Yesterday: Spirit of 1940, Video Links

As promised, I’ve been sent a lovely little set of videos… enjoy!

• ‘Battle of Britain‘
• ‘Evacuees’
• ‘Rationing‘
• ‘Come Home‘
• ‘Go to it‘
• ‘Royals‘
• ‘Coventry‘
• ‘Little Things‘
• ‘Society‘
• ‘London Burning‘
• ‘Sweet Rationing‘
• ‘Time To Remember‘
• ‘Weddings‘

YESTERDAY NEEDS YOU! Experience ‘The Spirit of 1940’ and share your story

1940 was a remarkable year in which Britain experienced the blitz, saw the start of food rationing and sent evacuees away from their homes. To commemorate the 70^th anniversary of this astounding year, factual channel Yesterday is releasing a selection of TV shows that celebrate the spirit of 1940 during wartime in Britain, and now Yesterday needs you!

Ration Book Britain is coming to your screens on 15 January, and marks the launch of six specially commissioned shows. To celebrate the first show, Yesterday are asking for your help in compiling an online library of stories and memorabilia from WW2.

What are your memories of the Second World War? How did you experience life with rations? Yesterday would love to know, and is inviting you to share your experiences with others by asking for your help in collating memories and stories from times gone by.

Getting involved is easy. You can send us your own stories, pictures or scans from a scrap book. Did you keep photos of your wartime sweetheart that has always stayed with you? Or how about sharing a favourite recipe that your grandma used to make? Were you a child growing up during the war, or perhaps you’re a youngster now and can persuade your grandpa to dig out his medals?

You can send your memories in any format by email and we’ll pick the best to display on the Yesterday website for all to see. You could even record a wartime story on your new iPhone, and submit a sound bite! Getting involved is easy, simply visit www.visityesterday.co.uk or email your stories to your1940story@uktv.co.uk

The first commission from The Spirit of the 1940s begins with Ration Book Britain, a brand new, one hour special that begins on 15 January 2010 at 5pm. This particular show will commemorate the 70^th anniversary of the start of food rationing in Britain, with a unique look at this period of austerity in British history and the impact that rationing had on individual lives.

Helping to document 14 years of food rationing is chef and passionate food lover Valentine Warner, who’ll use all his culinary skills to recreate some of the important wartime recipes, while we’ll also hear firsthand memories from the people tasked with keeping Britain fighting fit throughout the WWII.

Tune in to Ration Book Britain exclusively on Yesterday: Sky 537, Virgin 203, Freeview 12 on 15^th January 2010 at 5pm. For more information visit www.visityesterday.co.uk

Been promised some exciting videos shortly too, so look out for those!

Blackout Party, 26th February 2010

26 February 2010, 7.30pm – 1am, ‘The Tunnels’. Looks like a fun event, don’t think I can go, but it’s in aid of a good cause, so hopefully this gives a bit wider publicity to the event.  You can also follow them on Twitter.

History World

Historyworld’s aim is to make world history more easily accessible through interactive narratives and timelines. Written by Bamber Gascoigne, it consists of about 300 narratives ( the alphabetical list runs from Aegean Civilization to Zoroastrianism) and some 10,000 events on searchable timelines, including the Second World War.

Unseen Duxford (16th December)

“A new tour gives visitors to Imperial War Museum Duxford the opportunity to step back in time to between the First World War and the commencement of the Second World War in Britain. Laura Jean Morris explores the history of the new attraction at the popular Cambridgeshire museum.

WITH everything from a dance hall, gymnasium and cinema to boast of, the airfield at Duxford was one of Britain’s most important bases during the Second World War.

And a new 90-minute tour of the airfield’s North Side, just unveiled by the Imperial War Museum, aims to show visitors just what life was like in the ‘mini-village’ of the base that was first built as a ‘temporary air station’.”

Read full article, and check out Duxford to book for the 16th December.

BBC: Pitching for “The One Show”

Below is an abstract I have submitted to “The One Show” – who knows if it will get picked up or not, they may already have something lined up, but worth an email (or few!)

“September 3^rd 2009 marks the 70^th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War.

In 2000 a poster was discovered in the bottom of a box of books, bought at auction by a book-seller in Alnwick.  The poster, designed by the Ministry of Information in 1939, was intended to be posted in the event of an invasion.  It was (probably) distributed around the country in the same way that other posters were – to post offices, train stations, etc.  Two other posters in the series “Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution will bring Us Victory” and “Freedom is in Peril, Defend it with all your Might” were posted widely.  But as Britain was never invaded, “Keep Calm and Carry On” was never used.

Until now…!

The poster has had a resurgence, particularly since November 2008, when the credit crunch really hit, with many using it as a mantra to get through their daily lives.  Catching the mood of the nation it has been widely distributed, copied onto mugs, T shirts and student walls.

DR BEX LEWIS

Dr Bex Lewis is an expert on 2^nd World War propaganda posters.  Her blog http://ww2poster.wordpress.com/ gets many hits about “Keep Calm and Carry On” and it’s variations (which include “Now Panic and Freak Out!”)

Bex Lewis completed her PhD entitled “The planning, design and reception of British Home Front propaganda posters of the Second World War” in June 2004 (examined by Asa Briggs) at the University of Winchester.  She is currently a Lecturer in History, and Associate Lecturer in Media Studies at the University of Winchester.”

1940s Society: WW2 Posters

The 1940s Society, 25th June, 1999

The planning, design and reception of British Home Front Propaganda Posters of the Second World War

Ian, of the 1940s Society, discovered my site, and asked if I would give a talk to his group in Kent. So, in June 1999, I went to present a paper regarding my project. I discussed why I had first become interested in the subject (after seeing the Home Front display at the Imperial War Musuem in London), and why I have considered it worthwhile of study (largely because there has been no definitive study).

We briefly considered what ‘propaganda’ and ‘poster’ meant, the inter-war development of market research techniques/social surveys, including Mass-Observation, and use that Government made of it. We considered the organisation that produced many of the posters, the Ministry of Information.

We then had a heavily illustrated selection of case studies, covering:

• The first posters produced by the MOI
• International influences upon posters
• The direct appeal in posters
• Images for, and of, women in posters

This was then followed by more illustrations demonstrating some of my efforts to date posters, and some of the reasons for, and techniques of propaganda. This was then followd by questions and a discussion.

Feedback:

“In June, Rebecca Lewis spoke to us on the subject of British Homefront Posters of WW2. Rebecca is very knowledgeable about her subject and spoke not only on the design of the posters but also on the political motivations behind them. The talk was illustrated by a large number of slides and we certainly came away with a better understanding of the subject.”

Ian Bayley, The 1940s Society