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The Home Front in Tredegar

during the Second World War

A Key Stage 2

Educational Resource Pack

Part 4—Food & Rationing

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Food Rationing

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Before the Second World War much of the

food eaten in Britain was produced abroad

and brought into the country by sea.

After the war started, German submarines

sunk many British ships. However, ships

were now needed to carry weapons and

raw materials for the war effort.

In order to make sure that the reduced

amount of food that was imported was

shared out fairly, a system of buying

shortage foods was introduced, which was

called ‘rationing’.

Rationed foods included meat and dairy

products, eggs, tea and sugar. Other foods

became very scarce and expensive.

Right: Merthyr Express, 13 January 1940

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To buy rationed food you needed to

register with a shop otherwise you

weren’t allowed to buy it.

People received ration books

containing coupons that had to be

stamped and removed by a shop-

keeper each time that food, which

was rationed, was bought.

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Here is the front and back of a sheet containing tea ration coupons

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Each person was allowed a limited number of coupons each week, so

there was a limit to how much rations could be bought in any week.

Second World War rations for one adult per week

Children’s rations were half of that of an adult.

Item Maximum level Minimum level

Bacon and Ham 8 oz (227 g) 4 oz (113 g)

Sugar 16 oz (454 g) 8 oz (227 g)

Loose Tea 4 oz (113 g) 2 oz (57 g)

Meat 22 old pence worth 12 old pence worth

Cheese 8 oz (227 g) 1 oz (28 g)

Preserves (such as Jam) 1 lb (0.45 kg) per month 2 lb (0.91 kg) marmalade

8 oz (227 g) per month

Butter 8 oz (227 g) 2 oz (57 g)

Margarine 12 oz (340 g) 4 oz (113 g)

Lard 3 oz (85 g) 2 oz (57 g)

Sweets 16 oz (454 g) per month 8 oz (227 g) per month

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This was the weekly allowance of rationed foods for one adult

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The table on the right lists

average earnings for men

in the 1940s.

In old (pre-decimal) money,

12 old pence (written d)

made a shilling (written s).

20 shillings made one

pound (or 240 old pence).

Whilst the maximum

amount of meat allowed for

one adult for a week was

only 22 old pence worth,

this was still a lot of money

when you consider that

many men may not have

earned more than 68 old

pence in a week!

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Occasionally we’d get a treat—Canadian

sausage meat. It would be a tin holding about a

pound of sausage meat, which was absolutely

delicious. Around the sausage meat you’d have

the fat and I remember my mother scraping that

off very carefully to use for cooking.

Peter M.Jones

There was a British Restaurant near to where Tredegar Library is today. It was a restaurant where you could go in and have a meal ‘off-ration.’ Peter M.Jones

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British Restaurants

Tredegar had its own

‘British Restaurant’.

These were run by the

Women’s Voluntary

Service (WVS) to ensure

that people who had run

out of rationing coupons

were still able to eat.

A meal cost a maximum

of 9 old pence (9d) but no

-one could have a meal

consisting of more than

one serving of either

meat, poultry, fish, eggs

or cheese—as these

foods were rationed.

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In the table below, we can compare how the amount of some imported

foods and drinks changed before (Pre-War) and during the war (Now).

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Some foods including tinned produce, dried fruit, cereals and biscuits

were rationed using a points system. The number of points sometimes

changed according to how much was available at that time.

Extra allowances of milk and eggs were given to young children and

pregnant women. However as shortages increased during the war, long

queues became common. Prices of scarce foods were often controlled.

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A song from the 1920s became very popular during the war as people

tried to make a joke out of the fact that many foods were no longer

available. The Government banned the importing of bananas so

shopkeepers put signs up stating "Yes, we have no bananas" in their

shop windows!

Yes! We have no bananas.

We have no bananas today.

We've string beans and onions,

cab-bah-ges and scallions,

and all kinds of fruit and say,

we have an old fashioned to-mah-to,

Long Island po-tah-to,

but yes!

We have no bananas.

We have no bananas today!

Left: Children eating

their first banana

after the war!

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Recipes and Cooking

Rationing meant that certain ingredients

normally used for cooking were in short

supply or simply unavailable.

The Ministry of Food encouraged people

to try different ingredients and recipes to

make the most of foods that were plentiful

such as vegetables.

People were urged to cut down on their

food waste as well.

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Bread and flour were in short supply dur-

ing the war but neither were rationed

even though most of the wheat used to

make bread was shipped in from abroad.

