0:00:02 > 0:00:04BBC Four Collections -
0:00:04 > 0:00:07archive programmes chosen by experts.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10For this collection, Simon Jenkins has selected
0:00:10 > 0:00:13programmes celebrating the people and places of London.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16More programmes on this theme, and other BBC Four Collections,
0:00:16 > 0:00:19are available on BBC iPlayer.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52During the past week,
0:00:52 > 0:00:54500 girls have come to London,
0:00:54 > 0:00:56either to take up jobs or to look for work.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59And they're arriving at that rate every week of the year.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02Now, what really brings them to London?
0:01:02 > 0:01:06And, more important still, what happens to them when they get here?
0:01:06 > 0:01:09How do they live? What sort of digs do they find?
0:01:09 > 0:01:12And what sort of people are they meeting and palling up with?
0:01:12 > 0:01:15Now, I know that questions like this worry thousands of parents
0:01:15 > 0:01:18of young girls who've come to live and work in London.
0:01:18 > 0:01:20And when you pick up some of the Sunday papers
0:01:20 > 0:01:23and see flaring headlines about what has happened occasionally
0:01:23 > 0:01:27to some youngsters, I don't blame parents from worrying.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30But to what extent IS there a problem here?
0:01:30 > 0:01:34And if there is a problem, what's being done about it, if anything?
0:01:34 > 0:01:37Well, that's what we are going to investigate tonight.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42They come...why?
0:01:42 > 0:01:45To exchange the drab environment of an industrial city...
0:01:47 > 0:01:50..for the grace and elegance of London?
0:01:59 > 0:02:04To get away from village life with its limited social amenities
0:02:04 > 0:02:06to London with its dance halls and famous bands?
0:02:08 > 0:02:10SWING MUSIC PLAYS
0:02:13 > 0:02:16To the lights, which stay on in London,
0:02:16 > 0:02:18which surely must be gayer
0:02:18 > 0:02:20than the main street of a provincial town.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29But do they count the cost of living in London?
0:02:29 > 0:02:31The wear and tear of travelling about
0:02:31 > 0:02:33in the most populated city in the world?
0:02:33 > 0:02:35The struggle for existence?
0:02:35 > 0:02:37Or are they drawn by the lure of the big city
0:02:37 > 0:02:40and the drama of great occasions?
0:02:58 > 0:03:01Are they seeking fame and fortune?
0:03:03 > 0:03:06Are they the victims of a steady stream of enticement
0:03:06 > 0:03:10poured out by press, radio and television?
0:03:15 > 0:03:17HUBBUB OF STREET CONVERSATION AND TRAFFIC
0:03:26 > 0:03:27MAN: Stop!
0:03:31 > 0:03:36But no-one stops the traffic for Jean Holman. She's 22.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39JEAN: I come from Newbury and I work in a hairdressing salon.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43And several of my customers have told me that I'm very photogenic.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46And I would like to be a model.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49I'm the right height and measurements,
0:03:49 > 0:03:52so I came to London, as there's bigger scope there
0:03:52 > 0:03:55for the job I would like to do.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59ROBERT REID: Every day, Jean, like scores of other girls,
0:03:59 > 0:04:00calls on the agents.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03There are no less than 419 theatrical and model agencies
0:04:03 > 0:04:05in London,
0:04:05 > 0:04:09and before Jean can get a job, she must be taken on their books.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18Three or four times a day,
0:04:18 > 0:04:21she joins a different queue outside a different agency,
0:04:21 > 0:04:23but the girls who wait are the same -
0:04:23 > 0:04:26young and pretty girls who are confident
0:04:26 > 0:04:29that they can make a success of a glamorous profession.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32But how many of them realise what this means?
0:04:34 > 0:04:37A well-known agent, who interviews about 30 new girls each week,
0:04:37 > 0:04:39gave us her views.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43When they get to London, they meet with tremendous competition.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46The model profession is a very hard one.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50The advertising agents are shrewd businessmen.
0:04:50 > 0:04:55The high-fashion photographers are absolutely aware,
0:04:55 > 0:04:58immediately a girl comes into their studio, of what they need
0:04:58 > 0:05:02and what they have got and whether they are going to be suitable.
