# Rationing in WW2



## Readie (May 14, 2013)

I have been watching the CD set from the Military History people and one is about the 'homefront'
I never realised that the American people were subject to food petrol rationing or, that the depression hit farmers were saved by the demands of war food production.
If you get the chance to view these CD's I recommend that you. Its very educative.
Cheers
John


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## Vassili Zaitzev (May 14, 2013)

Sadly, my knowledge of my own country's homefront is severly lacking. I'll keep my eye out for it Readie, thanks. I think, however, that Great Britain had a tougher time with rationing?


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## Readie (May 14, 2013)

You had 'victory gardens' and so on. Similar here, but the British had a bit less of everything.
I was fascinated by the 'homefront' CD. I suppose, like the logistic corps they tend to get overlooked.
Pity, as everyone played their part.
Cheers
John


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## VBF-13 (May 14, 2013)

Here are mine.


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## davebender (May 14, 2013)

Watch some reruns of "The Waltons". WWII era episodes show rationing of petrol and some canned food.


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## model299 (May 14, 2013)

You'll see hints of it in movies made during the war. I remember in particular a "Little Rascals" episode where one of the kids is shown getting royally chewed out by his Mom after dumping quite a bit of sugar on his cereal. There were also "meatless" days during the week. Also, you'll see wartime ads for tires and car repairs that make quite an issue of gas and tire rationing.

My grandmother told me that people generally accepted food rationing for the most part without complaint. She did say that there was NO amount of lying, cheating and subterfuge people would not stoop to to get around the gas and tire rationing. Even then, people were hooked on their cars.


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## vikingBerserker (May 14, 2013)

My grandmother actually still had some of her ration books when she passed away a few years back.


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## Crimea_River (May 14, 2013)

Ken Burns' "The War" is an excellent documentary as well with a fair amount of coverage of the home front.


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## Vassili Zaitzev (May 14, 2013)

Readie said:


> You had 'victory gardens' and so on. Similar here, but the British had a bit less of everything.
> I was fascinated by the 'homefront' CD. I suppose, like the logistic corps they tend to get overlooked.
> Pity, as everyone played their part.
> Cheers
> John



I'll admit I have often overlooked the homefront and the 'boring' aspects of warfare. Still, there needed. "Amateurs study tactics, professionals study logistics." Guess I still have a lot to learn.  Readie, I take it GB had similar posters such as this?


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## GrauGeist (May 14, 2013)

I have several items my Mother gave me, including ration stamp cards and several "V Mail" letters home to my Grandmother from my Uncles in the Pacific...

Perhaps I'll hunt around and find them, grab some photos and post them


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## Capt. Vick (May 15, 2013)

My Dad used to say that they couldn't get butter during the war so they where given a primitive form of margarine that was basically a brick of lard with a yellow color capsule that you mixed in. Sounds tasty huh? My Grandfather on my Dad's side was a NYC Cop during WW2 so somehow he had all the gas he wanted. Also heard a story about the drill press I know own. Evidently it was ear marked for a local war production factory, but due to my Grandfathers connections it ended up in his garage work shop. One last thing, during the war my Grandfather got so cozy with the coast guard marching up and down Jones Beach (a popular beach here on Long Island, NY) at night looking for Nazi submariners that he was eventually allowed to surf cast (fish) there all night long during the war. With my Dad and his brother there with him! My Dad would say that when the sun came up the would occassionally find deck hatches and wax wrapped rations along the beach from ships that were sunk by the U-Boats. They would eat the peanut butter and crackers and give the cigarettes to my Grandfather. I guess they had it pretty good...


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## yulzari (May 15, 2013)

A difference between USA and UK rationing (apart from the great difference in how much was allowed) was that the UK rations were reduced further after the war and food rationing went on (in increasingly fewer areas) until 8 years after the war ended.

Yellow coloured lard? Ee luxury. My eldest brother could only dream of yellow coloured lard.......(apologies to the 4 Yorkshiremen sketch.)


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## GrauGeist (May 15, 2013)

Another thing that I just remembered hearing about when I was a kid, was that during the war, folks would turn in aluminum cookware (and other nessecary metal items) for the war effort.

