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Shocking Photos Of Slums Families Of Newcastle upon Tyne From 1970s That Reveal The Other Side of Swinging 70s

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Photographer Nick Hedges documented the life of poverty-stricken Britain’s slums from 1968 to 1972. He traveled across the country for the housing charity Shelter, taking pictures of families living in run-down homes in Glasgow, Leeds, and Birmingham. He donated 1,000 prints from his Shelter work to the National Media Museum in 1983.

He found families who slept with the lights blazing to keep the rats away, children sleeping on wet floors and mothers cooking over an open fire, sewerage water on the streets, and children playing in the trash. It’s heartbreaking to see that the people had to live under these miserable conditions.

Here below are some heart-wrenching photos of poor families living in Newcastle-upon-Tyne from the 1970s.

#1 Street of terraced housing Newcastle upon Tyne 1969

Street of terraced housing Newcastle upon Tyne 1969

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#2 Children playing in a derelict playground, Newcastle upon Tyne 1971

Children playing in a derelict playground, Newcastle upon Tyne 1971

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#3 Families wlking across slum clearance site Newcastle upon Tyne 1972

Families wlking across slum clearance site Newcastle upon Tyne 1972

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#4 The result of dangerous play, the little boy fell on a rusty nail which punctured his liver, Newcastle 1971

The result of dangerous play, the little boy fell on a rusty nail which punctured his liver, Newcastle 1971

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#6 Mother and son reflected in mirror West End Newcastle upon Tyne 1971

Mother and son reflected in mirror West End Newcastle upon Tyne 1971

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#8 Children walking home on a council estate Newcastle upon Tyne 1972

Children walking home on a council estate Newcastle upon Tyne 1972

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#12 Unemployed son West End Newcastle upon Tyne, 1971

Unemployed son West End Newcastle upon Tyne, 1971

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#15 Retired seaman living in a Newcastle multilet 1971

Retired seaman living in a Newcastle multilet 1971

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#16 Dangerous play in unsecured derelict houses Newcastle, 1971

Dangerous play in unsecured derelict houses Newcastle, 1971

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#17 Dangerous play in unsecured derelict houses Newcastle, 1971

Dangerous play in unsecured derelict houses Newcastle, 1971

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#23 Family living in slum housing, West End, Newcastle upon Tyne

Family living in slum housing, West End, Newcastle upon Tyne

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#26 Family living in slum housing Newcastle’s West End 1971

Family living in slum housing Newcastle’s West End 1971

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Written by Aung Budhh

Husband + Father + librarian + Poet + Traveler + Proud Buddhist. I love you with the breath, the smiles and the tears of all my life.

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7 Comments

  1. These photos have been posted on the Elswick Facebook group, and people in some of these photos have been recognized, and the stories with some of these photos are absolute bullshit – confirmed by people who were there at the time, and all the back stories have come out. This is quite a funny thread.

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