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I am reading about the conferences held during WWII between the Allies. It is my opinion that Churchill comes across as the most intelligent of the powerful men.

Is this pretty much a given?

WAS THERE ANY RATIONING IN THE STATES SNOW DURING THE WAR??

FOOD
The driving force of a nation is its ability to feed its people. A nation filled with hungry people is a nation that has neither strong soldiers nor strong civilian workers. Stability and security within such a nation often suffers. Canada's government was quick to realize in World War II that a well-fed military is a better fighting military. With so much riding on the wartime production of the home front, the government equally wanted well-fed civilians at home. Canada was also called upon to help feed the civilians of the war stricken countries. The method of achieving this was to keep the farmers on the land and to introduce rationing so that no one person would have more on his dinner plate than his neighbour or the soldier at the front.

RATIONING OF FOOD
The rules around rationing of food were strict. Prices were fixed along with the amount a person was allowed to buy. This made it very difficult for the storekeeper to make money unless he was willing to get involved in the black market. A food company asked women of the house to become Housoldiers and in this way fight for the war effort. Food rationing began in January 1942 with sugar being the first item on the list. Each person was allowed 12 ounces per week and later only 8 ounces. Sugar was used in the manufacturing of shells and bombs making it vital to the war effort. Tea and coffee were quickly added to the ration list since they came from other countries. Importing food became very difficult as many merchant ships were taken over by the military and many others were sunk by submarine warfare. As the war went on more items were added to the list, including butter, meat, maple syrup products, table syrups, apple or honey butter. With the war effort needing most of the available supplies of tin, canning factories had their supplies of cans cut leading to rationing of items that came in cans.

The people of Summerside managed fairly well with rationing. They already knew how to make a little go a long way because of the Depression. Unlike Canadians living in the cities, most people in Summerside still had relatives farming in the surrounding communities who were willing to share. While the land the Town of Summerside put aside for its people to grow Victory Gardens grew up in weeds, many people had their own backyard kitchen gardens. If a housewife applied ahead of time she could get extra sugar for making pickles and jams.

What was really difficult for the people of Summerside was when molasses was rationed. Molasses, a byproduct of sugar, was a staple for most Island families. They bought it by the gallon and used it for cooking, baking, and as a spread. Lunch for many Island schoolchildren would consist of a molasses sandwich and molasses cookies. Molasses was used in the production of synthetic rubber.

The Battle of the Atlantic

Before the outbreak of war Britain imported around 55 million tons of food per year from other countries, such as the U.S.A. and Canada.
But it wasn't just food that was brought in from abroad; many other things were imported too.
Things such as tea, sugar, fruit, oil (used for petrol), wood and rubber.
All of which had to be shipped across the Atlantic in large cargo vessels.
Inevitably once war broke out Germany did everything in its power to cut off these much needed supplies, by hunting down and destroying the convoys that carried them with their battleships and U- boats.

The most crucial challenge for the Royal Navy's fleet in WW2 was the Battle of the Atlantic, which peaked in May 1943.
As in WWI, the German U-boats nearly won the battle.
Their aim, as in WWI, was the destruction of so many merchant ships that Britain would be starved out of the war through lack of supplies.

Royal Navy destroyers, June 1942 on duty for the Battle of the Atlantic

Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill once wrote, '... the only thing that ever really frightened me during the war was the U-boat peril'. Churchill could not have been more correct.
The importance of the threat posed by German submarines (the 'Unterseeboot') during World War Two to the Atlantic lifeline, for which Britain depended on for food and supplies, could have had dire consequences had they succeeded, and would undoubtedly led to the defeat of Britain.

Nevertheless over 2,500 merchant ships were sunk in the Atlantic with the loss of not only vital supplies needed for the war effort, but also the lives of many thousands of merchant seamen.

German U-boat

Food Rationing Introduced

With imports of food declining because of the U boat attacks on shipping and the advance of the German army across Europe , the British government set up a committee of nutritional experts to advise the War Cabinet on a strategic food policy.

