ABSTRACT
The traffic is almost daily at a standstill owing to the huge motor lorries loaded with girders, bricks, etc., and motor cars are allowed to remain in Regent Street, thus causing serious inconvenience to customers.’ The chaos continued for more than two years after that, but at last the new Regent Street was formally opened by King George v and Queen Mary on June 24, 1927. ‘Empty rooms on the first floor of 208 Regent Street were utilised as a muster-room, canteen, recreation room, and mattresses provided for sleeping. Messrs F. J. Lyons & Co. and Messrs Bourne & Hollingsworth each provided quarters in their premises. Fortunately there were no casualties among our men whilst on duty, though they were often working in neighbourhoods where serious troubles occurred.’ The elaborate gilded and sculptured cornice, the massive classic columns, the tall arched windows, the well-drawn lines, above all the symmetry, all these combine to recall the past glories of eighteenth-century France.
