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Question For The Brit Fans Of Foyle's War

posted 10 years ago by lydiagaebe-169-197169
25 replies | jump to latest

My husband and I have been enjoying "Foyle's War" on NetFlix here in the USA.

We're enjoying the peek at the UK during WW2. I've got a question about the rationing of food in the UK during the war.

Were people allowed to grow their own "Victory Gardens" or were the fruits and veggies they grew put in the pool of rationed items? I got the feeling that rationing was much more severe in the UK than it was in the USA. Families grew their own fruits and veggies. My mother told me of the expansive "Victory Garden" her family had on some property outside of Peoria, Illinois. Because her father was a medical professional her family had a higher ration of gasoline per month.

How long did it take for the UK to return to "normal", as in end of rationing and better employment rates?

Like Sam Stewart, my mom also worked as a volunteer assisting returning GIs find jobs, places to live, fresh clothing, and food staples if needed. Even though she was married the GIs would still hit on her. My father was in Germany when the war ended, but didn't come home until late in 1946. Was this also true for the UK troops?

I know London and the larger industrial and port cities got heavily bombed, but were smaller towns spared as much as it appeared in the show? The war didn't seem to play that big a role in the show as I thought it would.

Also, the pubs, cafes and restaurants seemed to be fully operational during the war. Was that a realistic presentation? How did rationing work for restaurants and other food service concerns?

Thanks from a "Yank!"

[–] chris-226-781848 10 years ago

In WW2 people were actively encouraged to grow their own vegetables and fruit. Private gardens and public parks/sports fields were dug and planted with vegetables. There was rationing of meat, dairy products, sugar and fats but not vegetables, bread or fish (although fish became expensive due to the dangers involved in catching it). "Wild" meat like rabbits were off ration as well. Since citrus fruits practically disappeared off the shelves other sources of vitamin C, like blackcurrants, were widely grown and even today blackcurrant is a popular flavouring for foods in the UK. Petrol (gasoline) was strictly rationed and only available to restricted groups that needed it to perform their jobs. After the war rationing became WORSE. Bread and potatoes went on ration. Post war austerity in Europe combined with very bad weather was the main cause. Gradually things improved but rationing was not finally over until 1954. As with your father, demobilising troops took some time. Small towns weren't generally hit by bombs although German bombers sometimes jettisoned bombs on non strategic targets.
A small town near me in Suffolk was hit by just one lone raid which hit an hotel and killed a few people (like in one of the Foyle episodes). Restaurants could supply food in addition to the standard ration but after complaints that the rich were thus getting more than their fair share of food the actual courses supplied were restricted in content.

[–] lydiagaebe-169-197169 10 years ago

Thank you for your historical tid-bit. Now another question. Sam and Adam are seen living in a neighborhood of what looks like hastily built pre-fab homes. The neighborhood appears to be nestled in an older one of red brick homes. How much of that location was digitally created and how much of it was a real location? Sometimes CGI is very realistic!

How big were these pre-fab houses? (My husband is in the home building and home improvement business, so I take note of these things)

Thanks again!

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[–] lydiagaebe-169-197169 10 years ago

Thank you for the links!

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[–] k.m.bunting 10 years ago

There were also "British Restaurants" which served a basic meal at a fixed price, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Restaurant

[–] TravisTheSky 10 years ago

Lydia,
I think you would enjoy "Wartime Farm." I found it on YouTube a couple of years ago. It's one in a series of historically accurate re-enactments done by Ruth Goodman. First was Victorian Farm, then Edwardian Farm, etc. Her two male friends dig in the fields and raise livestock as she cooks and explains the domestic side of things.
Wartime Farm went into a lot of detail about what exactly people had to eat on rations. And it wasn't boring! It got a bit eye-rolling at times as the severe ration laws were enthusiastically credited with making Britons fitter and healthier. But there were fun scenes as well. The cast had covert jobs under the cloak of darkness that they couldn't discuss. They got together with neighbours and collectively raised a pig, of which they had to give half to the government.

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remember: tv is called PROGRAMMING, items of news are STORIES

[–] lydiagaebe-169-197169 10 years ago

Thank you for suggesting "Wartime Farm!" My husband and I find the series very interesting. Thank you so much!

[–] louiseculmer 10 years ago

Wartime farm is very good. Another series you might enjoy is a comedy series called Dad's Army. lots of good detail about everyday life, rationing, the black market etc.

[–] chicago85 10 years ago

I remember a mini series called, I think) "1940's house" on PBS, 6 episodes in 2001. For several years they had several of these reality shows like 1900 house, Frontier house (set in post Civil War Texas), etc. They were done with volunteer re enactors.

