Rationing in the United Kingdom during and after World War II
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At the beginning of World War II Britain imported 55 million tons of foodstuffs per year (70%), including more than 50% of its meat, 70% of its cheese and sugar, nearly 80% of fruits and about 90% of cereals and fats. One of the principal strategies of the Axis was to attack shipping bound for Britain, restricting British industry and potentially starving Britain into submission (see Battle of the Atlantic).
In order to deal with the extreme shortages the Ministry of Food instituted a system of rationing. Each person would register with their local shops, and was provided with a ration book containing coupons. The shopkeeper was then provided with enough food for his or her registered customers. When purchasing goods, the purchaser had to hand over the coupon as well as the money for the purchase. On January 8, 1940, bacon, butter and sugar were rationed. This was followed by meat, tea, jam, biscuits, breakfast cereals, cheese, eggs, milk and canned fruit. One of the few foods not rationed were fish and chips. Strict rationing caused many people to buy food on the black market; however people were often tricked with cheaper substitutes such as horse meat instead of beef.
As the war progressed, most kinds of food came to be rationed, as were clothing and petrol. Restaurants were exempt from rationing, which led to a certain amount of resentment as the rich could supplement their food allowance by eating out frequently and extravagantly. In order to restrict this certain rules were put into force. No meal could cost more than five shillings; no meal could consist of more than three courses; meat and fish could not be served at the same sitting. Establishments known as "British Restaurants" supplied another almost universal experience of eating away from home. British Restaurants were run by local authorities, who set them up in a variety of different premises such as schools and church halls. They evolved from the LCC’s Londoners’ Meals Service which originated in September 1940 as a temporary, emergency system for feeding those who had been bombed out. By mid-1941 the LCC was operating two hundred of these restaurants. Here a three course meal cost only 9d. Standards varied, but the best were greatly appreciated and had a large regular clientele. Similar schemes were run in other towns and cities.
Clothing was rationed on a points system. Initially the allowance was for approximately one new outfit per year; as the war progressed the points were reduced to the point where the purchase of a coat constituted almost an entire year's clothing allowance.
Rationing continued after the end of the war. In fact, it became stricter after the end of the war than it had been during it. Bread, which was not rationed during the war, was rationed beginning in 1946. This was largely due to the necessity of feeding the population of European areas coming under Allied control, whose economies had been devastated by the fighting. Sweet rationing ended in February 1953, and sugar rationing ended in September of that year. The final end of all rationing did not come until 1954 with bananas. Some of the ersatz foods like apple crumble and carrot cake continue to be popular today.
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[edit] The average standard rations during WW2 (per week unless stated)
[edit] Food rations
- 1s 2d (approximately 1 lb 3 oz or 540 g) of meat (offal or sausages 1 weren't rationed)
- 4 oz (113 g) bacon or ham
- 3 pints (1.7 l) of milk per week or 1 packet of milk powder per month
- 2 oz (57 g) butter
- 2 oz (57 g) margarine
- 2 oz (57 g) fat or lard
- 2 oz (57 g) loose tea (teabags were not used widely in the UK)
- 1 egg per week or 1 packet (makes 12 “eggs”) of egg powder per month
- 2 oz (57 g) jam
- 3 oz (85 g) sugar
- 1 oz (28 g) cheese
- 3 oz (85 g) sweets
- 2 lb (907g) onions (onions were only rationed between 1942-1944)
- plus, 16 "points" per month for tinned and dried food.
1 Although sausages were indeed not rationed, it is important to say that the meat that was needed to make them was so scarce that they were very rarely seen. Meat needed to be saved to send to soldiers in the war.
[edit] Non-food rations
- 67 (later 48) “points” for clothing per year (e.g. 2 points for a pair of knickers, 5 points for a man's shirt, 5 points for a pair of shoes, 7 points for a dress and 26 points for a man's suit). Clothing rationing points could be used for wool, cotton and household textiles. People had extra points for work clothes, such as overalls for factory work. No points were required for second-hand clothing and fur coats, but their prices were fixed. Before rationing lace and frills were popular on knickers but these were soon banned so material could be saved.
- 16 oz (454 g) of soap per month (household soap, beauty soap, and soap flakes, but not shaving soap)
