Petrol in the UK was the first commodity to be rationed, although it was supplied for essential services eg doctors and farmers. When a North Atlantic blockade by German U-Boats stopped imported food, huge shortages were caused and by Jan 1940, the British government had to introduce food rationing. The scheme was designed to ensure fair shares for all at a time of national crisis. The Ministry of Food was responsible for overseeing rationing, issuing a ration book with coupons for every citizen. Before rationed goods could be purchased!
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Women and children queue to buy vegetables, London, 1945.
Museum Crush
By mid-1942 most foodstuffs in Britain were rationed, except for some vegetables, fruit, fish and bread. A typical weekly ration allowed a person 1 egg, 2 ounces each of tea and butter, an ounce of cheese, eight ounces of sugar, four ounces of bacon and four ounces of margarine. Other scarce commodities were rationed too eg clothing, shoes, fuel, and soap. As the war progressed, the rationing system had to be refined to accommodate different needs.
Britain’s truly drastic rationing regulations were not needed in Australia because we had bigger farm areas, a smaller population and our own large and well developed rural industries. Nonetheless Australia's use of food ration coupons was applied to tea, sugar, butter, meat and clothes. Eggs and milk were also rationed, as needed. Rationing regulations in Australia were introduced in mid-1942 to manage shortages, control civilian consumption and curb inflation by reducing consumer spending. Hopefully this would lead to 1] a higher level of savings by the population, 2] a greater investment in government war loans and 3] a fairer distribution of food and clothing. Many thanks to the War Memorial in Canberra.
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Waiting patiently for meat rations,
Sydney Morning Herald, 1944
Australian troops abroad had to be supplied with food produced in Australia, and when thousands of American troops arrived in Australia to fight the war in the Pacific, they too had to be fed.
Rationing was planned by the nation's Rationing Commission in the Minister for War Organisation of Industry. From 1942, as the range of rationed commodities grew, not every Australian citizen supported rationing legislation; some citizens were prepared to exploit and profit by selling scarce commodities at inflated prices. This created a Black Market where commodities could be acquired without coupons, but at high prices. So rationing was closely policed and breaches were punished under the National Security Regulations - £100 fines or up to 6 months gaol were imposed. When these penalties were inadequate, the government passed the Black Marketing Act in late 1942, for more serious cases.
Australia shops changed from a cash-economy to a coupon-economy. Each adult citizen received a ration book with 112 coupons. All purchasable items had a coupon value eg a man’s suit cost 38 coupons, socks 4. Used coupon books were exchanged for new ones only annually, so people had to plan their expenses to avoid using all their coupons too quickly. Civilian clothing was running out, so cheap austerity garments replaced the old stocks, made from materials not vital to the war effort.
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Rationing was based on supply. In some towns the impact was less when suburban blocks were big enough for families to grow their own vegetables/fruit. And some could support chickens or cows, supplying themselves with eggs and dairy products. Some public parks were dug up for vegetable gardens! The government feared that rationing would result in poorer health on the home front, but rationing actually reduced food-related problems eg obesity, diabetes.
Fish, sausages, chicken, ham and rabbits were hardly rationed. Recipes designed to cater for the lack of eggs, butter and meat regularly appeared in newspapers and magazines. Animal organs were more readily available than better cuts of meat in WW2 and formed a significant part of people's diets. Even so, people had to stand in long queues
The Austerity Campaign wanted simple living; citizens were told to smoke less; drink less; plan meals for food value and give up cosmetics. Children’s toys had to be hand-made.
When WW2 began, Australia had been totally unready for a long conflict; there were enough petrol reserves for only 3 months, and limited storage capacity. The Commonwealth asked the Dept of Supply to prepare plans to ration petrol but it was not imposed immediately; instead they only recommended frugality. As an alternative, the government encouraged motorists to use charcoal gas producers, fitted to the back of cars. However, gas producers were in short supply, cumbersome, messy and inefficient.
The motor industry lobbied against petrol rationing, claiming it would lead to unemployment and economic instability. But as a last resort, Director of Economic Planning had to introduce a scheme to conserve petrol. Divided into classes, eg delivery vans, buses, taxis, trucks, industrial transport, farm machinery and private cars, priorities were determined for each class and allowances were allocated.
