Changing quality of life 1918-45 Flashcards
When was Butlins opened?
1937 in Skegness
When was the National Grind established?
1926 Electrical Supply Act
How did the bombings during WW2 affect lives on the home front?
• 2/7 houses were destroyed
•60 million changes of address during war
• 60 000 civilians killed by German bombs
How did the government use conscription to win the war?
• 14.9m men were registered for war service
• 7.1m women were registered for war work
8.5m Essential Work Orders issued
How did rationing impact the British standard of living?
• made the working class healthier - had previously preferred to eat biscuits and chips
• price controls made goods cheaper
• one complete outfit for people per year, encouraged to ‘make do and mend’ - fashion levelled across the classes
How did living standards improve between 1918 and 1945 due to real income?
• prices fell faster than wages
• families shrank due to the use of contraception- 2.19 kids on average compared to 4.6 in 1880 - therefore wages went further as shared by fewer people
How did much did the real cost of living fall by between 1920 and 1938
1/3
How did wages increase during WW2?
doubled
How did the amount of people that were homeowners change?
• 1914 - 10% of the population homeowners
• 1938 - 32% were
What did the Housing and Temporary Accommodation Act do and when was it introduced?
• 1944
• 300 000 houses constructed within 2 years
What did WW1 show about the health of Britons?
•40% were unfit for combat
How did long term unemployment change between 1929 and 1932?
• 1929 - 5%
• 1932 - 16.4%
What did Beveridge calculate in 1944?
• 85% of long term unemployment was in South Wales, Scotland and the North of England
How did the amount of people that had electricity change between 1920 and 1938?
• 1920 -730 000
• 1938 - 9m
What was still middle class between 1920 and the 1930s?
washers, heaters and washing machines
Why did cinema become popular during WW2?
• led to the demand of escapism and restrictions on other entertainment made cinema really popular
• government put news reels at the start of each film to update people on the war
• popular war films like the White Cliffs of Dover 1943 released
How did the number of cinemas and popularity in the UK increase between 1914 and the 1930s?
• 1914 - 3000
• 1930s - 5000
• by 1950, the average person went to the cinema 28 times a year
• in 1946 , 1.635bn tickets sold
How did cinemas improve quality of life?
• accessible to the working class, tickets were cheap so could experience the same luxury as the upper class
How many people had radios in their home?
• between 1922-39 the percentage of homes with a radio receiver was 71%
• By 1951 it was 90%
How did the BBC act as an instrument of social control?
• founded in 1922 and had a monopoly on radio broadcasting until 1973 - linked to the government, could censor war information e.g after the Bristol Blitz to keep morale high
• connected all of the country together
What was the purpose of the BBC and how did it level the classes?
• to educate
• all classes could access the same programmes through national and regional programme, connected through the first monarch’s christmas day speech in 1932
How did music improve living standards for the working class?
• working class men and women could go to dance halls, gave them a sense of luxury and for girls was a socially acceptable way of meeting boys
How did football/ other sports become more popular?
• through radio / televised events
• tickets were cheap so everybody could afford to go - £1 in 1981
why initially was football not viewed a lot on TV?
people preferred to watch sitcoms and other shows
How did car ownership increase between 1919 and 1939?
1919 - 100,000
1939 - 2 million
•mass production made them cheaper, however only really available to the middle class
• Ministry of Transport opened in 1919, network of roads began to develop in the 30s
What was the impact of cars becoming more popular?
• more ribbon developments - people living in suburbs
• divide between towns and countryside reduced
• changed consumer habits - e.g first out of town supermarket opened in Nottinghamshire in 1964 with 1000 parking spaces
Who mostly used cars?
the middle class, working class mostly used bikes or buses
What was Beechings axe, when and why did it occur
• 1963-65
• 1/2 of train stations were closed down and 1/3 track became unused
• this was done to make the National rail more profitable as more people began to use cars - however cut off the countryside
Why was the 1938 Holidays with Pay Act significant?
• in 1935, only 1.5 m workers had paid holiday
• by 1938, 7.75 m workers did
significant as more people can enjoy leisure time
How did changing patterns of home ownership cause a change in leisure time activities?
• led to the decline of the pub and working man clubs as people began to find entertainment in their home through TV and DIY
• increased number of Caravan holidays in areas like Devon, by the end of the 70s, half of the British population had been on a caravan holiday
How did the number of people holidaying abroad increase between 1951 and 1979?
1951 - 1 million Britons went abroad
1971 - 7 million Britons went abroad
1971 - only 1/3 of Britons had been on a foreign holiday
1979 - only 1/3 hadn’t been on a foreign holiday
Why did more people start to travel abroad?
