1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,960 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:08,280 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:08,600 --> 00:00:11,959 Speaker 1: a show that unwraps a little piece of history every 4 00:00:12,119 --> 00:00:16,160 Speaker 1: day of the week. I'm Gay Bluesier, and in this episode, 5 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 1: we're revisiting a cheery day and post war Britain when 6 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:23,040 Speaker 1: citizens young and old were once again allowed to buy 7 00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:33,680 Speaker 1: as many sugary sweets as they could stomach. The day 8 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:38,559 Speaker 1: was February five, nineteen fifty three. To the delight of 9 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:42,680 Speaker 1: millions in the United Kingdom, the wartime rationing of candy 10 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:48,199 Speaker 1: and chocolate was lifted after nearly eleven years. Gasoline or 11 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:52,120 Speaker 1: petrol became the first ration commodity in the UK in 12 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:55,520 Speaker 1: late nineteen thirty nine, a few months after the start 13 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:59,960 Speaker 1: of World War Two. In January nineteen forty, the first 14 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:05,279 Speaker 1: rations on food stuffs went into effect, covering bacon, ham, butter, 15 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:10,759 Speaker 1: and sugar. Another round of rations quickly followed, limiting access 16 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 1: to all kinds of essential and non essential foods, as 17 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:19,280 Speaker 1: well as furniture and clothing. The rationing of candy and chocolate, 18 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:23,119 Speaker 1: rather than just the base ingredient of sugar, went into 19 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: effect on July two. It was imposed by the Ministry 20 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:32,240 Speaker 1: of Food in the United Kingdom and therefore applied to 21 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:38,040 Speaker 1: citizens of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Ministry's 22 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:41,240 Speaker 1: goal was to make sure everyone had the opportunity to 23 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:44,440 Speaker 1: buy at least a small amount of sweets if they wanted. 24 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:49,360 Speaker 1: Citizens were issued ration coupons that entitled each person to 25 00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:52,960 Speaker 1: a limited weight of candy and chocolate each week. To 26 00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: be clear, the coupons only gave you the right to 27 00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:59,720 Speaker 1: buy sweets. You still had to actually pay money for 28 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:03,520 Speaker 1: your weekly share. No one was allowed to buy any 29 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:06,440 Speaker 1: more treats than you had coupons for. But if you 30 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:09,480 Speaker 1: didn't have a sweet tooth, you could give your ration 31 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:12,680 Speaker 1: coupons to someone else, and then they could get a 32 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:16,240 Speaker 1: double portion if they could afford it. When the sweets 33 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:20,919 Speaker 1: rationing began in July of two, the weekly allotment per 34 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:25,200 Speaker 1: person was sixty grams or two ounces of candy and 35 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:30,440 Speaker 1: chocolate combined. In August the ration was doubled, but then 36 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:33,160 Speaker 1: eight weeks later it was cut back down to ninety 37 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:36,880 Speaker 1: grams or three ounces per week. It would continue to 38 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:40,200 Speaker 1: fluctuate like that for the better part of the next decade. 39 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:44,520 Speaker 1: Another quirk of the policy was that the suites available 40 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:49,680 Speaker 1: to customers were restricted by geographical zones. In other words, 41 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:53,440 Speaker 1: retailers were only allowed to sell suits that were produced 42 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:57,240 Speaker 1: in their local region. This was done to reduce long 43 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:00,920 Speaker 1: distance transportation in order to conserve more fuel for the 44 00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:04,360 Speaker 1: war effort. The result was that if you lived in 45 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:07,280 Speaker 1: the south of England but your favorite candy bar was 46 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:09,920 Speaker 1: only made in the North, you wouldn't be able to 47 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:14,160 Speaker 1: buy one until well after the war was over. In fact, 48 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:18,400 Speaker 1: it wasn't until nineteen forty eight, three years after the 49 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:23,200 Speaker 1: fighting had ceased, that the UK government finally began lifting rations. 