If you’re getting fed up with the Coronavirus lockdown, spare a thought for those at home during the Second World War. Air raids, separation from loved ones and food rationing put the population under great stress. People could still go out, of course, but the range of entertainment available at home was very limited. How did people cope and occupy their time indoors, or when confined in shelters?

A family at home in the 1940s
© IWM D 12058
The Chillingworth factory relax in front of the fire in the living room of their suburban London home, 1942.

This wholesome image of a wartime family enjoying some ‘downtime’ is typical of those used by the Ministry of Information for public information and propaganda campaigns.

Dad reads the newspaper, mum darns some tights (‘Make Do and Mend’...) and the children play quietly or broaden their minds with suitable reading material. This photo was taken in 1942 and captures the Chillingworth family in front of the fire in the living room of their suburban London home. 

1. Listen to music

Mrs Bugler pictured in 1943 entertaining local soldiers
© IWM D 13251
After tea, Mrs Bugler sits at the piano and leads her soldier guests (including Harry Wardle (standing left) and Harry Baddeley (standing right)) in a sing-song.

Like today, music in the home was hugely popular, but unlike today it was a more social activity. And as with many other things in wartime, you were often forced to make your own.

Here is seventy year old Mrs Bugler in 1943 entertaining local soldiers with a piano recital at her home in East Dean in Sussex. 

Discover the song that ruled the airwaves during the Second World War.

Arthur White playing his trumpet, 1942.
© IWM D 10718
Arthur White practices his trumpet at the rest home in which he is staying in North Shields.

Arthur White was captured practising with his trumpet in a hostel for ‘colonial’ merchant seamen in North Shields, County Durham, in 1942.

Celebrating Eid during the Second World War
© IWM D 5163
Following the Eid ul Fitr ceremony at Woking Mosque, the celebrations continue with music and singing by the fireplace in the living room.

And this group was photographed enjoying an evening of music and singing during the festival of Eid, marking the end of Ramadan, with members of the Royal Indian Army Service Corps in Woking in 1941.

A gramophone is played in an air raid shelter
© IWM D 1631
A young woman places the gramophone needle on a record to bring some light relief to an air raid shelter.

A gramophone was the usual way to play recorded music, and served to cheer up people confined for long hours in an air raid shelter, as here in North London during the Blitz in 1941 - as long as you brought the right records!

A family listen to the wireless in their living room
© IWM D 12274
A family relaxes at home on a Sunday afternoon in Taunton, Somerset, 1942.

There was no Wi-Fi in those days but you could still go ‘wireless’, listening to your favourite radio programs as other members of the family read the newspaper or knitted.

This family was pictured in Taunton, Somerset, on a Sunday afternoon in 1942. The BBC was the main vehicle for official announcements, and played a vital role helping to support public morale. Comedy was its most important weapon – for example, ITMA (‘It’s That Man Again’) was a hugely popular show, with almost 40 percent of the population tuning in every week.  

2. Take up a craft

Irene Stacey (left) knits in preparation for the birth of her first child. Her mother, Mrs Sarah Emily Matilda Jones, holds up a garment she has been working on for her new grandchild.
© IWM D 10440
Irene Stacey (left) knits in preparation for the birth of her first child. They are in their home at 124 Bloy Street, Easton, Bristol.

Knitting was another favourite activity. Here, Mrs Irene Stacey (left) and her mother Sarah Jones, knit garments for Irene’s new baby at their home in Bristol in 1942. Her husband was serving in North Africa.       

Knitting in a railway arch bomb shelter
© IWM D 1596
This group have made themselves a home away from home in this corner of the shelter under the railway arches, South East London.

Knitting could also help pass the time in a railway arch bomb shelter like this one in Bermondsey, London, in 1940. This family have made themselves at home, bringing many of their possessions with them. The man behind makes sure the clock is telling the right time.

3. Relax with a cigarette

A portrait photograph of a man sitting in an armchair. He is smoking a cigarette and reading a newspaper whilst listening to the wireless.
© IWM D 8987
A man sitting in an armchair smoking a cigarette and reading a newspaper whilst listening to the wireless.

