September 2026 is ENGLAND AS IT WAS month at the PorPor Books Blog
Book Review: 'Down and Out in Britain' by Jeremy Sandford
'Down and Out in Britain' (174 pp.) was published by the New English Library in November 1972. Author Sandford (1930 - 2003) was a documentary filmmaker who focused on portraying the lives of the poorer segments of British society. According to his obituary at the Guardian, he was something of an eccentric:
Some have accused Jeremy of sentimentalising his subject matter from a
comfortable and secure position. For visitors to his home, however, the
reality of Jeremy's country lifestyle came as rather a shock. One could
usually find the house, with its disastrously broken gate, and then
follow the trail of rusting cookers, wheel-less trailers and dented iron
bins that led to the front door, which was usually swinging open.
Inside, missing floorboards presented unexpected hazards and windows
hung giddily from single hinges.
'Down' is a work of social activism, as that enterprise stood in late 60s Britain. In its initial chapters, the book provides overviews - many in the first-person - of the welfare of the homeless, and the response to homelessness on the part of the state (Sandford sees this response as inadequate, in the main). Subsequent chapters cover the situation of homeless children and 'unmarried' mothers (the term 'single mother' was not in use in the late 1960s). A final chapter excoriates the state for visiting 'violence' upon the disadvantaged in the form of imprisoning the homeless and destitute, as opposed to implementing progressive social welfare programs.
While of course dated, 'Down' provides some interesting observations about the life of the lower classes and disadvantaged in the UK up 'till 1970. For example, I had no idea that for a good part of the 20th century, each year saw mass movement of tens of thousands of British men throughout the isle, as they traveled from one seasonal employer to another. There was an informal network of 'doss houses' and other questionable abodes that provided shelter to these men, many of whom were not indigent in the traditional sense, but merely following an economic pathway that began to fade in the latter decades of the century.
Sandford concludes his book with a demand that the UK government apply more money towards social services for the indigent, unwed mothers, and children, taking on a greater role from the private, religious-based entities that were struggling to meet demand. In urging these actions, Sandford displays that degree of wishful thinking and willful naivety that (arguably) applies to all social reformers...........
In the 55 years since 'Down' was published the UK government has indeed expanded its role in social services, so much so that the able and resolute are being taxed into extinction in order to support not just the swelling rolls of the indigenous population, but the massive numbers of migrants that have taken up residence in the country over the past 40 years. The message of 'Down thus is rather depressing: as bad as things were in 1970, they have only gotten worse in 2025...........
'Down and Out in Britain' retains value as a picture of the UK and its poorer residents in the late 20th century. It is at odds with the popular sensibility of that era, contradicting the popular imagery of 'swinging London' and the 'groovy' era of 'geezers' and 'dolly birds.'
Away from the neon and glamour of Last Night in Soho, throughout the country, scores of ragged men and women would take nightly refuge in bombed-out buildings, Waterloo Station, and the Embankment Gardens. They would prepare whatever meals they could, and settle down for whatever sleep they could manage, and wake up the next morning with no expectation of their lives improving.......
