Cambridge Digital Library has released a collection of aerial photographs which act as a historical Google Earth.
The archive shows the changing landscape of Britian. Above Heathrow
The images are a result of aerial surveys by RAF pilots after World War Two. The images were designed to capture the changing bomb-scarred post-war period and show the emergence of motorways and new cities across the UK.
Here are just four of the 1,500 photos of Britain of the Air: 1945-2009 we have launched on our @CamDigLib this morning. To read more about the project and visit the archive, read our @Shorthand story here: https://t.co/PYdqmGvR8L pic.twitter.com/geluLe2COm
— Cambridge University Library (@theUL) February 22, 2019
The collection has images from 1945 to 2009. The early photos were taken under the lead of archaeologist JK St Joseph and Cambridge University borrowed RAF planes and pilots to take photographs until 1965 after which it bought its own Cessna Skymaster.
The series as a whole is a fantastic way to see how Britain has changed over the last half-century. In particular, the images of the post-industrial north show the changing industrial landscape of the UK.
Explore the full series at cam.ac.uk/aerialphotography
