Hue and Cry

Before the titles appear as graffiti on a bombsite's walls, children are seen throwing stones at each other. In Patrick Loobey and Jon Mills' 'The Boroughs of Wandsworth & Battersea at War' published by Sutton Publishing Limited in 1996 ISBN-13: 978-0750909440 we are told that that the early bomb site scenes were shot in the Thessaly Road area of Battersea SE8.

The camera sweeps across the Thames, revealing a panorama of post war docklands. The view is down river from Wapping with St. Annes's Church, Limehouse on the extreme left.

Taken from a little closer to the water line. (RL)

Panning left brings the entrance to Shadwell Basin and the tower of the London Hydraulic Power Company's Wapping Pumping Station into view.

I am sure a similar shot could be found from an apartment or roof garden but I had very limited choixce at ground level. (RL)

The shot ends after the spires of St. Paul’s, Shadwell and St. Mary's, Cable Street come into the frame.

Well, at least I managed to get both spires in the shot! (RL)

Outside the parish church where young Alec is singing in the choir, Roy Ellis (Stanley Escane) mocks Arthur (David Simpson) as he takes car registration numbers while their pal picks up a comic. Christopher Matheson (www.londononlocation.co.uk), ignoring the church set to the right, identifies this as Pier Head, Wapping High Street, London E1 with Wapping Basin and the London Docks in the background. (RL)

Alec (Douglas Barr) listens to Joe Kirby (Harry Fowler) read from the copy of Trump. Ian Dunn locates this as Wapping Pier Head off Wapping High Street. Butler's Wharf, the Anchor Brewery and Tower Bridge can be seen in the background. Wapping Pier Head also makes an appearance in 'Don’t Open till Christmas', '4D Special Agents' and 'The Squeeze'.

Wapping Pier Head in E1 by SJ. 'Pool of London', 'The Long Memory', 'Brannigan', 'The Secret Partner' and 'Jack & Sarah' were also shot in and around the area.

After giving the comic to Dicky, Joe buys another to continue reading. Holborn Viaduct in EC1, which was also seen in 'Hidden City' and 'Three and Out'.

With concrete anti-terrorist car bomb barricades, this is Holborn Viaduct now, looking towards Holborn Circus. SJ.

Joe runs to board the bus home. Holborn Viaduct facing Holborn Circus.

Looking towards Holborn Circus from Holborn Viaduct. SJ.

On the journey home, Joe gets engrossed in an adventure story featuring Selwyn Pike. The inset shows the cooling towers of the power station at Church End in Harlesden as seen from Gresham Road NW10.

Taking this shot of the street in the thought bubble, Antony Blair comments that the cooling towers appear to have been on a diet!

Selwyn Pike drives at breakneck speed to fictional Wilmot Road. Facing south from the junction of Woodheyes Road and Gresham Road in Harlesden with Church End Power Station in the distance. Church End Power Station closed in 1972 and the site is now occupied by Taylor's Lane Power Station.

Without the chimneys, Antony provides this comparison.

The sleuth catches sight of the van he's been looking for. Bridge Road, London NW10.

Cars now fill the street in Antony's view.

Pike catches up with the truck carrying wooden crates, two containing dead bodies and the third . . . . Looking to the south-east on Taylor's Lane in Brent NW10 and the bridge carries the railway between Cricklewood and Acton Wells.

Antony found the same bridge.

Joe is given a job at Covent Garden Market working for Jim Nightingale after mistakenly accusing a furrier of being entangled in the Selwyn Pike comic story.

Following a hard day at the market, Joe runs home. Jeff Haythorpe recognises the chimneys as those belonging to Battersea A Power Station and this is Patmore Street in SW8.

Patmore Street today. The chimney is behind the tree, trust me. SJ

After tea, Joe leaves the house pondering the comic strip adventure that seemed to become real. Facing south-east on Patmore Street with the ruins of St. Andrews Church standing on Stockdale Road in the background.

The rebuilt church. SJ

Deciding to investigate further, Joe and Alec go to see the author of the comic's story, Felix H. Wilkinson. David Neicho spotted Iverna Gardens in London W8.

The same location now, snapped by David Neicho.

The camera tilts up to Wilkinson's apartment where they all discover that the stories are being altered. Iverna Gardens in Kensington.

Iverna Gardens now, found and captured by David Neicho.

Joe makes his way to the publishers of the Trump. St. Andrews Street, London EC1 looking towards Holborn Circus identified by Robert Mockridge.

