there would make fishing nets. Incidentally Mum, before she married, worked in Hope town and we visited there with her once. Mum particularly never forgot ‘her men’ and would become very tearful when she heard the song ‘Streets of London’.
The men were the poorest of the poor but they were also extremely kind and my brother and I always felt safe in their company. It is a personal concern that over 50 years later people are still living on the streets, The social services side of the SA is much depleted so places such as Victoria Home way back then are now few and far between so the people that William Booth lived for now once again live on the streets of Whitechapel.

By: John Wood

John Wood — Thu, 21 Apr 2016 16:03:16 +0000

Brings back many memories John. As a young Salvationist in the East End I was often at these facilities. My Father-in-law was a SA Officer in charge of the Garford Street hostel and carried out tasks most people would be physically sick executing, he did it for a pittance and out of Christian love, following the example set out by William Booth.

By: ian silverton

ian silverton — Tue, 11 Feb 2014 20:59:32 +0000

John great pictures,never new we where all so poor looking back at them,also love the reply letters to all your pictures,and stories,from your old mate John Edwards,he has a good way with words. my best to you both, Ian Silverton,ex east end boy,1944 1962.

By: Colin

Colin — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 19:37:06 +0000

I met some of these 1982 men and officers after they had moved from the Victoria Home following its closure to the newly refurbished hostel in Limehouse and some memories are stirred. I think a lot of the younger and short term residents will have moved to Booth House space permitting and it is curious that the two hostels ran separately and next door to each other for years. Victoria Home is now converted into flats having been empty for years – I wished I’d taken a look.

Victoria Home (aka ‘177’) looks grim in the photos This size of dormitory was very old-school so no wonder it closed. Since the 1980s there has been a move towards accommodation in single rooms and older hostels have been closed or refurbished.

The article describes the men thus “… most were East Enders without families who couldn’t take care of themselves”. SA hostels have traditionally been home to many casual/itinerant labourers and manual workers. I think many men will have made a lifestyle choice to live there which, despite appearances and with limited options, may not have been so bad. Living alone in London is not easy; it can be lonely and expensive.

I think there was a core of men who had lived at the Victoria Home for donkey’s years including older men. For those who had lived previously in institutional settings e.g. childrens home, borstal/prison, national service, boarding school(!) it may have been a logical step. Unlike today there wasn’t much initiative to move them on into their own homes and men who left could come back. In the dark days before Care in the Community the alternative for several men was psychiatric hospital.

I think there was a hierarchy of sorts with several long-term residents employed to run the place with jobs doing security, cooking and cleaning, So they didn’t all spend their days sitting around by any means.

The 3 officers look a little sinister but I remember the Captain as a kind hearted and jolly man with real commitment. The marching banner is fantastic – perhaps a reminder of earlier days marching down the Whitechapel Road in the footsteps of General Booth!

By: clara mills

clara mills — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 06:19:29 +0000

Thank you for these images, they captured my heart. I currently live at Hopetown myself, yes there is indeed a whole long story that goes with that! I am also an aspiring photographer and writer and have been inspired greatly by what you have done here. Thank you.

By: isabella

isabella — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 18:05:34 +0000

I found these photographs very haunting and moving a picture tells a thousand stories.

By: Jupiter John

Jupiter John — Wed, 23 May 2012 17:37:48 +0000

John’s unique photography is full of heart, and it takes a particular skill to draw out a sense of personal narrative within each frame. There is a great deal of sensitivity and empathy in all of his work. Be it dealing with grinding poverty here, or by capturing a glimpse of bygone times, we are drawn into the story. It’s as if Dickens and Orwell had been given a photographic medium to translate their writing. John’s work captures the drama and melancholy of an ever- shifting social history with the essence of bygone times, and thus renders them unforgettable. Highly recommended!

By: Paul Grubb

Paul Grubb — Wed, 23 May 2012 03:49:48 +0000

JC’s pics are so potent they make me grateful I’m living in the present

By: John in Paris.

John in Paris. — Tue, 22 May 2012 11:37:51 +0000

With the innocent enthusiasm that Claridge showed as a young kid with his camera, the locals just had total faith and let him get on with it.Real pictures.

By: jens marott

jens marott — Thu, 10 May 2012 11:59:45 +0000

Another amazing series of pictures which fills me with emotion when I look at them.
Times must have been so hard for these people, and like today our social problems gets hidden away from us, swept under the massive carpets, that the rich society have, some things never change.
But through John’s eyes, we get to see what goes on behind closed doors, how life was and properly still is.
Some photographers have it, some don’t, and one thing is for sure, John Claridge have it, big time.
I will say it again and again, I do not understand why we haven’t seen any more of John’s images, I hope this is a new beginning for John, because I doubt very much if we have seen his full repertoire.
Bring it on John.