To make wheat go further, the Govern-

ment introduced ‘National Wheatmeal

Bread’, which used more of the wheat

grain, and it expected bakers to use it.

It was also illegal for bakers to sell ‘fresh’

bread! Bread had to be at least one day

old before it could be bought. The

Government said that it was difficult to

cut thin slices with fresh bread but it

probably had more to do with the fact

that fresh bread was more appetising

and you were likely to eat more of it if it

tasted better!

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Woolton pie was named after the Minister of Food in 1940. The recipe

included potatoes, parsnips, cauliflower, swede, carrots and turnip or

whatever vegetables were available or in season. The pie was topped

with potato pastry and served with vegetable gravy. Woolton pie, which

lacked meat entirely, was quickly forgotten after rationing ended.

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To encourage people to eat more potatoes, Potato Pete was created.

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Everyone especially children were urged to eat more carrots during the

war because they were a healthy food that was plentiful. The "Dr.

Carrot" advertising campaign also encouraged the eating of carrots.

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Carrots contain vitamin A which is important to human health. A poor

diet lacking in vitamin A can cause poor vision, including night vision,

which can be restored by adding it back into the diet.

A story or myth developed during the war that British gunners were

able to shoot down German planes in the darkness of night because

they ate lots of carrots! However this had more to do with the fact that

the Royal Air Force wanted to cover up its discovery and successful use

of radar, which pinpointed the positions of aircraft in the sky at night!

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This story or myth that the Royal Air

Force told also encouraged British

people—looking to improve their

night vision during the blackouts—

to grow and eat carrots too!

Carrots do help you to keep your

eyes and vision healthy because

they contain vitamin A. But eating

tons of them will not allow you to

see in the dark!

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Some vegetables were in shorter supply

than others. Most onions were imported

before the war so became scarce after

1940. People were encouraged to grow

leeks as a substitute for onions. The

Ministry of Food placed adverts in

newspapers featuring recipes which

used ingredients that were plentiful.

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Fish wasn’t rationed but there were regular shortages as supplies

dropped to 30% of pre-war levels. As a result, long queues often built up

at fishmongers. The Food Ministry encouraged people to eat other types

such as salted fish but it wasn’t very popular!

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Tea was rationed during the

war as it had to be imported

from overseas.

Coffee was never rationed

but it was in short supply and

expensive.

Coffee substitutes became

popular during the war.

Camp coffee contained only

4% coffee, sugar syrup and

26% chicory, which was

made from the root of a herb

that had a similar, bitter taste

to coffee.

Tea rationing finally ended on

3 October 1952.

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‘Red, White & Blue’ was another popular

coffee substitutes during the war. It too

was a coffee and chicory mixture.

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Dried Eggs and Dried Milk!

Eggs and dairy products were rationed and often in short supply during the

war. Dried or powdered egg became available instead of fresh eggs!

Left & right: Two adverts about

eggs in the Merthyr Express

newspaper from 1941 & 1944

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Merthyr Express newspaper,

30 January 1943

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Dried milk, known as ‘household milk’,

was also available for children during the

war when liquid milk was in short supply.

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Sweet rationing

To the great dismay of children,

rationing of sweets began on 26th

July 1942. The ration was just 8

ounces (227 grams) of sweets (or

chocolate) every 4 weeks!

Children struggled to make their

ration last and chose sweets that

lasted, such as gobstoppers!

Sweet coupons could be spent

anywhere allowing children to shop

around.

What does 227g of sweets look

like? This was all you were allowed

to have for 4 weeks!

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Due to rationing,

packaging of

sweets and

chocolate was

plain and simple,

and often wrapped

in greaseproof

paper!

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2 adverts for sweets—underneath the price in old pence (d), the number

of ration coupon points is shown

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Chocolate makers couldn’t get

enough milk to make ‘milk

chocolate’ and often had to

use milk powder instead. Plain

(dark) chocolate became the

norm! Sweet rationing ended

on 5 February 1953, which was

greeted with scenes like the

one below across Britain!

More wartime chocolate below!

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Sweets could be made at home using Ministry of Food recipes.

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Even in the war, most

children still had parties

on birthdays and at

Christmas although

they would have been

much less lavish than

we would have today.

Mothers had to be really

inventive to create

sweet treats out of

meagre sugar rations.

The Ministry of Food

produced lots of advice

to help people make the

most of ingredients that

were available such as

these below:

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Letter received by Tredegar Council from London County Council on 23 December 1940.

