大象传媒

My name is Janet Finlayson, I was born in Perth, Scotland in 1910
I started my war working in the Catering Department at Edinburgh Zoo where I was the assistant lady superintendent. The restaurant was in the Manor House in the park
We had been preparing for the war and had been required to provide shelter for customers and staff in the event of an air attack. Windows had already been crossed with white tape to prevent flying glass. There were cellars at the house where coal had previously been stored but no longer used, these cellars were to be used as underground shelters.
We planned on using the disused coal chute as the emergency exit. We put some seats down there and not knowing what would be required, we put some brandy, 4lbs (4 pounds in weight 鈥� about 2 kilos) of biscuits and 4lbs chocolate bars in the cellar 鈥渇or emergencies鈥�.
On the day war was declared, we were very busy, within an hour the sirens sounded, we got the customers into the cellar. They followed us like lambs, the staff went back into the house to decide what else we should do. Within a short time the 鈥淎ll Clear鈥� sounded, it had been a false alarm. The public came out back into the restaurant. We then found a large lorry used to transport a giraffe had been parked over the cellar chute doors, we could not have got out in an emergency! A lesson learned there.
The lady superintendent later asked me if I had put the brandy and biscuits into the cellar. I told her I had, she said 鈥淲ell there is not a biscuit, piece of chocolate or drop of brandy left鈥�. Another lesson learned.

It was clear that the Zoo restaurant could not remain open with food rationing. I was offered and took a position with the Ministry of Food in Edinburgh in the Inspectorate (Welfare foods and wartime meals)
One of my tasks was seeing the regulations made under the Defence of the Realm Act were complied with. The act, (DORA), gave parliament power to make laws quickly, as and when it was considered necessary. Some of the laws were to standardise food prices and stop profiteering. It was difficult to do this as seasonal produce in the South was ready before the North, and when ready in the North over in the South.

Fish was very much in contention, with the fishmongers being concerned over the price. A 1lb (one pound in weight - about .5 kilo) Scottish block fillet of haddock would require 3lbs in weight of whole haddock 鈥� in England a block fillet contained the skin and the bony part of the lug and only took 2lbs of whole fish. The price was set on the English fillet. It could not be done by the Scottish fishmongers for that price, the Scottish housewives (and their husbands) wanted what they were used to.
The fishmonger鈥檚 guild in Edinburgh got together and decided to challenge this. They told the Inspectorate that they would not comply and invited them to watch the filleting. The Inspectors, Jim Kane and others, watched the process and reported the matter to be heard before the Sheriffs Court, (Sheriff is a Scottish law officer).
I was told of the date of the hearing before a grand old gentleman Sheriff Jamieson 鈥� widely known as Necessity Jamieson as Necessity knows no Law.鈥�

I went along with the others to watch.
The fishmongers came to court with their aprons, knives, cutting boards and scales.
They proceeded to fillet haddock in front of Sheriff Jamieson to show it that 1lb of block fillet could not be obtained from 2lb of whole haddock. I saw the Sheriff leaning over the bench keenly observing what was going on. I cannot remember the result but imagine that they were found guilty, probably with a very small fine. But the Ministry would have to take notice, bearing in mind, no one had done this before, we were all learning.

Children and expectant mothers held green ration books all other had buff. Holders of green ration books got their welfare foods (milk, cod liver oil and orange juice) at a lower cost. Expectant mothers got fresh eggs as available.
Families got their welfare foods free if their income was at or less than a soldiers pay, others had to pay 2 pence about 1p in today鈥檚 prices for a pint (500ml) of milk. To obtain the free welfare foods a declaration had to be made as to the family income at the divisional food office 鈥� if satisfied the office stamped the book FREE.

After a time abuses set in, many letters came in complaining of families claiming free milk yet they were in receipt of a higher income.
One particular complaint involved a husband who was working in the construction industry in the north of Scotland and earning good money yet claiming free welfare food.
Having obtained all the evidence, wages, milk supplied from the dairy it was presented to the Procurator Fiscal to decide of a course of action. It was decided that a charge of fraud should be made rather than an offence under DORA as fraud had a bigger penalty. On being found guilty the man was imprisoned, I was horrified. Yet the following day after this had been reported in the press there was a queue at the Food Office asking to have their books altered from free food to the ordinary rate.

At some stage it was decided that in view of a possible invasion it would be prudent to disperse cases of orange juice in screw topped 1/3 pint bottles, bottled cod liver oil and packets of dried milk to be supplied on ration for children to be stored in various locations around the area. We selected a number of premises that we considered suitable with spare cupboards or rooms that we could use for storage.

Boots the Chemists then advised us that a particular batch number of bottles contained an active ferment and that these bottles were liable to 鈥渂low鈥�. It was suggested that we loosen the caps of the suspect bottles to prevent this.
Well, we had recorded how many cartons were stored at each location but not the batch numbers. So the plan was to visit each place and check the batch numbers and deal with the appropriate bottles.
We were rather overtaken by events. The staff at Loanhead Bank were met on arriving for work with orange juice seeping under the front door.
The bottles at a Masonic Lodge, either East Calder or Mid Calder were stored in the cupboard with the Masonic Regalia, that was soaked with orange juice. The members of the Lodge, fearing that the material was damaged beyond repair, talked of claiming compensation from the Ministry.. I told them that they had every right to do so, but, there was a very good, but expensive, cleaners in Hawick called Turnbulls. I asked if we could pay for an attempt at cleaning the garments and if this was not successful they could pursue a claim.
The result was amazing the robes came up like new. The members of the lodge were really pleased they had never seen the colours vibrant as now.

