Up for the Cup, 1946

The visit of these Derby County fans to a war-ravaged London in 1946 ended in jubilation after their triumph against Charlton Athletic in that year's FA Cup final.

A trip to London was the perfect excuse for wanton behaviour: an excess of hard liquor was consumed, hard-earned money was frittered away in illegal gambling dens and ill-advised romantic liaisons were furtively conducted. And that was just the wives they had left behind for the weekend.

British Union of Fascists meeting, 1939

This gathering of the British Union of Fascists (BUF), held at Earls Court in 1939 was attended by over 20,000 supporters drawn from all over the United Kingdom.

The BUF, led by Oswald Mosley, was outlawed by the British government shortly after the outbreak of the second world war.

This meeting, the last to take place before the ban took place, was interrupted when a local resident, Mrs Irene Smallpiece, wandered onto the stage during Mosley's oration to complain about the noise.

Ziggy, Derek and Clive, 1973

It should have been a match made in showbiz heaven. A coming together of the glam rocker from outer space with the foul-mouthed Oxbridge-educated comedians.

Unfortunately, the union between Ziggy Stardust and Derek and Clive was a brief one.

Sadly, no recordings survive, only a short written note - the extract of a work in progress - of a re-working of 'Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars' with new lyrics:

"Ziggy played guitar, jamming good with Weird and Gilly. He got his cock caught in a mangle. The fucking stupid cunt."

This tantalising glimpse of the coming together of these oustanding talents leaves fans the world over mourning what might have been.

A London Docker, 1958

The river Thames lies at the heart of the story of London. It is one of the great working and trading rivers of the world.

For over 2000 years, Londoners have lived on it, worked on it, feared it and loved it.

Central to the story of this great river were the many dockers, like Bill Brewster pictured here in 1958, who dedicated their working lives to stealing cargo from ships, going on strike for no reason and protesting about coloured immigration.

London owes them a huge debt.