Xmas cheer for the unemployed

Xmas Cheer for the unemployed

This photograph shows off the generosity of the staff of the Shell Oil Company (who referred to themselves as 'the Shellites'). It was probably taken during the early years of the Great Depression.

There are sheep carcasses hanging at the back with bunches of flowers and many cases and sacks of flowers displayed in the foreground. This produce would have been collected by the company to distribute to unemployed workers and their families.

At this time a system of govenment social welfare that could address the poverty caused by the global economic depression was not inplace. But the unemployed found other ways to get by. Those who lost their jobs or fell on hard times relied, in part, on private charity like this, or looked to church, familyand community for support.