AT THE guild’s 51st birthday meeting members enjoyed an illustrated talk by Ian Bevan covering Victorian London.

He highlighted the changes and development during the era which saw the population grow from one million to seven million by the end of the century.

The British Empire brought enormous wealth and the need of services for it to be governed which prompted the building of the new Houses of Parliament, the Foreign Office and many others, including the financial institutions in the City as business blossomed throughout the capital.

The creation of docks for shipping, newly-built roads, bridges, railway and underground also engendered employment and an improved means of travel for the growing suburbs.

A great step forward was the Bazalgette sewers, which aided hygiene, and the trend to improve living standards.

Museums, parks, sport and entertainment flourished and Mr Bevan concluded with extracts from some music hall recordings. An excellent presentation.

This was followed by the guild’s general meeting, which saw chairman Freda Wright, officers and the committee re-elected to serve another year.

The next meeting will be at 7.45pm on April 22 at the Rosary Catholic Church Hall.

Peter Jones will talk about the Neptune Coastal Campaign.

For further details, call 020 8777 1873.