On this day in history : 22nd July 1946 – Due to continuous rainfall Britain’s wheat crop is ruined and as a result the government introduces bread rationing….
The measure had been announced by the Food Minister in the House of Commons the previous day…. It came as a blow to the morale of the British people; all throughout World War Two bread was the one staple food item that had avoided being rationed…. Winston Churchill commented on the announcement as “One of the gravest I have ever heard of in time of peace”…. He demanded that figures of stocks and movements of cereals should be produced by Clement Attlee’s Labour Government, to justify these “extreme measures”….
The average daily allowance for an adult was just 9oz and this was to include bread, flour, cakes, scones and biscuits…. To compensate the meat ration was increased by 2ds worth per week…. This highly unpopular measure was to last for two years before finally coming to an end on the 24th of July 1948…. Historians now generally agree that the practice was unnecessary and ineffective….
Cottage Capers 