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| In
his article on PGS during the war, Rod Crook
commented on food supply. Also, the report of the
VE day tea party has the author enthusing over
ham sandwiches and fancy cakes. Today, one might
be tempted to consider this as satire, but I can
assure you it was not. The sentiments are real -
I was there! The occasion was indeed a huge 'one
off' treat, a really special occasion. It was,
for instance, through the period of sugar
rationing, illegal for bakers to put icing on any
cakes they were able to produce, though you could
ice them at home - if (a very big if) you could
find the sugar. More information on what was
available during the war seems appropriate in the
context of these other items on the site. In
Britain, people did not go hungry as they did on
the Continent, but food was extremely limited as
well as being dull and monotonous. Rationing was
introduced to ensure that everyone regardless of
income or circumstance was given a fair share of
whatever food was available. This was a new and
different principle from that of rationing by the
purse as in the 'hungry thirties'. That the
system worked well despite the difficulties of
bombing, the U-boat blockade and so on was, in
fact, a remarkable achievement of planning and
collective effort with which the name of Lord
Woolton, the Minister of Food, will for ever be
associated. So what did we have, and when did
rationing start and finish? Details varied from
time to time, but the table gives the general
picture. |
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