My Great Grandmother had a set of "Laurel" aluminum cookware that was very high-end for it's time, and a set that she had always wanted. Well, she wasn't about to give this set up, no matter how much it was needed. She donated many things to the effort, but not this cookware set! She would have done great physical harm to anybody that even thought about laying a hand on it!

As it happens, the set still survives and has been passed down over the years. I have this set now and still use it to this day!


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## Readie (May 15, 2013)

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=W...UbC1FcO7O87IgdgD&ved=0CDMQsAQ&biw=792&bih=464

We did, nearly every aspect was covered by a poster of some description.
The wartime generation were real surviours making do and mending things.

Now, as the belts have to tightened in 2013 we are encouraged to relive the 'old values' and the wartime 'diet' is considered healthy compared to fat laden, preservative filled crap we often eat nowadays.

The 'home front' on all countries is a very interesting area to explore.
Cheers
John


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## stona (May 15, 2013)

The British wartime ration wasn't much, but it was enough. To modern eyes it seems incredible that an adult could survive on such minimal provisions, but the men from the Ministry had done their sums and he or she could. Noone starved, but no one got fat either.

This is the ration for one adult per week.

BACON and HAM ……… 4ozs ( 100g )
MEAT …………………… to the value of 1s.2d ( 6p today ). Sausages were not rationed but difficult to obtain : offal was originally unrationed but sometimes formed part of the meat ration.
BUTTER ………………… 2ozs ( 50g )
CHEESE ………………… 2ozs ( 50g ) sometimes it rose to 4ozs ( 100g ) and even up to 8ozs ( 225g )
MARGARINE ……………… 4ozs ( 100g )
COOKING FAT …………… 4ozs ( 100g ) often dropping to 2ozs ( 50g )
MILK …………………… 3 pints ( 1800ml ) sometimes dropping to 2 pints ( 1200ml ). Household ( skimmed, dried ) milk was available. This was I packet each 4 weeks.
SUGAR …………………… 8ozs ( 225g )
PRESERVES ……………… 1lb ( 450g ) every 2 months
TEA ……………………… 2ozs ( 50g )
EGGS …………………… 1 shell egg a week if available but at times dropping to 1 every two weeks. Dried eggs ----- 1 packet each 4 weeks.
SWEETS …………………… 12 ozs ( 350g ) each 4 weeks. 

In addition, there was a monthly points system.
As an example of how these could be spent, with the 16 points that you were allocated you were allowed to buy one can of fish or meat or 2lb ( 900g ) of dried fruit or 8lb ( 3.6kg ) of split peas.
Babies and younger children, expectant and nursing mothers had concentrated orange juice and cod liver oil from Welfare Clinics together with priority milk.
This milk was also available to invalids.

The system was supposed to be egalitarian but there was a thriving black market. If you had a bit of money you could always find more. Many country dwellers supplemented their ration from undeclared farm produce. My mother remembers hiding piglets from "the ministry man". Some things were never rationed, like fish, but someone had to go out and catch them.

Many, many small back gardens became vegetable gardens and many garden sheds chicken coups for a supply of eggs.

Cheers

Steve


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## Airframes (May 15, 2013)

Interesting that the 'donation' of aluminium pots and pans, in the UK at least, was purely a propaganda thing, the 'brain child' of Lord Beaverbrook, designed to involve the population, so they thought they were helping the war effort by providing materials for aircraft.
The local authorities around the country ended up with huge mounds of scrap aluminium, useless for anything except pots and pans, that they didn't know what to do with!
After the war, they were re-cycled - and made into new pots and pans!!


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## Readie (May 15, 2013)

Its also interesting to note the difference in attitude towards food rationing. The British Americans were on the same page. Hitler was dead set against any food rationing least it stir up memories of the deprivations suffered by the German people in WW1.
Does anyone know if food rationing applied in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa or Canada?
Cheers
John


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## Matt308 (May 15, 2013)

I framed a war ration card for my Mom in the early 1990s for a Christmas gift. About the size of a 3X5 card, but a bit more square. It was an original card that her Mom and Dad were given during the war and I always appreciated the history of it. Mom used to tell me all the stories of the soldiers, airman and Marines that would stay for a couple of days while on leave and the wonderful meals and discussions they had with these young men. As you can imagine, Mom fell in love with quite a few of them and remembers their names to this day. I'm sure that these stay arrangements were established via the Dept of War at the time. Mom loves to tell us of the stoic formality of these meals... prayer, thanks to God for their abundance and the fantastic interactions with these brave men. Sure wish I knew their fate and only wish them the best in outcome.


