Wwii British

How did the British government do rationing in WWII?

Ration books were issued to each person containing tokens which could be saved up or used at the owner's discretion. The shopkeeper would remove the tokens before he issued the goods.

There were different kinds of ration books. The most common was the buff-coloured one. These were issued to adults and school-age children. Green books were issued to expectant mothers as they had extra tokens. The possession of this book would 'give away' the woman's secret. People were much more private about their personal circumstances in those days, and a pregnancy outside of wedlock was considered scandalous.

The tokens had no monetary value, they were merely a means of ensuring that everybody got a fair share of what was available, and to try to prevent stockpiling.

The tokens were for food, and later, also for clothing.

It was on 8 January, 1940 (four months after the war started), that food rationing came into force.

To start with, the rations were (per person per week):

Butter or lard: 4 ounces (113.4 grammes)

Sugar: 12 ounces (340.2 grammes)

Raw bacon or Ham: 4 ounces (113.4 grammes)

Eggs x2

Cooked bacon or Ham: 3.5 ounces (99.3 grammes)

Meat rationing started 11 March, 1940.

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