The Home Front in World War Two

by Susie Hodge

  Wounds

  “First aid for wounds consists in stopping the bleeding and in keeping the wound clean, using an antiseptic fluid, either a good proprietary brand or permanganate of potash dissolved in clean water…”

  Shock

  “The treatment for shock should be carried out apart from any treatment for injury… The patient should be placed on the floor, on a bed or couch, and laid flat. Clothing should be loosened at the neck, chest and waist, to allow room for breathing. The patient should be covered with a rug and hot-water bottles placed at the feet and when able to drink, and on no account before, give hot drinks or, in summer, cold water…”

  Burns

  “The treatment for burns is to remove any clothing that does not adhere to the burn and keep away the air until the burn is dressed. Scalds and burns on which the skin has not been broken can be covered with tannic acid jelly. If the patient has been overcome by smoke and fumes, breathing can be restored by artificial respiration, but this should not be attempted without previous training.”

  101 Things to Do in Wartime also gave useful advice about making and using various bandages and splints, including roller and triangular bandages and hand and finger bandaging. With so many opportunities and guidance, there was no excuse for anyone to be ignorant of basic first aid.

  Entertainment

  In spite of the crushing problems that people faced, literature and the arts flourished in Britain during the war. Escapism in many forms was welcomed to alleviate anxiety and despair, so reading; listening to music; art appreciation and theatre- and concert-going all became particularly popular. Although many writers and artists served in the Forces, some were employed by the Ministry of Information which set up the CEMA and the War Artists’ Advisory Committee in an effort to enthuse the public with cultural events and concerts. CEMA was founded a few months after the outbreak of the war, divided into three departments of music, art and drama. The initial, immediate, problems it faced were in providing music and drama during the blackout, especially in areas that had suddenly been heavily populated with workers. One of the CEMA’s initiatives was to set up touring companies presenting plays, concerts, art exhibitions, operas and ballets. And one of the most successful of these was the theatre productions that toured Royal Ordnance Factory Hostels around the country. Royal Ordnance Factories were government-run munitions factories. Established in relatively safe areas of the country, most of these were more or less self-contained, with generators, workshops, hostels, canteens, laundries and medical centres for the workers. The CEMA ROH tours proved exceptionally successful in boosting the workers’ morale. Considering that many of these workers had little previous experience with the arts, it was both daring and innovative to stage plays by George Bernard Shaw, William Shakespeare, Somerset Maugham, Henrik Ibsen, Anton Chekov and others, but the response was overwhelmingly appreciative. Throughout the war, CEMA initiated many other successful endeavours and collaborations, often setting up entertainments and makeshift theatres in community or church halls. A CEMA report of 1944, The Arts in Wartime, stated: “It is a special aim of the Council to encourage the dispersal of the arts to centres which, mainly for reasons connected with the war, are cut off from enjoying them.” With so many theatre hands in the Forces or employed in essential war work, initially keeping theatres open and viable during the war was believed to be an almost impossible task. When stage costumes and make-up were rationed and air raids disrupted performances, the difficulties seemed almost insurmountable. But it was soon realised that theatre was an outstandingly effective morale booster so CEMA and theatre owners tried new tactics. For a start, theatres in vulnerable areas ran performances in the late afternoons or early evenings rather than at night. If an air raid occurred during a performance, signs illuminated in the auditorium, informing audiences that an air raid was in progress and they were free to leave quietly for a shelter if they wished. Towards the end of the war, most chose to stay where they were and watch the play or show to the end.

  Reading also surged in popularity. Books were taken into shelters, read on the usually delayed public transport journeys, or during long evenings in the blackout. In 1942 the Publishers’ Association negotiated a Book Production War Economy Agreement designed to save paper while maintaining design. In 1943 publishers were allowed only a small percentage of their pre-war paper (a meagre 25 per cent of previous supplies, rising to just 42 per cent after the trade protested to the government). To try to match the demand amid such stringent reductions, books were produced on thinner paper with narrower margins and lighter bindings. Chapters often ran straight on from each other rather than starting on a new page. Penguin Books’ innovative cheap paperbacks had been available since the early 1930s, and many other publishers struggled to maintain business as usual and most managed to produce legible, economical books. Public and subscription libraries like Boots and W. H. Smith were particularly popular and, in 1941, W. H. Smith introduced travelling bookstalls to replace established bookstalls that had been bombed. Most substantial towns had a Boots Booklovers Library and by 1939 there were 450 of these across Britain, supporting over half a million subscribers who were charged a small fee per book. Subscription libraries were valued in rural areas where no public lending library was provided by the local council. Reading matter varied, but the general trend was for gripping stories that provided plenty of escapism. Surprisingly perhaps, crime stories were just as popular as in less violent times. Although contemporary novels were enjoyed by many, by authors such as A. J. Cronin, Daphne du Maurier, Agatha Christie, Monica Dickens, Frances Parkinson Keyes, James Thurber and Elizabeth Goudge, classics by authors such as Jane Austen, Charles Dickens and Anthony Trollope experienced a resurgence in popularity as people sought to immerse themselves in the relative comfort and safety of the past. Magazines, although reduced in size, were also enjoyed by many, with a diverse range available, including Good Housekeeping, Punch, Picture Post, Lilliput, Woman’s Weekly, Woman and Home, Country Life, The Listener, Fortnightly Review and others. Containing relevant and topical information and guidance, they aroused feelings of community spirit, featuring heartening stories, ideas for improving day-to-day lives and often additional helpful advice from the government.

