1940s History: Key Events, Politics And Culture
Total war, then the welfare state built out of rationing and rubble.
Below: the key events of the 1940s, the politics of the decade, the social changes that came with them, the culture people still talk about, and what ordinary life looked like.
Written for quizzes, reminiscence sessions, school projects and anyone working out what a relative lived through.
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Key events of the 1940s
- Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain and the Blitz all fall in 1940.
- D-Day, 6 June 1944, and VE Day on 8 May 1945.
- The atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 end the war.
- Indian independence and partition in 1947.
- The Empire Windrush arrives at Tilbury in June 1948.
- The Berlin Airlift (1948-49) opens the Cold War in earnest.
Politics and government
- Churchill leads a wartime coalition from May 1940.
- The Beveridge Report (1942) names the five giants and sells 600,000 copies.
- Labour wins a landslide in July 1945 under Clement Attlee.
- The NHS launches on 5 July 1948; coal, rail and steel are nationalised.
- The National Insurance and National Assistance Acts complete the welfare settlement.
Social change: rights, work and family life
- The Beveridge Report (1942) named the 'five giants' and set the shape of the welfare state.
- The NHS opened on 5 July 1948, free at the point of use.
- The Education Act 1944 made secondary education free and raised the leaving age to 15.
- Millions of women did war work, then were expected to hand the jobs back in 1945.
- The Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury in June 1948 and post-war Caribbean migration began.
Culture and entertainment
- ITMA, Workers' Playtime and the wireless as the shared national room.
- Brief Encounter (1945) and the Ealing comedies from 1947.
- Big bands, then the first stirrings of bebop and modern jazz.
- Orwell publishes Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949).
- The 1948 London Olympics, held on rations and borrowed kit.
Everyday life
- Rationing runs the whole decade and gets tighter after the war than during it.
- Bomb sites become playgrounds; prefabs go up in their thousands.
- The 1944 Education Act brings free secondary education and the eleven-plus.
- Make do and mend, queues, and a black market everybody pretended not to use.
Years covered in the 1940s
- 1940 - Rationing, Dunkirk, Churchill and the Blitz - the year everything changed. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1940
- 1941 - The Blitz continued, clothes went on the ration and America entered the war. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1941
- 1942 - The Beveridge Report, soap on the ration and the first American troops arriving. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1942
- 1943 - The tide turned, the Dambusters flew and the country got used to going without. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1943
- 1944 - D-Day, the V-1s and the Education Act that changed school for everyone. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1944
- 1945 - VE Day, VJ Day, a landslide election and street parties on bomb-damaged roads. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1945
- 1946 - Television came back, bread went on the ration and the family allowance started. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1946
- 1947 - The worst winter in memory, a royal wedding and Indian independence. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1947
- 1948 - The NHS began, the Olympics came to London and the Windrush docked at Tilbury. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1948
- 1949 - Clothes rationing ended, the pound was devalued and the decade closed on austerity. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1949
- That is every 1940s year we have written up so far: 1940 to 1949.
How to use this
- Quiz round: read an event and ask for the year, or read a year and ask for the prime minister.
- Reminiscence: ask where they were for one of the events above. The answers are always better than the facts.
- School project: pair this page with the decade calendar for a year-by-year timeline.
- Anyone born in 1940 turns 50 in 1990, 60 in 2000 and 70 in 2010.
Found your words? Now find the card
Shop prints and posters Look back to 1940 Look back to 1941 Look back to 1942
How to write it so it lands
- Pair this with the decade calendar if you need the events in year order.
- For a reminiscence session, read one event and let the conversation go wherever it goes.
- Politics and everyday life rarely moved at the same speed. Both sections are here for that reason.
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Where to shop next
- Look back to 1940
- Look back to 1941
- Look back to 1942
- Look back to 1943
- Look back to 1944
- Look back to 1945
- Look back to 1946
- Look back to 1947
- Look back to 1948
- Look back to 1949
- 1940s calendar: year by year
- 1940s trivia: fun facts
- 1940s art and artists
- 1940s films and directors
- 1940s music: albums and artists
- 1940s fashion: clothes, hair and accessories
- The 1940s: the whole decade
- Wartime and 1950s party games
- Traditional British party games
- Pen and paper games
- Card games your nan taught you
- Decade books: best novels, authors and reading trends
- Decade art: artists, styles and trends by era
- Decade films: best movies and directors by era
- Decade fashion: clothes, hair and accessories by era
- Music by decade: albums, artists and songs
- Decade calendar: every year from 1920
- Decade trivia: fun facts by era
- Decade trivia game: play for points
- Decade quiz: test your memory
- Nostalgia gift shop
- Milestone birthday cards
- Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
- How to make a balloon arch
- Photo booth prop ideas
- Wedding cards
- Wedding cards guide
- All guides
Frequently asked questions
What were the most important events of the 1940s?
Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain and the Blitz all fall in 1940. The full list above covers the events that defined the decade.
What was happening politically in the 1940s?
Churchill leads a wartime coalition from May 1940. The politics section above covers the governments, laws and arguments of the decade.
How did society change in the 1940s?
The Beveridge Report (1942) named the 'five giants' and set the shape of the welfare state. The social change section above lists the laws, rights and shifts in work and family life that defined the decade.
What was life like in the 1940s?
Rationing runs the whole decade and gets tighter after the war than during it. The everyday life section above covers homes, money, work and shopping.
What was popular culture like in the 1940s?
ITMA, Workers' Playtime and the wireless as the shared national room. There are fuller guides to the decade's music, films, television and fashion linked from this page.
Can I use this for a quiz or a school project?
Yes, freely. Print it, read it out, copy it - no permission needed. We make greeting cards and prints; these pages are free.