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Watch: Children in the 1950s

Life after World War Two

• After World War Two finished in 1945 life got better for children in Britain during the 1950s.

• The destruction of the war and evacuation had shown people how poor many children were.

• It was agreed that something had to be done to make life better.

A health service for everyone

• In 1948, the National Health Service (NHS) was set up.
• It provided free health care for everyone with doctors, hospitals, eye tests and dentists.
• Children's health began to improve.
• Medical scientists developed vaccines for polio and measles which had killed or harmed many children.
• Other infections could be now cured with antibiotics.

Making sure everyone had a house

• The Blitz had destroyed many thousands of homes, and the government also realised that many Victorian houses were no longer suitable.

• Council estates had begun in the 1920s but after the war many more were built in the 1950s.

• Millions of new houses were built providing safe, spacious and cleaner places for children to grow up and play in.

• Electricity and gas meant that many more homes had heating, lighting, washing machines, running water and indoor toilets. At last you could go to the toilet in the warm!

Migration after the war

• The first people to move from the Caribbean to the UK in the 1950s are called the Windrush generation.
• They are named after one of the ships which was called Empire Windrush.
• 86 children under the age of 12 sailed on the Empire Windrush.
• People came to Britain because it needed more workers to rebuild the country after World War Two. Many people found moving to another country difficult.
• Find out more in 'The arrival of the Windrush' guide.

What was school like?

• Children now had to attend school until the age of fifteen.

• They went to secondary modern, technical or grammar schools.

• This was the first national school system and was designed to prepare children for a new world of work.

What toys and entertainment were there?

• Plastic toys became very popular in the 1950s.

• In 1958 the modern Lego brick was invented in Denmark and became available around the world.

• More people had televisions and children’s programmes began to be popular.

• The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2nd June 1953 at Westminster Abbey was a major event and many people watched it on TV.

Activities

Activity 1: Children in the 1950s quiz

Activity 2: 1950s colouring sheet

Download and print this colouring sheet of Lucy, Nathan and Grandad in the 1950s. Can you colour it in and label it with some of the things that were familiar to Grandad in the 1950s?