• Glossary
• About this site
• Print this page

Britain: After World War II

The War of the World
According to historian Niall Ferguson, from the Russo-Japanese war of 1904/5 to the aftershocks of the Cold War, the 20th century was by far the bloodiest in history. In this website, Ferguson explains why this came about, and there is an extensive chronology of the events that made this the ‘age of hatred’.

That'll Teach 'Em
Shows how British education today is very different from education in the 1950s, and asks why people have always criticised education and what is worthy of praise in it today.

• The Affair: The changing status of women
  A concise rundown of the changes in British law to do with marriage and divorce.
• The Belgrano controversy
  The sinking of the Belgrano by HMS Conqueror during the Falklands War sparked off a needless political controversy whose major casualty was, according to Dr Eric Grove, a senior British civil servant.
• Bloody Sunday
  Two contrasting historians look at Jimmy McGovern's powerful docu-drama about the shootings in Derry in 1972.
• The Brighton Bomb – no impact?
  Professor Richard English asks what if the IRA's bomb had killed Margaret Thatcher – and what if there had been no bomb at all.
• Britain's Biological Weapons: The hidden history of Porton Down
  The story of Porton Down from its beginnings before World War II to today.
• Britain's Cold War Super Weapons
  How Britain's entries in the Cold War arms race - nuclear bombs, jet aircraft and ballistic missiles - ultimately failed to fulfil their initial promise to turn the tide of history.
• Britain's Trains and Railways: A beginner's guide
  Everything you wanted to know about steam engines, railway companies and electric locomotives.
• Class Quiz
  The British are obsessed with class, from the aristocrats to chavs and the underclass, with the middle classes in between, constantly jockeying for position. Here is a quiz to set you thinking about class.
• The Empire Pays Back
  Should the companies and other institutions that profited from the slave trade apologise and pay reparations?
• Empire's Children
  Trace and tell your family's empire stories. Stories, histories, research guides, videos.
• Feminists and Flour Bombs
  Feminism then and now in this examination of the lives of five women who protested at the 1970 Miss World competition.
• Forbidden Fruit
  Taboo and titillation, racial pride and prejudice – these mark the story of love and sex between black and white people. This site looks at how people's curiosity of the exotic was poisoned by the violence and brutality of the plantations. The timeline includes key dates along the route to racial harmony.
• Going Critical: HMS Coventry
  The sinking of HMS Coventry during the Falklands War, which killed 17 men, and the science behind what went wrong.
• The Hunt for Lord Lucan
  The disappearance of Lord Lucan in 1974 ignited one of the most compelling mysteries in modern criminal history – a peculiarly British affair, involving the dying traditions of aristocracy and honour.
• Immigration
  Accessible history of immigration into Britain from the time of the Romans to the present.
• John Betjeman
  The high Tory lyricist, deeply insecure about his social background and his gift for poetry, who was hailed by The Times as 'Teddy Bear to the Nation'.
• London: The greatest city
  Edited transcript of the Channel 4 documentary on the history of Britain's capital, together with many of the computer reconstructions that appeared in it.
• Mahatma Gandhi
  This Channel 4 Learning website examines Gandhi as a political campaigner and religious leader and the effects of his policies.
• Margaret Thatcher
  Britain’s first woman prime minister, who introduced swingeing conservative economic policies and waged war against Argentina over the Falkland Islands.
• MI5
  A concise account of the intelligence agency responsible for assessing threats to national security from its establishment in 1909.
• Monarchy
  Dynamic timeline that illuminates the lives of the men and women who sat on the English/British throne and the powerful individuals who supported and sometimes fought them.
• Origination
  Brings together the wealth of web resources that record and celebrate the contributions of immigrant cultures to British history.
• Philip Larkin: Love and death in Hull
  Places Larkin in the wider poetic context and delves into his bleak mindset, framed by his parents' drab and miserable life, and his oppressive ever-present awareness of death.
• Race in the 20th Century
  This C4 Learning website explores the representations of empire and immigration in Britain and civil rights in the United States.
• The Real Alan Clark
  The historian and MP whose aristocratic charm and self-assurance allowed him to say – or do – what he liked.
• The Real Cliff Richard
  A celibate Christian knighted for his charitable work who was once hailed the 'British Elvis'.
• The Real James Bond
  The story of Ian Fleming, the creator of the spy James Bond, who was the fulfilment of Fleming's own fantasies.
• The Real John Curry
  The figure skater whose brilliant career was dogged by professional failure and personal tragedy.
• The Real Keith Moon
  The world's most outrageous rock drummer.
• The Real Prince Charles
  The heavily marketed royal figurehead, sidelined by a new generation of celebrity royals.
• The Real Prince Philip
  The man who always has to walk two steps behind the queen.
• The Real Shirley Bassey
  The big-voiced singer from Cardiff's Tiger Bay.
• The Real Stephen Hawking
  The scientific genius who has fought profound disability.
• Scandal
  Aleks Sierz finds this version of the Profumo affair just a bit too rose-tinted.
• The Spencers
  A two-part biography of Diana Spencer and her brother Charles, Earl Spencer.
• That'll Teach 'Em 2
  The differences between the British education system in 1964 and what teenagers face today, from lessons to teaching methods.
• The War of the World
  According to historian Niall Ferguson, from the Russo-Japanese war of 1904/5 to the aftershocks of the Cold War, the 20th century was by far the bloodiest in history. In this website, Ferguson explains why this came about, and there is an extensive chronology of the events that made this the ‘age of hatred’.
• When Britain Went to War
  Facts and figures of the war in the Falklands, plus a discussion of the role of the media during various conflicts.
• Women in the 20th Century
  This C4 Learning website examines the roles of women during the last century in terms of war, work and the family.
• The Year London Blew Up
  In 1974/5, London endured a 14-month bombing campaign by the Provisional IRA. This timeline brings the fear and confusion of that time chillingly to life

Top