Episode notes
Join two amateur historians; Sarah and James, as we take a misty stroll back to one of London’s strangest and deadliest weeks — the Great Smog of 1952. What started as an ordinary cold December quickly turned into a city-wide blackout of soot, smoke, coal fumes, and confusion.
We chat through how the smog formed, why it got so bad, what daily life looked like when you could barely see your own feet, and how the disaster eventually pushed Britain toward cleaner air.
A grim chapter in history, told with warmth, curiosity, and just enough humour to keep the fog from getting too heavy.
This episode is dedicated to Sarah's great aunt Rose as well as the many other thousands of people who died as a result of the Great Smog.
Keywords
London HistoryBritish HistoryAmateur HistoriansUk History podcastamateur historians podcasthistory podcastUK historyurban historyGreat Smog of 19521952 London smogGreat London SmogLondon air pollution historyLondon fog disasterEnvironmental historyDisaster historyAir pollution crisisClean Air Act 1956Historical discussionenvironmental disaster20th century Londontoxic fog