Life in Britain during the war
Rationing
During the war it became more and more difficult for products to be imported
into Britain from other countries. For example most fruit, including bananas
could no longer be imported, while only small quantities of oranges were brought
in and these were saved for children. Due to this problem the government
introduced rationing. This enabled the population to have access to the same
amounts of items at the same prices. This meant that no one would suffer. Even
the royal family had to follow the government’s policy. Everyone within the UK
was given a ration book. These had to be taken into the shops they registered
with in order to obtain rationed items. Bacon, ham, sugar and butter were the
first items to be rationed, followed by margarine, oil, cheese, jam, marmalade,
treacle, syrup, eggs, sweets, chocolate and soap. The rationing programme turned
out to be a great success because it provided everyone with a healthy balanced
diet.
The government also came up with a policy called ‘Dig for Victory’. It
encouraged people to grow their own fruit and vegetables. The government also
encouraged people to make up new recipes using whatever they could. For example,
whale, horse and squirrel meat were used as an alternative to beef, pork and
chicken.
Shelters
Shelters were provided and constructed as a place of refuge during air raids.
Shelters were provided in public places and constructed within people’s gardens.
The Anderson shelter was a type of shelter used domestically. It was free to
people which had an income of less than £250 per year. The shelters were made of
sheets of steel and could hold up to six people. The shelters were buried
partially in the ground and covered with soil which plants could be grown in,
such as vegetables. People were encouraged to sleep in their shelters every
night as it was seen as the safest option. Most people did this at first but
found it too uncomfortable so only retreated to them when the air raid sirens
sounded signalling an attack.
Evacuations
When Hitler started to bomb cities within Britain, the government decided
that it would be safer for the children to be moved to the countryside to live
with relatives, friends or other selected families. A total of 3 million
children were evacuated altogether. School children travelled together on trains
with their teachers. Children under five years of age were accompanied by their
mothers or other chosen adult. Pregnant mothers were advised to evacuate too.
The evacuation programme was optional but encouraged as the most appropriate
action. Families found it difficult to be separated from each other as they
missed one another. The children which were evacuated to areas of the
countryside came from many different cities across Britain, such as London,
Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Bradford, Hull, Edinburgh
and Glasgow.
Information collected from:
www.worldwar2exraf.co.uk
www.bbc.co.uk/history
Living Room
Gramophone records were the primary medium used for commercial music
reproduction for most of the 20th century. They replaced the
phonograph cylinder as the most popular recording medium in the 1900s.
1940's wireless.