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The book is split in two, just as the decade was, with the first part looking at the war years and the second at the post-war period. This was the period of the author’s childhood, and the book is heavily influenced by his own experiences of the decade, although the text is supported by plenty of different voices.
The key strength of this book is that it concentrates on aspects of daily life that won’t get much attention in academic social history, but that were significant for children at the time – bunking off school, Saturday cinema, radio comedy etc. The tone is generally one of personal memories rather than a detailed study, so we get told that vast numbers of children attended the cinema, but don’t get actual numbers. Instead we get an idea of what it meant for children of the 1940s to be able to escape to the cinema, or into the world of the increasingly popular comics (such as the fairly new Beeno and Dandy).
The author covers a wide range of subjects – a chapter on the impact of German bombing is followed by a series on the types of entertainment available for children. The content of the post-war section is less familiar that the wartime material, and is a useful reminder that things didn’t immediately get better after the end of the war (although we do get a look at post-war holidays).
Part I: War Time
1 – The Bare Facts 1945
2 – Setting the Scene
3 – Home Sweet Home
4 – ‘Vaccies’
5 – Bunking Off
6 – All Hell Let Loose
7 – Food for Thought
8 – Fun and Games
9 – Street Life
10 – ‘Goodnight Children everywhere’
11 – Saturday Morning Pictures
12 – Desperate Dan and Pals
13 – Its that Man Again and Again and Again
14 – Book Worms
15 – Say Aah
16 – Got any Gum Chum?
17 – Days to Remember
Part II: Same Old Austerity
18 – Homecoming
19 – Surprise Packages
20 – Relative Values
21 – It Ain’t Half Cold, Mum
22 – Say aaah
23 – Owzat
24 – Youngsters After the War
25 – Sea Air and Candy Floss
26 – Get Fell In
27 – Anniversary – A Postscript to the War
28 – Tinsel Time
29 – Reflections and Moving On
Author: Mike Hutton
Edition: Hardcover
Pages: 208
Publisher: Pen & Sword History
Year: 2023