 | A mother and daughter pull a Christmas cracker at their home in Pinner, Middlesex in 1944 |
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| How did Britain celebrate Christmas during the Second World War? | Six years of war brought many changes to familiar festive rituals. Christmas celebrations during the war often had to be scaled down or adjusted as restrictions and shortages took their toll.
For many families, the most difficult part of a wartime Christmas was spending the festive season apart from loved ones. Many men were fighting abroad in the armed forces or being held as prisoners of war.
Women might also have been away in the services or carrying out war work. Many children spent Christmas away from home as evacuees. By the end of the war, thousands of families had suffered the death of a family member, either in action or from enemy bombing raids.
Christmas luxuries were especially hard to come by at a time when even basic foods were scarce. People were forced to find substitutes for key festive ingredients. Christmas cards were smaller and printed on flimsy paper.
In 1941, the Ministry of Supply decreed that 'no retailer shall provide any paper for the... wrapping of goods excepting food stuffs or articles which the shopkeeper has agreed to deliver'. This made it difficult to keep Christmas presents a surprise.
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 | | | | War Games | Until 28 May 2023, IWM London
Showcasing evocative installations, new acquisitions and expert perspectives, War Games is the UK's first exhibition to explore what video games can tell us about conflict.
Supported by lead sponsor Rebellion, this exhibition seeks to challenge perceptions of how video games interpret stories about war and conflict through 12 unique titles. | |
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| As in peacetime, singing songs and carols was an integral part of a wartime Christmas. Pantomimes and festive plays were also performed.
The BBC broadcast a special Christmas Day radio programme which, from 1939 onwards, featured a Christmas speech by the King. It was so popular with listeners that it became an annual ritual which is respected to this day.
Christmas 1940 took place in the middle of the Blitz. Between September and November, London had been bombed for 57 consecutive nights. The bombing campaign showed no signs of abating as Christmas Day approached, so many people spent Christmas Eve in an air-raid shelter.
In wartime, finding adequate numbers of postal workers to deal with the influx of extra letters and parcels also became a problem. There was also less space available to carry mail on the railways, which were needed for transport of troops and munitions.
Christmas decorations were also very difficult to come by, with very few available in shops. To brighten their surroundings, people would often make paper chains from scraps of old paper or painted newspapers.
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| | | War Games:
Retro Gaming Zone | Until 8 January 2023, IWM London
Don't miss your last chance to visit our free, playable retro gaming zone, part of the War Games programme.
Visitors can play 13 iconic video game titles including Battlezone, Medal of Honour and Goldeneye on consoles ranging from the Atari 2600 to the Sega Saturn. | |
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| Wartime Christmas gifts were usually homemade and practical. Children’s toys were often made from recycled materials. In the weeks before Christmas, men in the armed services often put their practical skills to use by making presents for their families back home.
The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) set up a scheme for delivering Christmas gifts to relatives of those serving overseas. According to the Ministry of Information, by 1944 around 20,000 gifts a year were being sent at a cost of about £35,000.
The British War Relief Society (BWRS) also helped to provide gifts, food, clothes and other non-military aid from the US to Britain. It functioned as a central administrative office and receiving depot for money and supplies. These were then distributed to charities in the US and the UK.
Despite the hardships faced by many during the war, the need to mark the holidays remained and, in some ways, became more important than ever.
People had to find resourceful means of celebrating without access to many of the traditional trappings of the season. Their efforts are a testament to the endurance of the festive spirit, even in the most desperate of times. |
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| | |  | Princess Elizabeth in the ATS, 1945 |
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| Crown and Conflict | Until 8 January 2023, IWM London
Don't miss your last chance to see this poignant free exhibition exploring the breadth and scope of Queen Elizabeth II's role in times of war and conflict.
A series of remarkable photographs chart The Queen's experience of war, from serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service during the Second World War, to carrying out important public duties involving the armed forces. | |
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