Housing charity Shelter is launching a campaign to identify children caught on camera who lived in the ‘slums’ of Salford in the 1960s.
It’s believed the people featured in the pictures – taken in the late 1960s to early 1970s by documentary photographer Nick Hedges – will now be aged between 50 and 70.
As part of its 50th anniversary the charity is now urging members of the public help find the people behind the pictures.
Young girls take their baby sister for a walk – Salford, 1969
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The charity says it would like to hear their stories, and give them an opportunity to tell their story and revisit the areas they once called home.
Launching the search, photographer Nick Hedges, said: “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.
“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.”
These powerful images show children living in cold, damp and often dangerous conditions.
Mother and children with washing – Salford, 1971
Children with comic in a ‘slum’ property – Salford, 1971
“I hope that all these years later, by reconnecting with some of those I photographed, I am able to hear good news of what happened to the families.”
Nick Hedges, now in his 70s, was commissioned by Shelter in 1968. He spent three years visiting some of England’s poorest and most deprived areas, documenting poor housing conditions and quashing the myth that only people on the streets are homeless.
Boy with black eye on street corner – Salford, 1972
Teenage girls at dusk – Salford, 1969
Shelter’s Chief Executive Campbell Robb, said: “We would love to hear the stories of the people behind these iconic pictures to help us mark 50 years of fighting bad housing and homelessness.
“I’d encourage anyone who recognises themselves, or family members and friends to get in touch and let us know what happened after they were taken.
“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.”
If you recognise yourself, or someone else in the images, please email tonyflynn@salfordonline.com, stories@shelter.org.uk, call 020 7505 2032 or visit www.shelter.org.uk/shareyourstory.