The statue of Prince Albert at Holborn Circus and St. Andrew's Church both remain. SJ.

The offices of 'Junior Publications Ltd'. Winton House at the corner of St. Andrews Street and Shoe Lane identified by Ray Simmons. The junction is also seen in 'The Day the Earth Caught Fire'.

This is the same EC4 location now. SJ.

From across the road, Joe watches the building before spotting a lad coming out. Robert Mockridge advises that this is looking eastward from the junction of St. Andrew Street and Shoe Lane. In the background is Farringdon Street and the tower of the Congregational Memorial Hall.

Peter found just a few alterations! Farringdon Street still stands in the background, with seemingly more changes to come.

Norman Pelley (Ian Dawson) waits for Rhona Davis (Valerie White) as she leaves the offices of Trump. Holborn Circus from St. Andrews Street in EC1.

And this is what the street looks like now. SJ.

After Joe enlists Norman's help by telling him about the story changes, he and the rest of the gang head to Ritchie's department store in Oxford Circus, the location of the next robbery according to Trump.

After much deliberating, searching and researching together, Dave W has come up with the location as 150 to 158 Kensington High Street, London W8 and provides this shot of the location, together with suitable reflection. (RL)

The next day, Clarry (Joan Dowling) consoles Joe when they fail to apprehend Tattoo Jack and his mob. Patmore Street in Battersea with the Power Station in the distance.

Very faintly is one of the chimneys of Battersea Power Station just to the right of the high rise. SJ

A bus approaches the stop where Rhona is waiting and the gang prepare to follow her after Norman discovers a clue. Facing southward on Shoe Lane in EC4.

Peter provides this shot of Shoe Lane, looking south from the junction with Little New Street.

Allowing everyone to get on first, Rhona Davis (Valerie White) watches the full bus depart with the gang on board. Looking north-eastward on Shoe Lane.

Clarry and the boys pick themselves up after jumping from the moving bus. Gunnersbury Lane in W3 with Acton Town Underground station standing in the centre background.

From a similar viewpoint at the same location which was identified by Roland-François Lack.

After a visit to the London Transport Depot Museum just north of this viewpoint, Malcolm Tinnelly and Nick Boorman submitted this joint venture, looking north-east on Gunnersbury Lane, matching the details nicely. (SJ)

The trail is picked up when Joe appears at a corner and spots Rhona. The Crown public house stands in the background, but which one? Actually, Dave W found, it was at 22 Dane Street on the corner of Eagle Street, London WC1. (RL)

To confirm his identification Dave just had to visit, to find that it was still a public house, now known as 'The Bountiful Cow', but more importantly found that the markings on the pavement cover plates still match from 1946. (RL)

After turning and seeing that the kids are following, Rhona heads through a building site . . . Ray Simmons told us of a Facebook discussion which came to the conclusion that this was Old Bethnal Green Road. PW enlarges on Ray's identification . . . to the left stands The Duke of Cambridge public house at the junction of Felix Street, Centre Street and Cambridge Circus in Cambridge Heath E2 with Priam House under construction behind.

Surprisingly, the former pub to the left that looked boarded up and ready for demolition all those years ago has survived, albeit in residential use with extensions. (PW)

Joe and the others continue their pursuit. Using Ray Simmons' information PW found that this is looking north along the line of the former Felix Street from Old Bethnal Green Road with Priam House to the right. The chimney in the left distance belongs to the defunct Chandler & Co’s Wiltshire Brewery on Hackney Road.

Hiding behind the foliage, the completed Priam House still stands. (PW)

Rhona turns a corner onto a busy street. Looking towards Aldwych on Kingsway from the corner of Remnant Street WC2.

A match of the large doorway and arched first floor windows. SJ

Still aware that she's being followed, Rhona heads down the street. The 'street' is in fact Kingsway, London WC2 looking north. Princes House to the left on the corner with Kemble Street. (RL)

This replaces my hopeless shot, with shrouding and poor angle, from April '22. Only took 4 years! SJ

The gang stops and shoe laces are tied in an effort to appear inconspicuous. Kingsway with the entrance to the former Tram Tunnel and the Liverpool Victoria building in background. Identification by Ray Simmons. Other productions that feature the tram tunnel include 'The Avengers', 'Girl with Green Eyes', 'Hidden City' and 'The Escapist'.

The same location now by Ray Simmons.

Joe, Clarry, Dicky (Gerald Fox), Alec and Norman all slow down as Rhona heads for a doorway. Outside 56 Kingsway near Remnant Street advises Ray Simmons.

