who is a cockney?
It seems that anybody born in the East End of London can consider him or herself a Cockney. This can include people of any race or religion too. There are Muslims, Afro-Caribbeans, and many others of non-English descent, who sound and act as much like a Cockney as any white Londoner born next door to St Mary le Bow and sat in an air raid shelter in World War Two.
Maybe being a Cockney depends more on a state of mind and an attitude rather than any geographical or racial condition. A Cockney is usually thought to be a bouncy, humorous character, somebody who can and will stand up for themselves and others they care about.
They have the gift of the gab with an opinion on everything. Just ask your Cockney taxi driver his opinion on anything at all and he'll have one and give it to you at length. Traditionally they lived in places like Bethnal Green, Bow, Poplar, Wapping, Whitechapel and Mile End.
When I lived in London, my neighbours were typical Cockneys and I found them a bit shocking sometimes but, when I was ill, they did everything they could for me, far more than anyone could reasonably expect. That is also in line with their reputation for being good neighbours. They owned a petrol station and workshop in Mile End and they told me the story of the day the notorious Kray Twins came to their business. These were literally murderous thugs who ended up in prison.
They were renowned for their gratuitous violence. The mother of my neighbour (the husband) told them in no uncertain terms to get out of her business and they went. That's just typical of the Cockney attitude to bullies.
Maybe being a Cockney depends more on a state of mind and an attitude rather than any geographical or racial condition. A Cockney is usually thought to be a bouncy, humorous character, somebody who can and will stand up for themselves and others they care about.
They have the gift of the gab with an opinion on everything. Just ask your Cockney taxi driver his opinion on anything at all and he'll have one and give it to you at length. Traditionally they lived in places like Bethnal Green, Bow, Poplar, Wapping, Whitechapel and Mile End.
When I lived in London, my neighbours were typical Cockneys and I found them a bit shocking sometimes but, when I was ill, they did everything they could for me, far more than anyone could reasonably expect. That is also in line with their reputation for being good neighbours. They owned a petrol station and workshop in Mile End and they told me the story of the day the notorious Kray Twins came to their business. These were literally murderous thugs who ended up in prison.
They were renowned for their gratuitous violence. The mother of my neighbour (the husband) told them in no uncertain terms to get out of her business and they went. That's just typical of the Cockney attitude to bullies.
born within the sounds of bow bells
St Mary le Bow with its bell tower - photograph dates from 1909
The traditional definition of Cockneys is that they should be born within the sound of Bow bells. There is one big problem with that: when the Second World War broke out, church bells no longer rang except as a warning.
Another problem is that the bell tower of St Mary le Bow in Cheapside, London, that housed Bow bells, was hit by a German bomb in 1941. It wasn't rebuilt until 1961. Does this mean no Cockneys were born in those 20 years because nobody could hear Bow bells?
In fact, nowadays, there is very little residential property around St Mary le Bow and it's unlikely there are many babies born within earshot of it.
The church itself says it is "...serving all who work in and visit the City of London. The church opens at 7.00am each weekday..." rather suggesting it has few local residential parishioners.
There still seems to be plenty of Cockneys in London and they aren't all over 67 years old either, so there must be some other definition.