Beware
the SQUANDER
Bug!
|
With
the obvious shortages faced by the people of the British home front, any
form of unnecessary wastage be it food or materials, was deeply
discouraged.
Reminders to 'make do' and NOT
to
squander were commonplace in the form of posters, newsreels and
pamphlets. The menacing 'Squander Bug' was one character introduced
to denounce blatant waste.
Lord Woolton also reminded
civilians in one of his many broadcasts to the nation;
“If
you are only eating what you need
and
not what you like and as much as you like,
then
you are helping to win the war"
|
|
A 'Churchillian'
reminder that in order to win the war, food was NOT
to be wasted in the kitchen!
|
|
Another reminder
NOT
to waste food in the wartime kitchen! |
'IS
YOUR JOURNEY REALLY NECESSARY?'
With
petrol rationing having also been introduced resulting in fewer private motor
cars on the road, a greater reliability in public transport evolved.
 |
With
bus and train systems already severely restricted and undermanned, the general public were asked to consider whether or not they
needed to use public transport and to bear
in mind those who might need the transport more. Born from this
concept was the 'Is your journey really necessary?' slogan.
|
PICTURE: A reminder to walk short distances and leave the spaces on public
transport for those who need to travel longer distances.
After all, nobody wanted to
be branded a TRANSPORT HOG;
"You
wonder why we make a fuss
If
George decides to take a bus
but look
again and you will see
that
George aint all that George should be.
He's
only got a step to go
a couple
hundred yards or so
while
others further down the queue
have far
to go and lots to do.
When
George gets on we often find
that
other folk get left behind.
He pays
his fare and rides the stage
and off
he hops and see the rage
and
seeing this gives George a jog
'Perhaps
I'm Just a Transport Hog'"
MAKING
DO
With the scarcity of so many
everyday items during World War Two, Britons were encouraged to become much more
self-sufficient and make greater use of the materials they had.
The phrase most associated with
this British wartime drive for self-sufficiency was 'MAKE DO and MEND'.
Some of the ingenious ways
of how people got by included;
| i.
making wartime JEWELLERY
from old beer bottle tops, cup hooks and corks
ii.
supplementing a shortage of CLEANING
MATERIALS
by crushing egg shells for use as
a scouring compound and cutting squares out of old stockings for use as
dishcloths
iii.
using the dregs of cold tea to clean WOODWORK
iv.
varnishing the soles of CHILDREN'S
SHOES to prolong the
foot-wears life
and
v.
cutting up old Mackintoshes to make BIBS
for babies. |
© hshf -
Page last updated 02 July 2006