Ration Cards

Courtesy of John O'Meara

Nice, now that brings back memories, remember the cigarette and coffee allowance?

I'm sure they were yellow in the '70's, or an I thinking of something different.

What about petrol coupons, are they still on issue

Oh yes. Long live the fuel coupons!

I remember that ration cards and the ciggarette coupons for singles.
We had ration cards when I was posted to Cyprus in 68, they were still in use when I left in 71, Also remember the good old petrol coupons, a civvy garage in Dorsten would take them in payment for anything else as well.

" Also remember the good old petrol coupons, a civvy garage in Dorsten would take them in payment for anything else as well."

I think there were a few of them Doc

But God help you If like me you filled up and the dam thing was out of date, had to walk all the way back to camp and get one that was up to date.

Jim
You are correct, the cigarettes and coffee where a buff colour, ive got one here to show you but how do I get the image up loaded?

Also have my wifes families ID card from 72 that was green;

Don't have a petrol coupon but can remember that the where a fantastic currancy for almost anything

Phil [/url]

fags,whisky,gin ,tea and coffee...happy days...graham ex naafi manager.

i remember the ration coupons for cigs,whisky and gin. in 1969 the regement was posted to fally from tidworth,it was my first time in germany i could not wait,ohhhhh,it was heaven to order 200 embassy at a time, dont worry iam pc now managed to pack in about 5 years ago.

Not to mention dirty great bottles of brandy. When empty, used to put the pfennigs in.

Ah yes,remember all those great nearly "freebies",I also remember when families could get for a few pence a day rations from the central messing,and that was a real bargain,especially if you worked in the QMs dept!They were delivered in a cardboard box which you never brought into your MQ(if you were in the KNOW)as the seams were homes to cockroaches or their eggs.
Oh happy days!
------
Don

teabag , you had a choice of three.ASBACH,DUJARDEN AND DES ROCHES all in 3 litre bottles stacked on the end of the shop gondolas.can you imagine the same scenario in tescos or asda.graham...

graham wright wrote:

teabag , you had a choice of three.ASBACH,DUJARDEN AND DES ROCHES all in 3 litre bottles stacked on the end of the shop gondolas.can you imagine the same scenario in tescos or asda.graham...

Dujarden was the one we used to get when a bit short of cash. Sounds crazy today but being "short of cash" and buying bottles of brandy plus 200 fags was relatively normal.

remember when a liter of smirnoff went up to over £2 ,nearly had riots on our hands....graham...

graham wright wrote:

remember when a liter of smirnoff went up to over £2 ,nearly had riots on our hands....graham...

I should think so too!

When I was first posted to Germany (1964) to 4 CIBG, being single I was only allowed a cigarette ration. We would scrounge a liquor ration from the married rats as they got a liquor, coffee and tea ration card. Eventually, in 65 I believe we were given a ration card for two (2) bottles of liquor ration when going on leave. Some where around 66 or 67 some one noticed the inequality of this and single men got a liquor ration as like the married rats. To get coffee or tea we just signed out for it in a book held at the coffee/tea counter in the MLS/Canex. This irritated the German sales ladies no end. They figured we were mostly getting it for German friends or our landlords. They weren't far wrong.

I remember the large bottles of brandy...Dujardin and Urault I think. Massive things...and my parents used them for pfennings as well. Even 1/3 full they made great doorstops!

Mom still had an empty one she had sitting down by the door of the family room in her condo a few years ago, filled with pennies and nickels. A major conversation piece!

I remember the cigarette ration cards. They were in use in 62/63, ostensibly we were rationed so we couldn't make a fortune selling fags to the Germans. If memory serves the ration was 200 per week. As far as I can recall we didn't have rationing for Spirits, tea or coffee. But having said that I don't recall ever trying to buy any of those from the Naffi. Certainly tea and/or coffee was sourced from the cook house, using said cigarette ration to bribe Janker wallahs on the odd occasion that a frontal assault failed.

I also recall ciggie ration cards and quite agree with wrinkles in that the concept behind rationing them was to discourage black marketeering...of course, there were always ways around it.

For instance, Mom smoked but my Dad had quit smoking some years earlier yet still had a ration card for cigs so of course both got used.

When I turned 18, I was issued my own ration card (and started to smoke...still do!).

We mainly used Dad's quota to ensure Mom never ran out (if she did it was best to head for the hills as quickly as possible LOL) but periodically, as a treat, would get German friends a carton of cigs.

