Was the moon blood red last night?

There was a slight redish tint visible to the naked eye but not as strong as that photograph suggests.

I recall seeing much redder lunar eclipses in the past.

Here's an explanation of why the colour varies.

The total phase of a lunar eclipse is so interesting and beautiful precisely because of the filtering and refracting effect of Earth's atmosphere. If the Earth had no atmosphere, then the Moon would be completely black during a total eclipse. Instead, the Moon can take on a range of colors from dark brown and red to bright orange and yellow. The exact appearance depends on how much dust and clouds are present in Earth's atmosphere. Total eclipses tend to be very dark after major volcanic eruptions since these events dump large amounts of volcanic ash into Earth's atmosphere. During the total lunar eclipse of December 1992, dust from Mount Pinatubo rendered the Moon nearly invisible. (http://www.mreclipse.com/Special/LEprimer.html)
 
Maybe you'd need to have been away from urban light and/or air pollution in order to see the copper colour?
 
No, there was no light pollution at our vantage point. It was also a clear night free from clouds and mist.

I saw a photographic sequence in todays (London) Times which only appears to show the pink tinge at the end as the eclipse was waning. We did not have the patience to wait out until then.

Another theory is that the lack of volcanic activity over the last few months led to less particulate pollution in the earths atmosphere leading to less dramatic colour.
 
Yeah - after posting above I checked and it looks like more rather than less air pollution is what you wanted!