Richard Lynn was born in 1930, a subject of the British Empire:
How do you remember the Britain of your childhood and what strikes you the most, on a personal level, when you compare it with the Britain you know today? What are some of the everyday features of life that were taken for granted in the 1930s, but which would seem inconceivable today?
Three things strike me. First, there has been a huge increase in the standard of living. Up to around 1950, telephones, refrigerators, automobiles, and even radios were luxury items that only the fairly rich could afford. Today, all these things, as well as new items like televisions, mobile phones and computers, are possessed by almost everyone.
Second, and also up to around 1950, Britain was a very law abiding country. Crime rates were about 10 per cent of what they are today. Many cars did not have locks because it was taken for granted that no-one would attempt to break into them. An uncle of mine made a living as stamp dealer. He used to send out booklets of stamps each of which was priced to potential purchasers, who would take out those they wanted and send back the booklets together with a cheque for those they had taken. No doubt it will be amazing to the younger generation today that it was possible to run a business in this way.
Third, and again up to around 1950, Britain was an all-white society. I do not remember ever seeing a non-European before this time. This began to change as a result of two developments [the British Nationality Act of 1948 and the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees].
The result of these two developments was that the number of non-Europeans (of all races) living in Britain recorded in the census of 1951 was 138,000. By 1971, that number had increased to 751,000, and in 2001 census it had increased 3,450,000.
(Hat tip to Kalim Kassam, a modern Canadian retweeter.)