The 'friendly invasion' of American servicemen (and women) began in 1942 and by 1945 around three million had passed through the United Kingdom. With money in their pockets, a smart uniform, and access to goods the British housewife hadn't seen in the shops for many years they were generally popular but resented by some. The phrase 'Over-paid, over-sexed, and over here' being used to describe them in less than complimentary terms. This booklet was issued to American forces in an attempt to get them acquainted with the British, their country, and their ways, and avoid some of the more obvious misunderstandings that could easily occur without at least a little knowledge of the strange and wonderful British customs. Covering a diverse range of subjects such as, customs and manners, sports and pastimes, history and language, as well as some important do's and don'ts, it is a delight to read and goes to show that some things haven't changed that much in the last 60 years since this was originally produced.

Welcome to Britain: A Guide to Great Britain for American Forces During World War Two

History

Washington D.C. War Department

Europe

Sabrestorm Publishing

Continuing interest in life on the Home Front during the Second World War means that the style of the 1940s has never been more popular. People are recreating the look for plays and films, reenactments, 1940s themed events, or just because they enjoy dressing in vintage fashions. "The 1940s Look" tells you everything you need to know about the fashions of wartime Britain and the impact that rationing, the Utility scheme, changing tastes and the demands of everyday life had on the styles people wore. People had to 'Make Do and Mend' - with varying degrees of ingenuity and success. Hair styles, glasses, jewelry, and tattoos were essential in creating your own fashion statement. Women's magazines advised readers on the difficulties of dressing growing children, offered instructions for making clothes and accessories, and hosted debate over whether by dressing up, women were helping or hindering the war effort. Thoroughly researched and lavishly illustrated, "The 1940s Look" tells you how civilian men, women and children dressed - and why they looked the way they did during the Second World War. It draws on contemporary sources including government advice, periodicals and books, and benefits from an entertaining narrative by author Mike Brown.

The 1940s Look: Recreating the Fashions, Hairstyles and Make-up of the Second World War

Brown, Mike

Military

When the Luftwaffe's Blitz on Britain began in September 1940, people's homes and their contents were destroyed at an alarming rate. Thanks to the bombing, furniture shortages in Britain hit an all time high by 1942. The government responded with a range of affordable furniture - the so-called Utility Furniture Scheme - but only for those that could prove their need. Jon Mills presents a comprehensive guide to the introduction of utility Furniture, to accompany a facsimile reproduction of the first Utility catalogue that appeared in 1943. Jon Mills gives a fascinating insight into the privations of the war years and a nostalgic look back for those who remember this sturdy furniture, much of which has survived into the 21st century.

Utility Furniture of the Second World War: The 1943 Utility Furniture Catalogue with an Explanation of Britain's Second World War Utility Furniture Scheme (Historic Booklet Series No. 3 3)

MILLS, Jon

Americas

This is a book sure to delight designers, social historians and anyone with an interest in this style-defining decade. "The 1950s Look: Recreating the Fashions of the Fifties" takes the reader on a tour of the trends and signature styles of the era - from Audrey Hepburn chic to high school prom queen. Moving forward a decade from his successful book "The 1940s Look", Mike Brown deconstructs the key elements of iconic 50s fashions, as well as shedding light on the origins of many items of clothing now taken for granted on today's high street. Over 144 pages, with more than 300 full color photographs and pictures, readers can learn about the new synthetic wonder fabrics, the Trapeze dress and the Teddy Boys' quiff, pedal pushers and drain pipe trousers. Prime Minister Harold Macmillan famously summed up the mood of the fifties when he told the country: 'you've never had it so good'. Cinched waists and full, layered skirts celebrated femininity and the availability of luxurious fabrics after the restrictions of the previous decade. The success of fashion houses such as Dior signaled the rise of chic Italian and French styling, and this was the decade that denim jeans arrived in the UK from the USA. An eclectic British style began to emerge from these influences, and with it a whole new breed - the teenager. Author Mike Brown says: 'The 1950s was a decade of decadence - a rebellion against wartime restrictions and rationing. As people turned their backs on the privations of the drab war years, exciting new fashions and daring styles from overseas found a place in British homes. In the decade of the Coronation, the conquest of Everest and the Festival of Britain, the second Elizabethan age had arrived, and with it came optimism for a bright future'. Meticulously researched and lavishly illustrated, this retrospective is essential reading for anyone interested in social history, fifties design, and those that look back fondly at the 1950s. Chapters of this title include: formal and informal fashions; couture house to homemade; hairstyles and make-up; the figure; and, accessories.