The committee issued a report with the effect that each person in Britain could easily survive on twelve ounces of bread, six ounces of vegetables, a pound of potatoes, two ounces of oatmeal, an ounce of fat, and six-tenths of a pint of milk per day, supplemented either by small amounts of cheese, pulses, meat, fish, sugar, eggs and dried fruit.

Winston Churchill however was convinced that this was not a good idea and would lead to ill feeling amongst the people.
Instead it was decided to introduce a system of food rationing on fair shares for everyone policy.

Food prices were fixed at a standard rate so there was no over-charging, in order that the poorer people would not go without. Everyone was expected to adhere to rationing, including the Royal Family, although those that lived in the country enjoyed some benefits - extra eggs and vegetables, for example.

One of the many 'Dig foe Victory ' Posters, encouraging people to grow their own food

People were also encouraged to produce their own food under a scheme called 'Dig For Victory'.

One of the surprising effects of food rationing during the war was that it improved the nation's health by encouraging a balanced diet. Rationing involved every man woman and child being issued with Ration Books

Types of food used during WWII

Everyone was allowed 16 points per month to use on what ever food items they wished.
This was later increased to 20 points per month.
Of course the items purchased still had to be paid for.

Food Rationing Time Line
(Quantities shown are per person per week)

29th September 1939 - National Register set up & Identity cards issued.

8 January 1940 - Food rationing begins. Bacon, ham, sugar and butter now rationed.

January 1940 - 4oz. Butter, 12oz. Sugar & 4 oz. Bacon allowed a week for each person.

March 1940 - 1s.10d worth of meat allowed per person a week (9p today). Sausages were not rationed but difficult to get; offal (liver, kidneys, tripe's) was originally un-rationed but sometimes formed part of the meat ration.

July 1940 - Tea 2oz 1s 10d (9p). Butter, margarine, cooking fats and cheese rationed. Sugar cut to 8 oz 1s 10d (9p). The Government announced no more bananas no more fresh or tinned fruit to be imported except a few oranges for children only.

March 1941 - Jam, marmalade, treacle and syrup rationed. 8 oz per person per week.
May 1941- Cheese ration increased to 2 oz's per person per week.

June 1941- Eggs: 1 fresh egg a week if available but often
only one every two weeks. Meat ration cut to 1s 6d (7.5p) per person per week then to 1s 2d (6p): by June 1941 it was down to 1s (5p).

July 1941- Sugar ration doubled to encourage people to make their own jam during the fruit season.

August 1941 - Extra cheese ration for manual workers introduced

December 1941 - Points scheme for food introduced. National dried milk introduced

December 1941 - Milk went on ration 3 pints per person per week (1800ml) occasionally dropping to 2 pints (1200ml). This amount also varied for young children and expectant mothers Expectant mothers children and invalids were allowed 7 pints of milk per week. Expectant mothers and children were also allowed up to 18 eggs per month. Children were allowed orange and rosehip syrup as well as cod liver oil Household milk (skimmed or dried) was available : 1 packet per four weeks.

January 1942 Rice & Dried Fruit added to points system. tea ration for under fives was withdrawn. sweets 2 oz per person per week.

February 1942 Canned tomatoes and Peas. Soap rationed (1 small tablet per month).

April 1942 Breakfast cereals and condensed milk added to points system.

June 1942 - American dried egg powder on sale. 1s 9d (9p) per packet (equivalent to 12 eggs) Wholemeal loaf ("The National loaf") introduced (far more wheat used which meant less wastage. Sausages contained less and less real pork or beef /Horsemeat commonly available (later whale meat was also available)

July 1942 - Sweets and chocolate 2 oz per person per week.

August 1942 - Biscuits added to points system.

August 1942 - Cheese ration was increased to 8 oz per person per week.

December 1942 Oat flakes added to points system.

December 1944 - Extra tea allowance for 70 year olds and over introduced.

January 1945 - Whale meat and snoek available for sale.

