John Gay – Blackpool 1949

John Gay was born Hans Gohler in Karlsruhe, Germany in 1909.  After attending art college in Paris he became a commercial photographer in his native country, but in 1933 left for a new life in England after being outraged by the treatment of many of his Jewish friends when the Nazis came to power.

In England he continued his photographic career, finding work as a commercial photographer, before serving with the Pioneer Corps from 1939 until the end of the Second World War. 

Following his marriage to Marie Arnheim in 1942, the couple settled in Highgate, London. Here he based his professional photographic practice which covered a varied range of subjects from animals for pet food companies; architecture and country scenes for Country Fair Magazine, to the portraits of literary personalities for the Strand Magazine.

John Gay’s love of architecture, nature and the countryside are reflected in his work. His photographs are published in six books. It was his second book Prospect of Highgate & Hampstead (1967) that put Gay on the map as an architectural photographer. In 1972 he published London’s Historic Railway Stations with Sir John Betjeman but his most well known book is Highgate Cemetery.  A subject close to his heart, he was actively involved in the rejuvenation of the cemetery following its years of neglect after WW2.  He died in Highgate in 1999.

In the summer of 1949 Gay captured a series of evocative and enchanting photographs of Blackpool holiday makers, many of which now typify the popular image of seaside holidays of the past.  The Grundy Art Gallery in Blackpool is showing a selection of these fascinating photographs until 16 September 2006 and this online gallery presents just a few of the images from the exhibition. 

The National Monuments Record, as the archive of English Heritage, holds an extensive collection of John Gay photographs.  More of his images can also be seen online on our Viewfinder web site.