The 1950s Look: Recreating the Fashions of the Fifties

World

Prepared for the Board of Trade by the Ministry of Information in 1943, this publication gives the hints and tips needed to make clothing last longer at a time when rationing and severe shortages meant that the average household were unable to replenish their worn out wardrobe. The 'Make Do &amp; Mend' campaign was intended to help get the last possible ounce of wear from clothing and household items and the hints in this book were tested and approved by the Board of Trade Make Do and Mend Advisory Panel, a body of practical people, mostly women. The book aimed to help you: to keep clothes looking trim as long as they had to last; to renovate children's outgrown clothes so cleverly that none is ever wasted; to turn every scrap of good material possessed to advantage; to keep household linen in good repair; and, to make do with things you already had instead of buying new.

Make Do and Mend (Historic Booklet Series)

Ministry of Information

Produced by the Ministry of Agriculture, the "Allotment and Garden Guides" were issued monthly throughout 1945. Aimed at the amateur gardener, they were to be the final rallying call in the wartime campaign to Dig for Victory. Concentrating on the productive garden, the guides were designed to take the amateur gardener through the basic tasks of each month. Many of the subjects tackled are as relevant now as they were then. How to make a compost heap, when to sow marrow seed, which seeds are they easiest to save, are still popular topics in the modern gardening media. However, other subjects convey the wartime difficulties: seed shortages due to enemy occupation in Europe, regulations on flower growing, and the very real prospect of running out of food next winter. Packed with additional photographs and illustrations, Twigs Way gives an historical overview to gardening during the Second world war and comments on each month of the guide. Many people still work allotment or vegetable plots that were first established during the war years, 'inheriting' them from a generation that used these guides as their gardening bibles. To read the Guides now is to experience a sense of both the urgency of the wartime garden, and the timelessness of the processes of gardening.

Allotment and Garden Guide: A Monthly Guide to Better Wartime Gardening

Way, Twigs

Contrary to the Hollywood-style romanticism of popular novels and films, the Second World War was more than courage on the battlefield, plucky defiance and doomed love affairs. Family and civilian life had to go on. In the midst of black-outs, road-blocks and austerity, households had to feed and clothe themselves, to travel, to decorate and furnish their homes. In this meticulously researched and lavishly illustrated account, Mike Brown and Carol Harris draw on contemporary sources including government advice, periodicals and books to provide an authoritative, entertaining account of life in the time of air-raid sirens and rationing.

Air Raids & Ration Books: Life on the Home Front in Wartime Britain

Beans as bullets', 'Vegetables for Victory' and 'Cloches against Hitler': these slogans convey just how vital gardening and growing food were to the British war effort during the Second World War. Exhorted to 'Grow More Food', then to 'Dig for Victory', Britain's 'allotment army' was soon out in force, growing as many vegetables as possible in suburban allotments, private gardens, even the grounds of stately homes. Richly illustrated with contemporary photographs and ephemera relating to the 'Dig For Victory' campaign, this expertly researched, highly engaging and informative account also includes archive images of home front gardening, garden produce and advertisements.

Digging for Victory: Gardens and Gardening in Wartime Britain

The Second World War, often described as a "People's War", was the first time civilians played a major part in Britain's war effort. New emergency services created before the war to help those suffering loss and damage were joined by the Home Guard as Britain faced invasion in the summer of 1940 and new organizations formed to deal with unexploded bombs and the homeless caused by nightly air raids in 1940. Major air attacks ceased in 1941 but food was rationed, daily essentials scarce and Britons of all ages expected to do wartime duty in addition to their day job. Many essential war workers on the Home Front lacked a uniform but wore a lapel or pin back-badge to show they were doing their bit for the war effort. Treasured as souvenirs of six momentous years in Britain's history, they were rediscovered years later, often by someone to whom their significance and meaning was unknown. Whilst military badges are well recorded, no attempt to identify Home Front items was made until the first edition of this book was published privately in 1996. Extensively updated Doing Their Bit is illustrated with over 700 wartime lapel badges and ephemera, records the wartime history of over 200 organizations which wore them and shows how Thomas Fattorini Ltd became a major manufacturer of Home Front badges. This invaluable guide should be on the shelves of anyone with an interest in the history of wartime Britain.

Doing Their Bit: Home Front Lapel Badges, 1939-1945

Parachute Doctor is the story of Captain David Tibbs RAMC MC who as a member of 225 (Parachute) Field Ambulance and the 13th Parachute Battalion served with the 5th Parachute Brigade of the famous 6th Airborne Division. His fascinating recollections feature jumping into Normandy on D-Day and the subsequent intense battle to defend the Airborne perimeter; assisting the Americans in repulsing the Ardennes offensive, the massive Airborne drop across the Rhine and the rapid advance to the Baltic to prevent the Russians moving into Denmark. Following the end of the European war, the Brigade was shipped to the Far East for a proposed invasion of Singapore. However, the Japanese surrendered beforehand, and the Paras ended up being involved in a little known episode, fighting alongside the Japanese in defense of Dutch civilians against violent rebels on the island of Java.

Parachute Doctor: The Memoirs of Captain David Tibbs

Biographies & Memoirs

Barber, Neil

Tibbs, David

Leaders & Notable People

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