• availability of cheap overseas package holidays
• end of currency restrictions after 1970
• resorts like Benidorm offered British foods and comforts with hotter weather
How did air travel develop from 1918-79?
• 1919 first commercial plane took off from London to Paris, however was expensive and exclusive
• 1951 only around 890,000 passengers
• 1979, just under 15 m passengers
What impact did foreign travel have on British culture/ leisure time activities?
• by the mid 60s traditional seaside holidays began to suffer
culinary tastes of the British began to change :
•wine consumption doubled in the 60s then again in the 70s
•Greek and Italian restaurants became popular
• 1960 - continental beers made up 3% of British beer market, by 1970 almost all pubs serve continental beer e.g Skol
How did patterns of car ownership change between 1960 and 1970?
• 1960 - 5 million cars
• 1970 - 11 million cars
How did car ownership affect leisure activities?
• more holidays as people had more mobility, could take their cars on ferries
• more people living in the suburbs - can commute freely to work, decline of population in cities like London, Manchester, South Shields - less overcrowding
• mass out of town supermarkets introduced - the first asda was opened in 1964 in nottinghamshire with 1000 car parking spaces
• divide between the country and cities reduced
Why did car ownership increase post WW2?
• end of petrol rationing
• move to the suburbs due to increase in white collar jobs
• roads were improved in the 70s through an intensive programme of motorway construction
How did real wages change between 1920-50?
• between 1920-38, real cost of living fell by 1/3
• post WW2 in the 50s disposable income on average increased by 30%
How did increased home ownership change leisure pursuits?
• people do DIY, want to stay in and watch TV (23% of men and women spent their spare time in front of a TV)leading to the decline of the pub and working man’s club
• people go on more caravan holidays -
When was the Consumer Credit Act introduced and why was it significant?
• 1974 - people can buy goods with credit cards, items more accessible to the working class
• however there was a stigma around using credit
how did housing improve between 1945 and 1979?
• rebuilt post WW2 in post war consensus, 1950 Housing Subsidies Act provides more money to rebuild/ regime poorer areas - during the war there had been around 3.5 million houses destroyed
• 1960 - 5% of homes have central heating, -1977 50% do
Why did sports spectatorship decline between 1945-79?
• rise of hooliganism - e.g British Rail had to cancel their Soccer Specials cheap deal on tickets after 2 carriages were destroyed
• rise of TV - some football matches began to be aired live in the 60s e.g 1966 world cup final, match of the Day 1964. People also stayed home to watch live TV as it couldn’t be caught up on
• as a result ticket sales declined:
1948-49 season, 41.7m ticket sales
1979-80, 24.6m
What restrictions did women face in participation in sport? 1918-79
• women banned from playing football 1921-1970
however:
• increased building of sports centres allowed for women to participate more, permitted to use swimming pools and fitness equipment to keep fit in order to be the ideal mother and housewife:
1970-27 centres
1979- over 500 centres
How did films/ cinema change post WW2?
• 1/2 of cinemas forced to close between 1955 and 1963 due to TV - ticket sales declining since peak of 1.6 billion sales in 1946
• became more explicit after 1968 Theatres Act
• became more about fiction/ drama/ romance rather than about the war
what was radio like during WW2?
• national and regional programmes were replaced by the Home service to prevent enemy aircraft from using regional programmes to navigate - home service boosted morale and sense of national identity
How did commercial radio develop post 1945?
• Light programme 1945- broadcasted a range of comedies and soaps. some aimed at women displaying traditional gender roles post WW2 e.g Woman’s Hour/Housewive’s choice, attracted 2/3 of the programmes 11 million daily listeners
How did pirate radio transform radio from purely educational as the BBC intended?
• people would listen to Radio Luxembourg for pop music/ rock when the light programme was doing a religious section on a Sunday
• 1967 Marine Broadcasting offences act banned this, however was ignored so the light programme was split into Radio 1 and 2 - Radio 1 aimed at younger audience
How did ownership of TVs increase between 1950-1979?
• 4% in 1950
• 40% in 1955
• 96% in 1975
Those who owned colour TV sets:
• % of colour television sets increased from 1.7% in 1979 to 70% in 1979
How was the North South divide apparent? (Beveridge)
•1944 - Beveridge calculated that 85% of all long term unemployment was located mostly in the North
• around 50,000 jobs a year were lost
When was live spectatorship at its peak in Britain?
1948-49 season, 42m tickets sold
