Author Archives: Isabella Muir

Originally posted on Outset Publishing:
The 1940s brought many much-loved ‘crooners’ into the homes of millions, via gramophone records and via the wireless. Families put their 78rpm vinyl record on their turntable, or tuned in to the BBC Light Programme to listen to the likes of Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Perry Como. Amazing to…

Originally posted on Outset Publishing:
When the Second World War ended it didn’t mean the end to all hostilities. Britain still had a commitment to provide military support in Germany, Palestine and India. Opponents struggled with the idea that young men, just returning from six long years of a terrible war, should be called on…

Originally posted on Outset Publishing:
The 1940s were a golden time for cinema, with some of today’s most loved films and revered actors emanating from that decade. Just look at this for a snapshot of what 1940s cinema goers could choose to see… Rebecca, directed by Alfred Hitchock, starring Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier and…

Originally posted on Outset Publishing:
In 1940s Britain the wireless was one of the key sources of home entertainment and news. Since the 1920s – when the first musical broadcast was aired from the Marconi Research Centre in Chelmsford – the wireless radio provided the backdrop to family life. Once the BBC received its Royal…

Originally posted on Outset Publishing:
Before we look at what youngsters were getting up to during the 1940s let’s consider some of terminology that we are so familiar with today – words that we tend to associate with young people… Hooligan Origin late 19th century, first found in British newspaper police-court reports in the summer…

Originally posted on Outset Publishing:
For the first half of the 1940s Britain was in the grip of war, followed, once the war ended, by years of austerity and hardship. So what about reading habits during those years? Was there still an attraction in the escapism offered by a good book? It seems the answer…

Originally posted on Outset Publishing:
When Britain entered the Second World War in September 1939 the country was governed by a National Government, a coalition of all the political parties, as well as a number of individuals who belonged to none of the parties. Conservative politician, Neville Chamberlain, was Prime Minister but by spring 1940…

Originally posted on Outset Publishing:
Ever since the first steam locomotives of the early 19th century, the UK railway network benefitted from extensive expansion. By 1923 most of the railways were grouped together to form the ‘Big Four’ – namely, the Great Western, the London and North Eastern, the London, Midland and Scottish, and the…

Originally posted on Outset Publishing:
When we think of city smog, we might think of the days when the new Victorian factories choked city air with thick smoke. Many times during the 1800s in the East End of London, in particular, it was barely possible to see from one side of the street to the…