Nose art on airplanes first became popular during WW1 when German airmen (or rather their ground-crews) started painting a mouth and teeth onto nose cones, rather like Moby Dick below. In fact a shark-face design is still painted on nose-cones of military aircraft today. During World War II the military didn’t allow nose-art, but was(…)
If you think you need a steady hand to apply eyeliner, then try drawing straight seams up the backs of your legs! During WW2 when stockings were in short supply women were encouraged to use liquid stockings instead, and to draw the seams using eyeliner (or to get a friend to do it for you!).(…)
London was a very different city in 1941. Alongside the landmarks we all recognize there were clear signs of the Blitz and the toll that war was taking on the city. From schools, to Trafalgar Square to bomb shelters and shop fronts, these photos give you an insight into the way London had to change(…)
These photos of children living through the Blitz in London kind of speak for themselves. I just wanted to share.
It was rather of a relief when I found these photos to realise that 1940s women didn’t all look as impossibly movie-star-ish as we tend to think. Far from the easy ‘glamour on a shoe-string‘ that we read about so often, these photos show the hard-working ordinary women of wartime Britain during their daily lives.(…)
Both of these photos were taken by American photographer Toni Frissell who was best known for her fashion photography for Harpers Bazaar and Vogue. During WW2 she travelled with the American Red Cross where she photographed nurses, front-line soldiers, American airmen and civilians. Her photos are very evocative and powerful, especially those of children caught(…)
After watching Triple Cross earlier in the week, I couldn’t resist looking into the story behind the movie and finding out more about notorious double agent Eddie Chapman. It sounds like he was every bit as charming in real-life as portrayed by Christopher Plummer, only with perhaps even fewer scruples. After reading up on his(…)
After last week’s disappointment watching Citizen Kane I was delighted to discover a real gem this week. Don’t be put off by the grim movie poster (right), this isn’t a harrowing war movie it’s a delightful James-Bond-style wartime spy thriller with the delectable Christopher Plummer as debonair British double agent Eddie Chapman. I knew nothing(…)
This is part 2 of the photo feature I ran yesterday released by the War Office in 1941 and show some of the grim realities of living in wartime Britain. Part 2 has a much happier ending though (scroll to the end!) Above: Mrs Day separates cardboard and tin from her household rubbish, ready for(…)
This series of photos were released by the War Office in 1941 and show some of the grim realities of living in wartime Britain. The lovely Mrs Day admittedly lives in a 4 storey town-house in South Kensington, so her life is probably a lot smarter than most people actually experienced in wartime London. However,(…)
After discovering the stories of the Nazi female concentration camp guards last week, I wanted to share the stories of their male counterparts. It’s interesting to see how all of them tried to worm their way out of any responsibility in the war crimes trial. All the guards who herded the unfortunate people into the(…)
I’ve had a lot of interest in the photographs I posted yesterday of the female Nazi concentration camp guards of Bergen-Belsen* and the sentences they all received. *Bergen-Belsen is the concentration camp where Anne Frank died – I didn’t realize that until today. A few of you wondered about the back-stories of these women and(…)
These are photos of the female prison camp guards which were taken after the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen Nazi concentration camp.while they were awaiting trail in 1945. Their sentences ranged from a few short years imprisonment to the death sentence. Here’s an interesting challenge, see if you can guess just by looking at the photos(…)
When you think of 1940s fashion, you probably think of tailored looks, tea dresses, victory rolls and red lipstick (even after makeup the had run out), but fashions were very different in Nazi Germany. Hitler had a very specific idea of how women should look. He even created a German Fashion Board, the Deutsches Modeamt(…)
During World War 2, the American Magazine for GI’s (called YANK would you believe?) featured a number of fabulous pin-ups to help boost morale of the troops. Many were big cinema stars like Rita Hayworth, Betty Grable and Ingrid Bergman (waving below) but, however famous, all of them were fabulous.
It’s spring, and so of course my thoughts have returned to Paris, the beautiful city of blossom and boulevards, baguettes and bicyclette *sigh*. But Paris has always had a certain charm it was a very different place when Zeppelins were in the sky or there were German soldiers on the streets. Take a look at(…)
Beauty throughout the 1940s was dominated by wartime shortages and rationing. Clothing rationing ended in 1949 and soap rationing in 1950 so a real ‘make do and mend’ attitude was needed to get through the post-war years (sweets rationing didn’t end until 1953!). I remember my grandma telling me stories how they had to paint(…)
The snood (rhymes with food) is a type of hairnet or scarf which was particuarly popular with factory girls during World War II. It kept their long hair out of the way of machinery and was worn by lots of celebrities including wartime sweetheart Vera Lynn. You can even see the ever-glamorous Rita Hayworth wearing(…)