History - Britain: 1.4.2 The effects of 'total war' and austerity, 1939-51
In what ways is WWII a 'total war'?
In what ways did WWII make people feel 'more equal'?
How successful were housing developments after WWII?
Impact of national service
Evacuation of children
Effects of bombing
Effects of rationing
Increased affordability of goods
2/7 houses (28.6%) were destroyed during the bombing raids
Other cities, like Birmingham, Liverpool, Coventry and Glasgow suffered severe damage - industrial centres of production, but civilians were also targeted during the ‘Blitz’.
60,000 civilians were killed by German bombings
(majority in London during the Blitz period)
14.9 million of the 15.9 million men (93.7%) aged 14-64 were registered for ‘war service’
7.1 million of the 16 million women (44.4%) aged 14-58 were directly involved in the war effort
Government controlled the economy by forcing people to do certain types of work. This resulted in the issuance of 8.5 million EWOs (Essential Work Orders).
By 1945, 5.5 million men had been called up for military service in WW2 and 4.5 million had been directly involved in the fighting (i.e. had seen active service).
Over 1 million children were evacuated from inner city areas so that they would be safer from the bombing of cities
This meant that many more people became aware of the terrible living conditions of children from ‘slum’ areas in the inner cities
Levels of unemployment fell to nearly zero. - because of new jobs being made available (e.g. munitions production) leading to nearly full employment
Affordability was further increased by government price control, which meant that retailers could not put up their prices by as much as they might otherwise have done.
Average wages doubled during the period 1939-45, meaning that more goods became affordable to ordinary people.
Foods controlled by the Government: In 1942, the ‘National Loaf’ of bread was introduced - not rationed however, the ‘National Loaf’ was still unpopular because of its grey colour and less pleasant flavour.
People were encouraged to ‘make do and mend’ (from 1943) - which meant that they were encouraged to fix old clothes, rather than simply try to buy new ones
As a result, it became much more difficult to tell people apart based on class - appearance of all people became much more ‘drab'
Although people had to buy food and clothing once they had given in their coupons, rising wages and full employment meant that paying for goods was rarely a problem
After 1942, restaurants had to comply with food rationing restrictions - meant that richer people could not escape rationing by eating out all of the time.
Richer people could no longer simply buy more expensive or more fashionable food/clothing - had to make do with the same as everyone else, received clothing coupons which allowed them to buy one new outfit per year.
The ‘National Loaf’ was loaded with Vitamin B and calcium, making many people eat a healthier diet than before.
Extent of rationing
1948 - 30% of goods were rationed
1949 - 12% of goods were rationed
1946 - 25% of goods were rationed
1954 - 0% as rationing was abandoned
Successful
Unsuccessful
Many prefabricated homes were built to house people on a temporary basis - only designed to last for 10 years, many are still standing even today.
Many of the people who moved into prefabricated houses were very happy with them and were reluctant to move out of them.
New blocks of flats were built to house people. These allowed large numbers of people to be housed quickly. They were seen as attractive and modern.
New housing estates were built over bombed areas. (E,g Lansbury Estate in Poplar, East London) - people liked the fact that the schools, shops and social clubs were integrated into the housing.
The New Towns Act (1946) was often considered a success because the new accommodation was significantly better than the previous inner city accommodation - well-connected by transport and generally much more spacious.
The prefabricated houses were often both damp and cold. This made them uncomfortable to live in.
Once people had moved into the blocks of flats, some felt that they lacked the same community feel.
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