I was born in the east end of London, Forest Gate to be exact but the forest had long disappeared. My parents had their roots in the East End but were part of the generation that moved out to the garden suburbs in the 1950s. But you do not lose everything about your origins. I was surrounded by other cockneys and today, some can tell I was from that part of the world by my accent, even though I am not aware of it. So, I suppose I have a kind of affinity to things to do with London. As some say...“You can take the boy out of London but you cannot take London out of the boy”. The Pearly Kings and Queens or ‘Pearlies ’as they are sometimes known are part of the London landscape. They originated during the Victorian period of the 19th Century as part of the street trading culture. The street traders or ‘coster’ mongers can trace their beginnings back to the Medieval period and were seen as itinerants as they were often unlicensed and therefore under the radar of the tax collectors. I began this series with the idea that the Pearly Kings and Queens were one of what I called the Modern Tribes of England. In some respects, they are, however my criteria for including groups in this project were that individuals could freely join. This is not the case with the ‘Pearlies’. They are a hereditary group made up of families. Membership is passed down to the next generation. There are isolated cases of an ‘outsider’ being admitted but this involves being accepted by the group after demonstrating a significant commitment to its principles and aims.

Having been born in the East End of London I grew up with the culture that emerged during the 20th Century of my parents and Grandparents. Rhyming slang was something we enjoyed and used in humorous situations. Its origins are difficult to establish but it seems to have come into being during the early 19th Century if not earlier. Some believe it was invented by the costermongers to allow them to talk among themselves without the customers understanding. It may have come about as a kind of game the locals played in order to bond with friends or locals so as not to include outsiders. Another origin may have been the Irish immigrants who came to live in the East London area at the time. The literature mentions a much earlier origin among the Roma people who developed what was known as cant. This became adopted by the criminal underworld in order to confuse law enforcers. Whatever its origins, rhyming slang is synonymous now with cockney culture and is an integral feature of any representations of cockneys or even Londoners. Phrases include ‘frog and toad’ (road); ‘tea leaf’ (thief); ‘apples and pears’ (stairs) and ‘rubbity-dub’ (pub). The phrase could be further obscured by only saying one word of it like “give us a butcher’s” meaning let’s have a look. The full phrase being ‘butcher’s hook’.

The Pearly Kings and Queens attribute their origins to Henry Croft. His father was a musician who died in 1872. As an orphan, he grew up in a Victorian workhouse in Somers Town in the Kings Cross area. He worked as a street sweeper when he was a mere boy of about 10 years old. As a result, he found himself befriending other costermongers. He admired their attitude to life of helping others who hit hard times. Even if you had little, you shared what you had when people were in need. This became a real East End trait and was common feature in many of the poorer parts of English cities. It is not just men who are ‘Pearlies’. This ‘tribe’ includes women and children. This picture is of Sue Paice - the Pearly Queen of Forest Gate.

The story goes on to suggest that costers were interested in being stylish and so they emulated the sartorial elegance of the wealthy who lived ‘up west’ in London. The sewing of lines of pearls on the Sunday best suitings may have been a serious move or merely tongue in cheek. They also copied the habit of the more well-to-do by promenading on Sundays in these pearl bedecked outfits. A song of the time celebrated this as ‘The Lambeth Walk’. It has become one of the pub songs synonymous with East End life along with other ditties like ‘Knees up Mother Brown’, ‘Any old Iron’ and ‘Underneath the Arches’. The younger members of each Pearly family are inducted into the dynasty.

Today, the ‘Pearlies’ can be found at many London events, adding colour and character. Their main aim is to raise money for charitable causes. Henry Croft began the Pearly idea with that in mind. In that respect they continue with the belief that it is important to help others less well off than yourself. They recognise that life has its ups and downs. Fate features in the philosophy – sometimes things go well and sometimes they don’t. But when luck is against you, it is important not to stay down. You need to get up and get on with it because by working at a problem, it can be overcome.