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Heavy curtains often hung behind doors to help keep out the draughts, but it was not unusual to find frost forming on the inside of windows during the winter. Houses were cold, but the outside loo was an even colder experience, and not every home had a bathroom, so children would have a wash in the tub in front of the fire once a week usually Sunday whether they needed it or not! If you had siblings, you had to share the bath water, so were you first or last to get in?
Ashtrays appeared in just about every room in the house and the air would be thick with tobacco smoke, and then in , fog combined with smoke from coal fires led to the great smog that shrouded London, causing the death of around 12, people.
Not everyone had a car in the early 50s, but everyone burned coal. Love it or hate it, children in the 50s were given a bottle of milk to drink every day at school. Other daily delights were a spoonful of malt and cod liver oil, but the taste could be taken away with a trip to the sweet shop. Pocket money went a long way back then, and it would all be spent on sweets and comics.
Drawing on both Tom Byron's answer and Richard Careaga's answer (which described many elements of what I experienced growing up in the 50s), I would like. From days spent on the streets to mud pies and homemade dolls, see our top seven memories of growing up for the recipe to a happy.
It was lovely, we could walk anywhere in safety, knew everybody so always felt safe, and life was far more innocent then. I was born in April , I had one brother who was 21 months old. We had a poor but happy childhood, Mum made most of our clothes. We ate what we grew in the allotment, any waste food was collected by a local Pig Farmer.
Cod Liver Oil on the other hand was a vile taste Mum made her own sweets toffee and lemonade. Everybody knew everybody there were only 60 people on the entire estate of around 30 square miles , and it was a fabulous place to be a kid: No TV or suchlike back then: And a strict uniform code, too: For me, life at that time was a lot about spending time outside simply exploring the surrounding countryside iPads, Xboxes, mobile phones, and computers were totally unknown back then!
How this has taken me back I was born in and I remember playing in the street it was such fun and never worrying about being run over by cars, cowboys and Indians, cops and robbers, pirates, playing with my dolls and dolls pram, my red scooter and trying to roller skate only hanging on to the wall I was never any good at this, my Dad made me some stilts which I became quite adapt at!
I remember the cold winters and I had masses of blankets and an eiderdown and how the windows used to have ice on the inside and getting out of bed onto lino no fitted carpets in those days We used to have the radio on for Listen with Mother I think 1.
In lots of ways things are a lot better today but not in so many other ways, you hardly ever see children out with their new toys bikes, dolls prams etc. I was born in and in the 50s used to walk 18 miles with my mates to rose berry topping, be out all day and never had to worry. Your email address will not be published.
Playing in the Street What games do you remember playing in the street; marbles, hopscotch, skipping, British bulldogs, conkers, or climbing trees and doing handstands — skirts tucked into knickers! Sense of Belonging Did you know your neighbours in the 50s? Coal Fires A coal fire in the living room was generally the only heat source in the whole house.
School Milk, Cod Liver Oil and Gobstoppers Love it or hate it, children in the 50s were given a bottle of milk to drink every day at school. How much did you get, and what sweet treats were your favourites? T oilets were usually outside. Perishable foods were bought in small amounts — just enough to last a day. It was quite usual to buy a single item of fruit.
On Sundays everyone had a roast dinner and leftovers were made into stews and pies to eat later in the week. In , 55 per cent of young children drank tea with their meals. Bread and beef dripping was standard fare but we cringed at the sight of a curled-up Spam sandwich. Boys and girls played street games together, such as run outs, hopscotch and British bulldog. In the playground schoolgirls practised handstands and cartwheels with their skirts tucked up under the elastic of their navy blue knickers, while the boys played conkers.
We travelled in third-class compartments on train journeys to the seaside. In they were renamed second class. At the seaside you wore a knitted bathing costume on the beach. When the film ended everyone stood for the National Anthem and stayed until it finished playing. For children the Saturday morning pictures provided the best fun. Every week, to unruly children would descend on a cinema for a couple of hours of film and live entertainment.
I really thnik it captured much of what it was like for many kids in the 50's at that age. Play was often rougher, clothes got dirty, and skinned knees stained purple with iodine were a common sight. Ah but the stars were bright in the night sky out in the country and the air was fresh. Backpacks did not exist, you carried your books in your arms. Ashtrays appeared in just about every room in the house and the air would be thick with tobacco smoke, and then in , fog combined with smoke from coal fires led to the great smog that shrouded London, causing the death of around 12, people.
It was controlled mayhem with the stalls and circle filled with children cheering for the goodies and booing the baddies. Remember Lucky Bags and frozen Jubblys and getting a sore tongue from sucking on gobstoppers, aniseed balls and Spangles? The salt was in a twist of blue paper and you always had to rummage around for it at the bottom of the bag. All your one-shilling-a-week pocket money would go on sweets and comics yes, we used old money back then, pounds, shillings and pence.
It is hard to identify the Britain of today with how it was back then. The whole appearance of the country has changed, particularly in inner cities where so much building and development work has been done over the years. The wartorn dilapidated houses, derelict land and bomb sites that were the forbidden playgrounds of postwar baby boomers are now long gone. There was something cosy about growing up in the last decade in which most children retained their childish innocence to the age of 12 or 13 and enjoyed a carefree life full of fun and games.
The stresses of adolescence and then adult life could wait. That was even worse than the daily spoonful of cod liver oil many of us had to consume.