7. The Docks in the Twentieth Century
A close-knit community

The maiority of people who worked in Docklands lived in the area. Whole families often worked in different aspects of dockland industry.

Jobs in the docks or in specific trades passed from one generation to another. Strong bonds of loyalty grew up through sharing similar conditions in the workplace and in the small terraces of houses tightly packed between the factories and docks.

Many people found their partners in the area, even in the same street, and often lived with relatives until they could move into a place of their own.

A distinctive way of life developed in this close-knit community, one that had grown up around the docks, the river and associated industries.

The Second World War brought changes. The docks were a major forget for bombing and much of the surrounding area was destroyed or damaged.

A lot of the old houses were swept away by this and by slum clearance schemes in the 1950s and 1960s. Many people moved away and the houses were replaced by blocks of flats. But much of the character and style of the community survived into the post-war period.

A more devastating blow came when the docks closed and traditional industries declined in the 1960s and 1970s. The old pattern had been broken, the industrial base of the community eroded and Docklands was soon to become a very different place in which to live and work.

E: Wedding of Joyce and George Stevens, 1950. Nearly all of the people in the photograph worked in Docklands.


1. Jim: deal- porter
2. Harry: transport manager
3. Ronnie: student
4. Jim (father):Ex deal porter / warehouseman
5. George Stevens: docker
6. Patsy: docker
7. Alfie: docker
8. Ben: docker
9. Jim: metalworker
10. Tommy: wharf maintenance engineer
11. Jack: drayman (brewery worker) Courage's brewery
12. Jack: driver
13. Joyce: machinist
14. Milly: dressmaker
15. Eileen: machinist
16. Rene: housewife
17. Edie: office worker
18. Elsie: machinist
19. Ann: cleaner
20. Nel: machinist
21. Frances: housewife
22. Mill: housewife