The Home Front in World War Two

by Susie Hodge

  The campaign to collect scrap metal had been launched by Chamberlain’s government, but was propelled enthusiastically by Lord Beaverbrook and Lady Reading. Soon everyone was collecting any metal that they no longer used, including aluminium saucepans and other cooking utensils, coat hangers, toothpaste and shaving cream tubes (these toiletry containers were made of metal during the 1940s), paint pots, ornaments and even thimbles. By 1944 scrap metal was being saved at the rate of 110,000 tonnes per week. Whether the practical results of this exercise were as effective as people believed or not, the psychological results were huge.

  In the eagerness to help the war effort through salvage, several terrible mistakes occurred while some were prevented just in time. Love letters and other, perhaps more valuable manuscripts, were sent to the pulping machine. Not only beautiful gates and railings, but also historically significant items were also scrapped, including weapons from significant events, such as cannons from the Spanish Armada of 1588 and the 1746 Battle of Culloden. Fortunately by August 1942 the government declared that antiquities were not to be used as salvage under any circumstances. As the war progressed, the need for salvage increased and people were exhorted to intensify their recycling. Government appeals (from the Ministry of Supply and the Ministry of Works) appeared in every newspaper and everyone threw themselves more fervently into this form of passive resistance. In February 1942 the Picture Post ran this poem:

  “The war is driving Hitler back

  And here’s one way to win it,

  Just give your salvage men the sack

  And see there’s plenty in it.”

  Almost everything could be salvaged, from envelopes to empty food cans, to rubber tyres. Paper was a popular commodity to salvage and approximately 50 million books were pulped over the course of the war. Six newspapers could be recycled into four boxes for rifle bullets. By the spring of 1943 there was enough kitchen waste being collected to feed 210,000 pigs every month; 130,000 tons of rubber had been reclaimed and 110,000 tons of scrap metal were being collected each week.

  Threat of invasion

  On 16th July 1940 Hitler had issued a statement: “As England, in spite of the hopelessness of her military position, has so far shown herself unwilling to come to any compromise, I have decided to begin to prepare for, and if necessary to carry out, an invasion…and if necessary the island will be occupied.” So invasion by the Germans was a real fear for the British. As the surrounding sea and coastline was so intensely defended, it was predicted that enemy troops would land by parachute across the country. To this end signposts and station names were removed, while radio announcements warned listeners that the enemy would most probably be in disguise. From the start of the war, the Home Guard had been established, but an additional resistance force was planned to fight invaders. Men with detailed local knowledge were recruited from different areas and a handbook was prepared to explain methods of maiming, incapacitating and killing, along with the locations of secret refuges where they could hide and lie low if necessary. Beaches were off limits as barbed wire and heavy artillery lined the coastline. It was suggested that German spies could be among the people at any time; suspicions were roused and to prevent any secrets being spilled, posters everywhere warned: “Careless Talk Costs Lives”, “Keep It Under Your Hat, You Never Know Who’s Listening”, “Keep Mum, She’s Not So Dumb” and “Tell Nobody, Not Even Her!” (These last two were implying that even an attractive female date could potentially be a spy.) This propaganda was a huge success because it was simple to understand and it made everyone laugh. Pat Parsons remembered:

  “Although having spies and German invaders among us without our knowing was a threat, I don’t remember the idea making us any more worried than we had been already. I sometimes sat on the bus or stood in queues with my mum and tried to work out if the person next to me might be a spy. I suppose we were just all so confidant we would win the war, the thought of enemies among us just didn’t seem real!”

  National Savings

  Shortages, salvage and threats to security were common and overriding themes on the Home Front for the duration of the war. With so many materials and components needed for armaments, uniforms and civilian use, shortages and salvage were unrelenting. The one thing that was improving, however, was the ability of the public to earn money. Before the war there had been just under four million income tax payers in Britain, but by 1941, there were six million and by 1945, 12,500,000 Britons paid income tax. Pay as you earn was another wartime innovation, introduced in 1940 to make paying income tax easier for weekly wage earners.

