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1949: A Leisurely Day in Post-War London | August Bank Holiday | BBC Archive
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In a London still visibly recovering from the effects of World War 2, an intrepid BBC news team - including Phillip Doherty and Monty Redknapp - set off from Alexandra Palace to spend the day visiting the capital's main attractions and speaking to the people they find there. With most of London's residents away to the seaside for the August bank holiday, there is an eerie lack of traffic. The devastation around St Paul's Cathedral is very pronounced in these quieter conditions.
It is only when the team reach Hampstead Heath fair in the evening that there is a sense of people really letting their hair down and getting into the bank holiday spirit.
Clip taken from Flashback: August Bank Holiday, originally broadcast on BBC Television, 1 August, 1949.
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