FOOD RATIONING

Timaru Herald, Volume CLIII, Issue 22554, 12 April 1943, Page 4

FOOD RATIONING

High Nutritional Level Success Of British Scheme “As you know the people of Britain bore the burden of the stewardship of humanity, and in spite of the terrible attacks of the Luftwaffe in the earlier stages of the war they held firm,” said Mr L. W. Brockington, K.C., LL.D., Empire Adviser in the British Ministry of Information, who is visiting New Zealand and other parts of the Empire at the request of the British Government, in a broadcast address last night. “Their ordinariness was a flag, their kindness a rock anti their courage an avalanche. They turned the path of defeat into the read of victory!”

“They kept every promise to Russia and the rest of their comrades in arms, and they helped greatly to arm New Zealand for her defence,” he continued. “You know how gallantly her sons have fought; ask your own sons; they are with them and of them. They are united in the will to work and conquer and to end injustice and man’s inhumanity to man. Formerly they boasted of a British Empire on wh h the sun never set, but now their aim was to see that hunger never set in in any back alley.”

Mr Brockington continued that apart from the loss of those they loved, of spoke, and of the nights of terror durwhich the people of Britain never ing the raids, their chief complaints were of the darkness and perhaps the cold in the winter. Their attitude in regard to the bombing was typified in

the wort' of an old man whom he had met in the Market Place, Plymouth, during a raid. “I have no complaints,” he said “I can sleep on my own little bed and eat from my own little table up till now!” . Referring to the blackout, Mr Brockington said that his compatriots, the Canadians, probably grouched more than the English people about the darkness, especially in the country districts. He described how difficult it had been to locate General McNaughten’s headquarters at night, and when he had finally located them, he had been nearly boyoneted by a stalwart Nova Scotian who was on sentry duty. In regard to clothes rationing, ne said that almost everyone looked shabby. Shabby clothes were a badge of service, and to “turn your coat” meant that you were doing your duty and not that you were a traitor. Dress clothes were not worn—and he hoped that they would never be again—and top hats were full of moth holes. Food Dull, But Plentiful

The food was dull but up-to-date and plentiful, he continued. The meat ration was 1/- worth a week, which amounted to about a pound of the poorest cuts, including the bone. It seemed that the much vaunted beef of England carried an enormous percentage of bone. Fish was difficult to get, except at points where the fishing fleets came in, but the fishermen were engaged in deadlier tasks to-day. Fruit juices were unknown, but fruit was fairly common in season. Vitamins were obtained from the fruit of the wild rose. Oranges were reserved for young children and for the sick; lemons were very rare, except for a few brought by the Air Force crews from Gibraltar. Eggs were also reserved for young children and invalids, an : for the ordinary person the ration was 40 a year. The skimming of cream and the manufacture of certain famous special cheeses was now forbidden. Ordinary cheese was fairly plentiful and there were plenty of vegetables. There were many things which they did not get, and some things which they believed they were getting were, m fact, substitutes for the real thing. They could not get fruit cake, but the cake was covered with pink icing which was not the real thing. Similarly, there were cream puffs, but they did not contain cream. The butter 01 margarine ration was very small indeed.

Mr Brockington said that his hearers may have thought that he was dealing lightly with the subject, but it was viewed from that aspect at Home. The food control represented the most wonsent war or any war had ever seen, derful piece of organisation the preBritain had been described as a land of plenty or else on the verge of starvation, but neither statement was correct. The nutritional level of England was higher than it had ever been. Brilain now produced 60 per cent, of her own needs and large supplies of wheat, dried milk, and other commodities were received from the Dominions and from Ibe United States.

Wonderful Organisation Lord Wool ton. the Food Controller, had evolved a wonderful organisation, and. when the restrictions had been introduced, he had been mindful of the poor. As he had told the speaker it had been his aim to introduce something constructive and that had been done. Mr Brockington mentioned that there were 10,000 factory canteens and 3000 British restaurants where a meal could be secured for 1/- or less. He had had a meal at the Isle of Dogs, in one of the worst bombed areas in London, where the tables had been decorated with flowers by the charwomen from their little gardens, and music had been supplied by a quartet from the London College of Music. Every child at every school received a glass of milk at 11 a.m. every day for a halfpenny, and if the halfpenny was not forthcoming they still got the milk. Meals were served at London County Council schools. Meals comprising meat, two vegetables, with two varieties of jam tart, were provided on ’he basis of 5d for the first, 4d for the .second, and 3d for tlic third member of any one family. The nutritive value of the rationing scheme was proved by photographs which had been sent to Lord Woofton from proud mothers who had said in their covering letters: “Did you ever see such bonnie children?” and these letters had come from very poor families. In conclusion Mr Brockington quoted a letter from a Jugoslav soldier to his unborn child, to which poignancy was added by the fact that both his parents were killed a few days after the letter was written. The writer had a I rich vision of the future when demoi cratlc ideals would conquer and make the world a fit place for the child to •.row up and take his part.