Addison Act of 1919 to Wartime Homes

Illustration of ‘Axminster’ linoleum, in ‘Catesby’s one-piece linola squares’, Catesbys Colourful Cork Lino (1938).

About 20% of the UK’s current housing stock was built before 1914 and an astonishing 17% was built between the wars. Home ownership was facilitated by the interwar house-building boom when nearly 3m houses were built for private sale and more than a million moved from rental to owner occupation. The ideology of Britain as a nation of homeowners emerged along with the desirability of a more home-centred way of life. It is this period that laid the foundations for the popularisation of the idea of the home as central to identity in Britain.

More than a million houses were built by local authorities following the 1919 Addison Act that demanded “homes fit for heroes”: troops that had served in World War I. They were also for the heroines who had undertaken munitions and other war work. These homes raised the standards of house building and set minimum standards for space. Despite being proposed as a solution to slums, they were only affordable for the better-off working classes.

Houses were rarely the riot of Art Deco that some museums would have you believe. In fact, there were remarkable consistencies in UK homes throughout the 20th century with furniture chosen to last and dark paint to hide the grime of everyday life. Fixture, fitting and furnishings often combined different styles and periods. 

The mid-1930s was the most affordable period for home ownership in British history due to falling prices, the availability of compact three-bedroom houses and cheap credit. In 1910, 90% of people rented their homes – by 1939, owner occupation had risen to 31%.

The small family of two or three children was typical of the respectable working and aspiring lower middle classes in the interwar years who sought to improve their standard of living and was also dictated by the size and number of bedrooms in the typical interwar semi.

1940s House, Entrance Hall > .

Home, Not So Sweet, Home - ElQu >> .
The 1940s House - IWD >> .

As a former V&A curator, I [Deborah Sugg Ryan] restored and curated Rosamund Road, living out a 1930s lifestyle. I turned the tiny lean-to “kitchenette” extension into an interwar ideal. It already had a deep Belfast sink accompanied by an enamel top table and a few shelves. I acquired an original 1930s Easiwork kitchen cabinet with storage hidden behind its doors, incorporating a flour hopper and a metal-lined meat safe and a pull-down work surface. This was theprecursor to fitted kitchens in Britain, which did not take off until the 1960s.

A note of caution about gadgets and electrical appliances. Washing machines and refrigerators may have been available in 1934 but that does not mean their use was widespread. In fact, the most popular appliances were curling tongs and irons. And even in the case of the latter only about a third of households had one in the 1935. If households had income for the luxuries afforded by the convenience of electrical appliances they were more likely to spend it on a wireless – leisure was valued more than saving women’s labour.

[Deborah Sugg Ryan is series consultant and onscreen expert for A House Through Time, Twenty Twenty Television for BBC Two. She received funding from the British Academy for her research on the interwar home, published by Manchester University Press as Ideal Homes, 1918-39: Domestic Design and Suburban Modernism.]

http://theconversation.com/houses-through-time-some-homes-can-reflect-a-century-of-social-change-114782 .

Air Raid Sirens

WW2 Air Raid Sirens Still Saving Lives Today - VE Day Special - mfp > .  

75 years after the end of WW2 in Europe, air raid sirens continue to help save lives in Britain. They are the last part of the civil defence network that used to protect civilians from the Luftwaffe - and these old machines are used today.

42-2-8 Blackout Ripper

Who was the Blackout Ripper? > .

Scotland Yard later claimed that Cummins had probably murdered two more women during air raids in London earlier in October 1941. The foremost fingerprint expert of the day, Detective Chief Superintendent Frederick Cherrill, was instrumental in proving the case against Cummins.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Cummins .

Aussies, Brits vs "Yanks"

1942 Australian-American War of 1942 - The Battle of Brisbane > .

2007 What makes an Australian? | 60 Minutes Australia > .

America shares a language and large parts of its culture with Britain and Australia. But when tens of thousands of US troops arrive in 1942, things will be far from smooth. While the alliance remains firm, their soldiers will spend almost as much time fighting each other as they do the Axis.

BBC

36-11-2 BBC Television Service launched in the UK - HiPo > .

38-10-6 Frederick Wolff Ogilvie ⇒ BBC Chief 6 Oct 1938 - BrMo > .

BBC's secret WW2 role > .
Broadcasts, Radio, TV circa WW2 (UK, USA) - SuHo >> .
WW2 Radio Archive - 1939 - 4tr >> .

WW2 Radio Archive - 1940 - 4tr >> .  

WW2 Radio Archive - 1941 - 4tr >> .

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 1932, although the start of its regular service of television broadcasts is dated to 2 November 1936.

On 2 November 1936 the BBC Television Service, the world’s first regular high-definition television service, was launched in the UK.  

The BBC Television Service initially offered broadcasts for a few hours each day from Alexandra Palace in London, marking a significant milestone in the history of broadcasting. Prior to this, television had been in experimental stages, but the BBC's launch of regular programming set a new standard for the medium.

The launch of the service was a ground-breaking moment in broadcasting history, and it was designed to reach the small but growing audience of television set owners in London and the surrounding areas. At the time, television sets were a luxury, and relatively few households had access to them. However, the service was a key part of the BBC’s broader mission to bring new forms of entertainment and information to the public.

The inaugural broadcast on 2 November 1936 featured a short introduction by Leslie Mitchell, one of the BBC's first television announcers, followed by a variety of programs including a demonstration of a film and a performance by comedian Adele Dixon. This marked the start of a new era for broadcasting, with television poised to become a major medium for both entertainment and information.

Nevertheless, the early years of the BBC Television Service were limited in terms of both programming and reach especially after the Second World War caused the service to be suspended due to concerns the transmitter at Alexandra Palace could act as a beacon for enemy bombers. However, television returned in 1946, just in time to show the Victory Parade through London on 8 June.

As well as making programmes for the public, the wartime BBC was involved in a range of top secret activity, working with closely with the intelligence agencies and military.