Revisiting the children from the 1960s slums

An overcrowded family crammed into one room, grim terraces and backyards - images of the late 1960s which still have the power to shock.

Half a century on photographer Nick Hedges still wonders what happened to the children in the pictures he took.

The charity Shelter, which commissioned his work back in the 1960s, wants to hear from the people in the photographs - who will now be between 50 and 70 – and give them the chance to revisit the areas they once called home.

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It comes ahead of an exhibition of photos by Mr Hedges in Sheffield next year, as part of events to mark the charity’s 50th anniversary.

Mr Hedges, who is now in his 70s, said: “It would be wonderful to meet the children I photographed all those years ago and for them to be able to tell their stories.

“I often wonder what happened to them, if they went on to lead happy and healthy lives.

“When I was commissioned by Shelter to take these photographs, I never imagined that decades later they would still have such impact. The poverty and terrible conditions I witnessed shocked me to the core.”

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Shelter’s Chief Executive Campbell Robb, said: “These photographs are a sobering piece of history not only for Shelter, but the nation as a whole, and it’s important to preserve the stories behind them. They show us how far we have come, but also that we must do more for the tens of thousands of families and individuals still desperate for a safe, secure and affordable home.”

Email [email protected], call 020 7505 2032 or visit www.shelter.org.uk/shareyourstory.

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