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