We were required to take our turn in 鈥淔ire Watching鈥�, going to designated places to spot and report, or deal with if we could, fires caused by incendiary bombs. For small fires we had buckets of sand and stirrup pumps 鈥� hand operated pumps that were placed in buckets, or any other containers of water, with a short length of hose. All we had at the time.
One evening I was returning from Fire Watching to where I was living 鈥� it was of course in the blackout, I had just got off the tram when I was pushed at from behind and someone tried to wrench the strap that was over my shoulder. I fought back and kicked out but the person was stronger and the strap snapped. He got away, not with my handbag, you never took that or any more money than you needed for the tram, but my gas mask in its case. I was not going to report this to the police, I could see no point, I had not lost anything, and I could get another issue gas mask. My colleagues persuaded me to report the matter as there may have been others and a watch could be kept. I was later told that a man had later been caught doing the very same thing at a tram stop in the area.

Another wartime institution was 鈥淏ritish Restaurants鈥�; these were established in towns and cities and produced wholesome food. These meals were researched to provide the best calorific value with what was available. The cost of the meals was just to cover the costs, wages, rents and food. It was not a commercial venture, it did not make money. When crops were in season and perhaps a glut the most was made of that and the produce bought cheaply. My job to ensure that the restaurants were receiving the correct amount of ingredients for the number of meals they were providing and also to ensure to cooks were of a suitable standard. It was good wholesome food with no frills. The numbers of customers fluctuated quite a lot with people working away. The restaurants sent returns to the Ministry, we went out if the numbers of meals did not match the amount of ingredients.

Miner鈥檚 pithead canteens were also supplied with what was called 鈥渉eavy rations鈥� which really was extra rations for heavy work. Although cheese is very nutritious, it was not acceptable to miners who worked in some pits with narrow low coal seams as their bodies being bent double when working the cheese was not digestible.

In the food office there were 鈥淐ommodity Officers鈥� who dealt with various branches of the food industry. E.g. bakers, butchers, fishmongers, and greengrocers. Each branch of the trade elected a representative to liase with the respective officer.
By this time I had acquired a little cottage near Edinburgh, there were fruit trees in the garden with two small apple trees, the fruit was small and very juicy. I took some to work for the staff who asked what sort of apple they were. I did not know. I asked the greengrocer commodity officer if he could show the greengrocers representative one of the apples and see if he could say what variety it was. I did not see him when he came to the office. The representative said he knew and asked where they came from. When told, he invited me to go to his garden where there were similar trees. I went along, he told, me that the apple was a James Grieve and that he was James Grieve and had cultivated that variety.

Sometime in 1944 an approach was made from the Foreign Office to the Divisional Food Offices asking for volunteers to go Germany after the war was over to assist in the feeding and repatriation of refugees, they were looking for personnel who were used to feeding large numbers with limited resources. The intention was that the organisation which was to be called United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. (UNNRA) I had a screening interview and heard nothing more for about a year. In January 1945 I was called to London for an interview. I went home having been accepted to wait for the end of the war.
I knew I had been accepted and would be in 鈥渒haki鈥� (Army colour uniform), I had one brother Tom who had nearly reached his final exams as an accountant when he was called up and joined the navy, he had been torpedoed twice once on Russian convoy duties and one in the Mediterranean.
By this time he had been seconded to a minesweeping operation in the North of Scotland where converted trawlers were being used with the fishermen crews.
He was based for a time at Rosythe near Edinburgh while some of the trawlers were being converted.
My other brother, Michael was a navigator on heavy bombers based somewhere in the North of England. We realised that we could get together, the first time for a long time.

We met at a dinner dance in Edinburgh, I think at the Royal British Hotel in Princes Street. While there a man on his own kept looking at us and asked if he could join us as he was on his own. He was a sheep farmer from the borders and had just seen his air force son off on the train. It transpired that has son had trained in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada where Michael had trained. As it was a family gathering he was adopted as 鈥淯ncle Alistair鈥� for the evening. Such was wartime.

However I was soon called back as it had been found as the Allied Army advanced the refugees were being released and getting behind the lines. They needed feeding and administering, this was not a job for the army so UNNRA was brought forward. I was called to London again where it was very hot for the time of year, pumped full of all types of inoculations. Supplied with skirt and army battledress jacket
Shown a film in glorious colour on the birth of a baby in case we had to do it.
It might have been a combination of the inoculations, the heat and the film - I passed out at the railway station going home. Never passed out in my life before.
Given a few clothing coupons to get brown shoes, a service dress. Getting brown shoes in London was quite difficult

I was then ready to go to the continent. Friends at home told me I would need an iron, I bought a rusty old flat iron and spent hours cleaning it with emery paper, they gave me things that would be in short supply, coffee, talcum powder, ink - I was given a very nice camp bed from an Ex Indian army officer

The iron was wrapped in cloth, the other bits and pieces in the bottom of the kit bag with the rest of my clothes and possessions,
I cannot recall where I embarked for France, I was the only British person travelling out at that time. When I got to Joux-la-Ville where UNRRA had set up a base camp for personnel arriving in France the camp bed had been stolen and the iron had come loose with the throwing of the kit bag, had smashed the jars of coffee, talcum powder and ink. One dreadful mess and could only make light of it. I can remember saying to the others I met 鈥� 鈥淎nyone got a recipe for this鈥�.

I will continue with the start of UNNRA.

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