  Although income tax rose to seven shillings and sixpence in the pound in 1939 and to 10 shillings in the pound by 1941, with purchase tax on luxury goods rising to 100 per cent, taxation did not meet the financial needs of the war. National Savings had been introduced during World War One to help the government’s funding and in November 1939, a new campaign was launched by the Chancellor of the Exchequer with the slogan: “Lend to Defend the Right to be Free”. National Savings worked by persuading people to buy National Savings Stamps at sixpence or two shillings and sixpence each. When anyone had saved a total of 15 shillings worth of stamps, they could exchange the stamps for a National Savings Certificate or for £5 they could buy a Defence Bond. Both National Savings Certificates and Defence Bonds were guaranteed to give a return after the war. Defence Bonds offered a return of three per cent and a small tax-free bonus on maturity. As well as certificates and bonds, there were also local collections to raise money for aeroplanes, tanks, weapons and any items which were urgently needed. Volunteers, especially members of the WVS, organised the Local Savings Committees, which in turn, were supported by national committees. The idea of saving to help the war effort was already established and the National Savings movement was a great success. Many people bought a weekly sixpenny savings stamp and National Savings Certificates became frequent and acceptable wartime gifts between close friends and relatives or even as school prizes. The advertising made it easy for people to save regularly as not only was everyone else doing it, but it was seen as being highly patriotic; and after the war everyone would be reimbursed with profit. It was a win-win situation, with favourable outcomes guaranteed. From 1940 and for the entirety of the war, local Savings Weeks became a regular aspect of daily life. Related themed weeks occurred constantly, for instance, “War Weapons Weeks” were held from September 1940 to October 1941, followed by “Warship Weeks” from October 1941 to March 1942 and “Wings for Victory Weeks” from early in 1943 until the following autumn. With the focus on different needs the public could see that their savings were needed constantly to help different branches of the armed forces and different aspects of the war and so no one became indifferent or complacent. Running a savings group appealed to many who could not participate more actively in the war. These people collected money, sorted out the paperwork and generally made sure that the system worked – and all voluntarily. Endorsing the patriotic feel, advertising slogans declared: “Back them up with war savings” [‘them’ being the men away fighting] or “Fight in the streets; belong to your savings group” [implying that you could help to win the war by saving]. Then of course, there was the Squander Bug that was invented specifically to promote the National Savings movement and to crush the urge to spend.

  Furniture and homes

  During the war, there were fewer home owners in Britain than there are now, which made it easier to move about; which was just as well as there were 60 million changes of address over the six years. By 1941 over two million homes were destroyed by bombing, which accounted for some of the movement, while some was through evacuation and some because of war work. While homes were less permanent, furniture was more enduring. Heavy, well made and relatively expensive, it was considered to be a twice in a lifetime purchase, usually bought by newly weds on Hire Purchase (fondly termed the ‘never-never’). But as the war progressed, there was a huge shortage of furniture with an acute timber deficiency. In
November 1942 the Board of Trade banned the manufacture of any furniture except 22 indispensable items and initiated the Utility Furniture Scheme. Utility furniture was made to standardised specifications that were functional rather than decorative following Board of Trade specifications that had tight controls on the amount and quality of materials to be used for making the furniture. Not everyone could buy it though. Utility furniture could be bought by newly weds, those who had been bombed out of their homes, and certain others. A docket to purchase it was required and even then, allowances were restricted. The furniture was valued by units and individuals were allocated certain amounts. For instance, a wardrobe was 12 units and an armchair six. A couple was allowed 60 units between them; a child was allowed 10 units. The furniture still had to be paid for, but the Central Price Regulation Committee (the CPRC) set strict price controls for it all and for second-hand furniture. Although basic and simple, all utility furniture was solidly made and every item had the CC41 utility mark etched on it. This logo was taken from the utility clothing scheme, which had been launched earlier and stood for “Civilian Clothing 1941”.

  Utility furniture was designed by an Advisory Committee that included some of the best designers in the country, including the respected designer and writer on furniture, John Gloag; the chairman of the largest furniture manufacturer in the world, Herman Lebus; and the furniture designer and craftsman Gordon Russell. The committee aimed to ensure the production of strong, well-designed furniture that took into account the scarcity of timber and other materials and was reasonably priced. Following the traditions of the Arts and Crafts movement, the designs were made of good quality materials and were devoid of superfluous ornament. About 700 furniture manufacturers around the country produced utility furniture, which led to unavoidable variations in quality. In 1943 the Advisory Committee produced the Utility Furniture Catalogue, which featured the utility designs in five sections, including: living room; bedroom; kitchen; nursery furniture and a final section that included miscellaneous items, such as a sofa-bed and a bookcase.

  All utility furniture was usually made of strong, serviceable British wood, such as oak, with mortise and tendon joints, or dowelling and glue. First made in England in 1898 by hot pressing waste paper, hardboard came into its own during the war and was also used, veneered, in some of the furniture. Handles and knobs were made of wood rather than metal, as metal was vital for other things, although some metal screws were used in parts, such as hinges, which added greatly to the strength of the furniture.

  Household repairs

  In December 1940, the Ministry of Home Security issued a leaflet: After the Raid, giving advice for those whose homes had been hit by bombs or had suffered related damage. As helpful and clear as ever, it included information on “Compensation for Damage to Houses”:

  “If you own your own house or hold it on a long lease and it is damaged or destroyed, whatever your income, you should, as soon as possible, make a claim on Form VOW1 [you can get this form at your Town Hall or the offices of your Council]. The amount of your compensation and the time of paying it will depend on the passing of the War Damage Bill now before Parliament.”

  There was also advice on how you could be helped by the authorities with simple repairs:

  “If your house can be made fit to live in with a few simple repairs the local authority (apply to the Borough or Council Engineer) will put it right if the landlord is not able to do it. But how quickly the local authority can do this depends on local conditions.”

