"Whenever anybody talks about Oxford Street, I always think of him"
- Published31 October 2026
The first person Helen thought of when she learned Oxford Street would be pedestrianised was her father.
More than 50 years before London's most famous shopping destination became car-free, he was being bundled into the back of a police van there while dressed as Father Christmas.
"Whenever anybody talks about Oxford Street, I always think of him," Helen says.
John Davey isn't here to see the transformation of London's most famous shopping street. But for his family, the news has brought back memories of a protest that none of them can forget.
