World War Two 1940's House Somewhere in
England
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World War 2
Life in Britain during the war
Rationing
During the war it became more and more difficult for products to be imported
into Britain from other countries. For example most fruit, including bananas
could no longer be imported, while only small quantities of oranges were brought
in and these were saved for children. Due to this problem the government
introduced rationing. This enabled the population to have access to the same
amounts of items at the same prices. This meant that no one would suffer. Even
the royal family had to follow the government’s policy. Everyone within the UK
was given a ration book. These had to be taken into the shops they registered
with in order to obtain rationed items. Bacon, ham, sugar and butter were the
first items to be rationed, followed by margarine, oil, cheese, jam, marmalade,
treacle, syrup, eggs, sweets, chocolate and soap. The rationing programme turned
out to be a great success because it provided everyone with a healthy balanced
diet.
The government also came up with a policy called ‘Dig for Victory’. It
encouraged people to grow their own fruit and vegetables. The government also
encouraged people to make up new recipes using whatever they could. For example,
whale, horse and squirrel meat were used as an alternative to beef, pork and
chicken.
Shelters
Shelters were provided and constructed as a place of refuge during air raids.
Shelters were provided in public places and constructed within people’s gardens.
The Anderson shelter was a type of shelter used domestically. It was free to
people which had an income of less than £250 per year. The shelters were made of
sheets of steel and could hold up to six people. The shelters were buried
partially in the ground and covered with soil which plants could be grown in,
such as vegetables. People were encouraged to sleep in their shelters every
night as it was seen as the safest option. Most people did this at first but
found it too uncomfortable so only retreated to them when the air raid sirens
sounded signalling an attack.
Evacuations
When Hitler started to bomb cities within Britain, the government decided
that it would be safer for the children to be moved to the countryside to live
with relatives, friends or other selected families. A total of 3 million
children were evacuated altogether. School children travelled together on trains
with their teachers. Children under five years of age were accompanied by their
mothers or other chosen adult. Pregnant mothers were advised to evacuate too.
The evacuation programme was optional but encouraged as the most appropriate
action. Families found it difficult to be separated from each other as they
missed one another. The children which were evacuated to areas of the
countryside came from many different cities across Britain, such as London,
Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Bradford, Hull, Edinburgh
and Glasgow.
Information collected from:
www.worldwar2exraf.co.uk
www.bbc.co.uk/history
Living Room
Gramophone records were the primary medium used for commercial music
reproduction for most of the 20th century. They replaced the
phonograph cylinder as the most popular recording medium in the 1900s.
78 rpm record refers to revolutions per minute of the gramophone
records.
1940's gas mask
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1940's wireless.
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babies high chair
Bedrooms
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Singer sewing machine
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1940's toys
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Lotto
commode
1940's Hoover
Kitchen
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Sifta Table Salt
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Glace Angelica
Baking Powder
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Hovis
Dublin Stout
Lovell's Mintoes
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National Dried Milk
A posser was historically a tool used for possing or mixing laundry while hand
washing it.
As hand washing has been replaced by electric & mechanical washing machines have
become almost universally popular the words & implements have fallen into
disuse.
Possers come in various forms, there is usually a vertical pole with a handle
bar at the top but the base can be conical, with three (or more) legs or
sometimes a flat disk.
Ration Book Holder
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Colman's Starch
Bensons Toffee De Mint
Don't Bump Luminous Black Out Badges
Rationing
Food, clothing, petrol, leather and other such items were rationed. Access to
luxuries was severely restricted, though there was also a significant black
market. Families also grew victory gardens, and small home vegetable gardens, to
supply themselves with food. Many things were conserved to turn into weapons
later, such as fat for nitroglycerin production.
Evacuation
From very early in the war it was thought that the major cities of Britain,
especially London, would come under air attack, which did happen. Some children
were sent to Canada. Millions of children and some mothers were evacuated from
London and other major cities when the war began, but they often filtered back.
When the bombing began in September 1940 they evacuated again. The discovery of
the poor health and hygiene of evacuees was a shock to Britons, and helped
prepare the way for the Beveridge Plan. [7] Children were only evacuated if
their parents agreed but in some cases they didn't have a choice. The children
were only allowed to take a few things with them including a gas mask, books,
money, clothes, ration book and some small toys.
Outside
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Anderson shelter
The Anderson shelter was designed in 1938 by William Paterson and Oscar Carl
(Karl) Kerrison in response to a request from the Home Office. It was named
after Sir John Anderson, then Lord Privy Seal with special responsibility for
preparing air-raid precautions immediately prior to the outbreak of World War
II, and it was he who then initiated the development of the shelter. After
evaluation by Dr David Anderson, Bertram Lawrence Hurst, and Sir Henry Jupp, of
the Institution of Civil Engineers, the design was released for production.
Anderson shelters were designed to accommodate up to six people. The main
principle of protection was based on curved and straight galvanised corrugated
steel panels. Six curved panels were bolted together at the top, so forming the
main body of the shelter, three straight sheets on either side, and two more
straight panels were fixed to each end, one containing the door — a total of
fourteen panels. A small drainage sump was often incorporated in the floor to
collect rainwater seeping into the shelter. The shelters were 6 ft (1.8 m) high,
4 ft 6 in (1.4 m) wide, and 6 ft 6 in (2 m) long. They were buried 4 ft (1.2 m)
deep in the soil and then covered with a minimum of 15 in (0.4 m) of soil above
the roof. The earth banks could be planted with vegetables and flowers, that at
times could be quite an appealing sight and in this way would become the subject
of competitions of the best-planted shelter among householders in the
neighbourhood. The internal fitting out of the shelter was left to the owner and
so there were wide variations in comfort.
Anderson shelters were issued free to all householders who earned less than £250
a year, and those with a higher income were charged £7. 150,000 shelters of this
type were distributed from February 1939 to the outbreak of war. During the war
a further 2.1 million were erected.
Because of the large number made and their robustness, many Anderson shelters
still survive. Many were dug up after the war and converted into storage sheds
for use in gardens and allotments.
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