Comics in the street, queuing for a bus and kissing at a dance: Iconic images of London in the 1950s and 60s captured by street photographer

• Photographer left job as a watchmaker in 1950s to photograph rising stars such as Shirley Bassey and Tony Hancock
  
• But East End born artist also recorded hundreds of lively documentary images spanning 30 years of life in London
  
• New exhibition at Museum of London revives 50 images of markets, races, protests - and the dreaded rush hour
  

By Dan Bloom

Published: 07:58 EST, 18 May 2014 | Updated: 05:46 EST, 19 May 2014

From defiant Vietnam protesters to thronging markets and tube stations, these striking photographs capture 30 years of life in Britain's capital.

The lively black and white images were taken by Bob Collins, who gave up his job as a watchmaker in Covent Garden to turn his photography into a life-long passion.

He chronicled the rise of Shirley Bassey and Tony Hancock for the ill-fated TV Mirror magazine - until it went bust because only Radio Times had the right to print coveted television listings.

All change, please: A Royal Guard marching outside Buckingham Palace during the Changing of the Guard in around 1955. A series of street photographs of London life by Bob Collins, who rose to fame for his depictions of celebrities including singer Shirley Bassey and comedian Tony Hancock, has gone on display at the Museum of London

Familiar sight: Many things have changed in central London since 1960, but some things have remained depressingly similar - including the capital's wet weather

Collection: Children gather around a pile of comics for sale at Romford Market in around 1947. This is one of Mr Collins' earliest works, when he was still a watchmaker

But he continued a dazzling career, much of it spent on London's streets, right up until his death in 2002 aged 78.

Born in London's East End, the photojournalist never married or had children and was instead wedded to the job.

He captured crowds at the Royal wedding of Charles and Diana alongside street protests against the Vietnam War with the same vibrancy as everyday market scenes near his childhood home of East Ham.

Now an exhibition has brought together 50 of his most treasured scenes of London life, including Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park, the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace and the crowds in the evening rush hour.

Mr Collins' cousin John Acton worked as his assistant for almost 50 years. The 75-year-old, who now lives in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, told MailOnline: 'His style was strictly candid - he worked best when the subjects didn't realise he was there.

Life is a blur: Using techniques ahead of his time such as a slow shutter speeds, the photographer bestowed new depth on scenes like this one in 1960 at Victoria station

Moments in history: Left, clashes at an Oswald Mosley riot in Trafalgar Square between supporters, protestors and the police in around 1960. Sir Oswald Mosley was a leader of the British fascist movement. Right: A photographer peers through the railings at Admiralty Arch the day before the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953

Documentary: The photographer adopted a candid style but occasionally one of his subjects would catch his eye, such as in this photo at Billingsgate fish market

'He would go around things like the East End markets and do things along the south coast.

'He just picked people at random. He had this kind of eye, you know - he saw something immediately and it would be recorded. He admired the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson and tried to emulate him.

'He took rolls and rolls of film, particularly if he thought something was special. I went to the Royal wedding with him and I spent most of the day just feeding him film.

'He was very much a Londoner so he didn't have to think about where he needed to go. He just had this instinct for street life.'

Born in 1924, Mr Collins lasted just days serving in the Second World War when he was called up at the age of 18.

Fighting in Anzio, Italy, he stepped on a land mine which almost destroyed his leg and spent six months recovering in a hospital in Rome. Later he would describe the blast to family members as a 'blessing in disguise'.

A very English day out: Well-dressed women attending the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club Championships at Wimbledon in 1960 - and all looking at the scores

A day at the races: A spectator reads a newspaper at Epsom Downs Racecourse, Surrey, on Derby Day in around 1960. Mr Collins also took his work outside the city

Another spectator at the racecourse on Derby Day, held every year in June and the highlight of the racing season at Epsom Downs, attracting a varied crowd

When he returned to London, the skyline was changing by the day as historic war-damaged buildings were torn down and high-rise blocks provided new places for city-dwellers to live.

While Collins’ portfolio was dominated by portraiture, from stars of the screen to eminent artists, the new exhibition shines a light on his documentary work.

The 50 images on display were selected to show Collins’ observational skills when photographing within crowded places.

Drawn from his days both as an amateur and later professional photographer, their subjects range from the buzzing West End at night to the porters of Billingsgate Fish Market – which Collins photographed over five consecutive mornings, starting at 4am.

He recorded crowds at Wimbledon in 1960, central London in the grip of rush hour and protests against the politics of Oswald Mosley.

Swinging Sixties: A couple kissing at a Skiffle Club party in Soho in 1959. The BBC programme of the same name was one of the most pop music radio shows of its day

Beyond the city: Many of Mr Collins' photos were shot beyond the boundaries of London, This image of five pensioners was taken on Brighton Beach in around 1955

Queuing: Some British traditions will never die. Before the days of automated ticket gates, these crowds huddled towards a single inspector at Victoria station in 1960

Successful: Bob Collins (pictured) left his job as a watchmaker in Covent Garden in the early 1950s and carved out a successful career as a photojournalist in the capital

The photographs are going on show at the Museum of London, which has an estimated 150,000 photos in a collection built up over the last 102 years.

The exhibition will also show the photographer’s contact sheets for the very first time, shedding light on his methods.

Anna Sparham, the museum's curator of photography, said: 'In his documentary photography, Collins honed the art of successfully detaching a person or telling moment from a busy scene or making remarkable images of the crowd itself.

'He is an inspirational figure in London’s 20th century photography, providing a fabulous visual record of our capital.'

Observing the Crowd: Photographs by Bob Collins is free and will run at the Museum of London from Friday, May 16 to Friday, July 13.

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