0:05:02 > 0:05:06Any girl coming from the provinces will go into an agent's office
0:05:06 > 0:05:10and she may be told that she has no hope at all
0:05:10 > 0:05:13of ever making any go in the model profession.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17It is heartbreaking for them,
0:05:17 > 0:05:21and many bitter disappointments may occur afterwards.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24Of a thousand, shall we say,
0:05:24 > 0:05:28ten may make a lot of money.
0:05:28 > 0:05:3320 may make anything between £10 and £12 a week.
0:05:33 > 0:05:38Out of that, they have to pay for their flat, they have to buy clothes.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42They have to mix with certain types of people,
0:05:42 > 0:05:44always be presentable.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47I think the tragedy of this profession
0:05:47 > 0:05:51is that too much is written about it, far too much.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55And not every girl can get to the top and become a top model.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59And not every girl can marry a millionaire.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02ROBERT REID: If the glamour of being a model quickly wears off
0:06:02 > 0:06:06in the agents' offices, what are the chances of the many girls who come
0:06:06 > 0:06:09to London hoping for an overnight success in the West End?
0:06:10 > 0:06:14One of these girls is Anna Sharkey. She's in her early 20s.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18Her home is in Leicester. Both her parents are dead.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20Six months ago, she came to London.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23All she had was £5 in her pocket
0:06:23 > 0:06:25and determination.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29Well, I'm one the lucky ones. I came to London six months ago.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32I got digs and a job fairly soon,
0:06:32 > 0:06:36where they paid me £5 10/- a week. It wasn't bad.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39But out of that, I had to pay £2 10/- for digs,
0:06:39 > 0:06:41two guineas for dancing lessons,
0:06:41 > 0:06:44as I had to keep up the standard of work.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49There was very little money left over - two shillings, in fact.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53No money for clothes. A cup of coffee was even a major decision.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58I wouldn't like to have to go over it again.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01One felt so... completely frustrated.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04I was doing a job that I didn't particularly want to do.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07The prospects of work in the theatre seemed
0:07:07 > 0:07:09to be going further and further away.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14Friends of mine have been doing work like this for years.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17But I've now got a job in the theatre and,
0:07:17 > 0:07:20well, I'm one of the very lucky ones.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25Figures given by Equity, the union for actors and actresses,
0:07:25 > 0:07:27show that, at any given time,
0:07:27 > 0:07:30a third of all their women members are not working.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34Without regular work on the stage, how do these girls make out?
0:07:34 > 0:07:37Perhaps one answer is to be found every Wednesday morning
0:07:37 > 0:07:39at the Marlborough Street Employment Exchange.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43Here, each week, they draw £2 unemployment benefit
0:07:43 > 0:07:47and are offered the chance of work but outside the theatre.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50Well, what about a demonstrator at Olympia?
0:07:50 > 0:07:52They're very interesting jobs.
0:07:52 > 0:07:53The wage is good.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57No, well, I'd rather not do any temporary job at the moment,
0:07:57 > 0:07:59because I've got an audition tomorrow at two o'clock
0:07:59 > 0:08:02and also I've got an interview on Saturday,
0:08:02 > 0:08:05and I don't think employers like giving us time off
0:08:05 > 0:08:07to go to the various auditions.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10No, well, I understand that you want to get back into your own profession,
0:08:10 > 0:08:14but if there's much delay, do come along and see me again, won't you?
0:08:14 > 0:08:16- Yes. - Good morning, Miss Brown.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19Good morning.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23There is no need for any young woman to be unemployed in London.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26We have a large number of vacancies,
0:08:26 > 0:08:30something like 36,000 in the Metropolitan area alone.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34And these are in a large number of industries.
0:08:34 > 0:08:39For example, we have jobs in factories, warehouses, hotels,
0:08:39 > 0:08:42restaurants, hospitals, shops,
0:08:42 > 0:08:47and can find work for secretaries and typists, clerks, shop assistants,
0:08:47 > 0:08:50skilled clothing trades operators,
0:08:50 > 0:08:54hairdressers and a large number of jobs...occupations besides.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00But, despite this, it would be very unwise for any young woman
0:09:00 > 0:09:06to come to London without first having obtained some kind of advice.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11But in many cases, the job a girl finds in London
0:09:11 > 0:09:13is the same as the one she left at home.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16Perhaps there is more money to be made in London,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19but is this the main reason why they come?
