Historian seeks information on Brixton couple in iconic 50s images

 
Historian Jesse Olszynko-Gryn is seeking help with his research into a family from Brixton whose photographs appeared in the mass-circulation Picture Post magazine in 1954 and became iconic images.

The photographs have been republished many times over the decades in different contexts.

They show a couple named as Babs Sango, who is white, and Johnnie Sango, who is from the West Indies. Their two children – one is in the  picture above – might be in their sixties today, Jesse says.

“I would like to locate them if they are still around or any relatives and friends and, if they agree, then to meet informally and talk with them about what it was like to be photographed back then and what the photos meant to them.”

“Though their photographs I hope to tell the story of a family and a generation of mixed-race couples that transformed Brixton and, indeed, England.”

You can contact Jesse at jo312@cam.ac.uk