While one war was over it seemed that another was to begin – a ‘cold war’ between the superpowers of Russia and the US. One without combat, but a conflict nevertheless. The term ‘cold war’ might be first attributed to English writer, George Orwell, who wrote in The Observer of 10 March 1946: ‘…after theContinueContinue reading “A cold wind”
Category Archives: 1940s
Crossing the world
After the Second World War Britain saw arrivals of folk from all across the globe – many from Commonwealth countries who were intrigued to discover what the ‘mother country’ was like. But it was also a time when some British people decided to leave – to emigrate. The situation in Britain was dire. For someContinueContinue reading “Crossing the world”
Better than a tin bath
When I dig around in my tin of old photos I find a picture of my brother – just a toddler at the time – standing in the kitchen sink to be washed. In 1940s Britain this would have been a typical scene in many houses as few had indoor bathrooms, with the only runningContinueContinue reading “Better than a tin bath”
What a show!
Perhaps it was the darkness of the war years that drew people to the lightness and creativity of British theatre. Although what some have called a period of ‘modernism’ started years before the 1940s – in fact, elements of modernist approaches to art, design and theatre can be traced to the period between the twoContinueContinue reading “What a show!”
Dreaming of the ‘mother country’
In June 1948 the Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury Docks bringing hundreds of passengers from the Caribbean who were hoping for a new life in Britain. During the Second World War, thousands of Caribbean men and women had been recruited to serve in the armed forces. Some had been to England during the war yearsContinueContinue reading “Dreaming of the ‘mother country’”
What’s in the charts?
The 1940s brought many much-loved ‘crooners’ into the homes of millions, via gramophone records and via the wireless. Families put their 78rpm vinyl record on their turntable, or tuned in to the BBC Light Programme to listen to the likes of Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Perry Como. Amazing to think that Bing Crosby’s WhiteContinueContinue reading “What’s in the charts?”
Serving our country
When the Second World War ended it didn’t mean the end to all hostilities. Britain still had a commitment to provide military support in Germany, Palestine and India. Opponents struggled with the idea that young men, just returning from six long years of a terrible war, should be called on to serve once more. AndContinueContinue reading “Serving our country”
Listen while you work
In 1940s Britain the wireless was one of the key sources of home entertainment and news. Since the 1920s – when the first musical broadcast was aired from the Marconi Research Centre in Chelmsford – the wireless radio provided the backdrop to family life. Once the BBC received its Royal Charter in 1926, becoming theContinueContinue reading “Listen while you work”
Hooligan, vandal or just plain bored?
Before we look at what youngsters were getting up to during the 1940s let’s consider some of terminology that we are so familiar with today – words that we tend to associate with young people… HooliganOrigin late 19th century, first found in British newspaper police-court reports in the summer of 1898, almost certainly from theContinueContinue reading “Hooligan, vandal or just plain bored?”
Books that shaped a decade
For the first half of the 1940s Britain was in the grip of war, followed, once the war ended, by years of austerity and hardship. So what about reading habits during those years? Was there still an attraction in the escapism offered by a good book? It seems the answer was ‘Yes’. Despite paper rationing,ContinueContinue reading “Books that shaped a decade”
Outset Publishing 