Old UK

28 Vintage Color Snapshots of London in the 1960s

Some of these photographs were taken when the photographer was just 13 years old, with a Halina PET camera and Ektachrome film. He lived in Byfleet, a village lies around 20 miles from the center of London. From 1971 to 1987, he frequently visited the capital city by train.

Most of these pictures were captured using Ektachrome film. Initially developed in the early 1940s, it allowed professionals and amateurs alike to process their own films. Ektachrome has a distinctive look that became familiar to many readers of National Geographic, which used it extensively for color photographs for decades in settings where Kodachrome was too slow.
Take a look at these gorgeous Ektachrome snapshots of London in the sixties. For more fascinating vintage pictures, check out the photographer’s Flickr site.

Piccadilly Circus, North side, 1962
Piccadilly Circus, West side, 1962
Piccadilly Circus at night, 1962
Victoria Embankment from Westminster Bridge, 1962
Big Ben across Westminster Bridge, 1962
National Galley, Trafalgar Square, 1965
Trafalgar Square. St Martin-in-the-Fields, 1965
The Mall during Jordanian State Visit, 1966
Tate Gallery, 1966
British Museum, Bloomsbury, 1966
River Thames from Westminster Bridge, 1966
Wellington Barracks, Birdcage Walk, 1966
New Scotland Yard and Embankment, 1966
Parliament Square, 1967
Admiralty Arch, The Mall, 1967
Lion and Bus Stop, Westminster Bridge, 1967
Embankment Gardens, 1967
Bond Street looking north, 1967
Nelson’s Column, Trafalgar Square, 1967
Royal Law Courts, 1967
Restaurant in Hyde Park, 1967
St.George’s, Hanover Square, 1967
View from Hyde Park to Hilton Hotel, 1967
Regent Street looking north, 1967
County Hall, 1968
Kings Weighhouse Church, Duke Street, 1967
Hilton Hotel, Park Lane, 1967
Ritz Hotel, Piccadilly, 1970