Shortly after the climactic last episode of Season 2, in which the fate of several characters hangs in the balance, it was announced that ITV had canceled the series. By this time, plans for a third season of episodes were under way and writers had already written scripts (contents unknown!) in which the cliffhanger was resolved - one way or the other. An online petition was created to resurrect Home Fires. It has just over 46320 signatures (updated 05/24/17).
Despite the first and second series both performing well against rivals, in April 2016, ITV announced that Home Fires had been axed, a decision which caused uproar among fans. A petition and online campaign were soon launched to get the channel to reconsider, with the petition getting over 46320 signatures (updated 05/24/17).
The opening scene of each episode is always from the POV of Steph Farrow.
The fictional village of Great Paxford is actually Bunbury in Cheshire. It saw real WW2 action when German planes on a Liverpool raid jettisoned their bombs, hitting houses, shops and the church seen in the series.
The small cardboard box on a string carried by everyone after late 1939 contains a version of a military-style gas mask for use against mustard gas or any other noxious fumes such as from chemical fires or explosions. Everyone in a potential invasion area or bombing target, if old enough to use one, was issued one. The British were very worried about civilians during wartime both to avoid catastrophe in the event of invasion and because the British people were absolutely the lifeblood of the military effectiveness.