Britain at War
1939-1945
by pupils in Years 3 and 4
Contents
This book was made by the pupils in years 3 and 4
of Burnwood Community School, Stoke on Trent
It was made on 13 March 2013 with help from
Rob Bowden and Rosie Wilson.
Lifeworlds Learning
Britain goes to war
Evacuation
Daily Life
Food and rationing
Britain goes to war
Timeline
1st September 1939
Germany invades Poland
War begins
3rd September 1939
Britain declares war on Germany
World War 2 began in September 1939. The war
started because the German army had invaded
Poland. Soon after Great Britain declared war on Nazi
Germany as they refused to leave.
The people of Britain listened on their radios as prime
minister Neville Chamberlain announced the news
to the country. The war continued until September
1945.
Who was involved?
A soldier kisses goodbye to
his son as he leaves for war.
World war 2 was fought between two groups of countries. On one side were the Axis
powers including Germany, Italy and Japan on the other side the Allies which Included
Britain, France and the USSR. Some countries did not train for the war but stayed
neutral on neither side.
Winston Churchill
was Prime Minister
of Gt Britain during
most of the war
from 1940-1945
and led Britain
to victory. His
speeches boosted
morale during their
darkest moments.
10th May 1940
Winston Churchill becomes
prime minister
7th September 1940
The blitz
30th April 1945
Hitler commits suicide
2nd September 1945
End of world war 2
Adolf Hitler was
born on April 20th
1889. Under his
leadership the Nazis
sought to make
Germany the most
powerful empire
in the world and
exterminate all they
viewed as inferior.
Peace at last!
By 1943 the allies were gaining the advantage. Then in 1944 the British army went
into the French territory to help liberate them from German occupation. Later on in
1945, realising he was loosing, Hitler went into a secret bunker and killed himself with
a pistol shot. Germany had surrendered for good. War with Germany was over for
ever, but millions had died. The war had changed life for everyone, Britain would never
be the same.
A map of Europe
showing the
countries involved
in World War 2.
Families enjoying a VE
day party celebrating the
end of the war.
Evacuation
What was an evacuee?
The British Evacuation
was called ‘Operation
Pied Piper’ after a famous
tale where all the children
leave a town to follow
a piper.
During WWII hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated
from their homes. The first official evacuations began on 1st
September 1939 two days before the declaration of war. This
was called ‘Operation Pied Piper’. Evacuees were children who
left cities to live with strangers or friends to keep safe during the war,
because cities were targets for enemy bombers. They left because of the Blitz, which was
the name for the heavy bombing on British cities by German planes. Their mums and dads
stayed in London and other cities, where bombs hit. Children had to say goodbye quickly.
Their parents were told to pack a small bag for each child.
The Blitz
The government warned British
people to prepare for attacks by
German planes, called air raids.
Air raid shelters were built to
help protect people from bombs.
Or if there was no shelter
near people had to go into
underground railway stations for
their safety. Blackout curtains
were hung in windows.
Getting
evacuated
The children
travelled on buses
and trains to the
countryside.
War Fact
Most children travelled by train and bus. They waited at crowded stations. Children wore gas
masks and labels in case they got lost. The WVS (Women’s Voluntary Service) took children
to the station and looked after them on the way there. People even hung blackout curtains
in the windows of the trains, to stop light from escaping. Most children were from London,
and most children travelled north. When they arrived, children were chosen by adults, mostly
volunteers, who took them home and looked after them.
Life as an evacuee
When the children moved into their new
house many of them sent postcards home.
Children would find out information about
the bombing by listening to the radio or
‘wireless’ as it was called then. Children
often worked on the farms where they
stayed. Some evacuees called the people
who looked after them ‘uncle’ and ‘auntie’.
How would you feel to
be an evacuee?
Scared? Excited? One year 3
opinion of evacuees was that:
“Obviously they did not like it but it
had to be done!”
This is probably similar to opinions
and feelings at the time, as WWII
is where the phrase ‘Keep Calm
and Carry On” comes from.
War Fact
For some
evacuees, arriving in
the countryside gave
them their first ever
opportunity to see a
cow, sheep or pig!
Staying strong
Evacuee children had to cope with
difficulties. For example some brothers and
sisters couldn’t stay together. Some got
a shock because they had never seen the
countryside before.
Children might have been sharing
two or three in a bed because there
wasn’t much room. Children had mixed
experiences in their new homes: some
liked the countryside, whereas others when
interviewed later said they missed their
homes.
Daily Life
Families went to see dancers in their villages. There were lots of different types of dance.
Many people enjoyed listening to the radio to things such as Gracie Fields and Vera Lynn’s
popular songs and comedy shows. Families also listened to Winston Churchill on the radio.
