Food Facts: Mother & Child

Government advice given to Expectant Mothers, during th Second World War, on the food they should be trying to eat to help with their health, and the health of their growing baby. How has the advice changed today? Mother and Child Of course you are anxious to do everything in your power for your baby’s well-being both before he is born and afterwards.  The Government wants to help expectant mothers on the important matters of diet.  There’s no need to worry about special food, the expectant mother wants a good…

Billy Brown’s Guide to London Transport

Here is another fine example of the Billy Brown character, invented by cartoonist David Langdon OBE, giving advice on using public transport in London. Published in the Bromley & District Times, 27th December 1940 Billy Brown of London Town The safest travelling in town Is not too good for Billy Brown. He’s much too sensible and knowing To jump down off a bus that’s going. Especially in blackout house Or when the kerb is wet with showers On these occasions Billy B Goes by the slogan ‘Wait and See’. Printed…

What to Do Before Going into Your Shelter

Before, during and after the raid What to do before going into your Shelter – and the help that is ready if your home is hit. Before you leave the house, turn off all gas taps, including pilot jets, and turn off the gas at the main.  Leave buckets or cans of water and sand or earth on the front-door step, or just inside the door.  Put your stirrup pump, if you have one, where it can easily be seen,  Draw back curtains and raise blinds in upper rooms so…

Tea-Time Gossip

As written in the Bromley & District News on 27th September, 1940 (page 2) Under the Bed A near-by A.A. gun of terrific calibre has brought down a large piece out of one of our ceilings.  Someone said to me, “I do think they ought to warn us” I replied, “Don’t be such a fool.  Do you expect them to knock on the door and say ‘Please we are about to let off a gun,’ as if they just wanted to turn off the water?”  However, one piece of ceiling…

Homekeeping in Wartime

This article featured in the Bromley & District Times in August 1940, providing advice to housewives to help the with the organisation of the kitchen and larder to cope with any eventuality in this current conflict. The wise housewife will already have laid in her emergency larder.   Inspect the Home Larder and Kitchen Front The Kitchen Front will play an ever-increasing part in the present conflict, and the housewife has now an excellent chance to prove her organising ability and foresight in planning her home larder and kitchen front…

Food Facts, August 1940

A regular feature in the local newspaper in the 1940’s, here is another list of useful ‘Food Facts’ for readers to help encourage them to ‘never waste anything’. The Ministry of Food was almost before its time, by offering more advise on the Wireless each morning – almost like a modern podcast! Every Time you cook you help or hinder Hitler! This advert appeared in the Bromley & District Times, 16th August 1940 (page 3)   This Week’s Food Facts Please make full use of the fruit and vegetables now…

Lifebuoy Soap – Advert, 1940

Lifebuoy was introduced in England by Lever Brothers in 1895, and marketed as a soap that could be used in every part of the house, from the bathroom to the kitchen.  It was originally, and for much of its history, a carbolic soap, containing phenol (carbolic acid, a compound extracted from coal tar), but in later versions the phenol was removed Lifebuoy’s popularity reached its peak between 1932 and 1948.  After World War Two, when more materials were available and rationing was over, other more appealing soaps began to take hold of…

Grow Fit not Fat on your War Diet!

The Ministry of Food published some food facts in local newspapers during WW2 to encourage readers to ‘Cut of “Extras”, Cut out waste’ and not oto eat more that needed. One interesting suggestion was cooked lettuce!  Never thought to try that. I doubt if I will resort to such a drastic method.  Perhaps food rationing might solve the obesity crisis today! Mind you it would have economic problems for the supermarkets etc that thrive through our love of food This advert appeared in the  Bromley & Kentish Times on 2nd August 1940 (page 3).…

Making Ends Meet

Advert for National Savings Certificates Making Ends Meet Think of Great Britain as one great factory.  Working at full pressure its output of goods can be vastly increased.  But from this entire output must come both the seeds of the fighting services and the requirements of the rest of us.  The Services must come first. The war must be won and in the shortest possible time.  This means – and we must face the hard fact – that you and I must go without many of the things we used…

Oh for an electric dish-washer!

The first dishwasher was invented in the USA in 1857 by Josephine Cochrane (trust a woman to realise the value of such an invention). The first dishwasher in Europe was invented by Miele in 1929, but they did not become commercially popular in Britain until the 1950’s and only for the wealthy at that time. Advert which appeared in the Bromley & Kentish Times, 12th July 1940, page 2