Feeding the Nation - 'Dig for Victory'

As Britain was so dependent on imported food it was vital to increase home production, both to provide food and to free up shipping.

In October 1939 the Ministry of Food launched a massive “Dig for Victory” campaign. Posters, leaflets, newspapers, radio and the cinema were used to encourage home owners to use their front and back gardens to grow fruit and vegetables. Cartoon characters Doctor Carrot and Potato Pete became well known. Public land in cities, including Kensington Park, was requisitioned and turned into allotments let to the public, increasing the number from around 815,000 to over 1,400,000. Advice was given on what and how to grow to provide produce all the year round – potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, onions and brassicas for example. People were told to scrub vegetables such as potatoes and carrots and eat the peel to reduce waste.

Domestic refrigerators were still virtually unknown, and so advice was given on preserving techniques – for example, eggs in isinglass or pickled, fruit in Kilner jars or turned into jam (extra sugar was sometimes available for this). Householders were urged to keep chickens – early in the war millions reared on farms had to be slaughtered as they were fed largely on imported feed which was no longer available. By 1945 households were producing about 25% of the eggs required, and their fruit and vegetable production had doubled to around two million tons a year. Some 4,000 pig clubs were formed, where a pig was kept on behalf of the members and fed partly on their household scraps. When the pig was killed the members shared the meat (although the government was supposed to take half).

On a larger scale the Ministry had sweeping powers to tell farmers what to grow, and regional committees were set up to instruct farmers in their area as to what was required. They had sweeping enforcement powers, including the right to dispossess any who would not comply. 2,700 farmers lost all of their land, many more part of theirs. The priority was to increase the supply of staples – potatoes, barley, oats, wheat – and massive amounts of grassland, much producing hay, was ploughed to this end. The knock-on effect was of course a reduction in the supply of meat as less grazing and fodder was available. The area given over to potatoes doubled and that to cereals increased by two thirds. The armed forces were also requisitioning land for training - there was little cooperation between the services and the Ministry of Food, leading to many conflicts in Cabinet over priorities. By the end of the war land in cultivation had increased by some 18,000,000 acres, with a corresponding reduction in grassland.

Farm workers were exempt from conscription but (as was general across the country) could not leave their occupation without permission, nor could farmers discharge them. It was known before the war started that more farm workers would be needed, and the Women’s Land Army was formed in June 1939, voluntary at first but with conscription of over sixteen-year-olds introduced later. Membership eventually reached 80,000, roughly one third from towns and cities, two thirds from the countryside. Some could work near their homes, but most were billeted, either on the farm where they worked or close by. At peak demand some were moved from farm to farm. The women worked a 48 hour week, more at harvest time, and were paid about 20% less than their male equivalents. Some were treated well by the farmers, others less so, even enduring exploitation at times. This continued after the end of hostilities - in 1946 women were still being encouraged to join - but the WLA was finally disbanded on 21st October 1950.