The Family in the Photo

This book tells the tragic but inspiring story of Jim Horton’s grandparents,

Montague and Mabel Channell, who became homeless in October 1919.

Threatened with separation from their children and each other under the

draconian Poor Law system, they fought for and secured tenant status within

Kensington Workhouse, keeping their family together. Their achievement

encouraged other families to follow suit, much to the chagrin of the Kensington

Poor Law Guardians.

Uncovering the story behind an apparently anonymous photograph of his

grandparents, Jim reveals previously unexplored aspects of how the Poor Law

operated during the turbulent years after the First World War. Montague and

Mabel ultimately suffered hardship and heartbreak at the hands of the bumbles

of wealthy Kensington. Had they lived in socialist-led Poplar, their lives would

have been very different.

Read their still relevant story, and take heart from their fight.