2-914-119 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Navvies at the North-Western Railway Terminus, Euston-Square, 1854. Manual labourers leaving London for the seat of war in the Crimea. '...there are instances of men who have risen from the pick and wheelbarrow to be contractors, have banking accounts, and dine with Peers...as a general rule, a well-built frame and strong lungs, breadth across the chest, back, and loins, rather than excessive height, are the characteristics of the genuine Navvy...They have the faults of all uneducated men in this beer-drinking country, who work hard and earn heavy wages...But they have also many virtues. They are hospitable and charitable, always ready to subscribe liberally to the support of those among them who are maimed or sick. Out of the large body of men engaged for the Crimea, more than two-thirds arranged...to transmit money to parents and other relatives'. From "Illustrated London News", 1854.