Wartime rationing

My parents were both born in the war. - my late father in 1940 and my mother in 1942 so knew nothing but rationing until they were teenagers. I was born at the end of 1964 and, having talked with friends of a similar age who also had parents born just before or during the war, we found it very much affected how we were fed. The rationing diet, although healthy enough, was boring and there were very few treats so our parents were determined that we would have the things that they were unable to have when they were children. We ate healthily and were expected to eat the food we were given but there was an emphasis on lots of full fat milk, plenty of fruit, especially oranges, l seem to remember and vegetables. Sugar was not the villain it now is, either. I think there was very much a spirit of wanting to forget the hardships of the war as much as possible and of optimism for the future in the sixties.
Interestingly, the one fruit that older people missed most in the war was bananas and they were hyped up to both my parents as this wonderful treat. When they were finally able to try one - probably one that was overripe by the time it reached this country - they couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about and neither were very bothered about bananas ever after. I have heard of others in the same age group who reacted similarly. I also know that my grandmother burnt all the ration books as soon as rationing ended.

I was born in 1936, and remember always being hungry.. never saw a banana till well after the war, my mum grew veggies and we kept chickens, dad away in the army.

I would eat almost anything, but hated white boiled cabbage.. but had to eat it... Iremember when Stork marjorine came available,, my it tasted so beautiful like butter to me! and pasturized milk, from that awful sterilized milk! I am amazed at how my mum managed to keep my brother and me healthy... we, my brother and I argued over who would get to drink the cabbage water after it was cooked.. many memories.. certainly no sweets.. liquorice root!

I wasnt born till the 60's but my mum told me tales of the rationing, my grandma still used camp coffee even in 70s it was awful! And she still used sterilized milk which i presume was a throwback from the war times(also awful) and when we visited her she used to ALWAYS make me 'milk- pobs' (sterilized milk and bits of bread) I hated it..But what was worse tasting was the malt virol that they still used to give out to kids from child clinic,(mum said it started in 1948 with the NHS) It had vitamins &malt and i guess was good for you(!) But it was truly horrible.

I can remember sweets rationing ending and then going back to rationing for a short perioed to preserve supplies.

Yes Polnan, my mum used to still give us the cabbage water even in the 60's& 70's.😁 I guess once you'd lived through such austerity it just stuck with you.(our family always had lovely skin though)🙂

Life was quite tough after the war ended, and I remember my mother bringing home a load of blue prints from work. These were soaked in the bath for a couple of days and then washed (no washing machines). The rresulting very fine cotton was made into night dresses which lasted for several years - as did a dressing gown made from a grey army blanket enlivened with scarlet rickrack braid and large matching buttons. I loved it and wore it till I was bursting out of it when it was then passed to a neighbour.

My paternal Grandparents kept chickens and rabbits, my grandad had a huge garden and grew lots of vegetables. They also had family in the countryside, so could get food. My maternal Grandparents were not so lucky, they grew a few vegetables, and I think they had a couple of chickens (or fowl as they said!) Gran gave the four men in the house the greater share of the food, the three women lived on very meagre rations. I think this was the case for many families. Grandad was too old to serve and was Head of the home guard, and a preacher. I think he had a lot of food ‘favours’ from his parishioners!! One son served in the military police, and had PTSD from the atrocities he saw in Japan. The other children were too young, or infirm. My Mom was an Air Cadet, and I have wonderful pictures of her and her friends.

Nannan2, I remember being given 'milk saps', as we called them, before going to bed at night to keep the hunger away during the night. I was talking to a Scottish man about rationing a few months ago and he mentioned the bread and milk. He had yet another name for them. I guess it must have been in a wartime cookery book.

I found my grans ration book in my late mothers things

I remember being told of the food or well the lack of food really but everyone being in the same boat really.

Mam and gran had an allotment of sorts for veg and gran kept chickens too

From mams stories it was all very community minded, she lived in a miners village though till her fathers death in 47 and there was a gaggle of kids and step kids in the mix but they got a week to find new digs.

The grandparents took em in till another property was found but gran remarried and we knew it wasn’t for love it was for security but when she moved to another tied house it was still all community based too with the lassies of the house cooking for the street and they’d take turns.

I’ve an aunt that remembers rationing with fondness cos it meant for her the bairns got fed she’s now in her 90s well nearly 100 to be honest bless her

Many a pancake was made with the powdered eggs they got but they didn’t tell the kids that 😂 cos apparently it was ruddy vile.

Mum was born 1942 and still has the ration books from her parents and other books, food wise, they never went without as they lived on a smallholding, granddad milked his Ayrshire Cows twice a day and delivered milk via horse and float, dispensing the milk with a jug out of a churn (the bottles came later). Pigs reared, half were taken towards the food effort. Mum says though it was tough, she can remember when old enough, using the pigs bladder as a football.

My granddad was one of 6 I think, 1 brother didn't go to war as he too was a farmer but in South Shropshire, the other 3 went and died. I believe the oldest sibling was a girl, married, he died, but no children as she helped raise her brothers. When you think of it, from a brood of kids, only 2 were able to have offspring and I'm from one of them (after mum that is)

Folded on my bed is a woollen blanket from WW2. It has the utility label on it with the weight of the wool (pure wool) and its price. It's very heavy. There's another one in the airing cupboard. I still have my ration book although I was born after the war.

