On Friday, 31st December 1943 Ron (the writer of the letters that form the basis of my book) left Stourbridge in Worcestershire*, England, where he had been staying with his girlfriend Betty at her parents’ home. He was travelling by rail to join his military Unit, REME, in a remote part of Kent at the end of his Christmas time leave. The rail journey was long and arduous, but Betty’s mother had given him some sandwiches for the journey. This is what he said about them in his first letter to Betty in the New Year. [The sandwiches] came in very handy as I had no opportunity of getting food on the journey at all.
When I read that I wondered if he appreciated that whatever she had given him had made a dent in the rations for her family? I then discovered that he would have been issued with his own tokens whilst on leave, so perhaps her mother took advantage of those instead. Whatever the situation, food was precious, with bread and flour-based products being particularly so.
Bread itself was not rationed at that time, although that possibility had been considered 12 months previously, when Lord Woolton, the Minister for Food had urged the public to use potatoes as a substitute for bread. White bread had been a staple in people’s diets, but much was wasted, and the production of wheat by British farmers was insufficient to meet demand, necessitating importation from Canada. With Germany’s U boats in the Atlantic threatening the transportation of wheat and other supplies by the Merchant Navy, Lord Woolton was prompted to appeal to the shoppers’ conscience – ‘idle nibblers‘ were, he said, ‘nibbling at the very soul of our ships and the very lives of the bravest men we have got.’
To eke out the stock of wheat, a wholemeal loaf, sometimes with other home-grown cereals such as barley, oats and rye, and with added calcium and vitamins, was introduced. The ‘National Loaf‘ was initially unpopular, but it was not until after the war had ended that bread and flour needed to be rationed.
I imagine that the bread for Ron’s sandwiches was cut thinly from one such loaf (i still have the knife my grandmother used to cut bread), sparingly spread with margarine or butter (which was rationed) and probably filled with fish-or meat paste, then wrapped in a brown paper bag.
It was July 1946 before bread was rationed in Britain under the Food Rationing (Bread) Order 1946. This was at a time when the German population was close to starvation after the war, and America had to reduce the amount it could supply to Britain in order to help maintain basic nutrition (barely 1000 calories/day) for the population in the American zone of occupation.
Now, 75 years later, we may well be faced with shortages of grain and other precious commodities once more as Russia’s war with Ukraine continues. Ukraine is considered to be the ’bread basket’ of Europe, producing wheat, barley and maize, as well as being a major provider of sunflower oil. As we drove through the countryside (in Britain) yesterday, we commented that the vast fields of rapeseed, with its acid yellow flowers and pungent smell marking a time of misery for many hay-fever sufferers, will be a particularly valuable commodity this year as the war in Ukraine affects global food security.
Bread & flour rationing was effective from Sunday 21 July 1946. Dedicated ration books were issued, with the ration being measured in units of ounces per day, referred to as BUs (Bread Units). Allowances related to age and other factors, which were explained in newspaper advertisements issued by the Ministry of Food. ’Food Facts No. 314A’ explained that children ‘from birth to 4years’ (hopefully no-one gave bread to ’babies’!) were to be allowed 5 BUs, children aged 5-11 years had 9 BUs, while those aged 4-5 had an extra half BU. Adolescents aged 11 to 18 had 13 BUs, a ’normal’ adult had 9, a female manual worker had 11, (as did a pregnant woman), while her male counterpart had 15.
Although it was not necessary to register those ration books with specified bakers as had been the case with other foodstuffs, it was deemed ( by the baking trade?) preferable to do so, leading to confusion and dissatisfaction on the part of shoppers.
So how did people work out the allowances? Well, a small 14oz (ounce) loaf was 3BUs, whereas a large 1lb 12oz loaf was 4BUs. Three pounds (3lbs) of flour was 9 BUs, half a pound of cakes, buns or scones were 1 BU. Oh yes, then there were the ration books themselves. There were some with ’L’ coupons, or ’M’ coupons. Buff books had ’G’ coupons, blue books had ’J’ coupons, green books had ’F’ coupons. Then there were BUX and BUY extra coupons for children, adolescents and married workers.
Are you with me so far? No? Well, a Lanarkshire (Scotland) baker would have understood you. In a newspaper article on Sunday 30 June he said that he thought housewives were ”bamboozled” (what a lovely word) by talk of ounces, coupons and units. I confess to being bamboozled too. However, he attempted to make it easier to understand, explaining the system and the value of units.. He added the advice to spend units on small cakes or cookies (6 for 1 unit), ‘morning rolls’ (4/unit), or ginger bread or sultana cake (half a pound in weight for 1 unit) – these were, he said, more nutritious than bread as they contained eggs, fats and sugar. [Sunday Post – Sunday 30 June 1946 page 6 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0000566/19460630/045/0006? browse=False&noTouch=true Accessed 20 April 2022]
If, as seems to be the case, that we are faced with shortage of certain foodstuffs in the wake of the war in Ukraine, I hope that we will not be presented with such complex and cumbersome means of equitable rationing. And I hope and pray that this dreadful war will end soon and that Ukraine and her people will live in peace once more.
Sunday Post – Sunday 30 June 1946 p 6
- Stourbridge
"Boil for 3 hours" 