Wartime Wednesday: The British Home Front During WWII

Wartime Wednesday: 

Life on the British Home Front

Britain went to war on September 3, 1939, but the first six to eight months was referred to as the “Phoney War.” Not much happened, leading people to believe the conflict would be over quickly and painlessly. The government is said to have “muddled through” during that time. Then came the defeat at Dunkirk and the fall of France. British citizens realize their optimism had been misplaced, and they were in for a long, hard struggle.

Beginning in September 1940, England was bombed by the Luftwaffe relentlessly for nine months. Known as the Blitz (short for Blitzkrieg), the attacks killed 60,595 civilians and injured an additional 86,182. St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Tower of London, and Parliament were just a few of the buildings that were hit. After the bombing of Buckingham Palace, the queen mother, Queen Elizabeth, remarked, “I’m glad we have been bombed. Now we can look the East End in the eye.”

Food rationing began in January 1940, and clothes in June 1941. According to more than a few sources, by 1943, almost every necessary household item was difficult to get, many unobtainable.

The war was also a time of great upheaval for children. Over one million were evacuated from towns

and cities during Operation Pied Piper. The idea was that they were safer in rural areas that had less chance of being bombed. I met a woman several years ago who had been evacuated from London as a young girl. She commented that she had a positive experience. The family treated her as one of their own, but she went on to say that her relationship with her biological family was never as close after the war. They’d been separated for five years.

Those children who did remain in the cities dealt with threats of gas attacks, bombings, rationing, and the disruption of school. Male teachers were called up leaving a void, and school buildings were damaged. Some schools moved to requisitioned country homes miles from the city, so children boarded keeping them away from their families for the duration.

Blackout restrictions were just that – restrictive – and penalties were harsh for those who broke the rules. Air Raid Precaution wardens patrolled the streets and were quick to point out if a light could be seen. Blackout curtains were heavy, unwieldy fabric and as the war progressed became unavailable, so blackout paper became a replacement. Vehicle headlights were fitted with covers to reduce the glare, making it difficult to drive. Numerous accidents were reported. Walking in the dark was also a dangerous proposition, so most folks stayed home at night if possible.

Rationing continued until 1954 – nine years after the war began!

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A Lesson in Love

He thinks he’s too old. She thinks she’s too young. Can these teachers learn that love defies all boundaries?

Born and raised in London, Isobel Turvine knows nothing about farming, but after most of the students in her school evacuate during Operation Pied Piper, she’s left with little to do. Then her friend Margery talks her into joining the Women’s Land Army, and she finds herself working the land at a manor home in Yorkshire that’s been converted to a boys’ school. A teacher at heart, she is drawn to the lads, but the handsome yet stiff-necked headmaster wants her to stick to farming.

Left with an arm that barely works from the last “war to end all wars,” Gavin Emerson agrees to take on the job of headmaster when his school moves from London to Yorkshire, but he’s saddled with the quirky manor owner, bickering among his teachers, and a gaggle of Land Army girls who have turned the grounds into a farm. When the group’s blue-eyed, raven-haired leader nearly runs him down in a car, he admonishes her to stay in the fields, but they are thrown together at every turn. Can he trust her not to break his heart?

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