A Mate posted this in an FB group I run. "Source: Skegness News 1940 An advert in the Skegness News offering advice for women during the Second World War DO’S AND DON’TS FOR WOMEN DON’T waste your gas or light. It is the same thing as wasting coal. DON’T wait for rationing to start before you get some spare food in. DON’T go shopping just before closing time, DON’T go out after dark unless you must. DON’T spread rumours. It is like letting a car run clown hill without any brakes. DON’T worry because you don’t know where he is. No news is good news. DON’T let war conditions get you down. DO lower the gas when the saucepan boils. DO, replace your emergency food store if you break into it. DO write your name and address on your gas mask box. DO try to keep a cheerful face. DO remember that anything is better than the thing we are fighting against. DO your best to keep fit and healthy. DO as you would be done by." https://skegness.wordpress.com/2008/12/22/wartime-advice-for-women/
I think this one thought in particular would sustain me and keep me from unraveling. Your post made me curious, so I did a little Googling. Found this site with some additional info: 10 tips for surviving on the home front. This one surprised me! "5) Learn to cook Today, we think of the 1940s housewife as a domestic goddess. Actually, at the start of the war many women didn’t really know how to cook. This presented a problem: with the introduction of rationing, creative cookery was essential." Really? That women were encouraged to get more creative in the kitchen makes sense. But to say "many women didn't really know how to cook"? That doesn't sound right. Maybe I'm misunderstanding this.
No, it's just the general patronising tones of 1940s British public information movies/bulletins. In the 1980s a comedian called Harry Enfield did a send-up of the whole genre; he managed to look more sensible than the originals!
Im sure they cooked...very few take aways in those days...few restuarants and fewer who could afford it...I spose it depends on what one classifies as "cooking", certainly my mothers idea of cooking is pretty basic...Show it to the grill and whack it on a plate...
I've come to appreciate this approach. I just learned to grill this past summer, and it left me wondering what took me so long! Sizzle. Smoke. Done. No wonder you men like it so much.
Make Do and Mend tips from iwm.org.uk. Most of this is fantastic advice for today as well: Learn to sew and knit, take good care of your things, get creative with what you already have. I found this interesting though: "Women were constantly encouraged by magazines to invest in their appearance, and worries about shabbiness as a sign of low morale were very real." Along these same lines, in 8 Facts About Clothes Rationing...: "In wartime Britain it became 'unfashionable' to be seen wearing clothes that were obviously showy, yet women were frequently implored not to let 'standards' slip too far. There was genuine concern that a lack of interest in personal appearance could be a sign of low morale, which could have a detrimental impact on the war effort. The government's concern for the morale of women was a major factor in the decision to continue the manufacture of cosmetics, though in much reduced quantities." Fair enough. This led me to search "Make Do and Mend" posters/publications to see if they had any specifically about make up/fashion standards. Great images, but nothing nearly as visually arresting as this: Bag O'Trouble I love when I innocently start down one path, and an hour later, I end up in some weird corner of the internet.
Even worse, the woman in that image looks like someone I know. I get totally derailed by old ads. For example, while looking up wartime fashion, I found this: the wartime woman While I'm looking to add more in the way of vintage-inspired dresses to my wardrobe, I see myself skipping these hats.
Add carrots to the list of DOs. Dr. Carrot "Dr Carrot? The slogan "Carrots keep you healthy and help you see in the blackout" was used extensively during WWII." He's a snappy dresser: Also included are recipes for Carrot Fudge and Carrot Lollypops. Something to think about with the holiday season upon us! Bring this to a dinner, and no one will ever ask you to contribute a dish again. debyclark.blogspot.com
Harry Enfield is a comedic genius https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS37SNYjg8w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNmBauXYzgc
I found some interesting information on women in WWII. It concerned the 3,000+ female workers hired in the USN's Bureau of Ships, the body that was in charge of design, building, repair and maintenance of the ships. The Bureau of Ships Administrative History reported the women were very valuable and their performance was, on the whole, as good if not better than the "old hands" who had worked there before the war. It also seems that some of those "old hands" had problems with women even being in the building. Too bad, Dad, there's a war on!
Don't forget, this was Great Britain. How do you want you want your steak boiled? That seems counter-intuitive. Clown cars are always a morale lifter, and if they all die in a horrific crash at the bottom of the hill, well, it's war dammit!
Ugh, boiled steak. As an Albertan, i object. Recall my grade 5 English teacher telling us how his mum used to draw stalkings lines down his sisters calf (nylon was rationed in England). He got on his knee, extended his pinky (to use as a guide on her calf), lick the non existent tip of the imaginary pencil, and draw a line from the imaginary knee down the back of imaginary calf...It was weird to see him act like his mother, drawing a line down his sisters leg. ..Ahh, Mr Gibson, he was an odd bird.
My mother and her sister did that. They used gravy powder for the "ink". Another trick was to put a couple of spoons of sugar into a cup of water and comb it through your hair, in lieu of hairspray; the Teddy Boys did that in the '50s too when they couldn't afford Brylcreem or Briliantine.