The Second World War was a difficult time for many
children; they had to grow up very quickly. Many fathers
went to fight in the war and mothers went to work on
farms or factories to help provide for the war effort.
Children still found time to play but it was sometimes
very dangerous. Houses were sometimes damaged due
to bombing, and often fell down.
Carrot ice creams
anyone?
When families were together they played board games to pass the time. If the family had
to go into the shelters they played card games and jigsaws. There was no TV during WWII.
People would shut there blackout curtains and read newspapers. There were toys like model
planes, toy tanks, and battle ships to float in the water. Some people learnt to make toys from
scraps of wood and odds and ends like toy soldiers and toy horses in their free time.
Women’s work
Most men went to join the war. so the women, who stayed
at home, took their jobs or worked alongside the men who
stayed. They drove fire engines, worked as plumbers and
mechanics or in the munitions factories. Early in the war
43,000 women volunteered to join the women’s services,
and looked after evacuees. Many women worked alongside
men, doing the same jobs.
Children still went to school during the war but were short of teachers, pens or paper.
Teachers tried to keep school life as normal as possible. Children liked skipping, monopoly or
games of scrabble. At home they liked to read comic books such as The Beano.
Clothes
Clothes were rationed in the war so fashion was not a main
priority. Clothes were plain and did not use much material.
Women’s skirts were knee length with few trimmings. Men’s
trousers didn’t have turn ups to save fabric.
People had 66 clothes coupons a year to dress them from head
to toe. Mothers and grandmothers learnt how to knit and sew to
make their own clothes; this saved coupons. Boys’ shorts cost
3 coupons and girls dresses cost 5 coupons. Girls didn’t wear
trousers in the 1940’s but blouses and skirts cost 9 coupons!
Also most children wore caps and hats.
Stockings were hard to find in the shops so women had to be
imaginative! They would colour their legs with gravy or tea to
pretend they were wearing them. They also wore beetroot juice
as lipstick.
Free time
In the Second World War many families were often working on farms or factories to help
provide for the war and had little free time. When they had free time they did lots of different
things. They went to the cinema to watch films like Gone with the Wind or newsreels of war.
A women making
munitions during
WWII
Make Do and Mend
During World War II, there was a shortage of many things
because ships carrying food, oil and other materials were
attacked by the enemy. The government had a solution that
helped people to lead a better life. A ‘Make Do and Mend’
campaign encouraged people to recycle food and other
materials.
People swapped clothes instead of buying new ones and
children wore hand-me-downs. Women knitted jumpers from
wool because it was cheaper. They also made clothes from
blankets and curtains. Food was rationed so it was rarely
wasted. However, food scraps were sent to farmers to
feed their animals.
Boys knitting
to ‘make do and
mend’
Food and rationing
Growing food
People were asked by the government to grow vegetables
in allotments. Allotments are small plots of land near your
home, for growing vegetables. People grew onions, potatoes
and cabbages. They found all sorts of places to grow food
like rubbish tips and bomb sites. People grew vegetables in
window boxes. Children and women worked on allotments .
The campaign was called Dig for Victory.
Why was food rationed
in the war?
Food was rationed because everyone needed
their fair share of food. The war made it difficult
to bring in food from abroad so all food had
to be produced in Britain. Britons got food
from other countries in ships but lots of ships
sank during the war and there was a shortage
of some foods in the shops, so the British
government decided to introduce a system of
rationing.
War recipes
Women got advice from the radio programme
called Kitchen Front. They made rabbit stew,
using vegetables that they had got. When they
had cheese they made cheese pudding using
milk and stale bread crumbs.
Food rations
People had ration books so everyone had the same amount of food to eat. Some of
the food that was rationed was eggs, butter, cheese, sugar, tea and bacon. This was
so that people had enough to eat. People listened to the radio to find out what food
was rationed that week. People went to shops with a ration book where they used
coupons to buy food. People were allowed 16 points a month.
One coupon =
- Butter 100g
- Tea 50g
- Bacon 100g
- One egg
- Cheese 25g
- Sugar 200g
- Meat
- Vegetables
For pudding they had apple pie, blackberries,
rhubarb, strawberry and raspberries when the
fruit was in season. In the summer and autumn
they made jam with children, and ate a lot of
jam sandwiches for their tea. They also ate liver,
bacon, sausages, heart and kidney.
War Fact
During WWII there
was a popular suet
pudding recipe called
National Roly Poly.
Feeding Britain
Women did lots of cooking. Woman made food for rescue workers and people whose
houses got bombed. Women had to think of clever ways of using food rations to feed
their families. Meat was important for protein. Some people kept chickens, rabbits, or
pigs.