war rations

in the time we live now with food so abundant (and so much wasted) do you think that we could manage again on rationing if we had to .
The things I remember obviously from my parents is things like ...bread and dripping . bubble and squeak , and being made to clear my plate and if i didn't i would have to have it later lets here from you guys who can remember rationing or the years that followed

Remember it well, JohnBoy (can't remember what I did yesterday, though!) - always hungry ,and used to do a lot of nicking from the local allotments - dead right about eating it up or getting it for the next meal. A big treat was the occasional distribution of oranges, usually at Christmas but only because my sister was under five and had a 'green' ration book.There were troops billeted in the houses all around us and we kids used to 'march' down to the cookhouse ( a requisitoned girl's school) with them and get given slices of bread and jam and tea out of a mess tin. The bacon ration was just enough for a main meal once a week, fried with tomatoes (usually tinned) and potatoes (usually nicked!). Eggs were always of the powdered variety and never used for breakfast, which was always porridge or kelloggs. You didn't see any fat women or kids around in those days -the men of course, were all away and generally getting better food - although the cooking of it may have been another matter!

i would kill for a plate of the old powdered egg made into an omelett and fried until it was a nice brown burnt colour , lovely stuff , remember the old british restaurants we had in london a tanner for kids and a shilling for adults , fish cake , mashed potatoes and cabbage , plus semolina pud , and cup of tea , bloody lovely when we were hungry , my school dinner consisted of , two slices of dripping toast wrapped in newspaper . that tasted lovely sat in the school playground at half twelve , mind you things changed when i joined the army , in our cookhouse we were served lots of extra meat rations ,i e , maggots . catapillars the odd cockroach or three , extra protein our cook sarnt called it , ginger

There is a very enterprising British Ex pat here in Kyrenia who has opened a traditional British Fish and Chip restaurant. He serves up Fish and Chips which are reminiscent of the 50s and 60s, excellent stuff.

Hope he serves them in traditional old British newspapers!

Cliffo wrote:

Hope he serves them in traditional old British newspapers!

Ha ha! 'fraid not - 'elf and safety, dontcha know.

How many million Lira for cod and chips then ?

Ah, the old currency!! We had a bit of a reshuffle a few years ago when the knocked a few zeros off the end of their dosh. 22 New Turkish Lira for Cod und Pommes and that's with Mushy/Garden peas included (And you get your own vinegar bottle). Approx £8 at todays rate of exchange, less to take away.

brum wrote:

How many million Lira for cod and chips then ?

Deviating a bit from WW2 rations ......... but fish & chips weren't controlled.....
Back to deviation. Had cod & chips in a favourite pub recently, asked mine host if he still got a daily delivery of wet fish from Grimsby like as what he used to.

"No chance" he said, "..... what you've got comes from China now". Dead serious, maybe a million or two lira is needed to pay transportation, maybe the fish has slanty eyes.

WW2 rations were supplemented by the black market which thrived as always in war. Two of my compatriots were employed in civil eng and delivered pigs in coffins to west end establishments from grateful farmers outside London. They were royally rewarded.

That was only for those who could afford it - and very few could. I remember those in 'reserved' occupations always seemed better fed - especially coppers' kids!

There were special provisions for some. Two local women were employed in ammo manufacturing plants which had fantastic social conditions. Of course it was a dangerous place but they were individually contained so if explosions occurred only the one bin occupant was blown through the ceiling.

That would be "a blow job" ???

I've found a ref. which lists wartime rations from Jan. 1940, when control was introduced...........

Weekly, for each adult :-

4 oz bacon 12 oz sugar 2 oz each of butter marg., cooking fat & suet.

2 oz tea 8 oz jam 1 oz cheese. 1s 10d ( about 9p ) meat. Could be
any cut available with little choice uo to
about 1 lb weight.
1. 1/2 to 2 eggs 1/2 to 2 pints milk 4 oz soap per month

From June 1942 a packet of dried egg powder equivalent to 12 eggs was allowed every eight weeks.

From Dec 1941 a tin of dried milk ( 4 pints ) was allowed every 4 weeks.

Sweets & chocolate fluctuated at 3 to 4 oz a week.

Restaurant meals & those in works canteens & schools were off ration.

Can't remember when it stopped, it certainly went on for years after the war. For sure eggs came off ration in 1953, when, with two mates I was touring Devon & Cornwall astride our m/cycles. That was around Coronation Day & every landlady in a B & B thought she was doing us a good turn by serving up some sort of egg concoction for all our meals.

Gordon.2 wrote:

That would be "a blow job" ???

Certainly a Head Ache

Cartav That's frightening. Yet they were remarkably healthy thereafter as the stats show

Dulaigh wrote:

Cartav That's frightening. Yet they were remarkably healthy thereafter as the stats show

True ! ........ and a bit on the slim side. I don't know how mums managed.
No supermarkets, shops could be miles away and no transport. When you look back at some of those TV progs of the war years it's obvious that every housewife carried an essential basket. Not many of those around today.

There was plenty of veg, I think, and some tinned stuff ........ Spam, Mor, fruit, etc. which was available to regular customers at shops where one was registered, but I've a vague recollection that these were rationed, too, by a "points" system which must have been additional to the normal ration books. Likewise things like oranges were distributed on occasion, but bananas disappeared entirely until after the war.

The ration book contained a page of 'points 'coupons which were allocated so many a month and which were cut out by the shopkeeper as they were used. As Cartav says, they were used for such things as biscuits, jam, dried and tinned fruit, lentils and the suchlike and I think also soap products. All these things were also 'subject to availability' regardless off how many 'points' you had available.
At the butchers, offal and rabbits were not on ration but were scarce and tended to be kept 'under the counter' for favoured customers and possibly the highest bidder!
Fish was not rationed as such but was scarce and the fishmonger and 'chippy' only opened a couple of days a week, resulting in massively long queues. Many a time I would queue for over an hour for fish and chips and then find that only chips or sometimes nothing, was left.
Correct me if I.m wrong, but I think that bread and potatoes were not rationed until after the war.

Cliffo wrote:

.
Correct me if I.m wrong, but I think that bread and potatoes were not rationed until after the war.

Lots & lots on Google about wartime rations including some odd recipes.
Ii confirms bread was not restricted until after the war finished for about a year. I can just remember the greyish, white stuff which resulted from leaving more bits in the flour to bulk it up........ And slices of bread soaked in dried egg mixture & fried were a favourite I'd love to get now!

i remember the bread as being similar to the colour of the roads , orrible dirty greyish colour , and what about that orrible national margarine, god that really was disgusting , the black market wallahs must have sold a lot of that muck to local garages , best grease on the market , funny enough in germany in the 50s they still used the muck in the cookhouse , ginger

A good sense of humour was the first item on the ACC menu.

gingerjim wrote:

i remember the bread as being similar to the colour of the roads , orrible dirty greyish colour ,

I understand it came out like that when the ACC wanted to clean their
finger nails.

THATS SNOT TRUE

Disgusting.

anybody on site remember when we were bombed out we had to resort to drinking our tea out of jamjars , now that really did annoy me , when you think jam jars were worth a farthing each to the shops , four for a penny , and we had to drink our blinking tea out of them , ginger ,