Whenever people ask me to use this site to ask a question on their behalf I usually decline, unless it's something I think we'll all benefit from.
However, when it's my dad asking I can't really refuse. Especially as he's been so much help to us since we moved in to the house two years ago.
Anyway, he's found an old photo and can't work out the when, where, why and who of it. See if you can help (click to enlarge):
There seem to be a couple of conflicting peices of evidence.
Written by Jake Howlett on Wed 18 Oct 2006
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Its a US thing isn't it - the end on the ban of beer selling - put into google and April 7 1933 comes up as the day it was abolished.
But I am sure you found that!
From what you can make out the cars are wrong (too modern) for this to be in the mid 30's ...
And unless they changed it sometime over the past 70 years those cars are on the wrong side of the road to be in the US aren't they?
Isn't it just some end of prohibition to overtake cars/lorries/... with someone next to it who thought he 'd confuse a bunch of people 50-60 years later?
I reckon it's certainly in the UK. The "End of prohibition" was a very common sign and has now been replaced by the familiar white circle with black stripe which means "National speed limit applies".
Unfortunately this doesn't help you with identifying the location of said sign!
With deerstalker donned and pipe in mouth, I have concluded the following, Watson.
The car to the left appears to me to be travelling away from the camera, which would suggest driving on the left (ie, UK) and the other side (non visible) of the sign would suggest that its a UK road, the other side of the sign being visible to oncoming traffic.
In fact, the sign itself has the hallmarks of a 1940-60's UK roadsign, the circular thing with studs on it would have had red reflectors on the other side. It makes me think of a county 'Welcome to Norfolk' sort of thing.
The car looks suspiciously to me like the back of a Jowett Javelin which would place the picture post- war I think. Also that style of dress is late 40's early 50's. [This page has an example of the kind of vehicles that ould be around at the time of the end of the prohibition {Link} and that vehicle doesn't look remotely like them].
My guess? Its somewhere on the the A15 in Lincolnshire (the only place in the UK to have straight open roads like that) and the prohibition they were referring to was foot and mouth or swine fever movement restrictions? Or possibly some MoD secret stuff post war?
Perhaps they are RAF personnel taking a picture to poke fun at their US counterparts who may have shared a base with them?
And the toper and cameraman have a very wry sense of humour.
I think it's just an American tourist who saw the "End of Prohibition" sign and decided he had to have a picture of himself taking a drink next to it. The word "prohibition" only has one meaning, culturally, in the US - the fortunately wildly unsuccessful attempt to ban alcohol 80 years ago.
Unsuccessful? I still live in a dry Township! Though, it only applies to selling, not brewing, as my neighbor makes a nice Cherry Stout in his cellar.
Hat's off to Rich - that sounds like the best analysis (though I'd have absolutely no way to validate it).
I spotted the car and thought it was a Chevy from the 50's, which was my first clue this wasn't from the "prohibition era" in the US. One thought I had was that this might be a state highway here in the US which are -sometimes- divided with two lanes travelling in each direction (making the direction of travel for this car OK for a US photo). However, it is really rare that the oncoming lanes (which would have appeared adjacent a median of grass or trees) is not visible for such a long stretch. Since the car in the distance that is coming at us, if this is a UK photo, can't be positively identified as coming OR going, the US divided highway hypothesis, though remote, is not entirely impossible.
However, as Rich points out, the sign facing away from us is a good indication traffic along this road would be oncoming at one point or another.
The final thing that settles me is the tree above and to the right of the sign. It is clearly fall in this image. Not many native variety of tree in the US have such a dense growth habit aside from Apples that have been unpruned for decades and in that case upper story lofting of branches would be as thick, not thiner than lower. This tree appears to have a tangling vine overgrowing it instead. Typical tangling vines in the US are wild grape and poision ivy, both of which I have at home and both which have readily identifiable growth patterns not consistent with the photo. A third option in the us is the disasterously imported Kudzhu, which also has a different (and much more agressive) growth habit. Again, not great evidence, but enough to make me comfortable the picture was not taken or staged in the US.
Thanks guys. That settles it for me. We'd assumed it was UK-based, but hadn't thought that the word prohibition could refer to anything other than the US ban on drinking. Naturally it can refer to a prohibition of any sort - speeding etc.
Of course if I looked at the picture closer I would have noticed the cars were on the correct side of the road!
My wife sugests the following for the "where" of it:
1. The A17 by Cranwell
2. The A47 between Dereham and Swaffham
3. The Acle straight in Norfolk (A47 'tween yarmouth and Norwich)
@Alistair - I buy your sign theory...
@Jerry - I never thought of the trees.
@Jake - make this a regular feature? <g>
Come on Jake, spill the beans.
How did this photo come into your Dad's possession?
lol - Yes please, make this a regular feature. In fact, can we send you photos...
Alastair. Dad will no doubt be online later to tell you *all* about it. Sigh. Since retiring he's become something of an odd-job-man. At the moment he is doing a house clearance at a local cottage - unoccupied for decades. He's finding all kinds of things. This photo included.
Adeleida. Sure. Send them over.
Hi, Jake.
I'm thinking Rich has got the solution ... jeje
Steve ... the cars were on the correct side of the road ONLY in Great Britain, Irland, Japan and Australia ... In Spain, for example, the correct side is the right side ... ;-)
Regards to all!
@Juan - you missed New Zealand! :)
Dear All
I am very very impressed thank you all very much !!!!! I got the photo out of a store room I am clearing out for a friend of a friend, he's a hoarder. He could well be the man in the picture. I will ask when I next see him. He is a retired bookmaker and another of the many things I found was an award from Manfield Brewery for having visited all 196 of their pubs so it would seem he spent his life taking money from gamblers and giving it to landlords.
I do know a retired GPO (pre BT) engineer who gives lectures on the british phone network so next time I see him all may well be solved.
As for making this a regular feture I did find one other interesting photo of a group of WW1 US troops complete with lorry decked out with the stars and stripes in front of Newstead Abbey, one time home of Lord byron. I sent this to my Nephew in Florida who is working on it. He said he would try and find out what happend to them, that to me is quite simple, they all faught, some went home after the war and some poor sods didn't
Just one more thing posibly before your time but there was one other country who drove on the left I think it was Sweden and they changed over perhaps about 30 ++ years ago. thanks again bob
@ Jakes dad,
Your right about Sweden! But we finally did come to our senses... ;-)
/Swede
Not only Australia, even Austria had adopted this funny little habbit of driving on the wrong side of the road, as you do.
To make it even more fun, it took them 17 years to make the switch. Step by step, region by region.
{Link}
But.. was prohibition ever enacted in the UK. Not as far as I can tell.
It could be Australia where is was briefly enacted in some areas. Lots of straight roads there.
After Sweden's successful changeover, Iceland changed the following year, in 1968.
Hey ! but it's my dad!
Hey dad! come back at home and give me this bottle of Bourbon!
Ooops! Sorry it's only a joke...Jake ;)
Thierry
@Colin
You shouldn't get upset about Juan overlooking NZ - he also overlooked most of Asia, including India and its 1.1 billion inhabitants.