As boomers of 1946 we kids were still affected by WW2. My dad was still in the RAF after completing 43 trips in Lancasters. I saw him in his uniform most days. Any trip to the shops meant taking along a ration book. The first thing you asked the shop keeper was "Do I need coupons?" Food was very short - you'll find that boomers aren't too picky when it comes food, mainly because you just went without if you didn't eat it. School dinners were shit, greens, mashed potato and some indeterminate type of meat - every day! My mother had to work, I was travelling on public transport alone at age 5 to go stay with relatives at the end of the school day. The idea that the end of WW2 was some great cut-off point is just a fallacy. The only thing that ceased was armed conflict. Life continued much as it had done with all of the hardships that the wartimer's had endured. Basically life was one of gradual improvement. It was OK however - I was a happy kid though, vaguely aware of "the war" and accepted that roughing it was just a part of life and no big deal at all. So there you go. Life was pretty much what we made it, and that's a belief I've always abided by ever since.