GB Theme 4

What happened after WW1?

A two year boom

Why did this boom not last?

• Failed to generate employment needed for demobilised men in the Army

• This caused an economic decline and lower living standards

How many were unemployed in 1920?

1 million

What did Lloyd George promise?

A country fit for heroes

Why was the high unemployment not uniform across Britain?

New industries were emerging in some regions so unemployment wasn't as bad

What were examples of heavy industries that went into decline in the 1930s?

Ship building, coal, iron, cotton

Why did the difference in living standards widen?

The poorer areas suffered where traditional industry was concentrated

What are examples of regions that suffered most?

Wales, the North

Why were the unemployment benefits provided by the Ministry of Health insufficient?

A minimum diet could not be provided and because men were the 'bread winners' and the children were prioritised, women often went hungry. There was little money left for anything else since most of the benefits went towards food

Why did the Depression not effect the southeast as badly?

'Light industries' were growing and there was a consumer boom (household appliances)

Why did electrification of houses have a significant effect on living standards?

Household appliances could be used - electric cooker sales increased by 300% between 1930-5

Why could 'teenage' culture arguably be seen in the 1930s?

Although the term wasn't used at the time, young people were spending money on clothes, records and enjoyed dances and day trips

How many fish and chip shops were there in Britain in the 1920s?

20,000 - fish was about 2p and chips were 1p

How many houses were built during the inter-war period?

1.1 million

How much did home ownership increase by from 1914-1938?

1914 - 10%

1938 - 32%

How did WW2 affect living standards?

• Rationing

• Bombing of cities

• Bombing resulted in loss of homes

• Austerity after the war due to devastation

Why did rationing, although it limited choices, improve health?

Food was supplemented with vitamins and minerals by the Ministry of Food

Why did working conditions improve?

Negotiations with trade unions led to more jobs with good pay

What were established when women worked in munition factories?

Creches

How many people died during the war and how many houses were destructed?

40,000 people

2 million homes

What was a positive of rebuilding homes?

People could own houses with bathrooms, kitchens, and modern appliances. They even had gardens

What was still being rationed despite the end of the war?

Bread

Why was raising living standards after the war difficult?

Britain did not have the foreign currency reserves to pay for food imports and the USA ended Britain's wartime financial lifeline in 1945

Why was the winter of 1947 so bad?

• The country was paralysed by ice and snow which depleted coal stocks

• Strain put on the national grid as people relied on electric fires

• Electricity limited to 19 hours a day - led to cold homes, factory closures and unemployment

• Food shortages - 1/4 of sheep were lost, root vegetables frozen into the ground, food parcels sent to British families

What are two types of housing quickly built after the war?

• Pre-fabricated 'prefab' housing

• Blocks of flats

What did the 1946 New Towns Act say?

14 new towns were created across Britain to relieve the overcrowded working class - improved living condition

What was the period 1951-79 known as?

The affluent society

Name some reasons why living standards increased?

• Global economic boom throughout post-war era

• Britain's welfare state was developed

• Relatively low energy prices (until the 70s)

• Commitment to full employment by Conservatives and Labour

• Strong trade unions

• Consumer credit

• Rise in average wages

What did Macmillan famously say?

Never had it so good

How much was spent on consumer spending in 1957?

£1 billion

By what percentage did homes with a washing machine increase from 1955-1966?

17% - 60%

How did the growth in labour-saving devices impact women?

• A lot of the drudgery was taken out of household chores

• Household chores that could take a week could now take hours

• Adverts for appliances appealed to women

What allowed working-class families to buy consumer goods?

Relaxation in the rules of consumer credit in 1954. The idea of borrowing used to be looked down on, but it had been inverted during the 1950s

In the 1970s, what fuelled appetite for foreign food & drink?

• Cheaper access to overseas holidays

• Rapid growth of supermarkets providing a wide range of low-cost food

What happened to numbers of towns in the 1960s?

Increased

What made new towns attractive?

Availability of central heating, hot water, gardens, green spaces, shops and amenities

What term did JB Priestley use to describe the 1950s-1960s?

Admass - meaning a new society of 'advertisement' and 'mass consumption'

What was Americanisation?

American brands, etc. dominated the market (e.g. Ford, Hoover and Heinz). In addition, British teenage girls were trying to be like American actresses

However, there was poverty in this period. How many were homeless?

12,000

How many were living below the poverty line in 1967?

7.5 million

What did new high-rise flats replace?

Terraced inner-city housing

Why were these flawed?

• Cold and damp

• 1968 explosion at Ronan Point flats in London where there was a gas leak - they were structurally unsound

• Estates usually suffered from high crime

What was arguably the most popular entertainment in the 1920s?

Cinema

What film industry usurped the British one?

American

What type of American film became popular?

Cowboys and gangsters

Which working-class actor do we associate with the period?

Charlie Chaplin

What was formed in 1922?

The BBC

What could you access on a radio?

News, drama, advice programmes, government ideas

What are examples of 3 movies associated with the period?

• Firstborn (1928) - adopted an unmarried hairdresser's baby

• Pleasure Garden (1925) - 2 chorus girls living independently

• Keep the Fires Burning During WW1 - Ivor Novello

What type of cinemas were becoming popular?