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Even after WW2 ended, Australia still needed to send meat supplies to Britain
Australian troops abroad had to be supplied with food produced in Australia, and when thousands of American troops arrived in Australia to fight the war in the Pacific, they too had to be fed.
Rationing was planned by the nation's Rationing Commission in the Minister for War Organisation of Industry. From 1942, as the range of rationed commodities grew, not every Australian citizen supported rationing legislation; some citizens were prepared to exploit and profit by selling scarce commodities at inflated prices. This created a Black Market where commodities could be acquired without coupons, but at high prices. So rationing was closely policed and breaches were punished under the National Security Regulations - £100 fines or up to 6 months gaol were imposed. When these penalties were inadequate, the government passed the Black Marketing Act in late 1942, for more serious cases.
Australia shops changed from a cash-economy to a coupon-economy. Each adult citizen received a ration book with 112 coupons. All purchasable items had a coupon value eg a man’s suit cost 38 coupons, socks 4. Used coupon books were exchanged for new ones only annually, so people had to plan their expenses to avoid using all their coupons too quickly. Civilian clothing was running out, so cheap austerity garments replaced the old stocks, made from materials not vital to the war effort.
Australian rationing coupons and cards
Gizmodo
Rationing was based on supply. In some towns the impact was less when suburban blocks were big enough for families to grow their own vegetables/fruit. And some could support chickens or cows, supplying themselves with eggs and dairy products. Some public parks were dug up for vegetable gardens! The government feared that rationing would result in poorer health on the home front, but rationing actually reduced food-related problems eg obesity, diabetes.
Fish, sausages, chicken, ham and rabbits were hardly rationed. Recipes designed to cater for the lack of eggs, butter and meat regularly appeared in newspapers and magazines. Animal organs were more readily available than better cuts of meat in WW2 and formed a significant part of people's diets. Even so, people had to stand in long queues
The Austerity Campaign wanted simple living; citizens were told to smoke less; drink less; plan meals for food value and give up cosmetics. Children’s toys had to be hand-made.
When WW2 began, Australia had been totally unready for a long conflict; there were enough petrol reserves for only 3 months, and limited storage capacity. The Commonwealth asked the Dept of Supply to prepare plans to ration petrol but it was not imposed immediately; instead they only recommended frugality. As an alternative, the government encouraged motorists to use charcoal gas producers, fitted to the back of cars. However, gas producers were in short supply, cumbersome, messy and inefficient.
The motor industry lobbied against petrol rationing, claiming it would lead to unemployment and economic instability. But as a last resort, Director of Economic Planning had to introduce a scheme to conserve petrol. Divided into classes, eg delivery vans, buses, taxis, trucks, industrial transport, farm machinery and private cars, priorities were determined for each class and allowances were allocated.
Australians were encouraged to grow their own fruit, vegetables and eggs
Australian War Memorial
To obtain ration tickets from late 1940, the million+ civilians applying for petrol licences had to complete an application each time which lasted 6 months. After that, issues were made every 2 months, to avoid forgeries and black market hoarding. Petrol companies pooled their supplies, and storage facilities grew up everywhere, for all vehicles.
Victory over Japan in 1945 raised expectations that rationing would be abolished. But rationing was only gradually phased out, given that Australia continued to send food etc to Britain for years. The meat ration had been further reduced in the motherland, and in an effort to support the British public, the Australian Government maintained meat rationing and price controls until 1948.
To obtain ration tickets from late 1940, the million+ civilians applying for petrol licences had to complete an application each time which lasted 6 months. After that, issues were made every 2 months, to avoid forgeries and black market hoarding. Petrol companies pooled their supplies, and storage facilities grew up everywhere, for all vehicles.
Victory over Japan in 1945 raised expectations that rationing would be abolished. But rationing was only gradually phased out, given that Australia continued to send food etc to Britain for years. The meat ration had been further reduced in the motherland, and in an effort to support the British public, the Australian Government maintained meat rationing and price controls until 1948.
Five years after the war ended, Australian food rationing finally ended. While sugar and meat had already become freely available, butter and tea were STILL rationed until June 1950. NB in Britain rationing didn’t end until July 1954!
Digger History