Leisure, early to mid 20th Century: Site Contents

How people spent their spare time in the early and mid-20th century says a great deal about everyday life in Britain. Before the internet, computer games and round-the-clock television, leisure was often simpler, more communal and far more hands-on than today. Families listened together round the radio - known as the wireless - , children invented games in the street, and outings to the cinema or seaside were major treats eagerly anticipated for weeks.

This section of the website explores the amusements, hobbies and social activities remembered by ordinary people who were there at the time. The pages include firsthand accounts of cinemas, radio, early television, toys, clubs, holidays and popular games, together with recollections of the atmosphere, customs and expectations that surrounded them.

Many activities now taken for granted were once exciting novelties. Families marvelled at their first television sets, children made their own entertainment outdoors, and social life often revolved around neighbourhood friendships, church groups, pubs, clubs and local events. Even simple pleasures such as borrowing books from the library, listening to gramophone records or paddling at the seaside carried a special importance in everyday life.

The memories collected here reveal not only how people relaxed and entertained themselves, but also the values and routines of the times: thrift, companionship, ingenuity and making the most of whatever was available. Some recollections may seem charming, surprising or even hard to imagine today, but together they help recreate the texture of ordinary life in Britain during a very different age

Scroll down for clickable links to individual pages which are shown under descriptive headings.

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