I'm seeing this image alot just recently on social media. I've had a quick dig to find out where exactly it is but no luck. Is it in the ATB book on the Blitz ? Would like to know if a Then & Now is possible. Cheers.
Had read that neither Morley's milkman or postman were actually real, but never registered they might be made in series at the same time. Clues few & far, but could be worth looking for damage around St. Paul's, October '40. Fred Morley – On This Date in Photography: by James Mcardle Wonder if there's any interviews with Morley, the subjects or assistants out there. Faint bell ringing about the milkman shot.
Is this the Milkman photo? October 9th marked the 32nd day of straight bombing raids against the United Kingdom. The night time raid of October 9th raid infamously struck the iconic St Paul’s Cathedral but luckily the bomb did not detonate. Photographers stationed in London were amazed at the total destruction wrought by German bombers yet their pictures were routinely blocked by the censors who were anxious not to cause a panic. Fred Morley wanting to get some sort of record of the devastation out to the world thought of a situation that the censors would approve. He first found a back drop of firefighters struggling to contain a fire then he borrowed a milkman’s outfit and a craft of bottles. He then got his assistant to pose among the ruins of a city street while the firefighters fought in the background. The photo pushed forward the idea of the stoic British continuing on with their normal lives. The censors felt the same way and it was published the very next day The Milkman Kyle
The Postman photo is surely staged - look at how the rubble is quite evenly distributed around the Post Box. With all that going on you would expect the Box to be uprooted and the rubble to show a 'shadow' on the downside away from the falling rubble and not so evenly distributed around the Box. Of course I could be totally wrong!
Those pillarboxes go along way into the ground. Will take alot to move them. See this one. VICTORIAN PILLAR BOX in POST BOXES And Genuine Original C19th Victorian 'Anonymous' Post Box - Post Office Pillar Box | eBay
It is similar but I couldnt post the actual image here without reposting the source link? When I clicked Adams link theres no text explaination where there is on the Oct 9th link. Kyle
Different box but great photo. The Post Office during WWII part 2 | The Postal Museum Note WW1 medal ribbons on one of the posties.
Looking at dirty postcards while all those people are expecting their letters. Typical... Multi-engine image search off the postie pic in question throws out this page on bombsite: High Explosive Bomb at Old Kent Road , London - Bomb Sight - Mapping the World War 2 London Blitz Right sort of date. Nothing I can see in the pictures that correlates, though I am useless at such.
Getty has it captioned as Old Kent Rd. Too. A postman collecting mail from a post box surrounded by bomb damage... News Photo - Getty Images
Owen, Ref your first post #1. I posted that image on the forum some time ago,a friend of mine sent it to me.Since then I have managed to scrounge the book/booklet off him. There is no date,time,or place where the image was taken.(see images) regards........Graham.
Sorry. I did look to see if it had already been posted. I'm usually good at finding old posts. Edit. Found it. The Spirit Of The Blitz.
There was another photo in the same vein showing the postman putting letters through a letter flap in a door that has nothing standing behind it. It was so patently ridiculous that it wasn't used widely.
According to James Mcardle the postman and the milkman photo (and others on a similar theme) were faked by Fred Morely of Fox Photos. The Postman and the Milkman were Morely's assistant. See October 9: Fake