World War II: Rationing in Britain

This is a fascinating subject, because it gives an insight into what it was really like for ordinary people – the ones who weren't fighting – during the War. At least when they weren't being bombed. In truth however, there aren't really all that many quiz questions that can be asked about it. The first section on this page covers those questions that I have heard asked; the second gives as detailed a timeline as I've been able to piece together, in an attempt to summarise the complete story.

Specifics

The first commodity to be rationed in Britain (16 September 1939)			Petrol
Rationed from July 1946, for two years, but not during the war			1946
Sweet rationing ended			February 1953
Sugar rationing ended			September 1953
The last food to come off rationing (June 1954)			Meat

There may be an inconsistency in the last question. A page from the Imperial War Museum, archived on Wayback Machine, states: "butter, cheese, margarine and cooking fats [were de–rationed] in May 1954; and finally meat in June 1954." Cook's Info, however (see below), gives 4 July 1954 as the date when "all remaining rationing [was] abolished". There are several foodstuffs that are listed in the table below as being rationed, but not as coming off rationing – for example milk, jam and biscuits. Were they still rationed until 4 July 1954?

The IWM would seem to be the more authoritative source, but the Cook's Info page is undoubtedly very well-researched. This is an inconsistency that I've been unable to resolve.

Anyway ... if you ever get asked this question in a quiz, the answer above is invariably the one that's expected. (I did once make a note that the last foodstuff to come off rationing was bananas; but this appears to be wrong. Cook's Info says that bananas were never rationed during the war as they simply weren't available.)

Timeline

I found it surprisingly hard to find detailed information on this subject. The best source I found was on a website called Cook's Info. But even this is not complete; and there are some inconsistencies – for example, things that are mentioned as coming off rationing but not as being rationed in the first place. (Anything that's listed as being rationed but not as coming off rationing is covered in the final entry – at least in theory.)

16 September 1939	Petrol	Between 4 and 10 gallons per week (depending on needs)
8 January 1940	Butter	4 oz per week
	Sugar	12 oz per week
	Ham or bacon	4 oz per week
11 March 1940	Meat	1s 10d per week (estimated equivalent to approx. 1 lb)
July 1940	Tea	2 oz per week
March 1941	Jam, marmalade, syrup, treacle	8 oz per month
5 May 1941	Cheese	1 oz per week
1 June 1941	Clothing	Rationed
June 1941	Cheese	Increased to 2 oz per week
July 1941	Sugar	Doubled to 1 lb 8 oz per week
1 July 1941	Petrol	Private use prohibited
November 1941	Milk	Rationed
January 1942	Rice, dried fruit	Rationed
9 February 1942	Condensed milk, breakfast cereals, tinned tomatoes, tinned peas, soap	Rationed
March 1942	Gas, electricity	Rationed
26 July 1942	Sweets, chocolate	Rationed
August 1942	Biscuits	Rationed
December 1942	Oats	Rationed
1943	Sausages	Rationed
27 May 1945	Bacon	Reduced from 4 oz to 3 oz per week
	Cooking fats	Reduced from 2 oz to 1 oz per week
	Meat	Part of the allowance must be taken in corned beef
1 June 1945	Petrol	Private use allowed again (but rationed)
21 July 1946	Bread	Rationed
1947	Potatoes	Rationed
25 July 1948	Flour, bread	Rationing ends
March 1949	Eggs	Rationing ends
15 March 1949	Clothing	Rationing ends
26 May 1950	Petrol	Rationing ends
19 May 1950	Fruit (tinned and dried, jellies, mincemeat, syrup, treacle, chocolate biscuits	Rationing ends
September 1950	Soap	Rationing ends
3 October 1952	Tea	Rationing ends
5 February 1953	Sweets	Rationing ends
April 1953	Cream	Rationing ends
September 1953	Sugar	Rationing ends
May 1954	Butter, cheese, margarine, cooking fats	Rationing ends
June 1954	Meat	Rationing ends
4 July 1954	Everything else	Rationing ends

© Haydn Thompson 2017–18