Imagine a time when queuing an hour for a bath was the only way to keep clean! That’s how it was for many families in 1940s Britain…
When I dig around in my tin of old photos I find a picture of my brother – just a toddler at the time – standing in the kitchen sink to be washed. In 1940s Britain this would have been a typical scene in many houses as few had indoor bathrooms, with the only running water being a cold supply to the kitchen sink. Perhaps an gas-fired Ascot water heater would provide a little hot water, but for many families the only way to heat a large amount of water – enough for a bath – would have been to put a large copper pan over a coal fire to heat it up. The water, once heated, would be poured into a tin bath that would be taken down from its hook on the outside wall of the house and placed into the middle of the kitchen. Imagine how much…
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I can remember the Ascot water heater in our kitchen. Also the whoosh it made when firing up! I vaguely remember the tin bath and seeing a mangle in the garden.
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Fascinating! I bet your mum wouldn’t let you anywhere near that mangle – just in case…!
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