Britain during the second world war

BRITAIN DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR

Выполнено преподавателем английского языка

«Нижегородского Губернского колледжа»

Кузнецовой Светланой Ивановной.

Evacuees in the Second World War

• The Second World War began on 3 September 1939.
• The bombing raids on British cities did not begin till the summer of 1940.
• Children from British cities were evacuated to the countryside.
• 827,000 schoolchildren with 103,000 teachers and helpers left the big cities.
• 524,000 children below school age and their mothers left.

Air Raids on Britain in the Second World War

Before the war the British government began preparing for air raids.

By 1939 they had

• an air raid precautions system
• air raid sirens.

Before the war began people bought Anderson shelters

(although poor people could get them free). An Anderson shelter was made of sections of corrugated iron. You erected it in a hole at least 3 feet deep in your garden and used the earth from the hole to cover it.

From the end of 1940, some people got Morrison shelters (again poor people could get them free).

The Morrison shelter was a steel cage you erected indoors.

In London, some people sheltered in the underground .

On 7 September 1940 the Germans began bombing London. By 1 January 1941 over 13,000 Londoners were killed.

Other cities heavily bombed during the 'blitz' included

• Birmingham,
• Coventry,
• Bristol,
• Portsmouth,
• Plymouth.

In June 1944 the Germans unleashed a 'secret weapon' on Britain.

It was a kind of rocket called a VI flying bomb . (The British public called them 'doodlebugs' ).

From September 1944 V2 rockets were launched.

• Altogether 1,115 V2s hit England.
• About half of them hit  London .
• The last V2 was fired on 27 March 1945.

At first, the British government claimed the explosions were caused by exploding gas mains (which didn't fool anybody!). They did not admit the truth until November 1944.

Hitler called his new weapons vengeance weapons yet German bombing failed. It failed to dent British morale and it failed to seriously affect industrial output .

About 1 million houses in Britain were destroyed or severely damaged during the Second World War.

About 40,000 civilians were killed.

After the war, Britain was left with a severe shortage of housing.

Food Rationing in Britain in the Second World War

Rationing in Britain began in September 1939.

Petrol was rationed.

In January 1940

• butter,
• sugar,
• bacon,
• ham

were rationed.

Tea was rationed from July 1940.

From March 1941 jam and marmalade were rationed.

From May 1941 cheese was rationed

From June 1941 eggs were rationed.

From November 1941 milk was also rationed.

From July 1942 sweets were rationed.

*Instead of real eggs many people had to make do with 'dried eggs' imported from the USA. (They were a powder to which you added water.)

The amount of food you were allowed varied during the war.

• 3 pints of milk a week ,
• 1 egg a week ,
• 50g of tea,
• 225g of sugar,
• 350g of sweets every 4 weeks .

*During the Second World War the people were encouraged to 'dig for victory‘

and the amount of land under cultivation increased

from 12 million acres in 1939 to 18 million acres in 1945.

Clothes Rationing in Britain in the Second World War

From July 1941 and until 1949 clothes were also rationed.

You had to save up coupons to buy your clothes.

During World War II it was necessary to save material so skirts were shorter .

*People were encouraged to make do and mend. Women did not wear tights at that time (they were not invented until 1958). However they did wear stockings but they were scarce so some women tanned their legs brown and painted a seam on.

Other Rationing in Britain in the Second World War

In 1940 only about 1 family in 10 in Britain owned a car .

Petrol for cars was rationed.

There were no bananas in Britain during the Second World War as they had to be imported from abroad.

Most toy factories were converted to making things for the war so children had to make do with old toys or make their own from pieces of cloth or wood.

From February 1941 soap and washing powder were rationed and even saucepans were very difficult to come by.

Entertainment in the Second World War

In Britain television stopped during the Second World War.

People had a radio though and it was vital to keep up morale and keep people informed.

Going to the cinema at least once a week was very popular.

Women in Britain in the Second World War

Women played a vital role in Britain during the Second World War. They operated anti-aircraft guns.

There was a women's auxiliary fire service.

There was the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS).

* Вспомогательное территориальное обслуживание

Women worked as

• ambulance drivers
• wrens (navy)
• part of the women's land army
• dustwomen
• female postal workers
• nurses
• ARP wardens .

* Agriculture Rehabilitation Program (ARP)= восстановление сельского хозяйства