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The Home Front in Tredegar

during the Second World War

A Key Stage 2

Educational Resource Pack

Part 5—Rationing of Fuel

and Clothes

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Fuel Rationing

During the war as much coal as possible

was needed to supply energy to industries

and factories which made goods that were

vital to the war effort.

All fuels were rationed and people were

encouraged by the Government to use less

energy in homes and their place of work in

order to divert as much as possible to the

war effort.

Advice ranged from reducing the level of

water in the bath, turning off appliances

and lights around the home, turning down

heating and closing doors!

Do you think that the posters on the next

fifteen pages would persuade people to

change their habits and reduce fuel use?

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In the 1940s, few people owned cars.

Petrol rationing was introduced in 1939.

To save fuel and reduce the number of

accidents in the blackout, the speed limit

at night was reduced to 20 miles per hour

in all built-up areas.

In 1942, supplies of petrol for private

cars was stopped altogether!

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What was Shanks’ Pony?

Why would using Shanks’

Pony save fuel and help

the war effort?

Here is a short wartime

poem about George the

‘Transport Hog’ created

to remind everyone to

walk whenever possible.

You wonder why we make a

fuss

If George decides to take a bus

but look again and you will see

that George ain’t all that

George should be.

He's only got a step to go

a couple hundred yards or so

while others further down the

queue

have far to go and lots to do.

When George gets on we often

find

that other folk get left behind.

He pays his fare and rides the

stage

and off he hops and see the rage

and seeing this gives George a jog

“Perhaps I'm Just a Transport

Hog”

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Clothes Rationing

Clothing was rationed on a system of

points. When it was introduced, in

1941, no clothing coupons had been

issued so unused margarine coupons

in ration books were used instead!

The allowance was roughly one new

outfit of clothes per year. As the war

went on, the points were reduced until

almost a year's clothing coupons

could be used by buying a coat.

People were encouraged to ‘make do

and mend’ rather than buy new

clothes. Younger children often wore

‘hand-me-downs’ from older brothers

or sisters!

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When buying new clothes, custom-

ers had to hand over coupons with

a 'points' value as well as money.

Each item of clothing had a points

value, usually displayed alongside

the price. The more fabric and work

that went into making a garment,

the more points were required.

As with food rationing, the main aim

of the scheme was to ensure a fair

share for all. But it was also intend-

ed to free up factory space and

workers for vital war industries.

The 'Make do and Mend' campaign

suggested ways to repair and re-

use old clothes.

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Children quickly outgrew their

clothes. Mothers were encouraged

to buy children’s clothes in bigger

sizes so they could be taken in

initially and then let out gradually

as the child grew.

School uniforms could be a real

problem for parents. Many schools

did not ease their rules on uniform

during wartime. So families often

had to use up their entire yearly

allowance of coupons on uniforms.

Posters encouraged women to re-

pair old clothes, and offered ideas

for how to create new outfits for

themselves and their children from

old clothes and scraps of fabric.

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Some people received an extra

points allowance if they had a

particular job, for example if over-

alls were needed for factory work.

Pregnant women were given an

extra allocation of clothing points

for maternity and baby clothes.

Fewer points were needed for

children’s clothing because being

smaller, they used less material.

Children also needed replacement

clothes more often than adults as

they outgrew or wore them out.

Older children aged 14 to 16 also

received an extra 20 coupons.

Why was this necessary?

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The Women's Voluntary Service

(WVS) ran children's clothing and

shoe exchanges during the war.

Parents could take shoes and

clothes that their children had grown

too big for, to the exchange, in return

for points.

The collected points could then be

swapped at the exchange for suitable

clothes that fitted.

The WVS also accepted donations of

unwanted clothes which they sent to

families who had lost theirs through

bombing for instance.

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In 1941, adults received

just 66 coupons or points

for all of their clothing

needs for a year.

In 1942, the allowance

was cut to 48 points and

strict rules were brought

in which even restricted

the number of buttons

and pockets that could be

included on clothes!

In 1943 the allowance

was reduced again to 36

points and in 1945 this

went down further to only

24 points!

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Cheaper clothes inevitably wore

out quicker than more expensive,

better quality clothing.

The 'Utility' scheme, launched in

1943, offered women a range of

well-designed, good quality and

price controlled clothes.

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They could be bought

illegally, on the ‘black

market,’ but if women

were unwilling to do this

or simply couldn’t afford

to pay, some went to great

lengths to disguise the

fact that they weren’t

wearing any stockings!

The ‘black market’ was

the name given to the

illegal trade in rationed or

scarce goods, usually at

hugely inflated prices.

One item of women’s clothing that became almost unobtainable during

the war were stockings. All available silk was used for making para-

chutes. In 1939 an American company developed a new material called

nylon as a substitute for silk. However ‘nylons’ weren’t made in Britain.

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Some women painted their legs or

drew a seam with a pencil along the

backs of their legs to give the false

appearance that they were wearing

stockings.