Swanley History Group – November 2015 meeting
Today, when many of us are trying to cut down our calorie intake or throwing away food not eaten by the ‘sell by’ date, it is hard to appreciate what it must have been like for families in the 1940’s and 50s’, during and after World War II, when food was strictly rationed. Our speaker at the Swanley History Group November meeting, Toni Mount, gave us a flavour of those times.
The priority was the feeding of the Armed Forces and back-up workers and rationing was introduced to share out limited resources, not just food but clothes and fuel. In 1939 a National Register was implemented and identity cards were introduced with ration books issued in 1940. With the interruption of grain supplies from USA and Canada every piece of available land was required for food production. People were encouraged to raise chickens and pigs in their back yards and great imagination was employed in a sometimes futile effort to make food substitutes more appetising.
Looking your best, even in the air raid shelters, was achieved by the use of stains instead of lipstick and cocoa powder instead of nylons. Rationing of textiles changed the styles as hemlines were raised and pleats and turn ups were out. Man-made fabrics such as rayon were in. Hats were popular as everyday wear but they had to be home made so magazines were full of ideas to copy. Shoes had clumpy low heels and soles were often made from cork or wood – some with a hinge to make walking easier! There was apparently a brisk trade in the renovation of corsets. In 1947 the ‘new look’ Christian Dior dress with billowing skirts heralded a new era for some.
Conditions such as scurvy and rickets were common so ways to improve the Nation’s health were introduced, such as the National Milk Scheme for children and priority adults, provision of cod liver oil and orange juice. To keep warm exercise was recommended such as ‘dry swimming’.
The end of hostilities did not see the end of rationing and austerity as the British economy was virtually bankrupt, not helped by the ending of loans from the USA. Eggs, cheese, meat and bacon were rationed until 1954.
‘A good wife always knows her place’ was a statement issued in 1954 and to end her talk Toni read out a list of pointers on how to achieve this, to the amusement or wishful thinking of members of the audience.
Christina Tyler, Programme Organiser
Today, when many of us are trying to cut down our calorie intake or throwing away food not eaten by the ‘sell by’ date, it is hard to appreciate what it must have been like for families in the 1940’s and 50s’, during and after World War II, when food was strictly rationed. Our speaker at the Swanley History Group November meeting, Toni Mount, gave us a flavour of those times.
The priority was the feeding of the Armed Forces and back-up workers and rationing was introduced to share out limited resources, not just food but clothes and fuel. In 1939 a National Register was implemented and identity cards were introduced with ration books issued in 1940. With the interruption of grain supplies from USA and Canada every piece of available land was required for food production. People were encouraged to raise chickens and pigs in their back yards and great imagination was employed in a sometimes futile effort to make food substitutes more appetising.
Looking your best, even in the air raid shelters, was achieved by the use of stains instead of lipstick and cocoa powder instead of nylons. Rationing of textiles changed the styles as hemlines were raised and pleats and turn ups were out. Man-made fabrics such as rayon were in. Hats were popular as everyday wear but they had to be home made so magazines were full of ideas to copy. Shoes had clumpy low heels and soles were often made from cork or wood – some with a hinge to make walking easier! There was apparently a brisk trade in the renovation of corsets. In 1947 the ‘new look’ Christian Dior dress with billowing skirts heralded a new era for some.
Conditions such as scurvy and rickets were common so ways to improve the Nation’s health were introduced, such as the National Milk Scheme for children and priority adults, provision of cod liver oil and orange juice. To keep warm exercise was recommended such as ‘dry swimming’.
The end of hostilities did not see the end of rationing and austerity as the British economy was virtually bankrupt, not helped by the ending of loans from the USA. Eggs, cheese, meat and bacon were rationed until 1954.
‘A good wife always knows her place’ was a statement issued in 1954 and to end her talk Toni read out a list of pointers on how to achieve this, to the amusement or wishful thinking of members of the audience.
Christina Tyler, Programme Organiser