Valentine's Day: The stories behind kisses in the capital
- Published
Love comes in many forms - the love of a parent, a partner, a platonic pal. And each comes with its own physical expressions of that love - whether that is a kiss on a forehead, a peck on a cheek, or a passionate embrace.
So on this most contrived and commercial of days, here are some of London's kissers, proving that displays of affection - whether public or not - do not always have to be romantic.
"Leslie, is that a gun in your tweeds or are you just pleased to see me?"
Leslie Seymour and Daisy Burgess were photographed leaving the register office in Hendon, north-west London, in 1938.
The sensibly shod couple had just tied the knot (possibly in their laces) and were about to cycle to the passport office to get the necessary papers for a cycling honeymoon through Europe and Africa.
Mr Seymour, an accountant, and his bicycling bride planned to sleep in tents, cook on campfires and carry all their equipment with them - including guns, as they would supplement their food supply by shooting game.
Hopefully the tweed-clad couple had a splendid time, roasting their lion for dinner over an inner-tube fire. The following year World War Two broke out.
Pucker up pussy cat!
Buddy the dog was one of the troupe of performing dogs that appeared at the Festival of Britain Pleasure Gardens at Battersea Park in 1951.
The "cat" is ballet dancer, Sonya Hana, who also performed at the dance pavilion, which was apparently the largest tent of its type in Europe at the time.
An artist's impression, from the Illustrated London News, of the Festival Pleasure Gardens in Battersea Park
The pleasure gardens at the Festival of Britain made a change to the rest of the exhibition on the South Bank, which tended to be forward-thinking with a focus on technology and the future.
At Battersea there was an element of nostalgia, with Punch and Judy shows and music hall performances reflecting the spirit of the Victorian age alongside an exciting, new Britain.
More than two million pleasure-seekers were ferried around by Rowland Emett's Far Tottering and Oyster Creek Branch Railway, a 15in (38cm) gauge miniature train and track.
The unusual train, with echoes of Heath Robinson, began in a series of cartoons in Punch magazine in 1939
"Clement. Give me the car keys. It'll be fine"
Later the same year, 1951, former Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee kissed his wife, Violet, after keeping his West Walthamstow seat in the October general election.
It was an arduous and ultimately unsuccessful election campaign for the Labour Party, which lost to Winston Churchill's Conservatives.
Churchill is said to have described Attlee as "a modest man, but then he has so much to be modest about". (Although while Churchill was sometimes catty about his political rival, he would defend Attlee as a "great patriot" if others were rude about him.)
Attlee himself is said to have responded to critics with a self-referencing limerick:
"There were few who thought him a starter,
"Many who thought themselves smarter.
"But he ended PM, CH and OM, an earl and a Knight of the Garter".
Violet, Lady Attlee was usually at her husband's side, even acting as chauffeur, clocking up 16,000 miles a year.
She was, however, involved in a number of motoring accidents, sometimes while her husband was a passenger.
The ninth accident in 14 years came in June 1960, when she was in a three‐car collision but was unhurt.
She's not laughing, she's screaming
Mistletoe wielded by a burly submariner with one hand on a plucked turkey's neck is clearly hard to resist.
This poignant moment, of Able Seaman Bill Hayne a on a pre-Christmas shopping expedition for the sailors in his mess, was captured in the Daily Mirror in 1954.
"He'll eat the turkey later, but use the mistletoe now!" the caption bantered, describing the sailor as "enjoying a festive kiss with the butchers' assistant", rather than "a surreal nightmare".
"A very lucky man" outside Royal Court of Justice
November 1960 saw Bronlio Dario Oliva, from Finsbury Park, kiss his partner outside the Royal Court of Justice after being released from prison.
The dashing gent was described by an appeal judge - and subsequently the press - as "a very lucky man" after his conviction was overturned on a point of law.
He had been jailed for two years for assault but was freed after the appeal court agreed there had been "no proper or sufficient direction given to the jury as to the onus of proof".
Oliva, the proprietor of a bar in Soho, was convicted of assaulting a man who complained when he was not given any change after handing over two £5 notes for soft drinks.
The principle at stake was that of directing the jury that the burden of proof was on the prosecution.
The appellate court found: "While no doubt it was a mere slip on the part of the judge that he had not dealt with this matter, it was to be observed that counsel did not refer to the burden of proof either... the principle that the jury must in every case be directed as to the burden of proof must be reasserted.
"It might be that the appellant was a very lucky man. This case had all the ingredients of a shocking assault, and the appellant had been involved in six cases of violence already. But the principle was so important that the court had no option but to quash the conviction."
The statement "uniting souls under one shared commitment: marriage" might not have aged too well
This kiss, photographed in June 1961, marked the marriage of singing legend Shirley Bassey and film director Kenneth Hume at Paddington Register Office.
The accompanying copy in one of the society papers reads: "At just 24 years old, Shirley Bassey exudes elegance and beauty as she stands beside her groom. Her beaming smile reflects both joy and anticipation for the future ahead.
"Kenneth Hume, aged 35, looks dashing in his suit as he proudly stands next to his bride. The love between them is palpable as they exchange vows amidst an atmosphere filled with warmth and celebration.
"A significant milestone in their personal lives, but it also represents two prominent figures from the entertainment industry coming together in matrimony.
"It serves as a reminder that love knows no boundaries - transcending age differences or professional backgrounds - uniting souls under one shared commitment: marriage."
The couple separated in 1964 and divorced in 1965. Hume, who was gay, died of a drugs overdose in 1967.
"John, you're a bit... clammy"
Pauline Prescott accepted a rather damp kiss from husband John, the then shadow transport secretary, in November 1983 after he emerged from the Thames.
Mr Prescott, who trained as a diver as part of a campaign he led for safety on North Sea oil rigs, swam two miles along the cold and murky River Thames from Chelsea Bridge to Westminster.
He did it to present a petition to Downing Street in a wetsuit (or wet suit) when Margaret Thatcher (no big fan of "wets", external) was in office.
He was being sponsored to raise money for Labour Weekly and was protesting about the government dumping waste at sea - so from two Jags, external to blue flags, external.
A couple find some succour as the first nail is hammered into Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's career coffin
The Iron Lady continues to play a role in the kisses of London - this couple are snogging in the middle of 1990's poll tax riots in Trafalgar Square.
At the end of March, angry crowds demonstrating against Mrs Thatcher's local authority tax had stormed the Whitehall area and then London's West End before erupting in violence.
Forty-five police officers were among the 113 people injured as well as 20 police horses. There were 340 arrests.
Eight months later, Mrs Thatcher resigned.
"No! Don't look! John Prescott's just floated underneath!"
The romance of London's inner ring road is summed up in this 2003 image, which was released to mark Tower Bridge receiving a wedding licence.
Couples are able to tie the knot in the Bridge Master's Dining Room and host their reception on the bridge's walkways - especially nice on breezy and damp days.
Eighty-one years after the Seymours were pictured kissing as they were about to pedal into the sunset, these two chaps were snapped smooching at London Pride in 2019.
And so we come full circle - sensible fabrics (whether tweed or plaid), chains (bicycle or neck) and affection expressed by mouth-to-mouth contact.
Some things never change - and the capital keeps kissing.