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”
Tag Archives: wartime
This will do nicely…
Consider how it must have been after the Second World War for millions of families who were all desperate for somewhere to live – somewhere ‘fit for purpose’, many having lost everything during the wartime London Blitz and similar devastation across the country. House building on a grand scale was promised by the post-war LabourContinue reading “This will do nicely…”
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…”
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 someContinue 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 runningContinue reading “Better than a tin bath”
A new shopping experience
The food shopping experience of the 1940s was very different from that of today. Housewives were used to having the butcher, baker and fishmonger deliver to the door. They would take receipt of their goods and then put in their order for the next week. Milk was delivered by the morning milkman, arriving with hisContinue reading “A new shopping experience”
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!”
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”
75 years of gardening know-how!
If you tune in to BBC Radio 4 this afternoon at 3pm you will have the chance to listen to a panel of experts answering gardening questions as diverse as whether it’s possible to plant a tea plant in the UK from which to make a cuppa, through to tips on how to let offContinue reading “75 years of gardening know-how!”
A newcomer in the family
From the 1920s onwards the wireless set provided an increasing number of families with an opportunity to listen to music, drama and news broadcasts. Around half of the British population were able to settle down in the evening and enjoy a musical variety show, a comedy, or a play, while reading the paper, or doingContinue reading “A newcomer in the family”
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