1940s Facts

• Due to shortages and soaring inflation, the cost of British living rose by 83% from 1939 to 1943.

• By September 1939, the government had issued 38 million gas masks - one for nearly every Briton - and appointed more than 1.5 million Air Raid Precaution (ARP) wardens.

• Before WWII, only half the British population had enough income to afford a healthy diet. Despite shortages, Britons' health did improve during the war.

• Men were advised to leave their shirt tails hanging out if they went out after dark, so they could be seen by cars with dimmed headlights.

• The process of slicing and wrapping bread was prohibited during WWII, and up until 1950, as an economy measure.

• In 1945, the divorce rate was over three times higher than the pre-war figure.

• By December 1943, there were 1.5 million women workers in the engineering industry - 30% of the total workforce.

• The GIs gave rise to one famous complaint - they were: “Overpaid, oversexed and over here!”

• At £7.00, an Anderson shelter cost more than a week's earnings. They were, however, free to those on low earnings.

• During the war paper was in short supply and a household was rationed to only one toilet roll a week.

• The wartime diet was rich in fat and carbohydrates, with an average daily intake of 3,000 calories - that's 1,000 more than today.

• Housewives were advised to tell their families what had gone into their dinner only after they had finished eating it!

• During the first four days of the war, 400,000 Londoners had their cats and dogs destroyed, for fear of their pets being terrified by the bombs or starving during the war.

• Thanks to the Dig for Victory campaign, by 1945 around 75% of food consumed in Britain was produced in Britain.

• In 1939 1.5 million children and adults were evacuated in three days, including 600,000 from London. However, more than half of all schoolchildren did not leave their homes in the cities and towns.

• By the end of WWII, half of all women had taken up smoking.

• At the height of the blitz, 20,000 homes were damaged or destroyed in a day.

• 80% of middle class households failed to adhere to the strict blackout regulations during the first few weeks of the war.

• The Women's Voluntary Services (WVS) began in June 1938, to prepare women for civil defence work. It carried out vital war work and helped Britain to run as normal, with one million members during the war.