Vintage aerial views of the ground

"When you're asleep they may show you
Aerial views of the ground,
Freudian slumber empty of sound.

Over the rooftops and houses,
Lost as it tries to be seen,
Fields of incentive covered with green."

- Entangled, from the 1975 Genesis LP, A Trick of the Tail

I only recently discovered Britain from Above, a phenomenal resource of aerial photographs taken between the early 1920s and early 1950s. I'm amazed at the high resolution of the b&w pics, and the sheer quantity of material available. It's free (you need to register though). You can search by keyword or browse using a map. Here are some shots of Ealing...

Below: St Stephen's Church, 1935. How few the cars! In the distance, where the Haymills Estate stands today were large houses on the south side of Cleveland Road. Note the turreted houses on the corner of St Stephen's Avenue (running from the bottom left corner to the church) and Colebrook Avenue...

...these turreted houses at the ends of blocks are still here. Below: looking towards St Stephen's Church from Argyle Road, visible on the right (just) are the two turreted houses at the north end of Colebrook Ave. St Stephen's Church was deconsecrated in 1979 and converted into flats. The steeple remains a local landmark.

Below: another Ealing church, this time photographed in 1952. This is the Methodist church on Windsor Road, Ealing Broadway, now the Polish parish church. Lots of cars parked along Windsor Road. On the other side of The Mall are visible the British Railways platforms of Ealing Broadway station...

Below: looking like a b&w photo of a model train set, this was Ealing Broadway station in 1952. Train-spotting anoraks will have a field-day on Britain from Above (you'll not be thanking me as you click on the map to open yet another photo at half-past two in the morning...). I'm amazed to see that Ealing Broadway back then had in effect what was a Platform 9½... There it is at the top, north of Platform 9, and only long enough for two carriages (interesting coupling of older clerestory-style and newer flared-sided Q Stock units). On Platform 5, there's a red Central line train of 1923 Standard Stock, with 'switch' compartment between the driver's cab and passenger compartment. I can still remember these in use in the early 1960s - and the older Q Stock trains in use in the early 1970s.

You will find Britain from Above addictive at first, before it settles down into become yet another extremely valuable online resource for dipping in and out of.

After examining Britain pre-war and post-war for any length of time, I find the atmosphere, the klimat of the photos seeps into my consciousness, I'm there in spirit; I long to dig my hand into the pocket of my baggy trousers and pull out a half-crown, don my hat and raincoat, down the rickety wooden staircase of my digs, turn left into Castle Street, saunter round the corner to the Red Lion, order a pint of frothing bitter and a double whisky, smell the smoke of Craven 'A's and Senior Services, while reading the morning's edition of the Daily Herald.

This time two years ago:
Adventures of a Young Pole in Exile - review

This time three years ago:
Ealing in bloom

This time four years ago:
Keeping warm in January

This time five years ago:
If you can't measure it, you can't manage it (health, that is)

This time six years ago:
Sten guns in Knightsbridge (well, Śródmieście Południowe, actually)

This time eight years ago:
To The Catch - a short story (Part II)

This time nine years ago:
Greed, fear, fight and flight - and the economy

This time ten years ago:
Is there an economic crisis going on in Poland?