Coal-whippers show their solidarity with striking dockers during the dock strike of 1889. (Photo: By permission of the People’s History Museum)
The Main Gate of the East India Docks opening onto East India Dock Road. To the left of the gate in this photo stood Poplar Hospital (the ‘Dockers’ Hospital’), which was originally opened to treat injured dockers.
The Port of London headquarters on Tower Hill.
The Royal Albert Dock.
Goods being sorted at a typical dock transit shed.
The fortress-like Cutler Street warehouse near Bishopsgate was originally built by the East India Company and at the time of this photo in 1930 continued as the PLA’s main storage and sorting facility in the City of London. (Photo: © PLA collection/Museum of London)
The PLA’s 150-ton floating crane London Mammoth is here unloading the Atlantic Transport Line’s SS Minnetonka in the King George V Dock, probably sometime around 1930.
The PLA’s grain elevator ‘Rapid’, built in 1906, is seen here discharging grain overboard from a vessel into lighters at Surrey Commercial Docks. (Photo: © PLA collection/Museum of London)
The Royal Docks looking west in 1946. In the foreground are the King George V Dock (left) and Royal Albert Dock (right), with the Royal Victoria Dock in the distance. The buildings in the foreground are the Harland & Wolff ship repair works. (© Historic England Archive)
The Port of London Authority operated an extensive railway system from which goods could be transported in and out of London and connect with the national network. Here the PLA’s Engine No. 203 waits beside the Clan Line’s cargo ship Clan Maclennan at Tilbury Docks. (© PLA collection/Museum of London)
This photo looking east along the Thames shows much of the extent of the upper docks as they were in 1959, including (from bottom to top) the London Docks, Surrey Commercial Docks, Regents Canal Dock, West India Docks, Millwall Docks, East India Docks and the three Royal Docks. (© Historic England Archive)
Unloading a vessel in the days prior to containers was a slow business, as can be seen here in this ship’s hold in 1960. (© PLA collection/Museum of London)
Dockers wait for the call-on in 1962. (© PLA collection/Museum of London)
The modern Port of Tilbury. (Photo courtesy of the Port of Tilbury)
The PLA’s Port control centres manage the movement of vessels along the length of the tidal river. The Thames Barrier Navigation Centre shown in this photo ensures the safe passage of 33,000 vessels through the barrier each year. (Photo courtesy of the Port of London Authority)
The Danish-registered MV Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller container ship discharging at DP World London Gateway. With a capacity of 18,270 TEU it is currently one of the world’s largest container ships. (Photo: Sean Frost, courtesy of DP World London Gateway)