50 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:27,639 Speaker 1: Even then, it was a slow process. The war had 51 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:31,280 Speaker 1: taken a heavy toll on the country's infrastructure, and Prime 52 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:34,440 Speaker 1: Minister Clement at Lee felt it was more prudent to 53 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:38,760 Speaker 1: focus on reconstruction and job creation than on the availability 54 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:43,600 Speaker 1: of consumer goods. As a result, rationing remained a necessity 55 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:46,640 Speaker 1: and often became even more severe than it had been 56 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:50,800 Speaker 1: during the war. Still, the government did look for chances 57 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:54,320 Speaker 1: to roll back rationing where it could. For instance, in 58 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 1: early nineteen forty nine, candy and chocolate came off the 59 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:02,600 Speaker 1: ration books for the first time him in six years. Unfortunately, 60 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:07,120 Speaker 1: sugar itself continued to be strictly rationed, which meant that 61 00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:11,000 Speaker 1: the limited amount available for candy making wasn't enough to 62 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:15,880 Speaker 1: meet the public's unrationed demand for sweets. The sad result 63 00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:19,880 Speaker 1: was that, after a brief, fleeting four month taste of 64 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:23,239 Speaker 1: the sweet stuff, the children of the UK were once 65 00:04:23,279 --> 00:04:27,960 Speaker 1: again cut off. The sweets rationing was reimposed and would 66 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:31,360 Speaker 1: remain in effect for another three and a half years 67 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:36,720 Speaker 1: at long. Last. In February of nineteen fifty three, the 68 00:04:36,839 --> 00:04:40,159 Speaker 1: UK government announced that it was ready to abolish sweet 69 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 1: rationing again, and this time for good. The head of 70 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:49,280 Speaker 1: the Ministry of Food, Major Gwillam Lloyd George, had made 71 00:04:49,279 --> 00:04:53,400 Speaker 1: it his priority tod ration sweets along with other beloved 72 00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:57,560 Speaker 1: foods such as eggs, cream, butter, cheese and cooking fats. 73 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:01,760 Speaker 1: It was a promising step, but the public remained skeptical. 74 00:05:02,279 --> 00:05:06,800 Speaker 1: After all, sugar was still being rationed. There was concerned 75 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:09,880 Speaker 1: that history would repeat itself and just as soon as 76 00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:12,800 Speaker 1: sweets were returned to the people, they would be yanked 77 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:16,360 Speaker 1: away again once the sugar ran out. But the Minister 78 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:20,240 Speaker 1: of Food assured the public that this second attempt at 79 00:05:20,279 --> 00:05:23,480 Speaker 1: de ration ing sweets would go much more smoothly than 80 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:26,760 Speaker 1: the first. To make sure of it, he ordered an 81 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:31,000 Speaker 1: extra allocation of sugar for candy manufacturers, so that this 82 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:34,760 Speaker 1: time their supplies could actually keep pace with the rise 83 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:39,320 Speaker 1: in demand. However, those candy makers would still be working 84 00:05:39,360 --> 00:05:42,640 Speaker 1: with only about fifty per cent of the sugar supplies 85 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:46,880 Speaker 1: they had before the war, so meeting demand maybe wasn't 86 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:51,159 Speaker 1: as certain as Lloyd George claimed. The true test would 87 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:54,200 Speaker 1: come the day after the announcement in Parliament, which was 88 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:59,320 Speaker 1: made on the afternoon of February four, ninety three. Technically, 89 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:02,640 Speaker 1: be cus comers were free to buy unrationed candy and 90 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:07,000 Speaker 1: chocolate that very afternoon and evening, but in practice that's 91 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:10,680 Speaker 1: not what happened. When the news broke that day, many 92 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:14,400 Speaker 1: shops had already closed for their weekly half holiday, and 93 00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:17,680 Speaker 1: those who were still open