1929 Was an Eventful Year

A Labour government came into power.
Parliament voted to abolish workhouses.
A woman became a UK Cabinet Minister for the first time ever.
The Wall Street Crash precipitated a worldwide depression. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street_Crash_of_1929]

And, on top of all this, I arrived.

In this blog I hope to record some of my family history. It is the story of an ordinary family who lived through some historic times. It may interest others who want to know about my generation. They may be surprised how we lived without so many things they take for granted.

I grew up in the Great Depression which lasted until WW2 so I experienced many changes.You may be surprised how we lived without so many things you take for granted.

We lived without antibiotics and the NHS. We shopped without supermarkets. And women had no labour-saving gadgets. Ordinary people, like my parents, did not own telephones or cars. We travelled by tram, bus or cycle. We did not even hear an aeroplane, let alone fly in one. A wide choice of places to rent meant no pressure to get on the property ladder. Milk, bread and coal were delivered to the house, usually using horse and cart.

It is not easy to find reliable details of everyday life. Nobody bothered to record such trivial details. Modern media usually presents a dramatic version of past events. Even old documentaries will contain government propaganda. Old photographs only show what people looked like, not how they actually lived. Period dramas try to do this, but we cannot tell if they are accurate.

I welcome your questions and will answer as many as I can.

Next time I will tell you about Holidays before EasyJet.