Rationing in World War Two

<p>The Second World War started in September 1939. The first commodity to be controlled was petrol, which was shortly followed by food.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>On 7 January 1940 a law was passed that meant basic foodstuffs were to be rationed; these included bacon, butter and sugar. Shortly after, meat, jam, eggs and many more were controlled by rationing too.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>A black market was created, which was illegal. On many occasions, buyers were tricked into buying cheaper substitutes (for example, horsemeat in place of beef).</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Most controlled items were rationed by weight. However, meat was rationed by price.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>As the war progressed, other commodities were rationed- most notably clothing. Clothing was issued on a points system, which was introduced in 1 June 1941. The points allowance was approximately worth one new outfit point year.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Even after the war ended in May 1945 in Europe, rationing continued. It was not until nearly a decade later in 1954 when the rationing of meat ended, did all rationing finish.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>You can experience your own piece of <a href="http://battlefieldstours.org/visit-europe-battlefields" rel="nofollow" class="l_txt">Second World War history</a>, too.</p>