The show I am thinking about was a recreated household using an actual family in London during WWII. Complete with bomb shelter they built in the backyard, garden, etc. I remember the housewife actually went hungry and lost weight. Her grown daughter and husband began whining and bowed out. She saved most of her food for her two grandsons who were always hungry. She would go to a recreated store and sometimes even though she had ration stamps they would be out of things. They would come into the house and hold surprise inspections to make sure they were staying in character.

One interesting thing is she did public service in a nursing home of women from that period. She wore an actual uniform (Auxiliary Territorial Service) that the women wore. Many of the women told her stories and were very happy to see her in it. She said a by product of being on the show was that she ;earned to be more self reliant and thrifty.

The British government encouraged people to keep diaries and then turn then in after the war. One ordinary housewife kept one right into the 1950's before turning it in. A writer found it in the archives and wrote a book. I remember it was on Amazon. Then it became a movie with actors. Researchers still study it. The movie was called Housewife, 49 and the book called Nella Last's War by Nella Last. It was called "The Mass Observation Project" by the government

I encourage you to read about the show on Wikipedia along with other shows like 1900 House and "Coal House" set in a mining community in Wales in the 1930's and WWII.

I don't know everything. Neither does anyone else

[–] benbrae76 10 years ago

I haven't seen Wartime Farm, but a friend of mine has, and he related a cooking procedure which was included in the programme, and of which I was familiar. My grandmother used it both during the war and post war.

Put all ingredients of a stew into a potful of water, bring to the boil, then to save fuel put the stewpot into a packing case (or some such) lined with straw, and leave the stew to cook in its own heat overnight. By morning it was cooked and still warm.

[–] GladtobeGrey 10 years ago

I think you might also enjoy watching 'Housewife 49' based on the wartime diaries of Nella Last, Nella Last,a housewife in Barrow-in-Furness on the North West coast as part of the Mass Observation Project - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0913394/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

[–] sokeyt 10 years ago

There was an initiative called "Dig for Victory" which encouraged vegetable production in gardens and allotments. Countryfolk probably didn't find war all thar different from peace, except for the blackout and petrol rationing. However, as this is a very urban country, most people would have been affected.

As already stated, things actually got worse after the war, as there was one terrible winter (1947?) when the ground was frozen for weeks. The government was afraid that there would be a famine!

Vote Syriza and Podemos!

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[–] madseavets 10 years ago

You might find this book interesting. Some of the ingredients are difficult to get now (dried eggs?) and some things that used to be cheap are now expensive...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Victory-Cookbook-Nostalgic-Facts-1940-1954/dp/0753706830/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424261926&sr=8-1&keywords=victory+cookbook

I used to volunteer at the RAF Museum and some people tried these recipes. They weren't that bad, but I haven't actually tried cooking them myself!

[–] ARoggen 9 years ago

Did you ever see a recipe for Pea flour bread? I remember reading that Audrey Hepburn ate that during the war. To me it sounds good, and possibly a good alternative for gluten-free bread. I cannot find a recipe.

[–] ARoggen 9 years ago

Oh, look. There are now two recipes online. It's been a couple years since I looked.

This first one is clearly modern gf cooking. It has so many unusual ingredients, it would be hard to make in wartime, but looks intriguing. http://www.glutenfreegigi.com/green-pea-flour-bread/

Here is another link. Also looks fun to try. http://www.bestcookingpulses.com/recipes/BEST-Pea_Flour_Recipes.pdf

I still would be interested in learning how the people made pea bread during the war.

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[–] benbrae76 9 years ago

Not during the war but in the aftermath when rationing was still in place I remember having Shredded Wheat, not with hot milk, but with sweetened tea. I actually got to like it that way and still occasionally take it that way.

[–] nikishopping 10 years ago

I just want to write in and say thank you to all that responded to this thread. I found the information provided very interesting.

This is what I love about message boards: people chiming in with various tidbits that adds to the commonwealth's breadth of knowledge. Fantastic.

[–] Blondfashionisto 9 years ago

At the start of the thread, I immediately thought of 'Wartime Farm' and sure enough it was mentioned later on in the chain.

I, too, found Wartime Farm (as well as Foyle's War, obviously!) a great series. Since I love period pieces, Wartime Farm helped me better understand some of the situations.

Another interesting point - 'Bletchley' is mentioned in Foyle's War (Season Five) and that is another great series to suggest - 'Bletchley Circle' (about a team of ladies who work as code-breakers during the war).

British Television is simply the best!

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[–] benbrae76 9 years ago

"Dad's Army" is of course a comedy, but it does convey much of the Home Front psyche of the time. There is also a documentary out called "The Real Dad's Army" that gives great info too.

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