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Guarded by soldiers, civil defence and barbed wire, a pillbox made out of sandbags sits on the green in front of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, 1940s. LONDON, UK: NEWLY colourised photos show how Britain?s greatest cities have changed through the ages. One picture shows Glasgow?s stunning George Square and council buildings in the 1940s, as locals go about their daily business. Another photo, also taken in the 1940s, shows a group of people carrying out work on the boats at the back of Bristol docks. Other photos show the Pierhead Terminus in Liverpool in the 1950s, London?s Trafalgar Square in 1956, and Edinburgh castle in 1950. These thought-provoking pictures were released by the TopFoto archive to illustrate the UK?s wartime and post-war history. The 1950s saw a post-war economic boom in several cities throughout the UK. Glasgow had become one of the first European cities to reach a population of one million, and the population of other British cities like Bristol had been growing steadily. However, many cities were still recovering from the effects of the war ? with many port cities like Liverpool and Belfast required to rebuild after extensive bombing. While many historic buildings seen here still remain standing, all cities pictured have grown extensively since post-war Britain ? and hopefully will continue to thrive. mediadrumworld/TopFoto