0:09:22 > 0:09:25We put that question to a number of girls.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29The first one we asked works in a big shop in Kensington.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31Her name is Eileen Nixon.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35Ever since I left school, I wanted to leave home in Birmingham,
0:09:35 > 0:09:40and I thought that London would be a bigger and happier place,
0:09:40 > 0:09:42full of entertainment
0:09:42 > 0:09:45and a bigger variety of life
0:09:45 > 0:09:46and more amusement.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51I've been here since I was 15 and, well, I'm very happy.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54My home life was upset,
0:09:54 > 0:09:57so I went to live with my auntie and uncle
0:09:57 > 0:10:00in a very remote part of the country.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02Well, it was absolutely dead out there,
0:10:02 > 0:10:04and there just wasn't anything to do.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06And I got fed up with it
0:10:06 > 0:10:10and I decided I would come to London and find myself a job.
0:10:10 > 0:10:15Well, I came and I found myself a good job and a good salary,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18and I'm very glad that I did come to London.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22In the town where I come from, it is very small
0:10:22 > 0:10:25and not much enjoyment for a young girl,
0:10:25 > 0:10:28so I got tired of the same routine day in and day out
0:10:28 > 0:10:31and of my mother and father watching me all the time,
0:10:31 > 0:10:34so I decided I would like to leave home.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38I got the opportunity of coming to London and I took it.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40And I like being here very much.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43And I've got all the enjoyment I've always wanted.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46Those three girls, like many others we interviewed,
0:10:46 > 0:10:48just wanted to get away from home and came to London
0:10:48 > 0:10:51simply for what London had to offer.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54But Janet Carter had a more definite reason.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58My ambition was to be a court dressmaker.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01And in Gosport, where I lived, unfortunately,
0:11:01 > 0:11:03there wasn't anything like that.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06So I could either go to Winchester or to London.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08Winchester offered me, for two years,
0:11:08 > 0:11:11no training, but after that, I could start.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15And it's a very dull place, so I decided to come to London,
0:11:15 > 0:11:18where there are better facilities and better training.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21In many cases, only London can offer the facilities
0:11:21 > 0:11:24and provide the specialised training required by young people
0:11:24 > 0:11:26who have a purpose
0:11:26 > 0:11:28and are not attracted to London just because it IS London.
0:11:28 > 0:11:33A London University degree is recognised all over the world.
0:11:33 > 0:11:34And a nurse who's been trained
0:11:34 > 0:11:37at one of the great teaching hospitals in London
0:11:37 > 0:11:40can get a job anywhere.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43Art colleges and academies are full of young people
0:11:43 > 0:11:45who are equipping themselves for the future,
0:11:45 > 0:11:47and to do so, they must live in London.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53Just to find somewhere to live is THE big problem,
0:11:53 > 0:11:56and for a girl alone in London with a limited income,
0:11:56 > 0:11:59it makes for real hardship.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01An attractive flat let at £2 10/- a week
0:12:01 > 0:12:04may turn out to be just a dirty back room at the top of the house
0:12:04 > 0:12:09with no proper cooking facilities and a bath shared with eight others.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15Some firms meet this problem by providing hostels.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18In this one run by a large store in Kensington,
0:12:18 > 0:12:20the girls pay 30 shillings a week.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23They sleep in bedrooms which are shared by two or three girls,
0:12:23 > 0:12:26and they get four meals a day, but this is exceptional.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29Most hostels charge about £3 a week
0:12:29 > 0:12:31and provide only partial board.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34And in some cases, girls have to sleep as many as eight in a room.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37Some girls object to this lack of privacy,
0:12:37 > 0:12:41but nearly all agree that, for a girl arriving alone in London,
0:12:41 > 0:12:44a hostel is a wonderful place for making friends,
0:12:44 > 0:12:47and if you have friends, as one girl said,
0:12:47 > 0:12:49you soon lose the feeling of homesickness.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52But some girls resent the restrictions of hostel life,
0:12:52 > 0:12:55having to be in by a fixed time at night.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58They complain that this stops them going to dances and theatres,
0:12:58 > 0:13:01and even in hostels where boyfriends are allowed,
0:13:01 > 0:13:03it's hard, they say,
0:13:03 > 0:13:06to return their hospitality in a communal atmosphere.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10Nevertheless, hostels are very popular.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12Despite their limitations, the girls feel
0:13:12 > 0:13:15that they are by far the best places to find one's feet in London.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18But are there enough of them?
