I’m sure there are many things that might trigger a rise in the birth rate – but consider these particular influencing factors for post-war Britain: couples were finally able to celebrate the end of six years of war wives and girlfriends could welcome the return of a loved one from the horrors at the frontContinue reading “No more than 2.4”
Category Archives: World War 2
Lessons to learn
The #Butler Act of #1944 promised great and sweeping changes to the British #education system, but #post-war economic difficulties meant implementation was less than smooth…
Choosing four wheels over two
If you wanted to travel around Britain in the 1940s it’s likely you would have been walking, cycling or travelling on public transport. And if you were a critical worker, delivering milk to doorsteps early mornings, then you might even still be relying on a horse-drawn cart. The average distance people needed to travel toContinue reading “Choosing four wheels over two”
I do…or I shouldn’t have…
The perils of war concentrate the mind when it comes to romance. If your sweetheart is about to go off to fight and you couldn’t be sure when or if you would see them again, then it would make sense to confirm your love for each other by ‘tying the knot’. In the early monthsContinue reading “I do…or I shouldn’t have…”
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 twoContinue reading “What a show!”
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 theContinue 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… Hooligan Origin late 19th century, first found in British newspaper police-court reports in the summer of 1898, almost certainly fromContinue 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,Continue reading “Books that shaped a decade”
A victory for the workers
When Britain entered the Second World War in September 1939 the country was governed by a National Government, a coalition of all the political parties, as well as a number of individuals who belonged to none of the parties. Conservative politician, Neville Chamberlain, was Prime Minister but by spring 1940 he bowed to pressure toContinue reading “A victory for the workers”
A ticket to ride
Ever since the first steam locomotives of the early 19th century, the UK railway network benefitted from extensive expansion. By 1923 most of the railways were grouped together to form the ‘Big Four’ – namely, the Great Western, the London and North Eastern, the London, Midland and Scottish, and the Southern Railway companies. Other smallerContinue reading “A ticket to ride”
Outset Publishing 