Queue of unemployed men, Stepney

A photograph of unemployed men in London, England, taken by Saidman for the Daily Herald newspaper in 1938.

A photograph of a queue of unemployed men in London, taken in December 1938 by Saidman for the Daily Herald.

A man sweeps the streets next to a queue of smiling men outside a Labour Exchange. In December 1938, Stepney Borough Council organised a week's work for 500 unemployed people to help them over the Christmas period. By the end of 1930 there were over 2 million unemployed in Britain, with soup kitchens and hunger marches becoming a feature of urban life.

Two Saidman brothers, Reuben and Barnet, worked as staff photographers for the Daily Herald. Their photographs are simply stamped 'Saidman' on the reverse, making it difficult to tell which of the brothers took the photograph.