0:13:18 > 0:13:20Apart from private hostels,
0:13:20 > 0:13:21the London County Council,
0:13:21 > 0:13:24together with church and voluntary organisations,
0:13:24 > 0:13:26list about 100 hostels
0:13:26 > 0:13:28with accommodation for 4,000 girls,
0:13:28 > 0:13:31and most of these hostels have waiting lists.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38A young girl will often find it impossible to get into a hostel.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42She may be only too thankful to find a small back room,
0:13:42 > 0:13:44like Stella Guilfoyle from Durham.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48When I took my last job, I tried to get into a hostel,
0:13:48 > 0:13:50but they were all full up,
0:13:50 > 0:13:55so I tramped the streets and I finally found this place.
0:13:55 > 0:14:01It's at the top of 61 stairs, and for it, I pay £2 5/- a week.
0:14:01 > 0:14:05For that, I have a divan bed, which is quite comfortable.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08I have an electric fire, which I've got to cook on.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11And, of course, you can't cook much on an electric fire.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14I usually have beans or spaghetti or something like that.
0:14:14 > 0:14:18And it would be too expensive to go out and have a meal.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20I also do my washing in the room.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23And I've got to air it.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27I air it on this...thing here.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32I share a bath with six other people.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36We're supposed to have hot water, but it's not very frequent.
0:14:36 > 0:14:43The only...water I'm really sure of is when it rains
0:14:43 > 0:14:45and it comes in through the roof there.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49But on the whole, I'm quite happy living here,
0:14:49 > 0:14:51although it can be a bit lonely,
0:14:51 > 0:14:55when you come home from work in the evenings and you close the door,
0:14:55 > 0:14:57it's like closing the door on the rest of the world.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02For a London already struggling to house its workers,
0:15:02 > 0:15:05the problem of accommodation is getting worse.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08As business booms, many residential areas are being torn down
0:15:08 > 0:15:11to make room for huge new blocks of offices.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14New factories are being built, and to get the labour
0:15:14 > 0:15:17so desperately needed, firms are bringing more and more workers,
0:15:17 > 0:15:20many of them young girls, into London.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25Here, a group of girls from Ireland
0:15:25 > 0:15:27are being met at Euston Station by Mr Dunelli,
0:15:27 > 0:15:30the personnel officer of the firm which recruited them.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36They come because there is little work for them at home
0:15:36 > 0:15:39and because they've heard from friends that in London
0:15:39 > 0:15:41you can have a good time.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52On their way to their digs,
0:15:52 > 0:15:57Mr Dunelli points out some of London's famous buildings.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00But for the girls, the first questions they want answered are,
0:16:00 > 0:16:03how far is it to the West End, to Piccadilly?
0:16:03 > 0:16:06Where are all the bright lights and where are the famous dance halls
0:16:06 > 0:16:08we've heard so much about?
0:16:12 > 0:16:14Because they lack any real purpose,
0:16:14 > 0:16:18these girls are more easily tempted by the idea of having a good time.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21But the landlady of this house, where some of the girls will live,
0:16:21 > 0:16:22had this to say.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26For a considerable time now, I've been taking girls from Ireland
0:16:26 > 0:16:28and the provinces.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31I find these girls on the whole just like all the other girls.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34Naturally they like a good time, some go to evening classes,
0:16:34 > 0:16:38others go to ballroom classes to learn dancing in the proper manner
0:16:38 > 0:16:40and we have quite a happy atmosphere.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43Of course like every other girls when we have quite a few,
0:16:43 > 0:16:47we have our little problems which we sort out amongst ourselves
0:16:47 > 0:16:49and, on the whole, we have quite a happy house
0:16:49 > 0:16:51and we're all very contented and happy.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57But her experience is not shared by all landladies,
0:16:57 > 0:16:59others feel differently.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03I find when these girls come to London,
0:17:03 > 0:17:07their one idea is to get up to the West End and have a good time.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11Then they don't come home until the early hours of the morning
0:17:11 > 0:17:16and stay up talking and laughing, keeping the others awake.
