“Across Britain, signs of renewal are stirring. Though rationing still holds firm, there’s fresh hope on the horizon. Plans are afoot for better healthcare, sturdy new homes and even new towns to rise from the rubble! With courage and unity, we march towards a Britain renewed!”
The Blitz Kids discover that even though the war is over, life isn’t back to normal just yet.
It’s Autumn 1945 and while people are happy that peace has come, things are still tough. Food is still rationed, soldiers are returning home and many evacuees, like Robbie, are finally reuniting with their families. But not everyone is celebrating, some families are still waiting for news of missing loved ones, and soldiers who saw terrible things in the war are struggling to adjust to normal life.
Embed from Getty ImagesGeorge meets Robbie, who has grown so tall after years in the countryside! But there’s still no news about Robbie’s dad, a pilot who went missing in action.
At home, George’s mum is frustrated that rationing isn’t over, and he hears how women like Peter’s mother and Beatrix are losing their wartime jobs as men return. Cousin Alice in the Channel Islands is enjoying her new freedom after years under German rule, writing to George about the strange tunnels and forts they left behind!
Embed from Getty ImagesAt the shops, George and Maggie talk about how things aren’t easy for returning soldiers. Some, like their old Scout leader Mr Mackintosh, are struggling with the memories of war. But the hardest news comes when Robbie’s family learns that his father was never in a prisoner-of-war camp, he was killed in action and his body was never found. His name will be remembered on a new war memorial.
Even though life isn’t easy, there’s hope for the future. Britain is planning better homes, new towns, and a brighter future, even if rationing sticks around for a while!
George writes in his journal…
“It wasn’t long before we found out that Robbie’s father wasn’t in a prisoner of war camp – and never had been. He’d been killed when his plane crashed and they’d mixed his name up. Sadly they never found his body, so there won’t even be a funeral. But Robbie’s family has been told that his name will be listed at one of the planned war memorials. We’ve had to get used to so much change during the war – and more change just keeps on coming. Well… apart from rationing! They kept that in place until 1954, with meat the last item to be de-rationed. And some items that weren’t even rationed during the war started to be! What a pickle… although you’d struggle to find any of those unless you made them yourself from an allotment onion! But it’s such a relief to know that things can’t get worse – even though it may take a while most people feel like better times are coming – despite everything that’s been lost.“
Next time: It’s 1955! The Blitz Kids are all grown up and take a road trip to visit the new national war memorials…