It is easy to forget just how the last world war reached deep onto everyone’s lives.
It was something that my parents and grandparents chose not to talk about.
If asked they would offer up a little but not much and soon would either change the subject or let the topic hang in the air and slowly but surely be replaced by something else.
But of course its impact was everywhere from war time regulations to rationing and the ever present threat of real danger.
I was reminded of all of this when I read the July 1941 copy of Lilliput which was a monthly magazine featuring short stories photographs and articles about the arts mixed with a selection of humorous cartoons.*
It ran from 1937 till 1949 and its contributors included well known writers and photographers.
I picked up my copy many years ago from Bryan the Book and have occasionally skimmed through it.
But looking at it again is to be reminded of just how the war was ever present.
Many adverts had men and women in uniform, or like this ad from the Ministry of Food promoted food and eating habits which were a product of wartime shortages
The National Wheat meal Loaf had replaced white bread and was made from all the wheat grain including the husks. It was dense, grey coloured and unpopular, but with a nod to the country’s health contained added calcium.
All of which made the claims in the ad that it was “nice and was easy to cut” a little hollow.
At the same time many local authorities established canteens which “had very good meals at a very low price.”
Today some might see the creeping hand of an all powerful State but given that many people were working long hours away from home with the ever present threat that the family house might be damaged in an air raid such restaurants made sense.
As did the helpful advice on how to preserve fruit with sugar rationed.
All of which leaves me with just one small mystery. My edition of Lilliput was published in 1941 and yet all the sources I have come across give 1942 as the year the National Wheatmeal Loaf was introduced.
And while I ponder on thist here is a recipe for that loaf from at The Home Front Housewife by Emma Powick**
Picture; Lets Talk about Food, Ministry of Food, from Lilliput, July 1941 Vol 9 No 1 Issue No 49
*Lilliput magazine, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilliput_(magazine)
**The Home Front Housewife by Emma Powick http://thehomefronthousewife.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/recipe-5-national-loaf.html
If asked they would offer up a little but not much and soon would either change the subject or let the topic hang in the air and slowly but surely be replaced by something else.
But of course its impact was everywhere from war time regulations to rationing and the ever present threat of real danger.
I was reminded of all of this when I read the July 1941 copy of Lilliput which was a monthly magazine featuring short stories photographs and articles about the arts mixed with a selection of humorous cartoons.*
It ran from 1937 till 1949 and its contributors included well known writers and photographers.
I picked up my copy many years ago from Bryan the Book and have occasionally skimmed through it.
But looking at it again is to be reminded of just how the war was ever present.
The National Wheat meal Loaf had replaced white bread and was made from all the wheat grain including the husks. It was dense, grey coloured and unpopular, but with a nod to the country’s health contained added calcium.
All of which made the claims in the ad that it was “nice and was easy to cut” a little hollow.
At the same time many local authorities established canteens which “had very good meals at a very low price.”
Today some might see the creeping hand of an all powerful State but given that many people were working long hours away from home with the ever present threat that the family house might be damaged in an air raid such restaurants made sense.
As did the helpful advice on how to preserve fruit with sugar rationed.
All of which leaves me with just one small mystery. My edition of Lilliput was published in 1941 and yet all the sources I have come across give 1942 as the year the National Wheatmeal Loaf was introduced.
Picture; Lets Talk about Food, Ministry of Food, from Lilliput, July 1941 Vol 9 No 1 Issue No 49
*Lilliput magazine, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilliput_(magazine)
**The Home Front Housewife by Emma Powick http://thehomefronthousewife.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/recipe-5-national-loaf.html
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