Life in America barely changed when we went to war. I bet there are even some people who don't know we are in the midst of the War on Terror. But this is radically different from wars such as World War II. Back then everybody felt the effects of the War in almost every aspect of their daily lives. We have it so easy today in America compared to what the people of Great Britain went through during World War II.

During the war, many children were sent away from cities into the countryside. The four main characters in the Chronicles of Narnia show a little of what it was like to be one of those children sent away. Due to the vast number of children being evacuated, they often had tags or labels attached to their person. Many children being evacuated had never been away from home or their parents before. Over 1 million children were evacuated during the war to places that included America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

For the children who stayed in the cities, life wasn't much different from the adults. The children had to hide in bomb shelters. Schools held regular gas drills. The students were required to take these seriously, and were issued gas masks. Funny and bright colored gas masks were issued to children under five to help them overcome the fear of using the masks.

Rations were given out to children and adults alike. Rationed foods included meat, jam, cheese, eggs, tea, sugar, flour, and many others. Those who lived close to the countryside often drove to get supplies directly from farmers to supplement rations. Clothing was also rationed. People were only allowed one new set of clothes per year. Yikes! Eventually coal and electricity were also rationed. And by July 1942 candy and chocolate were rationed. Rationing of many foods continued for nine years after WWII ended.

For the first time in history, women were required to fill what had been traditionally mate jobs such as plumbing, fire fighters, factory workers, worked on farms and many others. This change carried beyond the war, but that is another subject. !n 1943 the government formed the Woman's Land Army to create more workers to grow food on farms. The minimum workweek was 50 hours. They did all the rough work, including digging ditches, bringing in the harvest, driving tractors, and alt sorts of other farm related jobs.

The Battle of Britain began in 1940, when German planes began bombing British airfields, harbors, factors, and radar stations. The Battle tasted for three months. During this time, over 500 British pilots died in combat. The British lost 792 aircraft.

In the early part of the Battle, German losses were tow. The tide began to turn, however, when for unknown reasons the Germans changed their battle tactics and allowed the RAF to regroup. It became apparent that the only way for the German bombers to survive was to fly under the cover of darkness. This is when the Blitz began that caused so much damage to Britain. Children were once again sent away from the cities.

But because Britain was able to develop better radar, the German loses began to increase once again. Soon all the German fighters were recalled to Russia, and the attack on Britain petered out.

Britain's lost much during the War. Many of there homes were destroyed by German bombs. The economy was tow, and the government still rationed many necessary items. But they have since recovered.