The Not So Good Old Mask-Less Days (U.K. 1952)




SMOG   (Smoke and Fog) London, U.K. 1952

It was not only in London. Other industrial towns and cities had these pea-soupers - so called because the smog could be a yellowish or greenish colour.

Coal was King.   Electricity was coal generated; Factory furnaces burned coal; Trains were powered by coal fired steam engines; Just about every home was heated with coal fires.

I thought that they were "fun", not understanding the deep physical harm they caused.   I should have caught on to this when I blew my nose; only to see bits of airborne smut on my handkerchief.  I did not know that thousands of people were dying because of air borne pollution.

No masks of course. (Those of us who are wise wear face masks in the face of COVID 19.   We have grown accustomed to them.  But I remember being shocked when I took a holiday in Vietnam , and saw so many people wearing face masks because of the air pollution caused by the millions of scooters and mopeds powered by two-stroke engines.

Vehicle headlights were not very powerful, so often a family member or friend would walk in front of the car or lorry; carrying a torch (flash-light) to help the driver to stay on the right side of the road.

In slow due course the British Government took action.  See


Some of my American friends have told me of the pea-souper fog they encountered in the U.K.   If that visit was after the early 1960's it was a thick fog, but not a pea-souper.  They became a thing of the past thanks to various U.K. Clean Air Acts.

Photo' from the Face Book page "Old Pictures of British Life"

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