Pea souper

With November now upon us, this picture, another from London - Work & Play (Batsford 1950), seems appropriate, although such 'killer fogs' are now things of the past. That in London in 1952 was so bad that it led to the Clean Air Act of 1956, which eventually banned the burning of domestic coal in built-up areas. There was also, at this time, much air pollution from factory chimneys, London still being a manufacturing city. Furthermore, many trains were steam-hauled, particularly on lines north of the Thames.