But, 100 years on, historians say Britain was already heading towards massive social upheaval. Many see the pre-war era as an idyllic time. Flowing sleek lines would replace the rigid look of Edwardian times thanks to the first fashion designer, Paul Poiret. Although many had secured jobs at factories like Rowntree’s in York before the war, during the conflict two million of them would take jobs which had always been the preserve of men.Įven style was to be transformed. The working class, having fought alongside their rich cousins in the trenches, would start to feel they had the right to be heard, too.Īnd the role of women was to change.

It was seen as the age of Edwardian innocence, conjuring up images of sleepy village life and croquet on the lawn.īut it was also a year marking the end of the Old World, before a bygone era was swept away by the horror of the Great War, which left 35million dead or wounded.Īfter the war, with the UK crippled by debts, America would emerge as a leading nation and the stirrings for Commonwealth independence would begin.

Londoners revelled in the simple pleasures of admiring the Pearly Kings and Queens. Women wore modest bathing suits to paddle at the beach from Scarborough, North Yorkshire, to Cornwall and public displays of affection were scandalous. In 1913, George V had been on the throne for just three years and the summer seemed to last forever. It was the year the bra was invented, Vivien Leigh was born and Charlie Chaplin signed his first film deal.īritain still had her vast empire, London had the largest port in the world and the Liberal Government’s sweeping reforms promised to wipe out extreme poverty with the creation of a welfare state.

The last summer before the war