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On Christmas 1940,

parties were held in

Tredegar for all

evacuees staying

there.

On 23 December,

Tredegar Council

received a letter

from London County

Council advising

that 2 ounces of

sweets would be

available for each

evacuee for Christ-

mas. The sweets

must have arrived in

the nick of time!

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Letters received by Tredegar Council from London County Council in 1942 & 1943 about

Christmas party arrangements for evacuees. This time plenty of notice was given!

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A Spade and Fork Army—

Dig for Victory!

Some foods including vegetables

weren’t rationed at all during the war.

The Government realised that farmers

and gardeners in Britain needed to

produce more food.

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A campaign to encourage people to grow vegetables in their gardens

and allotments was launched called ‘Dig For Victory’. MP and Secretary

to the Ministry of Agriculture, Tom Williams, said on 30 October 1940:

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At Tredegar, the Council wasted no

time in securing the extra land

needed—allotments sprung into

being almost overnight by the

hundred.

Despite the unpromising nature of

the ground, the results were very

good.

Exhibitions and competitions were

held in the autumn of each year

which proved that excellent

vegetables could be grown in

Tredegar, despite its altitude, as well

as anywhere else in South Wales.

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During the war, the Ministry for

Food encouraged people to

help harvest crops during the

autumn as there weren’t

enough farm workers available

to do the work.

During the first year of the war,

a great number of potatoes

were lost because there was a

shortage of labour at harvest.

The Ministry of Food organised

‘holidays’ for volunteers to help

harvest the crops!

Would this be your idea of a

perfect holiday?

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In order to grow more food in

Britain, more help was needed on

the farms and so the government

started the Women's Land Army in

June 1939 as the likelihood of war

grew. It was intended that young

women would replace men called

up for military service who had

worked in farming before the war.

Women who worked for the Land

Army were known as Land Girls.

They were placed with farms that

needed workers; the farmers being

their employer.

By 1944, over 80,000 women

worked as Land Girls on Britain’s

farms.

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Women's Land Army Song

Back to the land, we must all

lend a hand.

To the farms and the fields we

must go.

There's a job to be done,

Though we can't fire a gun

We can still do our bit with the

hoe...

Back to the land, with its clay

and its sand,

Its granite and gravel and grit,

You grow barley and wheat

And potatoes to eat

To make sure that the nation

keeps fit...

We will tell you once more

You can help win the war

If you come with us - back to the

land

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The Government suggested that children could also help grow food!

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Because of the pail,

the scraps were saved,

Because of the scraps,

the pigs were saved,

Because of the pigs,

the rations were saved,

Because of the rations,

the ships were saved,

Because of the ships,

the island was saved,

Because of the island,

the Empire was saved,

And all because of

the housewife's pail.

Meat rationing increased the need for

people to keep animals for eating.

Councils allowed people to keep a pig

in their backyard. People grouped

together to form pig clubs to organise

feed (swill) collections.

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People saved food

scraps and waste

such as potato

peelings. This was

collected and boiled

to feed to pigs.

Almost every part of

a pig could be eaten.

Butter was in very

short supply during

the war. People made

their own lard from

pig fat, which they

used to spread on

bread instead of

butter!

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Children were expected to collect acorns and beech mast for pig feed!

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During the war, 700 pigs were

slaughtered in Tredegar–few of

these animals would have been

kept if it had not been for pig

clubs.

The Vale Terrace pig club sold

nearly 8 tonnes of meat to the

Ministry of Food which was

roughly the same as one week’s

ration for 90,000 people! The

Constitutional Club’s pig club

did even better, selling 112 pigs

to the Ministry—a week’s ration

for 116,000 people!

In addition, the members of the

pig clubs were able to supply

themselves with meat as well!

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As meat was rationed for much of the

war, people were encouraged to

keep rabbits for eating!

Rabbits could be fed on kitchen and

garden waste including many weeds

so they cost very little to keep.

Below: A one-pot stew made from

rabbit and just a few ingredients.

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People were also encouraged to

keep chickens so that they could

produce their own eggs. During

the war, eggs were severely

rationed; the allowance for one

adult was only one egg per week!

If you had enough space for

chickens then you could get a

ration for ‘feed’. Some councils

organised waste food collections

in their areas.

Many people who kept chickens

swapped any unwanted, spare

eggs for other foods which were

difficult to get or rationed as well.

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