Wartime Britain

What was life like in Britain during the Second World War (1939–45)? Here we explore rationing, evacuation measures, the Blitz, crime, and the role of women

A black and white photograph showing a young boy playing with two girls in the sand

"Imagine starting a life with so little": the stories of South Asians in Britain.

A black and white photo of a line of young people doing the conga around a bonfire

"We sang, we danced and we all held hands": celebrating VE Day.

VE Day revellers blowing party trumpets

Second World War

"The best day of my life"A history of VE Day street parties

"I felt very alone in a world gone horribly mad": the experiences of evacuees in WW2.

General History

War and military history podcast episodes

Diners watch a waitress chalk up the dishes offered on the day's menu at a British Restaurant in Gillingham, 1941. (Photo by Reuben Saidman/ Popperfoto via Getty Images)

Eat for victory: the British Restaurants of WW2.

circa 1923: A Remembrance Day poster issued by the British Legion after World War One, reminding people to wear a Flanders poppy on November 11th. (Photo by Bob Thomas/Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)

Why we should remember...When the paper poppy became a symbol of remembrance.

Winston Churchill delivering his famous 'iron curtain' speech at Westminster College

Second World War

8 of Churchill’s greatest speeches

Women queue for potatoes in a greengrocer's shop in London, c1945. (Photo by Ministry of Information Photo Division Photographer/IWM via Getty Images)

Saving food, saving lives: rationing in the Second World War.

Krystyna Skarbeck, also called Christine Granville

History heroMichael Morpurgo chooses Krystyna Skarbek (1908–1952).

AFS firemen tackle a blitz fire amidst the rubble surrounding St Paul's Cathedral, London. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

Second World War

Your guide to the Blitz, plus 9 places affected by the bombings

Expelled Germans leaving Poland's western territories

"The war without an end": what happened in Europe after VE Day?.

Crowds in Piccadilly Circus in London celebrate VE Day

Countdown to VE Day: the week World War 2 ended in Europe.

A woman is carried away on a stretcher following a German bombing raid on London, c1940. (Photo by Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The dangers of the Blitz spirit.

Sir Nicholas Winton

Second World War

The 'British Schindler' who saved 669 children from the Nazis

Members of the Home Guard train racing pigeons as messengers in Blackburn, July 1940. Soon, carrier birds like this would be supplying vital intelligence on German arms factories and troop movements in occupied Europe. (Photo by Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The pigeons’ war on Hitler.

A colour illustration of First World War allies, the German Reich and Austria-Hungary, featuring soldiers shaking hands, their troops and national flags, c1915. (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)

First World War

Q&AWho was involved in the First World War? Who was on each side?

Why Churchill’s reputation is still on the line.

Winston Churchill. (Photo by Getty Images)

Did Churchill’s postwar speeches save the world?.

Four young members of the largest group of Kindertransport refugees arrive at Southampton, England, in March 1939. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

Remembering the Kindertransport.

The Ghent Altarpiece. (Image by Getty Images)

Who were the real monuments men of the Second World War?.

Members of the Palmers Green and Winchmore Hill LNER (London and North Eastern Railway) LDV (Local Defence Volunteers) dressed in their civilian clothes march along a platform passing a steam locomotive on 1 July 1940 in London. (Photo by Harry Todd/Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The Dad’s Army guide to defending Britain.

Spies through the ages podcast

Spies through the ages.

Second World War

5 facts about the Bevin Boys

Norsk Hydro's Vermork plant

The Special Operations Executive: Churchill's secret army.

The postwar world.

Wendy Webster. (Photo by Claire Wood/BBC)

Books interview with Wendy Webster: “In its finest hour, Britain’s population was multiethnic and multinational”.

A crowd gathers to watch the witnesses arrive for the trial of John George Haigh, the 'acid bath murderer', in Lewes, East Sussex, July 1949. (Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Second World War

10 facts about crime on the home front in the Second World War

Britain’s secret wartime prison.

'Darkest Hour': an interview with director Joe Wright.