Many people chose to ‘relax with a cigarette’. Smoking was regarded as a necessity for wartime life, whether military or civilian, and generally promoted to ‘ease anxiety’.

This photograph from 1942 was probably taken for use in an exhibition or leaflet campaign.

Promotional image showing a woman smoking a cigarette
© IWM D 18234
A woman relaxes smoking a cigarette while reclining on a sofa with a book.

Cigarettes were not rationed but the troops had priority and civilians were urged to limit their consumption. And many still had doubts about how appropriate it was for women.

This racy photograph was taken as part of a promotional campaign for a brand of Turkish cigarettes.

4. Parlour games

Army men on leave playing parlour games
© IWM H 37554; H 37555
A "parlour game" in progress during the party. Dried peas have to be placed from one dish to another by means of sucking through a straw.

There were more active ways of passing the time. Parlour games were a popular distraction, as shown in this image on the left, taken in April 1944. It features Lance Bombardier Jack Grundy of the Royal Artillery, on leave at the family home in Irby, Cheshire. Here, Jack and his friend Bob Milliron from the US Army transfer dried peas between plates by means of sucking through a straw. Jack’s wife Dorothy is the umpire, and other members of the family are avid spectators. 

In this thrilling game featured in the image on the right, participants have to pass a matchbox to one another, using only their nose. This image was snapped by Lt. Tenner in April 1944. 

A parlour game played by men and women in 1944
© IWM H 37556
Another game is for a gentleman to put ladies clothes on and vice-versa, the winner being the one who dresses completely in the shortest time.

Here the family gets the chance to indulge in a bit of cross-dressing, in this photograph also taken by Lt. Tenner in 1944. As the original caption explains: “Another game is for a gentleman to put ladies clothing on and vice-versa, the winner being the one who dresses completely in the shortest time.” The original wartime caption also specifies that American Bob thoroughly enjoyed the party.

5. Board games

Wartime card games
© IWM EPH 3826; EPH 2521
The IWM has examples of traditional board and card games with which wartime families could while away the time.

The IWM has examples of more traditional board and card games with which wartime families could while away the time.

‘Vacuation’, described modestly by its makers Pepys Games as ‘the most amusing ever card game’, was based on the government evacuation scheme for children. The cards featured humorous caricatures of children, teachers and householders and the aim was to get rid of all your cards as soon as possible.

‘War Planes’ was a standard deck of cards, but each featured a silhouette of an RAF or German aircraft, making it educational for members of the armed forces, the Observer Corps and amateur plane-spotters everywhere.

Wartime board games
© IWM EPH 4080, EPH 520
Wartime board games, ‘Night Raiders’, in which players attempted to bomb an enemy factory and race game, ‘ARP’, with rewards and forfeits along the way.

‘Night Raiders’, in which players attempted to bomb an enemy factory, was based on ‘Snakes and Ladders’, except you went up searchlights and came down if you landed on a flak explosion or German night-fighter. It was probably not something to get out if you had a relative in RAF Bomber Command.

‘ARP’ was a race game, with rewards and forfeits along the way, inspired by government air raid precautions set up before the war. Players started with the air raid warning going off and finished at the sound of the ‘all clear’.

6. Have a drink

Labourer Price Evans drinks a beer in the ‘Wynnstay Arms’ in the village of Ruabon in Denbighshire, Wales, 1944.
© IWM D 18484
According to the original caption, Mr Evans said "It may be dear, it may be thin, but there ain't no bad beer".

And if all else failed... unlike today, the pubs were still open. Alcohol was not rationed but only beer was readily available, and its supply and strength varied considerably as a result of shortages. Here labourer Price Evans sinks a pint in the ‘Wynnstay Arms’ in the village of Ruabon in Denbighshire, Wales, 1944.

Some drinks are shared around in an air raid shelter in North London in 1940
© IWM D 12058
Drinks are shared around in an air raid shelter in North London in 1940.

Drinking at home was nowhere near as common as it is today, but a tipple or two was one way of coping with life in an air raid shelter, as here in North London in 1940.

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