Camden History

Emily Elizabeth Dimmock was born in 1884 in the village of Standon, Hertfordshire, near Bishops Stortford. She was employed as a chambermaid and in a straw hat factory in Luton before running away to London at the end of 1904. Here she adopted the name ‘Phyllis Dimmock’ when she began working as a prostitute. By 1906 she was living with Henry Biddle, a sailor from Portsmouth. The photograph shows her in Henry’s ‘Prince of Wales’ uniform, but their relationship didn’t last long. The following year Phyllis moved in with Bert Shaw in Camden Town, first living at 50 Great (now Royal) College Street and then 29 St Paul’s Road, (now Agar Grove). Bert worked as a cook on the Midland Railway, preparing food in the buffet car on the train from London to Sheffield. He left for work in the afternoon, returning the following day. This left Phyllis free to socialise in local pubs such as ‘The Rising Sun’ on the Euston Road and ‘The Eagle’ at the corner of Great College Street, opposite the present ...