Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Pea soupers
We've had some splendid November fogs recently but I was reminded how, not so very long ago, those fogs could be lethal as I was reading this entry on the 1952 smog, the worst air pollution disaster in modern times causing an estimated 12,000 deaths, on the the excellent (and essential reading for anyone who loves London history) Another Nickel in the Machine .
Any of our older members remember these dangerous pea-soupers?
Photo by Nicobobinus on Flickr, click to view large. Take a look at Nico's Foggy photos set
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by pamish on
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I remember them, just. They were a putrid shade of yellow-green. It was the famous smog of 1952 that did for my granddad. It bought in the clean air act. Now we need those fireplaces back, to end the damp problems of sealed-off houses...
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Permalink Reply by StephenBln on
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I seem to remember that there were some servere 'pea-soupers' in the early 60s too..
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Permalink Reply by matt on
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Interesting. Guess that might be because the colour of sulphur is yellow and sulphur dioxide is a waste from burning coal (?) Like this shot of Nico's.
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Permalink Reply by Justin Guest on
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I suspect the colour of the glow is more to do with the colour of light produced by the lamps an ultimately reflected by the fog itself.
Funny the yellow- green comment by Liz. I did some work on the London Smogs a long time back, but we never came across anything about the colour- because most of the photos of the event were black and white this would clearly never come across to an observer today. Interesting bit of information, but yes, the sulphur dioxide might have had some impact (it is a yellowish gas), but bear in mind you would also get the same refraction/diffraction (scattering) type effects as a result of the sodium street lights I guess they used in the 50's as you are seeing in this image here.
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Permalink Reply by Claudia Clare on
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My mum sometimes talks about that 1952 one. I'll ask her again and get some her stories out of her. I seem to remember she had quite a bit to say about it.
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Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on
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Osbawn, I'd donate my lungs to the NHS - if I thought it was strong enough to survive me or them.
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Permalink Reply by Flower on
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Yes, I do remember the pea-soupers, also known as smog (smoke/fog). The article above is an excellent description of that particular time. Apart from the ghastly colour, there was the disgusting acrid smoke smell.
I was 12 in 1952 and remember walking up Beresford Road on one of those days. I could literally only see a couple of feet in front of me and had to guide myself by trying to recognise the walls and hedges at the side of me, to tell me how far up the road I was. One thing I have never forgotten was the total silence and the sound of my shoes echoing on the pavement. When I got as far as the Passage, a man spoke to me from the entrance. He wasn't to be seen until he was right next to me. That was very, very scary and I was more than relieved to get home.
The Clean Air Act was one of the better decisions made and although fogs may have occurred later I would think that the Act alone would have saved many thousands of lives if the smog situation had been allowed to continue. Tell you what though, you can't beat roasting chestnuts on the fire!!
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