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Shirley Holmes - Food Rationing
Shirley was in the US Army Air Force in the UK, she married an English serviceman (Male War Bride).
Shirley's account of rationing in the UK.
Speaking of wartime food, I thought you might be interested in the experiences of a Yankee girl serving in the US Army Air Force in the UK. Whenever we visited an English family we were issued US rations which consisted of small boxes, each one labelled for breakfast, lunch or dinner and if staying for a few days leave, we carried as many boxes as the anticipated number of meals we would have. This was to prevent our being a burden on our English hosts limited food rations. Each box contained a packet of instant coffee and two cigarettes in addition to what the army deemed to be suitable rations for the specified meal.
There was always some variety of meat or cheese in a small tin, a toast or cracker and , at least once a day a rather generous chunk of chocolate. Whenever I visited the couple who later became my in-laws, they were delighted to receive the rations but, living in a small town in an agricultural area trading amongst the neighbors was not unheard of. For example, eggs, butter, meat and fats were strictly rationed but a little extra could often be found. I know that the cigaretted I brought were shared. Probably not the chocolate. And my future mother-in-law was an excellent cook and she would combine those little tins of meat or cheese to make a very acceptable dish. I remember she was always thrilled to get the small pats of butter.
And, if you were on good terms with the cooks at your own base, it was sometimes possible to carry an extra treat or two.
Thanks for sharing your memories Shirley
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How the rationing of material affected making a Wedding Dress
A Wedding Dress made from Parachute Silk
In the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, there is a Wedding Dress which can be viewed by appointment only, made from heavy duty parachute silk.
The dress dates from 1944 and was made by Helen Drew. It has a 'Princess' line with long sleeves stiffened and gathered at the shoulders and a narrow 'V' neck.
In the late 1940's the War Production Board released guidelines "L-85", which restricted the amount of cloth that could be used by clothing manufacturers.
Silk material for Wedding Dresses was very limited. At the end of the war there was a surplus of parachute material and ladies were encouraged to purchase this material for Wedding Gowns. In order to entice the brides to be, to purchase surplus material, a bundle of the material was made available along with a pattern for the Wedding Gown.
If you received a pattern when purchasing parachute silk and still have it, please contact us
Information kindly supplied by the Victoria and Albert Museum and also Michele Thomas who also runs a web site about War Brides at http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/9710/WarBrides.html
The Albert and Victoria Museum will be supplying a sketch/image of the dress soon, which will be shown in the photo album on this web site
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Sally Davis - WWII English War Bride still living in London - 11/05/03
At my wedding I was lucky to have a spread put on by mum, the reception was held at home, two barrels of beer, sandwiches and a wedding cake. Mum made the cake by scrounging from the neighbours, 1/2lb currants here, 1/2lb sultanas from someone else, another neighbour would say come to me for 1/2lb margarine and that is how she managed.
Thanks for your contribution to this web site Sally.
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