BLITZ KIDS: ART AND CULTURE

“Good news from the Home Front! Popular radio programmes with music and light entertainment now brighten British homes. And with theatres now open again and lively sporting events, spirits are lifted.”

The Blitz Kids are exploring how the war has changed entertainment and culture. They discover that even in tough times, people still find ways to have fun!

At the start of the war, there were strict rules stopping most activities – galleries, theatres, concert halls, museums were all shut.

Popular radio shows like “It’s That Man Again” made people laugh – it starred a comedian called Tommy Handley and was full of funny sketches.

George also discovers an old rogue called Lord Haw-Haw who infiltrates the airwaves and tells everyone how wonderful Germany is and how we shouldn’t trust our politicians. He was great at telling fake news!

Despite air raids, theatres and cinemas stayed popular. George loves going to the cinema, where he can forget the war for a while. He and Peter remember one night when an air raid siren sounded during a film, but instead of leaving, they stayed and watched extra movies until the all-clear!

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Dancing was a popular hobby during the war. Ballrooms and church halls were always packed with people dancing. Due to a shortage of men, sometimes girls would dance with other girls.

In the 1930s, big bands and swing music were popular. One of the most popular singers of this time was Vera Lynn who sang songs like “We’ll meet again” and “There’ll be blue birds over the white cliffs of Dover”.

George also visits the National Gallery, where one would expect to see its famous paintings – only to find empty walls! All of the artwork was removed from the Gallery in the 10 days that preceded the declaration of war on 3 September 1939, and were moved to a disused slate mine near Blaenau Ffestiniog in Wales to keep it safe from bombing. Small brick ‘bungalows’ were built within the caverns to protect the paintings from the humidity.

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Instead, the gallery now hosts lunchtime concerts to give people something uplifting to enjoy. Many were given by the famous concert pianist Myra Hess. Favourites in her repertoire were Bach, Beethoven, Brahms and Schumann. They also set up a canteen to serve tea, coffee and sandwiches.

By 1942 it was felt that one painting could be brought up to London every month to be put on show in splendid isolation!

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Even sports changed – at the start of the war, most sporting events were stopped. Football matches slowly re-appeared – although games became regional so people didn’t have to travel long distances. No FA Cup though was held until 1946 – it was replaced by the ‘Football League War Cup’.

One of the problems was that many of the players were away fighting in the war… and cricket fields were taken over by the military or became Auxiliary Fire Service stations!

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But despite all the changes, people keep finding ways to enjoy music, films and games, proving that even in wartime, fun and creativity never stop.

George types in his journal…

“We weren’t the only one’s mad for the pictures – they say audiences went up by 12 milllion during the war! Some went just for the Pathe news clips that were also played. It meant we could actually see the war in action with our own eyes and hear news from every corner of the world – or that’s what it felt like! They also had the latest advice from the government – how to waste less and help more! Art galleries and museums did their best to give people something to enjoy with a ‘picture of the month’ and the like. We were desperate for things to distract us from the way everything was changing – and from thinking about what might happen next.“

Next time: The Blitz Kids start noticing secret preparations for a huge event – D-Day is coming!