The Crawlers

This photograph was one of 37 taken by John Thomson for the social documentary publication 'Street Life in London'. Here a 'crawler' is seen sitting on the steps of the workhouse in Short's Gardens, St. Giles.

According to the caption written by Adolphe Smith to accompany the image, the term 'Crawlers' refers to the fact that these poverty stricken individuals were so poor they were unable to work or even find energy to beg. The woman in the photograph is the widow of a tailor who died ten years earlier. She had fallen out with her daughter and son-in-law and turned to the streets with her young son. The baby in the photograph belongs to a friend, who had managed to find work in a coffee shop. As the photograph was taken the child 'cried and wheezed and coughed'. The woman nursed the baby from 10 a.m. each morning until 4 p.m. then again between 8 and 10 in the evening. For this she would receive tea and bread at best. Smith comments that 'this woman thoroughly realised her position and had a very clear idea as to what she could do to redeem herself'.