The 1940\'s House:For Lyn and Michael Hymers, their daughter Kirstie and her sons, Ben and Thomas, the Second World War began more than sixty years after Chamberlain\'s announcement. For them, war broke out on 15 April 2000, when they left their Yorkshire hometown for a 1930s semi-detached house in West Wickham, Kent, under the skies where the Battle of Britain was fought.In the weeks that the Hymers spent in the 1940s house, they experienced many different aspects of life on the home front, from the outbreak of war in 1939 through the hardships of rationing and shortages and the relief of VE Day. Soon after their arrival, the realities of war are brought sharply into focus when they receive an Anderson shelter which they must erect in the garden. Hard on its heels comes a visit from the \'ARP warden\' to inspect their blackout.The Hymers have to learn to live with the exhortations and regulations of a \'War Cabinet\' in almost every aspect of their daily lives. The challenges of coping with rationing and high prices fall mainly on Lyn and Kirstie. The boys have responsibilities too and Ben is appointed fuel warden. Meanwhile, the war means Michael has to work away from the 1940s house, and the women of the family, like their wartime counterparts are left to run the home alone.