Advised to investigate economically depressed northern England, Orwell travelled to Manchester in 1936, and then on to Wigan, where he spent a month living above a tripe shop. He spoke to locals about living conditions and visited the Bryn Hall coal mine.
He later stopped at Liverpool, Sheffield and Barnsley, and attended meeting of both the Communist Party and Oswald Mosley's New Party. He also found time to visit the Bronte Parsonage at Haworth. His research prompted the Government to place Orwell under surveillance.Picture: AP