What was life like in Britain in the years immediately after World War Two?

Answer 1

The basic characterising word would be "Austerity" Rationing was not brought to and end by the war finishing, and some items remained on ration until 1954. The railways and industries were worn out and consumer goods were hard to come by as much that was produced had to be exported, in a drive to pay off war debts and stabilise the economy. The BBC2 "People's war" site may be of help: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/ww2/A2082584 for example, looking at Christmas 1945. The Festival of Britain in 1951 has been noted as a mark of the recovery of spirit and colour in post-war Britain, but there was argument at the time as to whether it was a frivolous waste of scarce resources better dedicated to rebuilding damaged cities.

Answer 2

Depends on where you were. If you were in London, or any of the industrial centers like Coventry, Birmingham or West Bromwich, or anywhere there was a docks, you could pretty much expect the Luftwaffe to come calling every night of the week, week after week with tons and tons of bombs. Food was rationed: little sugar, next to no candy, no fresh fruit (my dad never saw an orange until he was 12), meat and cheese were rationed, although they tried to get milk to the kids as much as they could, especially the ones who were evacuated away from the bombing to farm areas in the north and Wales. Londoners, when they heard the air raid sirens, would head for the subway tunnels, which were relatively deep and relatively safe, but not relatively nice as a safe bed is. Girls trying to grab a night on the town would have to fake nylon or silk stockings with gravy browning powder and draw on the seams with eye pencil, which is why the Americans, with their endless supply of chocolate and stockings earned the ire of the men they fought alongside; Grandad said, as did many, the only thing wrong with the Yanks is they are overpaid, oversexed and over here. Whole areas of London, especially the docks on the River Thames, just disappeared. So did Coventry, so Churchill made sure Dresden and all its ancient loveliness just disappeared too. Can't ever trust a town that makes china dolls in wartime can you? Finally, the Royal Air Force managed to beat the Luftwaffe back, something that got a little easier when the allies started round the clock bombing of industrial towns in Germany that prevented the Germans getting crucial materials like ball bearings and steel; Lancaster bombers by night, American B17s by day, all with appalling losses when the average crew of a lost bomber was 8 men. There are plenty of "authentic" movies from Britain's Ealing Studios that represented the times, and some war yarns like 633 Squadron or The Dambusters can be found on video. I suppose if you asked the same question of a German what it was like in Hamburg or Munich, you'd get pretty much the same story. Phil