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

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)

Second World War

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

Krystyna Skarbeck, also called Christine Granville

Second World War

History hero Michael 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

VE Day revellers blowing party trumpets

Second World War

In pictures: jubilant VE Day street party celebrations

Expelled Germans leaving Poland's western territories

Second World War

“The war without an end”: what happened in Europe after VE Day?

Crowds in Piccadilly Circus in London celebrate VE Day

Second World War

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)

Second World War

The dangers of the Blitz spirit

Sir Nicholas Winton

Second World War

The ‘British Schindler’ who saved 669 children from the Nazis

Franklin D Roosevelt and Sir Winston Churchill

Second World War

Secrets of Churchill’s War Rooms

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)

Second World War

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

Contrasting biographies of iconic leader Winston Churchill show how perceptions of historical figures change with the passing of time, says David Cannadine. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Second World War

Why Churchill’s reputation is still on the line

Winston Churchill. (Photo by Getty Images)

Second World War

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)

Second World War

Remembering the Kindertransport