Britain's electricity production during WW2 was based overwhelmingly on coal (this remained true, actually, until the late 1970s at least).  Coal was also in demand for direct use by industry, and for military use.  In consequence, in spite of Britain's huge coal resources, and determined efforts to increase production, coal, and therefore electricity, was in chronically short supply throughout the war, a shortage that, if anything, grew worse as victory drew near.  In these circumstances, ordinary civilian use tended to be of very low priority; shortages and power cuts became common.  Here, a theatre box office soldiers on through a wartime power cut on candle power.  How they managed the performance, I have no idea.  Best regards, JR.

Gone Dark.

The British National Electricity Grid was a relatively new departure at the beginning of WW2.  The staff's view of their early accommodation may be gauged by their nickname for it - "The Hut".  One should never say that things cannot get worse; at the outset of hostilities, their headquarters were moved to this disused London Underground station.  Staff referred to this place as "The Hole".  Best regards, JR.

The Hole.

Team of &quot;Bevin Boys&quot; at a mine in Durham, North-East England, during WW2.  At the outset of the war, the British Government omitted to make mine working a reserved occupation.  As a result, many miners were conscripted to the Forces or obtained safer, better-paid employment in the &quot;reserved&quot; industries.  The result, by 1943, was an increasing shortage of young miners at the very time that the country's shortage of coal was becoming critical.  One response to this was the institution, by Ernest Bevin, Minister for Labour, of a ballot system by which a proportion of potential conscripts to the Forces was diverted to mine work.  No regard was paid to whether these young men were suitable for mining work.  In all, some 21,000 were drafted into the mines; many more were encouraged to opt for mining work as an alternative to other forms of service.

Forced employment in the mines was, generally, not popular.  British coal mining is, overwhelmingly, a matter of deep tunnel mining.  Conditions at the time were cramped, filthy and dangerous.  To add insult to injury, the &quot;Bevin Boys&quot; received no recognition for their vital contribution to Britain's survival for many years after the war and, indeed, tended to be regarded as shirkers or draft dodgers by many.  Only in 1998 were they allowed to parade with other veterans at the National Ceremony of Commemoration at the Cenotaph in Whitehall.  It took until 2008 for the UK Government to issue an official commemorative badge in recognition of their mine-bound - but vital - war work.  Best regards, JR.