July 1946 - Bread rationed

Dates Items Came off Ration

July 1948 - Bread.
December 1948 - Jam.
May 1950 - Points rationing ended.
October 1952 - Tea.
February 1953 - Sweets.
April 1953 - Cream.
March 1953 - Eggs.
September 1953 - Sugar.
May 1954 - Butter, cheese, margarine and cooking fats.
June 1954 - Meat and bacon.

In addition they also had a daily pint of milk and a double supply of eggs as well as Cod Liver Oil and Orange Juice; although egg rationing varied from between one every two weeks during the Winter to 3 or 4 during the Spring and Summer months.

Children under five were allowed half the normal meat ration and children between five and sixteen who held blue ration books were allowed fruit, a full meat ration and half a pint of milk per day.

Food Rationing Poster of WWII

I dont know what your post# 26 post says, I don't have time to read it now, getting ready to get tucked in. Yes we had ration books for everthing and yes we had a black market.

Food, gas were rationed and clothing was not easy to get. Homes were often cold, as I recall sugar, fresh & fruit was extremely scarse. Candy was a rare treat. I remember my mom giving me a piece of buttered white bread sprinkled with some sugar as a special reward for something I did. I don't know what. We had some limited rationing during the Korean CONFLICT, too. Did you have rationing in Canada?

The interesting thing about rationing in GB is how long it lasted after the war; nine years before the last items came off the list. Nowadays we throw away what would feed a family in the 1940s.

Older folk will tell you powdered egg was the most unpalatable thing served up during the war.

#8, why? After all we'd converted farming into a factory type operation. Until 1990 Britain was the second largest food producer in the World, not merely per capita, nor per acre, but the most food tonnage.

We wereserved powdered egg at boarding school in the mid '60s. Well, there was an egg flavour to the puddle of water on the fried bread.

There was an operational egg factory in Ardoyne, Gerry Adam's home turf.

FOR SOME REASON PEANUT BUTTER WAS BIG OR USED A LOT DURING THE WAR.

THE TROOPS MUST HAVE ALSO BEEN SUPPLIED WITH IT, SO MUCH SO THAT MY FATHER WOULDN'T TOUCH IT AFTER THE WAR.

I CAN'T SEE ANY REASON FOR THERE TO BE RATIONING GOING ON IN THE STATES DURING THE KOREAN CONFLICT. NO SHIPPING ROUTES WERE BLOCKED AND THE SEAS WERE WIDE OPEN.

FUEL MIGHT BE THE ONLY THING.

I DON'T KNOW OF ANY RATIONING IN CANADA SNOW FOR THE KOREAN CONFLICT. CANADA AND THE STATES WOULD HAVE BOTH BEEN IN BOOM TIMES IN THE 50'S.

WERE IN IN BOARDING SCHOOL FLASH OR PRISON.

TRUE MARK, MOST PEOPLE THINK THE RATIONING STOPPED WHEN THE WAR DID. NOT SO.

BZ we had limited rationing, nothing like the war. I recall Sugar was a tough item to get and it was raffeled off in places to raise money for various causes.

I remember the peanut butter as b eing the best I ever had. It came in big cans and when it was opened the arroma of the peanuts was a killer. Also Cheese it came in large rectangle wedges. It may not have been cheese but some somethig like Am. cheese. Eggs were availabel and then scarce, beef was also in and out.

A lot of food was sent to Russia

YOU SHOULD HAVE MOVED TO CANADA SNOW. WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY PROBLEM GETTING SUGAR. CANDY WAS CHEAP IN THE 50'S.

EVERYONE DROVE BIG 8 CYLINDER AMERICAN CARS AND THE GAS WAS CHEAP.

You other people seem you run out of everything all the time.

By comparison everything was cheaper in the 50's than now. Availability? A big prize at a carnival was to win a 5lb bag of sugar.

I can remember rationing most children especially the poor were better off with rationing. I can remember powdered egg and I thought it great I cannot remember ever getting a real egg until the end of the war.

Every now and again we were told to take a pint pot or jam jar to school and we would get American or Canadian milk drinking choclate. We also used to getfood parcels from Americans we usd to find notes from US chldren.

My dad came on leave once and brought a kit bag full of peanuts in their shells

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