大象传媒

World War II - War declared September 3rd 1939

We were waiting for the outcome of talks that were taking place between Adolf Hitler and Mr Neville Chamberlain (Prime Minister at the time). Hitler was given an ultimatum to withdraw his soldiers from the invasion of Poland by a certain time and no answer was given. We had a treaty with Poland and our Prime Minister announced on the wireless, that he had not received any assurance from Herr Hitler, and hence we were now at war with Nazi Germany.

Food and Clothing

Whilst the announcement was being broadcast, I was making small cakes. I was so intent on listening to the news, that I forgot to put the sugar in the cakes and my stepfather said that is was going to be our first experience of rationing. Needless to say, we ate the cakes!

We were all issued with gas masks, told how to use them and that we had to carry them everywhere.

Identity cards were also issued (no photographs were included in those days, so it was comparatively easy to forge them).

Ration books were issued to everyone - man, woman and child. Food was going to be in short supply and the government decided how much was needed for each person (butter, margarine, tea, bacon, meat sugar, cheese, eggs - whole and powdered, etc.). Bananas were issued to babies only - these would be in very short supply, depending on whether or not the banana boats were torpedoed. The food allocation was adequate - 鈥淛ust enough and no more鈥�, no one starved.

Clothing coupons were also issued and had to be used sparingly. 鈥淢ake do and mend鈥� were the watchwords of the day. To make one decent petticoat, the top of one was joined to the bottom of another, blouses with worn out sleeves had the sleeves cut out and the edges were bound with strips of material cut from the old sleeves. Old woollens were unpicked, wound in hanks, washed and re-knitted. We could not afford to use coupons for stockings (tights had not been invented), instead, we used gravy browning smoothed on the legs, with a pencil line at the back, to look like 鈥渇ully fashioned鈥� stockings! Those women whose husbands were serving in the forces, used their husbands suits, unpicking the trousers to make skirts and altering the jackets to fit. Some made coats from army blankets and some, when an enemy pilot landed here via parachute, the material from the parachute was used to make underwear of all sorts - after all, why waste good silk?!?

We also had sweet coupons on the ration book. Families were larger than at the present time, and needless to say, the sweet coupons were used for the children.

Mothers worked wonders with the food rations: cakes were made with a compound of lard and liquid paraffin and of course, flour. Sausages were not on ration, queues formed when butchers were selling them - what was inside the skins was anybody鈥檚 guess! - anything from whale meat to Soya flour to ?????? - yours was not to ask, but be grateful! When they were available in Cardiff market, I was sent to queue at 6 a.m. on a Saturday. That was before my call-up for war service. All families were registered with butchers for the allocation of meat rations - offal was not included, but each butcher had a system - usually in alphabetical order. I remember my mother going for our share and being told that there wasn鈥檛 any left, so she answered back with 鈥� Well, I suppose you鈥檙e going to tell me that the animals are being born without innards, for the duration!鈥�

My mother used to make 鈥淪ausage Savoury鈥� (at least that was her name for it!), consisting of sausage meat, onions, carrots, potatoes and gravy browning for colour. Carrots were used as the main vegetable - as was told to us, it helped prevent night blindness in the blackouts which started at the beginning of the war. It was also said that, when we started night flying, the pilots were given them - whether that was truth or rumour, I cannot say.

To help the 鈥渨ar effort鈥� every household was issued with a 鈥減ig bucket鈥� - this was not to keep pigs in, rather, to feed the pigs - any food left after mealtimes, was put in for pig swill, and was collected weekly by council workers to be taken to the farms - every little helped!!

Not only was 鈥淢ake do and Mend鈥� a 鈥榞ospel鈥� to live by, but people were also called upon to 鈥淒ig for Victory鈥�. This involved using every possible piece of land - flowerbeds were not an exception - to grow vegetables or for shelters. In fact it was known for a shelter to have a dual purpose鈥� - protection from the air raids and growing vegetables in the earth in which it was covered!!

Toiletries were in short supply and a lot of items were sold 鈥渦nder the counter鈥�. I can remember, having run out of toothpaste and being unable to buy any more due to the short supply, using salt to clean my teeth! It was not uncommon for people to buy items that were in short supply on the 鈥淏lack Market鈥� - people would pay super-inflated prices for the so-called 鈥榣uxuries鈥�.

Continued in鈥� A Welsh Girl鈥檚 Perspective 鈥� Part 2鈥�

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.