Look Back To The 1940s: The Whole Decade

Six years of war, then austerity, the NHS and a country rebuilding itself on rations.

Below is the decade in sections, and a link to every single year from 1940 to 1949.

The music

• There was no record chart until 1952; popularity was measured by sheet music sales and what the BBC played.
• Vera Lynn's 'We'll Meet Again' and 'The White Cliffs of Dover' became the songs most associated with the war years.
• Workers' Playtime and Music While You Work were broadcast to factories through the war.
• Dance bands, Glenn Miller and the American Forces Network shaped what young people listened to.
• The Radio Times and the wireless in the corner were the centre of home entertainment.

The news

• The Blitz on British cities ran from September 1940 into 1941.
• Winston Churchill became Prime Minister on 10 May 1940.
• D-Day, the Normandy landings, took place on 6 June 1944.
• VE Day was 8 May 1945 and VJ Day 15 August 1945.
• Clement Attlee's Labour government won a landslide in July 1945.
• The National Health Service began on 5 July 1948.

On screen

• BBC television was shut down for the whole war and returned on 7 June 1946.
• Cinema was the main entertainment, and newsreels were how people saw the war.
• Brief Encounter in 1945 and Great Expectations in 1946 were the British films of the decade.
• Ealing comedies began in earnest with Hue and Cry in 1947 and Passport to Pimlico in 1949.
• The radio, not the television, was where the country gathered for news and comedy.

Everyday life

• Food rationing began in January 1940 and lasted, in various forms, until 1954.
• Blackout curtains, Anderson shelters and gas masks were part of daily life for years.
• Evacuation moved hundreds of thousands of children out of the cities.
• Make do and mend, allotments and Dig for Victory were official policy.
• Bread was rationed for the first time in 1946, after the war rather than during it.
• The winter of 1947 was one of the worst on record and brought fuel shortages and power cuts.

Year by year

• 1940 - see the full page for that year, linked below.
• 1941 - see the full page for that year, linked below.
• 1942 - see the full page for that year, linked below.
• 1943 - see the full page for that year, linked below.
• 1944 - see the full page for that year, linked below.
• 1945 - see the full page for that year, linked below.
• 1946 - see the full page for that year, linked below.
• 1947 - see the full page for that year, linked below.
• 1948 - see the full page for that year, linked below.
• 1949 - see the full page for that year, linked below.

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How to write it so it lands

• Each year has its own page with the charts, the news and the everyday detail.
• For a party, pull three facts from one year and run it as a guess-the-year round.
• For a card, use the year they were born rather than the decade.

Where to shop next

• Look back to 1949
• Look back to 1948
• Look back to 1947
• Look back to 1946
• Look back to 1945
• Look back to 1944
• Look back to 1943
• Look back to 1942
• Look back to 1941
• Look back to 1940
• 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 1940s: 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
• Birthday cards for kids
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

Was there a UK singles chart in the 1940s?

No. The first official UK singles chart was published in November 1952. Before that, popularity was measured by sheet music sales.

When did rationing start and end?

Food rationing began on 8 January 1940 and was not fully lifted until 4 July 1954.

When did the NHS start?

5 July 1948.

When did BBC television come back after the war?

7 June 1946, after being closed since 1 September 1939 - reportedly resuming mid-cartoon.

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. The pages themselves are free to read and free to copy.