  Art and advertising

  When the War Artists Advisory Committee (WAAC) was formed in 1939 it aimed to direct and commission art to serve the war effort; through recording the conflict visually, raising morale and promoting national culture. Some of the most avant-garde artists in Britain were commissioned, including Percy Wyndham Lewis, C.R.W. Nevinson, John Piper, Graham Sutherland, Henry Moore and Stanley Spencer. Based in Britain, these particular artists’ expressive and powerful evocations reinterpreted and reflected the difficulties shared on the Home Front.

  At the beginning of the war, commercial artists suffered when the advertising industry effectively collapsed. In the light of more immediate concerns, advertising goods and services was perceived as an irrelevant luxury. It was soon realised however how important advertising, that notified and updated the public, actually was and many of the copywriters, graphic designers, typographers, illustrators, art directors and account executives who had worked in the advertising industry before the war were employed by the government. In their efforts to condense and convey information and messages to anxious, busy people who were struggling through adversity, these advertising specialists created some exceptionally unique, succinct and effective advertising campaigns.

  A special job of work

  Edwin J. Embleton had worked for 15 years for a publishing house when war broke out and he was almost immediately employed by the Ministry of Information. Within a short time he was working as art director and studio manager, employing painters, designers, illustrators, layout artists, typographers, calligraphers, cartoonists and more, effectively creating an advertising agency within the MoI. His remit was to produce all official government literature for both the general and overseas production divisions, and w
as responsible for preparing, overseeing and following all projects through to completion. His undertakings were huge, but at the end of the war, Churchill wrote a letter of thanks for his “special job of work” and awarded him the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for his services to the war effort.

  The war forced everyone to be economical and there was no exception for commercial artists, who concisely captured and epitomised the atmosphere of the era with simple slogans and stylish images. Some of the most successful were: John Gilroy, Frank Newbould, Leslie Illingworth, Harold Forster, Pat Keely and Bert Thomas. Gilroy had been famous for his Guinness advertisements, but throughout the war he was employed by Embleton for the MoI. Illingworth became recognised for his political cartoons in the Daily Mail and Punch and a series of humorous posters for the Ministry of War Transport. Forster originally designed chocolate boxes, but among others, created the glamorous poster “Keep Mum – She’s Not So Dumb” as part of the “Careless Talk Costs Lives” campaign. Keely meanwhile, designed the famous poster “Look Out in the Blackout!” There were many other commercial artists, all working behind the scenes, and all effectively helping to bolster the public’s spirits with their crisp and creative ideas.

  The monarchy

  One of the biggest boosts to the collective morale was the attitude of the King and Queen, who remained at Buckingham Palace throughout the war, although they sent their daughters, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret to Windsor Castle for safety. During the Blitz, Buckingham Palace suffered nine direct hits and after one of these when the royals toured some of the bombed areas of London, Queen Elizabeth famously declared: “It makes me feel I can look the East End in the face.” The King also visited his troops in France and North Africa and founded the George Medal and the George Cross to honour the “many acts of heroism performed both by male and female persons especially during the present war.” So the monarchy proved to have a hugely positive effect on the entire nation. The appearance of the royal couple among others living through the war at home, with their insistence that they would never leave Britain, increased the collective feeling that everyone was in the conflict together.

  10

  AFTERMATH

  “Tomorrow, just you wait and see, there’ll be love and laughter

  and peace ever after, tomorrow, when the world is free.” ~ From

  The White Cliffs of Dover, written by Nat Burton, music by

  Walter Kent, first published in 1941

  By the middle of 1944 Germany was clearly losing the war and everyone felt that the end was in sight. Although exhausted, a wave of optimism swept Britain and people relaxed a little. Then Hitler launched his new “revenge weapons”. Just at the point when victory seemed in sight, it looked as if Britain would buckle under the crushing onslaught of 10,000V1 flying bombs and 1,400V2 rockets, launched on England between June 1944 and March 1945. Dispensing with the need for pilots, the V1 could fly a distance of 200 miles and carried one ton of high explosives. The RAF named them “doodlebugs”. They also became known as PACs (pilotless aircraft) or buzz bombs as they emitted a portentous buzzing sound that stopped when they were about to drop. For years Hitler had threatened Britain with his “secret weapon”. The first V1 was launched over London on 13th June 1944, to avenge the successful Allied landing in Europe the previous week. Unrelentingly until October, V1s continued bombing at a rate of about 50 a week, in total, killing 9,000 civilians and seriously injuring approximately 25,000 others. Britons lived in fear of the ominous silence when a doodlebug’s engine stopped, because no one could estimate where it would fall. They either dropped directly or were carried along by the wind. Mirrie Hull recalled: “It was the silence when the engine cut out that was worrying. Then you’d hear a big bang and know you were safe – it had landed somewhere else.” After 79 days, the V1 threat was stopped when Allied Forces overran the areas where they were being built.

