The 1950s was a decade of significant social and economic change in London.
The capital suffered heavy bombing during the Second World War and was undergoing reconstruction and redevelopment.
A number of significant events occurred during this decade including the Great Smog, which claimed the lives of 4,000 Londoners.
The Great Smog of 1952 started on December 5 and lasted for five days. Following the devastation caused the Clean Air Act was introduced in 1956.
In 1953, King George VI died, leaving Elizabeth his eldest daughter to become Queen Elizabeth II, at just 25 years old.
The decade also saw a rise to racial tensions in the capital culminating in the Notting Hill race riots in the summer of 1958 and the brutal murder of Kelso Cochrane in Ladbroke Grove in 1959.
Here are 11 pictures depicting life in London in the 1950s.
A number of significant events occurred during this decade including the Great Smog, which claimed the lives of 4,000 Londoners.
![Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh on the day of their coronation, Buckingham Palace, 1953. (Colorised black and white print). Artist Unknown. (Photo by The Print Collector/Getty Images)](https://www.thestar.co.uk/jpim-static/image/2024/05/16/15/50/1953%3A%20Coronation%20Day.jpg?crop=3:2&trim=&width=800)
5. 1953: Coronation Day
Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh on the day of their coronation, Buckingham Palace, 1953. (Colorised black and white print). Artist Unknown. (Photo by The Print Collector/Getty Images) | Getty Images
![Children studying a poster detailing plans for a Coronation party for local blocks of flats in Stepney, east London. (Photo by Monty Fresco/Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)](https://www.thestar.co.uk/jpim-static/image/2024/05/16/15/25/1953%3A%20Coronation%20party.jpg?crop=3:2&trim=&width=800)
6. 1953: Coronation party
Children studying a poster detailing plans for a Coronation party for local blocks of flats in Stepney, east London. (Photo by Monty Fresco/Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) | Getty Images
![Rays of springtime sun illuminate a railway policewoman in Liverpool Street Station, London, 27th March 1952. Published in Picture Post - 5831 - Here Comes Spring - pub. April 12 1952. (Photo by Harry Todd/Fox Photos/Getty Images)](https://www.thestar.co.uk/jpim-static/image/2024/05/16/15/42/1952%3A%20Liverpool%20Street%20Station.jpg?crop=3:2&trim=&width=800)
7. 1952: Liverpool Street Station
Rays of springtime sun illuminate a railway policewoman in Liverpool Street Station, London, 27th March 1952. Published in Picture Post - 5831 - Here Comes Spring - pub. April 12 1952. (Photo by Harry Todd/Fox Photos/Getty Images) | Getty Images
![Members of the 'The Coloured People's Progressive Association' parading in Whitehall to draw attention to the racism in North Kensington following the murder of Kelso Cochrane, London, UK, 1st June 1959. (Photo by Jimmy Sime/Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)](https://www.thestar.co.uk/jpim-static/image/2024/05/16/15/38/1959%3A%20The%20Coloured%20People%27s%20Progressive%20Association%20protest.jpg?trim=22,0,22,0&crop=&width=800)
8. 1959: The Coloured People's Progressive Association protest
Members of the 'The Coloured People's Progressive Association' parading in Whitehall to draw attention to the racism in North Kensington following the murder of Kelso Cochrane, London, UK, 1st June 1959. (Photo by Jimmy Sime/Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) | Getty Images