Phil has sent photographs that show some of his family hop picking in Kent. These photographs date from 1937 to around 1960, and give us an insight of Londoners working in the hop fields.

The Photo on the right was taken in 1958. The young girl on the chair is the daughter of an italian prisoner of WW2 and sitting with her are Phils two aunts.

Beginning in late August whole families would travel to Kent from London to work in the hop fields. Some travelled by special hoppers' trains carrying with them what they could to make their 6 weeks stay more comfortable, and when they arrived many would stay in accommodation provided by the farmers "Hopper Huts" , often cooking on an open fire and sharing a communal toilet with other families.

The photograph above was taken in 1937 and shows his wife's nan, taken outside what was known as the thunder box.

Many families would return year after year and would treat their time in the hop fields as a holiday.

The photograph on the right shows Phil’s mother-in-law taking a well deserved  rest in the shade after pulling the vines

The photograph on the left was taken in 1958.
Phil's mother-in-law Kitty is second from the left.

The photograph on the right shows Kitty third from the left with her sister and two brothers (the brothers are the two babies in the second photo). taken around 1960.

Harvesting of hops from vines is now done by picking machines