  Then Hitler launched the V2, the world’s first rocket, which could fly even further distances than the V1 and travelled at greater speeds. Like the V1, it also carried one ton of high explosives. On 8th September 1944, the Germans launched their first V2s on London from a suburb of The Hague in Holland. Firing at a rate of between four and seven a day, the V2s were not as accurate as Hitler had hoped and they were exceptionally costly. After seven months, V2 rockets had killed 2,754 and injured 6,500.

  Lights up

  Despite the bombing on some towns and particularly on London, the end of the war was imminent. It was realised that not everywhere would be attacked by the flying bombs and on 17th September 1944, the “dim-out” was introduced to many towns. This was just slightly less stringent than the blackout with a modified form of street lighting allowed. Major cities and coastal towns remained in total blackout and complete blackouts would be imposed anywhere an air raid might take place. Full lifting of the blackout across Britain did not occur until 30th April 1945, one week before the end of the war was announced, when rumours of Hitler’s suicide were rife. The blackout had been one of the most resented restrictions of the period and many remember the excitement of seeing their first neon sign and of the brightness of night time streets after so long in darkness. In September 1944, the Daily Mirror reported the government’s plans for releasing those serving in the armed forces, stating that married women would be treated as a priority class, while other men and women would either be demobbed or would be signed up to work on reconstruction, or rebuilding the country.

  Over the next week the announcement that war had ended was eagerly anticipated. On the evening of 7th May, when reports spread that Germany had surrendered, an announcement was made on the radio that the next day would be declared Victory in Europe (VE) Day and that the Prime Minister would speak to the nation. At 3pm the following day, from the Cabinet room at Number 10, Downing Street, Churchill’s speech was broadcast on the radio and relayed over loudspeakers to waiting crowds in Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square. He proclaimed that the war was over and there would be two days’ national holiday to celebrate. He paid tribute to the men and women who had laid down their lives and to all those who had fought valiantly on land, sea and in the air. Euphoric crowds surged through the streets, shouting, singing and cheering. Soon after the broadcast, thousands gathered outside Whitehall and chanted for Churchill. Eventually he appeared on the balcony of the Ministry of Health building and began an impromptu speech:

  “This is your victory. It is the victory of the cause of freedom in every land. In all our long history, we have never seen a greater day than this. Everyone, man or woman, has done their best. Everyone has tried…God bless you all.”

  Huge crowds also gathered on the Mall outside Buckingham Palace and cheered as the King, Queen and their daughters the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, appeared on the palace balcony. Later that day, the Prime Minister appeared with them on the balcony and for the first time in nearly six years, all the blackout curtains had been taken down and every room in the palace glittered with light. Later the King spoke to the waiting nation, thanking “Almighty God for a great deliverance” and declaring that throughout the conflict, the people were “never for one moment daunted or dismayed.” He continued by acknowledging all who had fought so bravely, urging everyone to: “...resolve as a people to do nothing unworthy of those who died for us and to make the world such a world as they would have desired, for their children and for ours.”

  Celebrations

  For a short time all over Britain, everyone forgot their cares and celebrated. The enormous task of getting the country back to normal was pushed aside. Church bells rang out across the country and churches were packed as people went to offer thanks and to reflect on the millions of lives lost and hardship endured. Mayors and other dignitaries followed Churchill’s broadcast with local speeches. Housewives and others who had struggled to maintain morale for the last few years organised celebratory parties, once again calling upon their creativity and enterprising spirits, as they fashioned bu
nting, rosettes, flags and fancy dress costumes out of odds and ends, raiding their sewing boxes and larders and improvising party food from their rations to share with their families and neighbours. Neighbours pooled ration coupons, children helped by making paper flags, party hats and costumes, and many bought crepe paper bunting, rosettes and red, white and blue flags from shops that had been beginning to stockpile such things for weeks. Bunting was strung across streets, tables and chairs pushed together and covered with tablecloths and across the country, everyone rejoiced. Proportionate to the inventive spirits of the last few years, tales of the children’s fancy dress costumes were startlingly enterprising and original, despite the dearth of materials. Extremely inventive mothers, grandmothers and aunties used whatever materials they could find, such as blackout curtains, adults’ clothes, sheets and pillowcases and even Christmas decorations to quickly make costumes representing topical, historical and fictional figures, including “Freedom”, “Britannia”, “Rationing”, “Red Tape”, “Victory”, munitions workers, brides and countless nurses and Winston Churchills. Bonfires were lit, many in the centres of roads and many accompanied by fireworks. Eyewitnesses report that the food and drink for those celebrations was astonishing and little short of miraculous considering the rationing that was still in place. The celebrations continued for several days. There was so much to rejoice about: the war in Europe was over; Britain and its allies had won; evacuees and some troops would soon be returning home; air raids and flying bombs were consigned to memories.