1940s Technology: Gadgets, Computers And Tech Trends

Television switched off for the war, and the first electronic computers switched on.

Below: the gadgets in ordinary 1940s homes, what computing looked like at the time, what changed across the decade, and the details anyone who was there will remember.

Useful for a reminiscence session, a quiz round, or working out what someone grew up using.

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.

Gadgets of the 1940s

• BBC Television closes in 1939 and does not return until 1946.
• The wireless as the source of news for the whole war.
• Very little new to buy - factories made equipment, not appliances.
• Utility furniture and make-do-and-mend applied to gadgets too.
• Record players still wind-up in most homes.

Computers in the 1940s

• Colossus at Bletchley Park from 1943 - the first programmable electronic digital computer.
• ENIAC is unveiled in the United States in 1946.
• The Manchester Baby runs the first stored program in 1948.
• EDSAC at Cambridge follows in 1949.
• All of it secret, enormous, and nothing to do with ordinary life.

Tech trends of the 1940s

• Radar, jet engines and penicillin - wartime research changing everything after it.
• The transistor invented at Bell Labs in 1947, though nothing used it yet.
• Television restarting slowly, still London and the Midlands only.
• Electricity supply strained; power cuts were routine in the cold winter of 1947.

What people remember

• Listening to the news bulletin and nobody speaking through it.
• The set left on for the shipping forecast and the nine o'clock news.
• Batteries and bulbs as things you queued for.
• A camera film that took months to use and longer to develop.

How to use this

• Reminiscence: ask what the first one they owned was, and what it cost - the price always gets a reaction.
• Quiz round: read a gadget and ask for the decade.
• Themed party: an old wireless or gramophone on a table does more than any decoration.
• Present: a print of the machine they learned on lands better than a generic card.

Shop prints and posters

How to write it so it lands

• Prices are the best prompt - work out what a gadget cost in a week's wages and the room goes quiet.
• Ask what broke and how it was fixed; repairs get better stories than purchases.
• Check the dates before using these in a quiz - launch year and the year it reached most homes are rarely the same.

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 holidays and travel
• 1940s food and recipes
• 1940s music: albums, artists and songs
• 1940s fashion: clothes, hair and accessories
• 1940s books, films and TV
• 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 history: key events, politics and culture by era
• Decade books: best novels, authors and reading trends
• Decade tech: gadgets and computers by era
• Decade travel: destinations and holidays by era
• Decade recipes: dishes and food trends by era
• Music by decade: albums, artists and songs
• Decade fashion: clothes, hair and accessories by era
• Decade guides: books, films and TV by era
• Decade calendar: every year from 1920
• Decade trivia: fun facts by era
• Nostalgia gift shop
• Guess the year quiz
• Milestone birthday cards
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Wedding cards
• Wedding cards guide
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What gadgets did people have in the 1940s?

BBC Television closes in 1939 and does not return until 1946. The full list above covers the equipment found in ordinary homes that decade.

What were computers like in the 1940s?

Colossus at Bletchley Park from 1943 - the first programmable electronic digital computer. The computing section above covers the machines and how they were used.

What were the big tech trends of the 1940s?

Radar, jet engines and penicillin - wartime research changing everything after it. The trends section above lists what changed across the decade.

Do you sell technology or retro gadgets?

No. We make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK. This page is free to read, print and copy for a quiz or a care-home session.