Oddly, some spirits were rationed while others were not. This, of course was MLS/Canex not NAAFI I'm talking about. Canadian Club, as I recall was rationed, Crown Royal was etc., yet other quite decent brands weren't; I could never figure out the rationale.

Perhaps Hardrations might have better insight/recall on this point.

Coffee I'm pretty sure was rationed, at least some brands were. Again, I suspect because "good coffee" was a desired commodity amongst German civilians and therefore efforts were made to limit access re amounts and such. I wasn't a coffee drinker at the time, so I never paid much attention. However, I do recall my Mom stating that German coffee was far better than any of the instant coffee crap we Canadians were getting. Keep in mind, this was circa 1970/71 and hardly anybody used filtered coffee as is popular now; it was almost always instant...no wonder I didn't drink coffee! Vile....

Tea...hmmmm...I know Red Rose wasn't rationed as I could purchase it no problem when I was back in Soest as a civilian in 1972/73 and often bought several packages, small boxes, of it for Frau Elizabeth, formerly of the Sally Ann.

Certain brandies/cognacs were not rationed as well. Others were, some of the premium brands for instance. Asbach-Urault wasn't, as I recall.[i]

If my memory is correct late 60s and 70s the only spirits on ration were whisky and gin along with coffee and fags not sure about tea

Steve wrote:

If my memory is correct late 60s and 70s the only spirits on ration were whisky and gin along with coffee and fags not sure about tea

Tea was as well mate!

Thanks soprano54 the Germans still do not have decent tea and we supply friends and family with tea from Tesco when we are passing through Kent on the way back from UK regards Steve

[quote="Stephen Lock"]
Oddly, some spirits were rationed while others were not. This, of course was MLS/Canex not NAAFI I'm talking about. Canadian Club, as I recall was rationed, Crown Royal was etc., yet other quite decent brands weren't; I could never figure out the rationale.

Perhaps Hardrations might have better insight/recall on this point.

Up north (Soest area) all hard liquors were rationed I believe. Down south in Lahr. Only Canadian hard liquors were rationed. American, British, French, German booze were not rationed. In reference to cigarettes I was probably the only Canadian who got unlimited free German cigarettes. This was from a friend of mine who worked in the Rotehandle cigarette factory in Lahr. The employee's were given so much a month free to stop pilfering and Manfred would gladly take those from fellow employees' who didn't smoke. Must have been a first for a Canadian to have a German friend that he didn't supply smokes to, but recieved freebies from him. The French, British, and American troops could shop in Canex and buy booze but not the Canadian liquors.

Which brings back a happy memory of a young French Officer (remember FFA was supposed to stand for Forces Francais Alemein. But really stood for F***en French Army) who got caught up in thinking he was God in the Canex booze shop.Which I'll tell in detail later on.

i remember my first posting to germany[fallingbostl]iwas living in bks as i had,nt been allocated a quater,i had a single soldiers ration card this was for ciggs only.when my wife arrived out there i exchanged my singlies card for a families card,my new card was for cigarettes,tea coffee, whisky and gin..ps,that was 1969.

[quote="Hardrations]
Up north (Soest area) all hard liquors were rationed I believe. Down south in Lahr. Only Canadian hard liquors were rationed. American, British, French, German booze were not rationed.[/quote]

While rationing changed over the years, I am pretty sure that in 1970-71 when we were in Soest, it was possible to buy Asbach-Urault off-ration and one other brandy, the name of which escapes me at the moment but I think was Canadian. Certainly premium brands like Crown Royal and Canadian Club were rationed. And in high demand.

[quote="Hardrations]
In reference to cigarettes I was probably the only Canadian who got unlimited free German cigarettes. This was from a friend of mine who worked in the Rotehandle cigarette factory in Lahr. The employee's were given so much a month free to stop pilfering and Manfred would gladly take those from fellow employees' who didn't smoke. Must have been a first for a Canadian to have a German friend that he didn't supply smokes to, but recieved freebies from him. [/quote]

I'd forgotten about Rotehandle cigs! When I was back in Soest working for a German construction company I had to buy German cigs if I wanted a smoke. German cigs used Turkish tobacco as opposed to the Virginia tobacco found in Canadian and AMerican cigs. Foul smellng stuff, like camel dung!

However, and I am going to catch it for this one I know, I preferred those to some of the British cigs like Embassy!!