Look Back To 1945: What Happened That Year

VE Day, VJ Day, a landslide election and street parties on bomb-damaged roads.

Here's 1945 in full - the music, the news, the screen, the sport and the ordinary details. Good for a birthday card, a party quiz round or a reminiscence session.

Popular music in 1945

• Vera Lynn's wartime songs were sung at street parties all over the country in May.
• 'Don't Fence Me In' and 'Sentimental Journey' were among the year's most popular songs.
• Dance halls were packed for the first peacetime summer in six years.

In the news in 1945

• VE Day was 8 May and VJ Day 15 August.
• Labour won the general election in July and Clement Attlee became Prime Minister.
• The atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August.
• The United Nations was founded in October.

On screen in 1945

• Brief Encounter was released in November.
• Newsreels showed the liberation of the camps in the spring.
• BBC television was still a year from returning.

In sport in 1945

• Moscow Dynamo toured Britain in November and drew enormous crowds.
• Normal football and cricket fixtures were being planned for 1946.
• The Victory Tests were played between England and Australian servicemen.

Everyday life in 1945

• Street parties with jam sandwiches and whatever could be saved from the ration marked VE Day.
• Rationing did not ease; in some ways it got tighter after the war.
• Demobilisation ran through the rest of the decade.

If you were born in 1945

• Anyone born in 1945 is a first-year baby boomer and was born in the year the war ended.
• They turned three the year the NHS began.
• Anyone born in 1945 turns 30 in 1975, 40 in 1985, 50 in 1995, 60 in 2005 and 70 in 2015.
• For a milestone card, the strongest line is usually the number one from the week they were born rather than the year's biggest events - it's personal, and it takes two minutes to find.
• For a reminiscence session, read one section at a time and stop on whatever gets a reaction. The point is the conversation, not the facts.

Shop birthday cards

How to write it so it lands

• The number one from the week they were born beats the year's headlines on a card.
• Read one section at a time in a reminiscence session and stop where the conversation starts.
• Use it as a guess-the-year round by reading three facts and hiding the date.

Where to shop next

• Look back to 1948
• Look back to 1947
• Look back to 1946
• Look back to 1944
• Look back to 1943
• Look back to 1942
• The 1940s: the whole decade
• Wartime and 1950s party games
• Traditional British party games
• Pen and paper games
• Card games your nan taught you
• The 2020s so far
• The 2010s: the whole decade
• The 2000s: the whole decade
• The 1990s: the whole decade
• The 1980s: the whole decade
• The 1970s: the whole decade
• The 1960s: the whole decade
• The 1950s: the whole decade
• The 1930s: the whole decade
• The 1920s: the whole decade
• 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
• Decade travel: destinations and holidays by era
• Decade tech: gadgets and computers by era
• Decade films: best movies and directors by era
• Decade art: artists, styles and trends by era
• Decade books: best novels, authors and reading trends
• Music by decade: albums, artists and songs
• Decade fashion: clothes, hair and accessories by era
• Nostalgia gift shop
• Retro party supplies
• Nostalgia birthday party by decade
• Nostalgia hamper and gift ideas
• Guess the year quiz
• Care home reminiscence quiz
• Reminiscence gifts for grandparents
• Milestone birthday cards
• Shop birthday cards
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

When was VE Day?

8 May 1945, marking the end of the war in Europe. VJ Day followed on 15 August.

Did rationing end when the war ended?

No. Rationing continued and in some cases worsened after 1945. Bread was rationed for the first time in 1946, and food rationing lasted until 1954.

How old is someone born in 1945?

Subtract 1945 from the current year. They turn 40 in 1985, 50 in 1995, 60 in 2005 and 70 in 2015.

Do you sell anything to do with this year?

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