Entertainment
Radio
(wireless) was the main form of communication during the
war as they did not have TV. The radio
broadcasts would keep you up to date on any news of the war. Winston Churchill
made a lot of famous speeches on the radio. Comedy and music programmes
were very popular.
During the war years,
cinema audiences grew from 20 million to 32 million going to the pictures
was the most popular form of entertainment. Many towns had lots of cinemas
and people could see a different show every night if they wanted to.
Sports
When war broke out, most
familiar sporting events were stopped. Many professional sportsmen joined
the army and some football clubs lost their grounds. But sport was not
given up altogether, football was organised into regional leagues and players
competed in a team near where they were stationed or working.
Dancing
Dancing was one of the
most popular hobbies during the war and from 1942 onwards British dance
halls were filled with American soldiers.
American soldiers
were better dressed and better paid than the British troops. This meant
that they could afford to be generous with the cigarettes, sweets, chewing
gum and stockings that they brought over to England with them.
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