Looking back: River Thames

An aerial view of the River Thames in London, July 2017. Photograph: Dan Mullan/Getty Images

1 August 1923: Children take swimming lessons in London’s docklands. In a neighbourhood where deep water is always a danger, it is essential that they learn to swim.

10 January 1928: The Thames bursts its banks with tragic consequences. Fourteen people drown and thousands are made homeless as large parts of London are flooded.

A man rescuing a mother and child during flooding in Rotherhithe, south London, caused by the Thames bursting its banks, January 1928. Photograph: Topical Press Agency/Getty Images

14 October 1960: Fritzy the sea-lion jumped into the Thames from a boat hired to promote the Billy Smart circus - but not everyone wants him returned to his owners.

4 October 1971: A Thames Estuary airport focused on charter flights for holidaymakers could solve London’s airport problem - and be the salvation of Essex.

21 August 2014: Marchioness disaster 25th anniversary – The Guardian followed the Marchioness story from the first reports of the disaster through to the many trials and inquiries. Fifty one people died in the tragedy.

The wrecked hull of the Marchioness lying partially submerged on the north bank of the Thames, 21 August 1989. Photograph: Tony Harris/PA

15 June 2016: Nigel Farage and Bob Geldof’s rival EU referendum flotillas clash on the Thames. The Ukip leader’s fleet drenches the rock star’s boat blaring out The In Crowd as the campaign stunt on EU fishing policy turns to mayhem.

20 September 2016: Photo gallery: more than a thousand people live afloat on the Thames in London between Teddington Lock and the Thames Barrier. Some live in luxurious houseboats but for others trying to escape the capital’s sky high rents, the situation is not so good.

26 November 2016: Punk funeral: Joe Corré, son of Vivienne Westwood and Sex Pistols creator Malcolm McLaren, burns his entire £5m punk memorabilia collection on a boat stationed on the river Thames. “Punk was never, never meant to be nostalgic – and you can’t learn how to be one at a Museum of London workshop,” he said.

Dummies of David Cameron, Theresa May and George Osborne were burned by Joe Corré alongside punk memorabilia on a boat on the river. Photograph: Ki Price/Getty Images

20 January 2017: A suspected second world war bomb found in the river Thames near the Houses of Parliament has been towed away for safe disposal. The operation by the Royal Navy and Metropolitan police to recover the unexploded device led to disruption in central London.

29 April 2017: Actor Joanna Lumley attacks London mayor Sadiq Khan’s scrapping of the Thames garden bridge and describes his decision to pull financial backing for the controversial project as devastating.
A much needed bridge in the East End of London is, on the other hand, seen as a no-brainer by many people.

An artist’s impression of the Garden Bridge across the River Thames. Photograph: Heatherwick Studio/PA