Oxford Street, London

A 1950s/early 1960s view of the HMV shop in London’s Oxford Street. HMV’s first-ever store opened here, at 363 Oxford Street, in 1921. It moved to a larger location at 150 Oxford Street in the 1980s, but moved back to its original location in 2013. In the photograph below, you can see a blue plaque (to the left of the photograph) celebrating the history of the ‘world’s most famous music store’.
Image: HMV
In February 2022, work started to transform the former HMV store and in March it became ‘Candy World’ – a store selling American sweets. So, instead of .Nipper’ listening intently to an electric Edison-Bell cylinder phonograph, it now has the United States flag and an image of the Statue of Liberty holding a lollipop and a chocolate bar.
In recent years, a large number of American sweet shops (candy stores) have opened in London. It is estimated that there is at least one every 250 metres in central London. 
Image: © TimeViews Steven Miell
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Kingsway, London

WH Smith in Kingsway, London – photographed in 1950. Twelve years later in 1962, a 20-year-old Brian Lewis Hopkin Jones (one of the founders of the Rolling Stones) worked here as a counter assistant.
Image: Photographer unknown
Now a Costa Coffee shop, I took this photograph in March 2022.
Image: © TimeViews Steven Miell
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Great George Street, London

This photograph (taken in 1940) shows some of the precautions being taken in the Whitehall area in the event of possible enemy action. The building to the left of the image is H.M. Treasury.
Image: IWM
On a sunny day in April 2022 in a peaceful London the scene is completely different.
Image: © TimeViews Steven Miell
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Langham Place, London

All Souls Church is situated in Langham Place – just north of Oxford Circus in central London. . It was designed by John Nash, and consecrated in 1824. The church was badly damaged by a German parachute mine in World war 2 and was closed for 10 years for restoration. The church is directly in front of BBC’s Broadcasting House which can be seen in the second photograph – dominating the background.
Image : Photographer unknown (Historic England – 1890s)
The February 2022 view shows a great deal of change with only All Souls remaining the same.
Image: © TimeViews Steven Miell
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St. James’s Square, London

St. James’s Square (a garden square) is in London’s Westminster area. For many years, it was a very fashionable area and, in the 1720s, was home to seven dukes and seven earls. In the centre of the square is an equestrian statue of King William lll – erected in 1808. By the 1830s, it was noted that the square was losing its exclusive aura with many occupants moving west to the Belgravia area.
In 1984, the square was the site of the Libyan embassy (centre of the photograph). The siege in that year resulted in the fatal shooting of WPC Yvonne Fletcher. There is a plaque remembering the event – directly opposite the building.
Image: Photographer unknown (1920s)
The same view in February 2022. Image: © TimeViews Steven Miell
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The Mall, London

Unveiled by King George V in 1911, the Queen Victoria Memorial stands in front of Buckingham Palace. The central monument is 25 metres high, made of Carrara marble and commemorates the death of Queen Victoria in 1901. Designed by Sir Thomas Brock and conceived by Sir Aston Webb, the memorial includes a figure of ‘Winged Victory’ which is balanced on an orb. ‘Victory’ is missing from the 1960s photograph and one can assume that it was away being maintained.
Image: Clive Lloyd (1960s)
The same view of the Victoria Memorial in February 2022.
Image: © TimeViews Steven Miell (2022)
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Trafalgar Square, London

On the evening of October 12th 1940 a German bomb fell in Trafalgar Square. The bomb detonated in the area of the underground station’s ticket hall and 40 people were injured. Of those, seven people were killed. On the following morning, it was noticed that one of the four bronze lions around Nelson’s Column – dating from 1867 and designed by Sir Edwin Landseer – had been damaged. You can see in the photograph that the lion had lost the front right paw and had been moved off centre.
Image: Photographer unknown (1941)
The same lion in February 2022 – repaired and back in its original position..
Image: © TimeViews Steven Miell (2022)
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