0:17:16 > 0:17:21They go to bed with all their make-up on and make the bedclothes filthy.
0:17:22 > 0:17:24They're not satisfied with that
0:17:24 > 0:17:29but their hygiene also is very deplorable.
0:17:29 > 0:17:30They've...
0:17:30 > 0:17:32And then they go out, have a good time,
0:17:32 > 0:17:36find a chap, and then you see no more of them.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40They've completely disappeared and you've no idea where they've gone?
0:17:40 > 0:17:43All right. Well, thank you very much for letting me know.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45I'll do all I possibly can to find them.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48'But as an employer, Mr Dunelli had this to say.'
0:17:48 > 0:17:50Well, our problem as employers
0:17:50 > 0:17:54is that there is a considerable shortage of labour in London
0:17:54 > 0:17:58and we have to go out into the provinces and to Ireland to recruit.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00This is a considerably expensive business
0:18:00 > 0:18:03and causes a lot of trouble and time.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05Having brought the girls over here,
0:18:05 > 0:18:07we have to find them accommodation
0:18:07 > 0:18:09and here again we have difficulties
0:18:09 > 0:18:12because many landladies refuse to take girls
0:18:12 > 0:18:15because of troubles they've had in the past.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17But having fixed them up with accommodation
0:18:17 > 0:18:20and brought them over here and settled them down,
0:18:20 > 0:18:24we find that another difficulty, from our point of view,
0:18:24 > 0:18:27is that they disappear after a very short space of time.
0:18:27 > 0:18:32In fact between 25% and 30% of the girls that we bring over
0:18:32 > 0:18:35have disappeared within the first month.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38Having disappeared, we are left with the problem
0:18:38 > 0:18:39of having to inform their parents
0:18:39 > 0:18:43and this is a very heartbreaking task.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46We tell their parents that they have been brought over by us
0:18:46 > 0:18:49and settled in a job and now we've no idea where they are -
0:18:49 > 0:18:52they've completely disappeared into London
0:18:52 > 0:18:55and that's all we can hear of them.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58And where do they disappear to?
0:18:58 > 0:19:00There's no doubt at all that some girls who come to London
0:19:00 > 0:19:05just for a good time, end up by earning their living on the streets.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14And what of the good-time girls from the provinces,
0:19:14 > 0:19:18the amateur prostitutes who ride the lorries up to town?
0:19:18 > 0:19:21Large numbers of these girls, earning several pounds a trip,
0:19:21 > 0:19:24arrive each week in London, sometimes to stay,
0:19:24 > 0:19:26sometimes just to have a gay weekend.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30Police are on the lookout for these girls,
0:19:30 > 0:19:34particularly the younger ones who may have run away from home
0:19:34 > 0:19:37and who may be wandering about the streets with no money -
0:19:37 > 0:19:39easy prey for the professional layabout
0:19:39 > 0:19:41or the contact man for a vice ring.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44Mary Jenkins who was patrolling her beat told us...
0:19:45 > 0:19:47We meet them in lots of ways.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51It isn't difficult to pick out the girls who've run away from home
0:19:51 > 0:19:55or who are drifting because they often look dirty or unkempt.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58They're loitering about, they don't know what to do with themselves
0:19:58 > 0:19:59and they do tend to go to places
0:19:59 > 0:20:02where there are bright lights and plenty of people
0:20:02 > 0:20:05and where they think they'll find the glamour
0:20:05 > 0:20:08and bright lights they'd been hoping for.
0:20:08 > 0:20:13If they are under 17, the law gives us more power to help them.
0:20:13 > 0:20:18And, unfortunately, girls who come or leave home to come to London
0:20:18 > 0:20:22hoping they're going to find a better job and a better life,
0:20:22 > 0:20:25and when they come here they don't know what to do or where to go.
