Uncle Tex

Bandele Ajetunmobi – known to most as Tex – was widely recognised in his community for his love of capturing life on film. Mostly self-taught, the amateur photographer documented both the everyday lives of, and the vibrant immigrant neighbourhoods within, East London. For almost half a
century, Tex recorded a period that, had his work not been preserved, might have been lost to history.

Now formally acknowledged as one of Britain’s first Black photographers, Tex used his lens to archive a post-war era marked by rationing and austerity. Yet in his hands, the mundane became glamorous. His candid portraits elevated ordinary moments into something timeless.

He took ordinary working-class people and made them look like models,” recalls his niece, Victoria Loughran.

Victoria Loughran

Tex’s early life was shaped by hardship. Having contracted polio as a child, he faced discrimination and physical challenges. In 1947, determined to start anew, he stowed away on a boat from Nigeria to Britain. After docking in Liverpool, he and his two siblings spent a brief period in Nottingham before he eventually settled on Commercial Street in East London.

It was only after his passing in 1994 that Tex’s work began to receive the recognition Loughran felt it had always deserved. With no children to inherit his legacy, she and her husband moved quickly to preserve what they could in the days following his death, salvaging an archive that has since become an invaluable cultural record.

Today, Tex’s photographs stand as more than just images; they are a testament to resilience, artistry, and the quiet power of seeing beauty where others might overlook it. Through his work, an entire chapter of
East London’s history continues to speak – not just to those who lived it, but to generations yet to come.

Find out more about the story of 'Uncle Tex' by reading 'Victoria's Story' or tuning into the season 3 of our podcast - The Hackney and Newham History Social Club - Here!