1-192-260 - © Henry Grant Collection/London Museum/Heritage Images

Final site preparations for the Festival of Britain, London, 1951. A plane without its propellor or wings is being lowered by a winch and guided into position. A newly constructed building can be seen in the distance on the South Bank site. Between May and September 1951 a grand exhibition was held throughout Great Britain. A Festival Council brought together a team of designers, architects and builders to mastermind this exhibition, whose intention was to demonstrate all that was best about Britain at the time. The central focus was a purpose built exhibition constructed on the South Bank of the Thames in London.