0:20:25 > 0:20:27Well, these are the girls we keep our eyes open for
0:20:27 > 0:20:30and who are very often in danger.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32When we find them, we try, if possible,
0:20:32 > 0:20:36for the parents to fetch them or we send them home.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38That is of course if the home is all right.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40If the home's a broken or bad one,
0:20:40 > 0:20:44and if the parents won't or can't look after them properly,
0:20:44 > 0:20:48we take charge of them and bring them before a juvenile court
0:20:48 > 0:20:50as being in need of care or protection.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54638 juveniles, many of them young girls,
0:20:54 > 0:20:57were brought before the London juvenile courts last year.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00Here at Scotland Yard,
0:21:00 > 0:21:02a central index is maintained of all girls who've come to
0:21:02 > 0:21:06the notice of women police, or who have been reported missing from home.
0:21:06 > 0:21:10Police all over the country supply information and descriptions
0:21:10 > 0:21:12and, where possible, photographs of the missing girls,
0:21:12 > 0:21:14which are kept in these files.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18And constant vigilance by policewomen on normal patrol duty,
0:21:18 > 0:21:20helped by this information,
0:21:20 > 0:21:24often leads to a girl being found after she's disappeared from home.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30But if the girl is 17 or over and wants to stay in London,
0:21:30 > 0:21:33there is little that police can do beyond urging her
0:21:33 > 0:21:37to get in touch with her parents and, where necessary, they advise her
0:21:37 > 0:21:39to contact welfare authorities,
0:21:39 > 0:21:42or direct her to a suitable hostel or reception centre
0:21:42 > 0:21:44if she's in need of somewhere to sleep.
0:21:44 > 0:21:50This reception centre is run by the London County Council in Southwark.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53It was once a casual ward catering for tramps.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56Its doors open at five o'clock in the evening and they remain open
0:21:56 > 0:21:59all night to receive both old women and young women.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02But the young girl who comes to London looking for glamour
0:22:02 > 0:22:04and bright lights won't find them here.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07In fact, very few young girls do come here if they can help it.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40The matron of the centre, Mrs Johnson,
0:22:40 > 0:22:42who first came here 30 years ago, said...
0:22:42 > 0:22:47We have 74 beds but they're not very often full.
0:22:48 > 0:22:53We take about five new daily girls in.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56They come from all parts of the country.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59Some are brought in by the police, or sent by the police
0:22:59 > 0:23:01and others find their own way here.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05I think Tuesdays and Wednesdays
0:23:05 > 0:23:09are about our busiest nights as they come in at all hours.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12They seem to have come to London for the weekend
0:23:12 > 0:23:15and by about Tuesday or Wednesday they have no money
0:23:15 > 0:23:19and they're sadly delusioned and are glad of a bed and help.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23They are given a bath, and a meal and a bed.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25And in the morning,
0:23:25 > 0:23:29are sent to register at the local employment exchange.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32We allow them to stay for a night or two
0:23:32 > 0:23:36and if they have any money they can pay a small fee,
0:23:36 > 0:23:39otherwise they do some work round the building.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43The girls are all interviewed by a welfare officer who will try,
0:23:43 > 0:23:46especially in the case of the younger ones, to send them home.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50Or if that is not possible, to put them on their feet again in London.
