Make Do and Send: Nostalgic Letters on Fifteen Years of Rationing in Britain

2016 | Humor & Comedy

This engaging collection of letters gives a quirky picture of family life in Britain under fifteen years of rationing. Everyone and almost everything was affected, from pets to fashion, corsets and turn-ups, to cigarettes, restaurants, heating and petrol, and the availability of fruit, eggs, vegetables and bread, and much more. Millions of people coped with what they had. With direct candour, they wrote letters when they thought improvements could be made, right from the start of rationing, in 1939, until all restrictions were lifted in 1954. In these amusing, honest, surprising, poignant and occasionally hilarious letters you'll find anything from concerns about socks for the Home Guard, children holding up a banana skin for a refill at the greengrocer's, to fear of pets choking when rubber bands reappeared after the War. Slip back in time and enjoy!

Esther Rantzen (Author)