This Happy Breed

Laurence Olivier provides introductory narration over a moving aerial shot of 1919 London as the men return from four years at war. The Gibbons family settles into a rented house in South London, beginning peacetime life. Frank quickly finds work with a travel agency, arranging tours of Western Front battlefields.

Frank's neighbour Bob Mitchell, a friend from his army days, becomes a constant presence next door. The two men share stories, plans, and a sense of camaraderie as peacetime Britain slowly takes shape.

The family attends the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley in 1924, a symbol of postwar optimism. The outing marks a communal milestone for the community and the Gibbons.

Around Christmas 1925, the Gibbons acquire their first crystal radio, bringing voices and music into the living room. The device ushers in a new era of home entertainment that the family enjoys together.

During the General Strike of 1926, Frank and Bob volunteer as bus driver and conductor, showing the era's solidarity and disruption. Reg is injured in a brawl, and Vi's relationship with Sam creates tension that the family must navigate.

Vi marries her socialist boyfriend Sam, reflecting shifting social patterns of the era. The couple's union sits alongside the continuing challenges and changes endured by the Gibbons family.

In 1928, Queenie wins a Charleston dance contest, signaling the younger generation's embrace of modern swing and fashion. The win adds a touch of youthful hope to the family story.

In 1929, Sam and Vi attend one of the new talking pictures, The Broadway Melody. Around the same time, news begins to appear about the electoral rise of the German Nazi Party.

Reg marries his girlfriend Phyl, marking another step in the family's evolving relationships. The wedding sits within a larger social shift as interwar Britain recalibrates traditional ties.

After a drunken 1931 regimental reunion, Bob expresses his faith in the League of Nations while Queenie runs off with a married man. Ethel confronts her daughter with anger, vowing never to forgive the betrayal.

Time passes and the family endures tragedy: Reg and Phyl die in a car crash, and Ethel's mother dies of pneumonia after influenza. Aunt Sylvia begins exploring spiritualism, hinting at the era's shifting beliefs.

In Hyde Park, Frank and Ethel briefly witness a British Union of Fascists speaker trying to stir anti-Semitic sentiment. The era's politics weigh on the family as Baldwin wins the 1935 general election.

January 1936 sees King George V die, and Frank and Ethel join the crowds filing past his coffin. The abdication of King Edward VIII later that year signals a turbulent royal transition.

In 1938, Neville Chamberlain returns from Munich celebrating 'peace in our time' with a cheering crowd outside 10 Downing Street, a moment Frank greets with disgust. Billy visits with news that Queenie, who had run a tearoom in France after leaving home, has married him and is back in London.

With war looming, Queenie leaves her baby with her parents and sails to join her husband in Singapore. Frank and Ethel move their family into a flat with Billy and Queenie's son as the film closes on 1939 London.