0:23:51 > 0:23:56About 5% of those admitted are young girls who come to London
0:23:56 > 0:23:59from Scotland, Ireland and the provinces
0:23:59 > 0:24:02in search of more congenial work and occupations.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06Many of them are social misfits, the products of broken homes,
0:24:06 > 0:24:11some have been before the court as being beyond parental control.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15It is an interesting thing to note that these girls
0:24:15 > 0:24:19withhold very little of their history, whether good or bad.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22They're really remarkably truthful.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24A few of the girls are pregnant
0:24:24 > 0:24:29and these are, um, transferred to more suitable establishments -
0:24:29 > 0:24:31antenatal units et cetera -
0:24:31 > 0:24:36and they are advised where they can get, um, help of all kinds.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39The girls that present the most serious problem
0:24:39 > 0:24:44are those of poor mental calibre and with aggressive personalities -
0:24:44 > 0:24:47these return many times.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51There is no need for any girls who come to London
0:24:51 > 0:24:52to live on their wits.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56There's ample work and opportunity if they will avail themselves.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58That was the dark side of the picture,
0:24:58 > 0:25:01the good-time girl who drifts into sordid ways of life,
0:25:01 > 0:25:04into the lower depths of the big city.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08But for every girl who gets into trouble, there are thousands
0:25:08 > 0:25:12of normal, healthy youngsters living and working happily in London.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15They are forming new friendships, sharing new experiences
0:25:15 > 0:25:18and enjoying all the excitement that London offers -
0:25:18 > 0:25:21the feeling of being in the swim.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24For them, London has everything,
0:25:24 > 0:25:26for in London they have a chance of making a success,
0:25:26 > 0:25:30a chance which they might not have had at home.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36All the same, this report does raise some obvious questions.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40First of all, is there a case
0:25:40 > 0:25:43for discouraging young girls from coming to live in London?
0:25:43 > 0:25:45Well, I think it depends on a number of things -
0:25:45 > 0:25:47the way they've been brought up at home,
0:25:47 > 0:25:49whether or not they've got a job to come to,
0:25:49 > 0:25:52or, at any rate, a clear idea of what they intend to try and do,
0:25:52 > 0:25:56and, very important of course, whether they've got anywhere to live
0:25:56 > 0:25:57when they arrive here.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59On the whole, however, I'm against anything
0:25:59 > 0:26:01which tends to discourage young people
0:26:01 > 0:26:03from launching out on their own
0:26:03 > 0:26:07because you can't keep them wrapped up in cotton wool all their lives.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09All the same there is a problem here
0:26:09 > 0:26:12but it isn't a problem of girls going wrong.
0:26:12 > 0:26:17I don't suppose the proportion of girls who get into trouble in London
0:26:17 > 0:26:19is higher than it is anywhere else.
0:26:19 > 0:26:20And remember this,
0:26:20 > 0:26:24it's always the bad cases which get all the publicity.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27But for heaven's sake don't let's close our eyes to the fact
0:26:27 > 0:26:30that for a young girl who leaves the circle of her family
0:26:30 > 0:26:33and friends and comes to live and work in London there are dangers.
0:26:33 > 0:26:40But it isn't just a question of the moral wellbeing of these youngsters.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43Thousands of them, both girls and boys,
0:26:43 > 0:26:47are living in what I'd describe as near slum conditions,
0:26:47 > 0:26:53rarely getting the attention and the good substantial meals they need.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57And this is the real nub of the problem - bad living conditions.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00Insufficient hostel accommodation,
0:27:00 > 0:27:02poor lodgings with landladies who very often
0:27:02 > 0:27:05are only interested in the rents they can get
0:27:05 > 0:27:08and not in the wellbeing of their young tenants.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11And these youngsters, I feel, often miss the friendly help
0:27:11 > 0:27:15and guidance they ought to be having from older folk.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17All the more credit then to the common sense
0:27:17 > 0:27:20of the vast majority of these youngsters,
0:27:20 > 0:27:23that they do manage to weather these difficulties
0:27:23 > 0:27:24and settle down in London.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27But we don't give them a fair start.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31Now, I know that the Ministry of Labour,
0:27:31 > 0:27:35the churches and voluntary organisations do all they can to help
0:27:35 > 0:27:40but, at the best, they can only scratch the surface of this problem.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44And I think it's high time that some ministry or the LCC
0:27:44 > 0:27:46got together with the social welfare workers,
0:27:46 > 0:27:48the churches, employers,
0:27:48 > 0:27:52the representatives of London University and so on,
0:27:52 > 0:27:55and made a realistic survey of what is required,
0:27:55 > 0:27:58first of all in the way of hostel accommodation,
0:27:58 > 0:28:00and then launch a combined effort
0:28:00 > 0:28:04to make sure that these youngsters are properly looked after
0:28:04 > 0:28:08because these are the new Londoners,
0:28:08 > 0:28:11the fresh blood in the life of the capital.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14Are we going to give them a real chance to make good?