  But as ever during the war everyone was also encouraged to help themselves and carry out their own repairs wherever possible. The Daily Express book Wartime Household Repairs stated: “Most of the houses which suffer as a result of raids are made uncomfortable rather than dangerous and if you are by nature a handy person, you will want to set about making the place once more habitable.” It was estimated that between 33 per cent and 20 per cent of all homes in Britain were damaged as a direct result of bombing – even if this was just shattered windows, cracked chimney stacks or missing roof tiles. Materials and skilled craftsmen were scarce, so the only option was to do things for yourself. “Make Do and Mend” was a variation of a pre-war phrase “Make and Mend” used in the 1939 News Chronicle DIY book, Modern Make and Mend. When the phrase make do and mend was launched it covered every aspect of everyday life, with ordinary householders being urged to repair or make things themselves and so saving the meagre resources of materials and manpower. Like several other household books of the time, Modern Make and Mend, dealt with most of the standard wartime themes in terms of minor house repairs, such as cracks in ceilings or vacuum cleaner repairs, but it also gave tips and advice on building new items, mending shoes, pressing clothes and safe air raid precautions in the home. Another feature in the book was on making gifts for Christmas and birthdays, and generally books and magazine articles like these encouraged people to think creatively and practically and to be innovative with what little they had to improve things around them.

  The idea of taking responsibility for oneself was extremely important during the war. It was dispensed quite delicately with a balance of support from the government and all the appropriate ministries, so that the public felt protected, but also accountable for themselves and each other. This approach promoted a sense of self-worth as well as camaraderie – the idea that people were independent, while still being protected and cared for. Through leaflets, editorial and advertising, the information and advice kept on coming. Enforcing this idea, at the bottom of the After the Raid leaflet, was the message:

  “Keep this and do what it tells you. Help is waiting for you. The government, your fellow citizens and your neighbours will see that ‘Front Line’ fighters are looked after!”

  The Battle for Fuel

  In 1942 the Ministry of Fuel and Power issued a leaflet entitled ‘Here are your battle orders’, which began:

  “Every citizen – particularly every housewife – is now in the Front Line in the vital Battle for Fuel. Everything possible must be done to save fuel.”

  It went on to give practical hints for saving fuel at home. Extremely informative, it explained about reading gas and electricity meters, allowances, units and also giving numerous practical tips about saving fuel in the house.

  Among the many shortages in Britain during the war, fuel was probably the least expected. In 1940, when the occupation of France meant that overseas sales fell drastically, Britain had too much coal. In consequence, mining ceased to be a reserved occupation and thousands of miners aged 30 or under were called up or volunteered for the armed forces. Then, by the following year, the reverse had happened. Coal was suddenly in radically short supply. In panic, miners were recalled from the army. But still, with fewer workers than before, the coal-mining industry had been depleted and output remained low. By January 1942 the government began appealing to the public to save fuel. Petrol had been rationed since the start of the war and rationing of fuel was discussed extensively, but the logistics would have been too complicated, so in the end, householders were asked to “do their bit”; to remove light bulbs that were not essential, to eat cold food whenever possible and to reduce their washing – of clothes, dishes and themselves. Everyone made the effort by:

  • saving washing-up and laundry to do in one large go

  • sitting together in one room with only one fire

  • sitting with friends one or two nights a week so only one fire is used

  • using only one bar of an electric heater or keeping a gas fire on low

  • using the smallest gas ring when cooking

  • sprinkling soda crystals (for washing clothes) on coal to make it burn less quickly

  • bathing only once a week or sharing bath water

  • keeping warm by walking up and down stairs, layering clothes or going to bed early

  • only using the iron for several items at once: “Iron a lot while the iron’s hot”

  • tacking strips of f
elt around draughty doors and windows

  • only filling the kettle with the right amount of water needed

  • turning off lights as they left a room and only having low wattage light bulbs in areas not used much, such as halls and passageways.

  The government introduced the idea of everyone being restricted to just one weekly bath and only using a small amount of water. The expression “The Battle for Fuel” came to be used for all energy conservation. By 1942 a notice was issued to all hotels and guest houses that read: “As part of your personal share in the Battle for Fuel you are asked NOT to exceed five inches of water in this bath. Make it a point of honour not to fill the bath above this level.” Outside posters for rail companies reminded everyone that: “At this most important time, needless travel is a crime”, while posters for the Ministry of Fuel and Power announced: “Britain’s 12,000,000 households are 12,000,000 battle fronts in this great drive to save fuel”. As with many other wartime campaigns the public responded well, dramatically cutting waste. From 1938 to 1945 British coal use was reduced by 25 per cent. In 1943 the Ministry of Food issued War Cookery leaflet no. 9 “Fuel Saving in the Kitchen”. It began:

  “We must save fuel of every kind, whether it be coal, coke, gas, electricity, oil or paraffin. The war industries must have all they need and every pennyworth of fuel saved in the home means more for the factory or the shipyards.”