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## michaelmaltby (May 15, 2013)

"... Does anyone know if food rationing applied in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa or Canada?"

Canada had rationing ... I remember my Mom showing me these in 1945, I was 3 .....


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## Matt308 (May 15, 2013)

wow


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## Readie (May 16, 2013)

My Aunt was in the 'land Army' as her eyesight was too poor for active service. She always said that it was great fun driving tractors etc and having opportunties to do work that she wouldn't have had otherwise.


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## Capt. Vick (May 16, 2013)

Didn't Germany build cars for civilian use well intp '43 or '44? Something like that...


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## Readie (May 16, 2013)

Airframes said:


> Interesting that the 'donation' of aluminium pots and pans, in the UK at least, was purely a propaganda thing, the 'brain child' of Lord Beaverbrook, designed to involve the population, so they thought they were helping the war effort by providing materials for aircraft.
> The local authorities around the country ended up with huge mounds of scrap aluminium, useless for anything except pots and pans, that they didn't know what to do with!
> After the war, they were re-cycled - and made into new pots and pans!!



Not forgetting the iron railings that disappeared from peoples frontage.


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## Airframes (May 16, 2013)

Ah, the iron did have some use, in the production of shells and steel.


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## fastmongrel (May 17, 2013)

Airframes said:


> Ah, the iron did have some use, in the production of shells and steel.



Some of the railings ended up as rebar in anti invasion concrete. There is a well broken down anti tank defence near my house and one of the exposed rebars is an ornamental railing post with the rotted remains of a finial and flutes.


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## dutchman (Aug 21, 2013)

Remember the steel pennies that we had because copper was in short supply?

My Mother had 1 pair of shoes a year back then and the souls were made of a cardboard like material. She always said if you got them in the fall you would be bare foot by spring!

She was a plane watcher for the air defence folks. Had the book that showed all the German planes. Even in her 70's she called a B-24 and a B-17 that flew over (on their way to an air show I think)

She remembered the fake butter with the yellow coloring. 

The people gave up a lot because they were supporting those in the fight. It let everyone do thier part. 

I just hope we never get to that point again. I don't know if the people have that strenght anymore?


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## gumbyk (Aug 21, 2013)

We had rationing here. I don't think it went as far as the UK though.

Rationing, World War II - Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa


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## pattle (Aug 21, 2013)

The most controversial rationing was bread, this was because bread rationing did not take place until after the war. I am told bread rationing was brought in because the British having won the war then had to feed the Germans which could only be done from the limited flour supplies available. Straight after the war British civilians responded to an appeal that requested food to be donated to Germany, the Germans at this time were apparently close to starvation in some places and I understand that many people donated food because they were concerned about the welfare of German children.


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## swampyankee (Aug 21, 2013)

Britain started rationing early because of their experience in the Great War: the UK was (and is) a net importer of food, and malnutrition was problem in WW1.


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## stona (Aug 21, 2013)

It is often stated that British agricultural production doubled during the war. Total production may have but it was not so for cereals. Wheat production in 1945 was less than 1885! Since the war cereal production has more than doubled from 2-3 tonnes per hectare to 7-8 tonnes per hectare.
Cheers
Steve


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## redcoat (Aug 21, 2013)

Capt. Vick said:


> Didn't Germany build cars for civilian use well intp '43 or '44? Something like that...


The was some car production, but nearly all of it went to either senior Nazi's or the armed forces.


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## redcoat (Aug 21, 2013)

stona said:


> It is often stated that British agricultural production doubled during the war. Total production may have but it was not so for cereals. Wheat production in 1945 was less than 1885!


In the late 19th century British farming collapsed due to cheap inports from America, it only recovered due to WW1 and 2 and the governments realisation of the dangers of dependance on foreign food produce during a war.


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