Picture palaces

What type of music was becoming popular during the 1930s?

American jazz

How many jazz bands were there in 1930?

20,000

What were 2 examples of American jazz singers?

Duke Ellington and Count Bassie

How many cinema tickets were sold per week?

18/19 million

Why did cinema increase in popularity during the Great Depression?

It offered an escape from the realities of unemployed life - it had become an important part of peoples' lives

What were 2 films from the period?

The Great Game - reflected the centrality of football in the working class

Love on Wheels - a bus conductor helps a commuter find love. He also had a dream of a job in advertising, highlighting consumerism

When was the first TV broadcast?

1936

Why was WW2 beneficial for American jazz?

American artists came to Britain during this time and the US Army, Air Force and American Forces Radio (AFN) broadcast jazz across Britain

Why did cinemas shut and what was the reaction to this?

They shut due to dangers of bombing but they re-opened when the value of taking peoples' minds off their problems was recognised

How many films were produced during the war period?

500

What were examples of films produced then and what theme did they share?

In Which We Serve, Let George Do It, Hue and Cry and Passport to Pimlico - they were patriotic

How come radio grew in popularity after WW2?

Listeners became more affluent and a new market for popular music developed

What music became popular during the 1950s?

Rock n roll

What were examples of singers that popularised black blues music?

Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry

What sort of music came with the arrival of Caribbean immigrants?

Reggae and calypso

When did the Beatles form?

1957

What type of comedy became popular during the 1950s?

Ealing comedies - they explored changing quality of life after the war

Why were war films well-liked?

They reassured Britain of their success in war after economic decline, loss of status in the world, the end of the Empire and growth in immigration gave people a sense of uncertainty

What were some movies produced in this period?

Bridge on the River Kwai, The Dam Busters, Sink the Bismark

Why did TV only develop as a medium after WW2?

Television sets cost a lot and people couldn't afford them, during the war BBC broadcasting was turned off and after there was austerity

What was televised in 1953?

Queen Elizabeth's coronation

How many viewers was it broadcasted to?

8 million

How many TV licenses were there following the coronation?

3 million (people rented TVs to watch the coronation)

Why was television ownership beneficial for the boom?

Without this, the BBC would've been far less important and much smaller

What was Meet Mr Lucifer?

A TV programme that reflected fears of TV ownership changing society - a TV set becomes cursed, causing chaos

Why was youth culture bigger in the 1950s?

There was a baby boom after the war and those born then were now teenagers

What 'luxuries' could teenagers now afford?

Latest fashions, gadgets, radios

What were 'teddy boy gangs'

A gang with slicked back hair, Edwardian style suits, listened to rock n roll

What gang were they eventually replaced by?

Rockers - leather jackets, powerful motorbikes, harder rock music

What were mods?

Another gang dressed in Italiante suits who rode Vespa or Lambretta motor scooters and listened to black-inspired blues from the USA

What was Skiffle music?

A 'home grown' style of rock n roll

What were famous groups who formed in the 1960s?

The Beatles, the Kinks, the Rolling Stones, and the Who (replaced skiffle)

What was Beatlemania?

It was the world's obsession with The Beatles. It began in the UK in October of 1963. It was for people of all ages. It lasted about 3 years.

By 1969, what did record labels like Island and Trojan import?

Reggae records, they sold to both a black and white audience

What was the first Reggae song to hit number one in the charts?

'The Israelites' by Desmond Dekker - 1969

What was the new wave of filmmaking called?

Social realism

What was this genre?

Based on everyday experience of the working class

What are examples of 'social realism' films?

Look Back in Anger, A Taste of Honey and Saturday Night, Sunday Morning

What was the BBC seen as in the 60s?

An expression of Britain itself

What did General Greene do about the BBC?

Decided that the elitist BBC was outdated and it needed to become egalitarian - class and elitism were coming under scrutiny at this point

What type of comedy came about as a result of lower deference?

Satire - it made fun of politicians or people in higher power. For example, That Was The Week That Was

What film reflected social issues?

Cathy Come Home - about illegal abortion

What was Dalekmania?

The obsession with the daleks in Doctor Who, which was first aired in 1963 and became very popular

What type of illegal radio was being broadcast in the 1960s?

Pirate radio

What did the massive popularity of pirate radio cause?

Reorganisation of the old Home, Light and Third programmes into Radio 1, 2, 3 and 4. Radio 1 focussed on the youth and played pop music

What were skinheads?

A gang that the mods morphed into - short hair, braces, working class 'arrogance', whose reggae and ska-inspired music came from the Caribbean

What was glam rock?

A new type of rock that became a means of expressing gender identity - it was shocking to older generations and fascinating with the younger generation

Who are two significant glam rock stars

David Bowie and Marc Bolan

What made David Bowie stand out?

He created an alter ego, Ziggy Stardust, who was an androgynous cross-dressing alien who first appeared on Top of the Pops in 1972. The audience reacted with shock and fascination - his hair, makeup and 'camp' mannerisms challenged male heterosexuality

What was Rastafarianism?

A genre of reggae that called for resistance against racism - for example Linton Kwesi Johnson's album 'Dread Beat An' Blood' (1978)