| 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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