If you haven't yet been to the imperial war museum to see the 1940's house, then I strongly recommend you go. It shows you what life was like during the Second World War.
The whole thing was based on a television series. They took a real family and they had to look and behave as if it was the 1940's. They recreated the whole experience and the family had to comply with it. You can watch the programme and see for yourself.
The house itself is furnished as it would have been. If you lost furniture through being bombed you could replace it with what was called utility furniture. It didn't look very attractive but it was cheap and functional. The radio, or rather the wireless as it was then known, was the only form of entertainment in those days. Unless you went to the cinema, there you could not only see films but also newsreel.
In the kitchen you will see a hand mincer; there were no food mixers around then. Everything would have to be done by hand and any scrap of food would be used, waste wasn't an option. To help with food rationing Margurite Patten advised on home economics, giving healthy recipe ideas and ways to prevent waste. Although I am surprised nobody suggested not to peel potatoes, as the peel contains vitamin C. You could also be throwing away a lot of potato in the process.
Upstairs, you will see in the bathroom a black line on the bath, this was the amount of water you were allowed. In the bedrooms you will see eiderdowns on the beds to keep you warm. They kept going for years I had a pink flowery one as a child. The dressing table reminds me of my grandmothers. The silver brush and mirror set and the glass bottles are typical of the period.
In the garden you were encouraged to grow your own food; animals such as chickens could be kept. Every piece of land was put to good use; parks were dug up and made into allotments. The campaign was called dig for victory. The Anderson shelter would have been used. The family did have to use it and were sometimes woken by a raid in the middle of the night, which is just what would have happened in the war. They had to carry their gas masks at all times in case there was an attack; fortunately there never was a chemical attack.
As you go on through the exhibition you will discover about blackouts, air raid sirens, make do and mend and utility furniture. When people wanted to get married the bride would save her coupons for months in order to buy fabric for the dress. Coupons were your rationing allowance. Wedding cakes had to be just for show and were made out of cardboard. So it would look like you were cutting the cake in the photograph.
They have activity sheets for you to fill in at the Imperial war museum so make sure you ask for one. Take it slowly make sure you take it all in, you could even test yourself or each other afterwards. Lastly make sure you don't miss anything, some things are there for you to do discover.
There is also the blitz experience, which recreates the whole thing. It is a dark bare shelter and when the door closes, there is only the odd flicker of light for comfort. I felt I wanted to get out, not a choice I would have had if it was real. The sounds of bombing, the conversations that occurred at the time, make eerie. The shelter shakes as well. When you come out you are shown the devastation, you hear, feel, see, smell and fear it.
To find out more visit www.iwm.org.uk www.channel4.com/history/microsites/0-9/1940house/

© Children's Web Magazine 2004