THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE EAST END

• 185 pages
• The History Press, Nov 2010
• £9.99 RRP
• Available for purchase from Amazon, Waterstones, W. H. Smith, The History Press and from all good bookshops
• Also available in Kindle format, £4.99
• The unabridged audio CD is available from the RNIB Talking Book Service – To request a copy, call 0303 123 9999, RNIB Ref 404792

♦ “Dee Gordon’s compendium of facts and strange trivia is perfect for anyone with an interest in the East End.“
(Newham Recorder – 02.01.2011)

♦ “Following on from her brilliant title The Little Book of Essex, Dee Gordon has gone back to her roots and picked out countless trivia gems from the East End. Every Cockney should own a copy!“
(Amazon UK – 27.10.2010)

The first man to win a Lonsdale Belt was Bombardier Billy Wells from Cable Street. Born in 1887, Billy went to Broad Street School in Shadwell, learning to box in the local clubs and East End missions. He took the British Empire Heavyweight Title in 1911 after leaving the army to turn professional, and defended it fourteen times. Rather less famously, perhaps, he was the second muscular hunk to strike the Rank gong at the start of Rank movies from 1948, also taking on a few “bit” parts.

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When Reggie Kray married Frances Shea in April 1965 at St. James the Great in Bethnal Green Road, the wedding photographer was Leytonstone-born David Bailey, who did the job “for free”.

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The Museum of Immigration and Diversity in Princelet Street combines a master silk weaver’s house (dating from 1719) with a Victorian synagogue (1869) – the only listed building in Britain (Grade II) with its particular specialisations.

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James I attempted to boost the silk trade in Spitalfields by planting mulberry trees (to feed the silk worms) but it seems he chose the black, instead of the correct white, variety. Whoops.

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In September 1917, a baker from Chapman Street, Shadwell, was imprisoned for three weeks for selling fresh bread. Only day-old bread was allowed to be cut into thin slices, because it was easier to cut and therefore went further at a time of bread shortages.