London in the 1940s wasn’t the easiest of times as the capital endured the Second World War's German bombing campaign known as the Blitz.
Citizens were evacuated from the city, while blackouts were imposed at night to frustrate German bombing attacks.
Londoners took shelter from bombs in locations such as London Underground stations.
According to the Royal British Legion, 116,000 buildings in London were destroyed or damaged beyond repair during the period.
Buildings including the Tate Britain and Victoria and Albert Museum still bear shrapnel marks to this day.
After the Allies declared victory in 1945, Clement Attlee’s Labour government won the election in a landslide.
Attlee's government instituted reforms such as establishing the NHS and nationalising utilities including gas and rail.
This period saw extensive reconstruction, with landmarks such as Waterloo Bridge and Heathrow Airport (then called London Airport) officially opening in 1945 and 1946 respectively.
Architect Patrick Abercrombie’s Abercrombie Plan for London’s reconstruction recommended the implementation of a “green belt”, and traffic routes which would later become the M25.
In 1947, Princess Elizabeth married Sir Philip Mountbatten in a ceremony at Westminster Abbey attended by 2000 guests.
London also hosted the 1948 Summer Olympics, the first Olympic Games since the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
In the same year, HMT Empire Windrush brought numerous Commonwealth citizens to Tilbury.
Many Windrush passengers, who were temporarily housed in an air-raid shelter in Clapham after arriving, later formed communities in nearby Brixton and Notting Hill.
Here are 13 pictures depicting life in London in the 1940s.
1. 1941: Last Post
A postman tries to deliver letters to premises in Watling Street in the City of London, after a night time German air raid, London, May 1941. The dome of St Paul's Cathedral is in the background. (Photo by Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
2. 1940: War time fashion
circa 1940: Two models wearing fashion by Molyneux stand in a London street with a bomb-site in the background. (Photo by Tunbridge/Tunbridge-Sedgwick Pictorial Press/Getty Images)
3. 1943: Rolling Stones drummer Charles Watts aged 2
A stylish Charles Robert Watts aged 2 with his mother Lillian and father Charles in Trafalgar Square in 1943. Charlie was known as Charlie Boy- while his dad was called Charlie.
4. 1940: National Kitchen
September 1940: A queue in London at a Citizens' Kitchen, one of many National Kitchens to have been opened to serve meals to people made homeless by the heavy bombing. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)