The Wall Street Crash of 1929 may have seemed far away, but events in America affected Britain more than ever – by 1932 there were three million unemployed. The feeling of gloom was echoed by Aldous Huxley’s depressing vision of the future in ‘Brave New World’ (1932) and George Orwell’s bleak picture of unemployment in ‘The Road to Wigan Pier’ (1937). The jobless of Jarrow marched on London in 1936, while Oswald Mosley’s fascists (formed in 1932) caused trouble in the capital.

Nevertheless there was plenty to be cheerful about. The cinema now offered ‘talkies’ (sound movies). The special effects in ‘King Kong’ had everyone gasping, while the seven-year-old Shirley Temple was the top box office attraction in 1935, and cigarette cards of film stars were a popular subject to collect.

For kids there were Mickey Mouse and Popeye, and in 1937 the first feature-length cartoon was produced: ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’. The word game Lexicon could be found in most homes, but from 1936 it was rivalled by Monopoly. Young children were now lucky enough to have Dinky toys.

Good news for readers in 1935 came in the form of the Penguin paperback, which went on sale for 6d. Radion was an established part of daily life, broadcasting news and shows like ‘The Crazy Gang’ and Arthur Askey’s ‘Band Waggon’. Listeners enjoyed the wave of new chocolate bars that swept the sweet shops – Aero, Milky Way, milky Bar, Kit Kat and Mars bars at 2d.

Labour saving electrical appliances were used in more and more homes. At the beginning of the decade a quarter of houses had access to an electric supply (this figure rose to half by 1939), and by 1934 the national grid was complete. Comparatively few homes had a telephone in 1931 – although telephones were soon in four colours. The majority of businessmen were on the ‘phone, and for their desks the Anglepoise lamp, designed by George Carwardine, was launched in 1933.

The shock of Edward VIII’s abdication was swiftly followed by the rumblings of unrest in Europe, beginning with the civil war in Spain (1936-9). Neville Chamberlain’s ‘peace for our time’ proved to be a false dawn. War was declared on Germany in September 1939.