The same place taken by Ray Simmons.

An update shows a busier pavement. SJ

In an effort to shake off her followers Rhona enters a building. Nick Cooper tells us that this is Beacon House at the corner of Kingsway and Parker Street.

And Nick Cooper captured the same building.

When she steps back into the street, Rhona hails a cab. Nick Cooper identifies this as the junction of Kingsway with High Holborn looking towards Aldwych. The sign in the centre of the road with the London Transport symbol marks one of the two stairways down to the Holborn Tram Stop in the subway under Kingsway.

Nick provides this comparison adding "A traffic light now stands on the island where the stairwell to the tram stop was."

Outside The Laughing Cow Milk Bar and Britannic Assurance, Joe also hails a taxi.

The Laughing Cow Milk Bar at 48 Kingsway is presently Guido's Italian restaurant while Britannic Assurance at number 46 is a currently print shop. Information from Nick Cooper.

Joe gives up when none of the cabbies will stop for children. The Lyons & Co. tea shop stands at the corner of Kingsway and High Holborn located by Ray.

Looking north along Kingsway from outside Holborn station from Ray Simmons.

Costa's on the corner these days. (SR)

When Alec reveals that he overheard Rhona state her destination to the taxi driver, the gang head for the address where they find valuable clues. Dave W placed this as 19 Mount Avenue, Ealing, London W5. (RL)

Dave found that the detached des res at 19 Mount Avenue W5 has been replaced by the flats of Juniper House. (RL)

After tying Rhona up and telephoning Nightingale to tell him to contact Superintendent Ford, Joe and his pals return to the house to find it empty and Dicky missing. From Capture 38 Dave deduced this to be Woodfield Road, Ealing, London W5 (RL)

Dave's visit showed the sweep of Woodfield Road is unchanged, and pavement trees have preserved their respective leanings. (RL)

Dicky clings onto the side of Ford's car as it speeds from the house. In a "joint venture" with Jules Ballantyne we found St Mary's Road, Ealing, London W5 with Webster Gardens off to the right............ (RL)

From a, perhaps unnecessarily, safer vantage point. SJ

Rhona is driven to safety by Ford, who is revealed to be Tattooed Jack as they turn and drive down Disraeli Road, Ealing in London W5 (RL)

Antony Blair vies for road-space with parked cars for this one.

Thinking that Dicky has been captured, the rest of the gang make their weary way home. Thomas More Street in London E1. This walled road was formerly called Nightingale Lane and was seen in 'Seven Green Bottles' and 'It Always Rains on Sunday'..

As can be seen, Mark O'Neill was governed by roadworks but not beaten by them. (RL)

The kids near home . . . where they find Dicky waiting. Looking down from King William Street onto Lower Thames Street in EC3 with the Steam Packet Tavern public house on the corner of Fish Street Hill to the left. The location was recognised by Peter . . . . .

. . . . . who also provides this comparison shot.

Using Dicky's information and getting Felix Wilkinson to write a suitable story for the next Trump, a Boy waits to give the signal after Joe and the gang set up a scheme to capture Nightingale and his villains. Looking across to Cannon Street railway bridge and Southwark Cathedral from Southwark Bridge at Queen Street Place EC4.

Peter provides this backlit shot highlighting the cathederal.

Groups of boys hide around the film's Ballard's Wharf as Operation Seagull begins. This was a bombsite lying between Queen Street Place, Upper Thames Street and Cousin Lane.

Receiving a phone call, messenger boys set off from the telegraph office and head to the wharf.

At Robb's ice cream factory young vendors climb onto their tricycles. This looks very much like the buildings of Ealing Studios in W5.

With bells ringing, the ice cream sellers tear through the streets. To the right stands The Queen Victoria public house at the corner of High Street and The Grove in Ealing. Currently known as The Grove. the premises in their previous form can be seen in 'The Lure of Drink' and 'Heart of a Coster'.

Replacing the Google shot. SJ

The shot pans with the tricycles to bring Christ the Saviour Parish Church into view. This is Ealing in London W5.

Antony Blair took this comparison.

Boys descend onto the bombsite to apprehend Nightingale's bunch of thieves as they unload their trucks. Facing the junction of Queen Street Place and Upper Thames Street.

More lads appear from the surrounding buildings. Behind the ruins warehouses stands the train shed of Cannon Street station.

