This remarkable character is Alfred Butler, born in Bow in 1839. Struck by polio as a child, he became an East End celebrity by claiming he slept hanging upside-down by his calipers like a bat! This eccentric photo was posed in 1900 for the press, who dubbed him ‘Polio Alfred’. pic.twitter.com/2NTfgKfl5k

— BabelColour 🎞 (@StuartHumphryes) April 1, 2020