If any of you visit ( or live in ) Yorkshire visit the Eden Camp near Pickering. It is an old army barracks that has been converted to a war museum. It is absolutely fascinating and we stayed for four hours with our 15 year old grandson.

I believe that the rationing system was once used to help solve a crime.

It was made a requirement to have your fingerprints taken, I think it was, before you would be given your ration book. The authorities figured this approach would work because people need to eat, so everyone would need to get a ration book.

I believe it did work.

I seem to remember a sort of twig which we used to buy at the chemists and chewed it. It was called 'sticky lice' or something like that. It tasted vaguely sweet!

butterandjam

I remember rationing and so will plenty of others here; it didn't end until 1954.

My mother left me in a pram outside the shops, came back to retrieve her rationbook and found I'd eaten it.

Love this story.
You must have been a very hungry baby.

My aunt had a boyfriend in the war who posted her bananas.took 6 weeks to get there and were rotten

Liz46

I seem to remember a sort of twig which we used to buy at the chemists and chewed it. It was called 'sticky lice' or something like that. It tasted vaguely sweet!

We got those in the sweet shops. Known here as liquorice wood. It was short pieces of wood, about the size of half a little finger and impregnated with liquorice. Very chewy and eventually discarded. Must’ve worked wonders on the teeth 🙄

I was born in 1945, rationing ended when I was nine. I remember going to the Town Hall with my mother to get new coupon books. She used to go to a shop called “The Buy & Save” and the grocer was called Walter. I remember large tins with glass tops low down on the counter, which housed loose broken biscuits. We used to buy a selection from them. At the back of the shop was a barrel of vinegar - you took a clean bottle with you for Walter to fill. There was sawdust on the floor which I pushed into small mounds with my feet while we waited. My mother used to ask for rations of cheese, bacon, butter, tea, sugar, etc. Walter weighed them all out and then used a thick blue wax pencil to draw a line through the coupons she had used. We never had sugar in tea and just a little on porridge. The sugar ration was saved through the year to make jam from fruit in the garden. Spam was used for everything. In sandwiches, as fritters, with chips or salad. It wasn’t like tinned Spam now, it was bright pink and had a spongy texture. I hated it. We did get chocolate, sweets were the first thing off ration but then everyone went mad and rationing on sweets was reintroduced for a time. I was allowed one square of Cadbury’s chocolate each night.

I have two ration books and petrol coupons from WW2.

My mum went through rationing. She said her dad was entitled to an egg every day. I don't know if this was for health reasons. Each day one of the children got to eat the top of his egg as a treat. The family tried to grow mushrooms but failed. They picked shell fish off rocks to supplement their diet.

I am a 1943 baby and can remember sweet rationing. Our Granny and Aunt saved their sweet rations for my younger brother and me and gave us a tin of mixed sweets and chocolate bars for our birthday, Christmas and Easter. I was lucky as my birthday was in October so these treats were spread out nicely through the year and I made them last for each period. However my brother’s birthday was in January!!! Needless to say, despite all his wheedling, I can’t remember giving him any of mine. I don’t think he ever forgave me though we did have a laugh about it when we were older 😂

TiggyW

My Mum was born in 1931. She always says that she wasn’t allowed bananas during rationing, but her younger cousin was because he was under 7.

There were no bananas in UK during the war years , they were banned in 1940 because importing them required refrigeration, and refrigerated ships had to be used for more vital food imports.

There was a recipe for mock banana; made with parsnips.

Bellanonna

Liz46

I seem to remember a sort of twig which we used to buy at the chemists and chewed it. It was called 'sticky lice' or something like that. It tasted vaguely sweet!

We got those in the sweet shops. Known here as liquorice wood. It was short pieces of wood, about the size of half a little finger and impregnated with liquorice. Very chewy and eventually discarded. Must’ve worked wonders on the teeth 🙄

It was liquorice root, literally the root of the plant ( a bit like a thin stick and quite hard and chewy. As kids we sometimes used to put several roots to infuse in a bottle of water to make a flavoured drink.

We also ate "Spanish" which was sold at the sweetshop in strips; black, chewy, made from liquorice and sugar. Same flavour as root but more intense.

Knittypamela

My mum went through rationing. She said her dad was entitled to an egg every day. I don't know if this was for health reasons. Each day one of the children got to eat the top of his egg as a treat. The family tried to grow mushrooms but failed. They picked shell fish off rocks to supplement their diet.

Under 5s and pregnant and nursing mothers where meant to get fresh eggs but they couldn’t always get them so powdered egg was given out same with milk that was extra for them as well

Aunt Glenda said the fresh eggs were rare but you’d get powdered no bother. Hence her mam, my gran keeping chickens.

I was born after the rationing finished but I still remember whatnotstew with dumplings which was mainly veg in the stew and the fluffiest dumplings ever as a nipper.

Aunt Glenda still makes it for us and we’re both transported back.

I was born in March 1947 and remember the ration books. Also food parcels from relatives in Canada and Australia. There was angel cake from Canada which was delicious. Also ornaments for the Christmas tree, little glass musical instruments, but they had broken in the post. My mother was called up and worked in the Food Office during the war, going round butchers shops checking their accounts tallied with the ration sheets they had taken from their customers.