Embedded Files
Eight short films entitled "A Snapshot of Britain in the 1940s", the programme is a portrait of domestic life in Britain throughout one of the most extraordinary decades of our history. Intimate and moving.
Shows how to boil cabbage and have a bath in five inches of water. The way we are headed, this could come in useful.
At times wry, affectionate and surprising, these rarely seen films from the National Archive document a time of great austerity and ingenuity as Britain sought to retain its sanity in time of war.
Full programme
- Five-Inch Bather. Instruction on the importance of water economy. 2mins.
- Island People. Shared valuestranscend contrast of geography and class. 10mins.
- Two Cooks and a Cabbage. two girls demonstrate their cabbage boiling prowess to granny - with mixed results. 6mins. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2evv45stEHw
- The Countrywomen. The WI's contribution to the war effort includes an all-woman cast of A Christmas Carol. 14 mins.
- Tea Making Tips. Six golden tips for making good tea. 12mins.
- Christmas under Fire. A pre-Pearl Harbour plea for American support. 10 mins.
- Unwanted Guests. Everything you have ever wanted to know about head-lice. 8mins.
- The Good Housewife in her kitchen. After the war, the average housewife could not afford a spanking new kitchen, so had to make do. 9mins.
- Springtime in an English Village. Made for Britain's African colonies, this snapshot of rural life includes the crowning of a young black girl as Queen of the May 7 mins.
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