1940s Trivia: Fun Facts From The Decade

Trivia from the 1940s, all of it dateable and checkable.

Every fact below has its year in brackets, so you can read the fact out, hide the year and use it as a quiz round - or leave the year in and use it for a birthday card or a reminiscence session.

For the same decade laid out year by year, use the 1940s calendar linked at the bottom.

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.

News facts from the 1940s

• Food rationing began on 8 January, starting with bacon, butter and sugar. (1940)
• Clothes rationing was introduced on 1 June. (1941)
• The Beveridge Report, published in December, set out the plan that led to the welfare state. (1942)
• The Dambusters raid was carried out on the night of 16-17 May. (1943)
• The Normandy landings took place on 6 June. (1944)
• VE Day was 8 May and VJ Day 15 August. (1945)
• Bread rationing was introduced in July, for the first time. (1946)
• The winter of 1947 brought weeks of snow, fuel shortages and power cuts, followed by serious flooding in March. (1947)
• The National Health Service began on 5 July. (1948)
• Clothes rationing ended in March. (1949)

More from the news

• Winston Churchill became Prime Minister on 10 May. (1940)
• The House of Commons chamber was destroyed by bombing on 10 May. (1941)
• Soap was rationed in February; the utility clothing scheme began. (1942)
• The Bethnal Green tube shelter disaster in March killed 173 people. (1943)
• V-1 flying bombs began hitting London in June, followed by V-2 rockets in September. (1944)
• Labour won the general election in July and Clement Attlee became Prime Minister. (1945)
• Family allowance payments began in August. (1946)
• Princess Elizabeth married Philip Mountbatten on 20 November. (1947)
• The Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury on 22 June. (1948)
• The pound was devalued in September, from 4.03 to 2.80 dollars. (1949)

Television and film in the 1940s

• BBC television had closed in September 1939 and stayed off air. (1940)
• 49th Parallel and Citizen Kane were released. (1941)
• In Which We Serve was released. (1942)
• The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp was released despite official disapproval. (1943)
• Henry V, with Laurence Olivier, was released. (1944)
• Brief Encounter was released in November. (1945)
• BBC television returned on 7 June, London only. (1946)
• Hue and Cry, often called the first Ealing comedy, was released. (1947)
• Oliver Twist and The Red Shoes were released. (1948)
• The Third Man and Passport to Pimlico were released, and Kind Hearts and Coronets the same year. (1949)

Music in the 1940s

• Vera Lynn's 'We'll Meet Again', recorded in 1939, became the song of the year. (1940)
• 'The White Cliffs of Dover' was published and became one of the best-known songs of the war. (1941)
• 'White Christmas' was written and recorded by Bing Crosby, becoming one of the best-selling records ever made. (1942)
• 'You'll Never Know' and 'As Time Goes By' were among the year's most-played songs. (1943)
• 'I'll Be Seeing You' and 'Swinging on a Star' were among the year's popular songs. (1944)
• Vera Lynn's wartime songs were sung at street parties all over the country in May. (1945)
• 'The Gypsy' and 'Bless You (For Being an Angel)' were among the year's popular songs. (1946)
• 'Near You' and 'Peg o' My Heart' were among the year's most popular songs. (1947)
• 'Buttons and Bows' and 'Nature Boy' were among the year's popular songs. (1948)
• 'Some Enchanted Evening' and 'Riders in the Sky' were among the year's popular songs. (1949)

Sport in the 1940s

• League football was suspended and replaced by regional wartime competitions. (1940)
• Wartime regional leagues continued in football. (1941)
• Wartime football internationals drew large crowds. (1942)
• Wartime cup competitions carried on, with guest players and scratch teams. (1943)
• Wartime football continued with large crowds at cup matches. (1944)
• Moscow Dynamo toured Britain in November and drew enormous crowds. (1945)
• League football resumed for the 1946-47 season. (1946)
• The first post-war full football season was played, and crowds were enormous. (1947)
• The Austerity Olympics were held in London from July, with athletes bringing their own towels and food. (1948)
• Portsmouth won the First Division. (1949)

Everyday life in the 1940s

• Blackout regulations meant no light showing after dark, and road deaths rose sharply. (1940)
• Clothing coupons meant turning collars, darning and handing clothes down. (1941)
• Utility marks appeared on furniture, clothing and household goods. (1942)
• Make do and mend classes taught unpicking, patching and remaking clothes. (1943)
• Evacuation started again from London because of the flying bombs. (1944)
• Street parties with jam sandwiches and whatever could be saved from the ration marked VE Day. (1945)
• Prefabs were put up in large numbers to deal with the housing shortage. (1946)
• Candles, power cuts and frozen pipes defined February. (1947)
• Everyone was registered with a doctor for the first time and dentistry and spectacles were suddenly free. (1948)
• Petrol was still rationed and would be until 1950. (1949)

How to use these as a quiz round

• Read the fact without the year and ask for the year - closest answer wins the point.
• Ten facts makes a round. Mix news with television and music so nobody sweeps it.
• For a care home or reminiscence session, use the everyday life facts first - they get the most talk.
• Anyone born in 1940 turns 50 in 1990, 60 in 2000 and 70 in 2010.

Shop birthday cards

How to write it so it lands

• Hide the bracketed year and you have a guess-the-year round ready to go.
• For a card, use the year they were born rather than the decade.
• In a reminiscence session, stop on whatever gets a reaction rather than finishing the list.

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
• 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 calendar: every year from 1920
• Decade trivia: fun facts by era
• Decade trivia game: play for points
• Decade guides: books, films and TV 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
• Nostalgia gift shop
• Retro party supplies
• Guess the year quiz
• Care home reminiscence 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 are some fun facts about the 1940s?

Rationing, Dunkirk, Churchill and the Blitz - the year everything changed. The lists above give the news, television, music, sport and everyday facts for every year from 1940 to 1949, each with its date.

What good 1940s quiz questions are there?

Any fact on this page works as a question if you read it out and ask for the year. Ten of them makes a round, and the answers are already in the brackets.

Where do these facts come from?

They are the same checked facts used on our year pages - real, dateable events only. The official UK singles chart begins in November 1952, so earlier years list popular songs rather than chart positions.

Do you sell anything to do with this decade?

We make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK, including milestone birthday cards. This page is free to read and free to copy.