Another signal brings another wave of attackers. In the background, Vintry House towers over Queen Street Place.

After a radio broadcast is made calling for all adventurous boys to head to Ballard's Wharf, a Newspaper Boy dumps his newspapers before running to assist. Is this the Oxford Street HMV store? At the top of the image can be made out 'His Master . . . '. Note also the wording set in the doorway flooring '28 - 30 SQUIRE'. Dave W eSQUIRE, tracked this down to 28 - 30 New Broadway, Ealing which we are pleased to record. (RL)

Dave made tracks and took this shot for us. The central doors allow us to imagine the 1946 scene even though the floor tile design has gone. We wonder how many restaurant patrons are aware that Dusty Springfield once worked in Squire's before fame showed her a bigger world. (RL)

Youngster's shoes clatter down an alleyway. This looks suspiciously like Cardinal Cap Alley off Bankside SE1.

This is Cardinal Cap Alley, which appears in 'The London Nobody Knows', but Peter found the old thoroughfare securely gated.

Heading for the mêlée, boys run through a market. The East Side of Shepherds Bush Market in W12 with properties on Uxbridge Road and Shepherd's Bush (H&C) Underground station in the left background. The location was seen in 'Goodbye Gemini' and 'Calculated Risk'.

A closer shot to show the buildings on Uxbridge Road still survive. This is at the north end of the market opposite Poplar Mews and indeed the underground entrance out of shot on the left. SJ

Out from windows and sprinting between tenement blocks, young boxers and sporting types appear.

Jules Ballantyne has tracked the location down to Sage Street, London E1. Unfortunately, railings at the end of the road and allocated allotment plots make an accurate shot rather difficult, nay impossible. (RL)

Joe holds onto a thug's head as other boys try to bring him down. In the background stands St. Michael Paternoster Royal church on College Hill. The church is glimpsed in 'The Ipcress File'.

It is perhaps better captured in the winter time without the leaves. (RL)

As the robbers are overpowered at the wharf, boys pour along the bank of the river. These could be any of a number of travelling cranes that once adorned the southern bank of the Thames.

Bankside, London SE1 with the Millennium Bridge and Blackfriars Railway Bridge next along. By coincidence, the Millennium Bridge is where the overhead conveyor was. (RL)

Shouting is heard as even more boys run through the quieter parts of town... now found: click the date.

Christopher Matheson has finally resolved this long outstanding location for us, the churchyard at the back of St. Paul's Church, Covent Garden, London WC2 (RL)

A taxi brings further reinforcements.

The taxi was on a site between Colonial Wharves and Black Eagle Wharf, Wapping High Street, London E1, as seen in 'Four in the Morning' Capture 32, looking across to Chambers Wharves. The north bank has been totally developed into riverside apartments and Chambers Wharves have been demolished and the area is currently a main tunnel drive site for the Thames Tideway Scheme.

Another hoard of youths run along the banks of the Thames. This is Bankside SE1, just below Southwark Bridge, with the bridge carrying the Southern Railway route into Cannon Street in the background.

A similar view by Peter.

While Rob and Clarry attack Short, a wave of lads pours down to The Mall SW1. The base of the Duke of York Memorial stands in the background. The location was also seen in 'The Internecine Project', '101 Dalmatians', 'The Sandwich Man' and 'The Passionate Friends'... Schoolboy recruits from Bromley Grammar et al were used for these scenes, Pat Bryan tells us.

Peter points out that New Zealand House now stands in the right background

More boys converge on the derelict site.

To the right stands Southwark Bridge now. Picture by Ray Simmons.

As he tries to escape, Joe follows Nightingale into a bombed out building.

Another view of Southwark Bridge now from Ray Simmons.

Nightingale is heard on the floor above. Vintry House and Thames House on Queen Street Place form the backdrop.

Joe picks his way carefully as Nightingale's laugh echoes through the ruins. Jeff Haythorpe tells us that in the background is Cannon Street railway bridge and just to the right of Southwark Cathedral's tower is an old Bell tower that was once part of Guys hospital. Jeff adds "I lived a few hundred yards from the tower, although it was demolished ten or so years ago."

Peter took this shot from the riverside.

Spotting a chance, Joe goes after Nightingale, eventually overpowering the crook. Richard Hills advises that the bombed building where "The Battle of Ballard's Wharf" took place was Cameron Wharf on the north end of Southwark Bridge. Richard used to play in the ruined building and saw the film being made.

A rather changed horizon greeted Peter when he arrived to take this comparison.