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It was a tough time with the rationing during the war, but everybody worked together very well. I lived in Ashford before being evacuated away, and remember a place called Davis’ Butchers.

Every week I remember queuing for hours to try and get sausage meat from the butcher. We used to have it two or three days a week at least, it was our staple diet. The line was huge, and sometimes of course you’d get to the front just as they ran out, which was very frustrating for both my mother and me. It’s made me very critical of people who jump queues to this day! My father grew his own crops, so we always managed, and my grandparents owned a farm so we could get eggs, which not many people could, and even the luxury of a bit of butter every now and then. The rationing was tough for everybody, I remember the authorities coming round one day and taking away all the railings from our row of terraced houses. People didn’t moan that much, we all just realised that it was necessary for the war effort and all tried to help as much as we could. It was a tough time, but everybody worked together so well and we all helped as much as we could. There was a real spirit of working together and supporting each other and the war effort.

This story was submitted to the People’s War site by James Barton from Westree Learning Centre and has been added to the website on behalf of John Sweetman with his/her permission and they fully understand the site’s terms and conditions.

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