didn't believe their customers that 94 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:22,039 Speaker 1: the ration had been lifted. By the next day, everyone 95 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:25,520 Speaker 1: knew that sweets truly were back on the menu. A 96 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:29,919 Speaker 1: reporter for the BBC described the happy scene, writing quote, 97 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:33,680 Speaker 1: children all over Britain have been emptying out their piggy 98 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:36,880 Speaker 1: banks and heading straight for the nearest sweet shop. As 99 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:41,400 Speaker 1: the first unrationed suits went on sale. Today, toffee apples 100 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:44,799 Speaker 1: were the biggest sellers, with sticks of nougat and liquorice 101 00:06:44,839 --> 00:06:50,600 Speaker 1: strips also disappearing fast. Lots of London businesses got into 102 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:54,279 Speaker 1: the spirit too. One firm in London went to a 103 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:57,719 Speaker 1: nearby school during its midday break and handed out a 104 00:06:57,839 --> 00:07:01,600 Speaker 1: hundred and fifty pounds of lolly pops to eight hundred 105 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:06,480 Speaker 1: grateful students. One of the city's candy factories even opened 106 00:07:06,480 --> 00:07:09,600 Speaker 1: its doors and just started handing out free suites to 107 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:13,360 Speaker 1: anyone who happened by. Plenty of adults also got in 108 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:17,320 Speaker 1: on the so called sugar frenzy, with long lines forming 109 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:20,320 Speaker 1: at candy shops whenever a new batch of employees took 110 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:24,680 Speaker 1: their lunch breaks. For many customers, the best part about 111 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:28,040 Speaker 1: the lifting of candy rationing wasn't that you could buy 112 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:30,200 Speaker 1: as much of it as you wanted. It was that 113 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:34,360 Speaker 1: you could buy whichever kinds you wanted to. Stores were 114 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:38,240 Speaker 1: no longer limited to selling only regional suites, which meant 115 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:41,520 Speaker 1: that anyone south of York could finally get their hands 116 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:44,520 Speaker 1: on that round trees kit cat bar that they've been 117 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:50,440 Speaker 1: craving for eleven long years. Amazingly, despite all that pent 118 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:54,360 Speaker 1: up demand, the country's supply of suites held out, just 119 00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:58,200 Speaker 1: as the Minister of Food It promised. Sure, the most 120 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:01,440 Speaker 1: popular brands sold out in on areas, but there were 121 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:04,600 Speaker 1: no reports of panic buying or hoarding, so there was 122 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:08,080 Speaker 1: still always plenty on the shelves to choose from. Part 123 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:10,160 Speaker 1: of the reason for that was that the price of 124 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:14,400 Speaker 1: candy and chocolate had nearly doubled during the war. Many 125 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:17,720 Speaker 1: people had stopped buying their full ration of sweets for 126 00:08:17,760 --> 00:08:21,640 Speaker 1: that very reason, and since prices remained high after the 127 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:26,040 Speaker 1: restriction was lifted, a lot of customers just continued to abstain. 128 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:30,040 Speaker 1: Make no mistake, though, the d ration ng of sweets 129 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:34,040 Speaker 1: was a huge win for the confectionery market. In fact, 130 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:37,760 Speaker 1: in that first year alone, sales of candy and chocolate 131 00:08:37,920 --> 00:08:42,880 Speaker 1: increased by about a hundred million pounds. This led manufacturers 132 00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:46,360 Speaker 1: to declare that nineteen fifty three had been quote as 133 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:50,280 Speaker 1: dynamic as any year in the industry's history, and things 134 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:52,400 Speaker 1: only got better for them as the year went on. 135 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:57,760 Speaker 1: That September, sugar was de rationed, allowing them to return 136 00:08:57,880 --> 00:09:01,920 Speaker 1: to full scale production once again. End Ten months later, 137 00:09:02,280 --> 00:09:06,800 Speaker 1: in July of nineteen fifty four, restrictions on meat sales 138 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:10,680 Speaker 1: were lifted, and the United Kingdom's reliance on food rationing 139 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:14,920 Speaker 1: finally came to an end. Although the practice was of 140 00:09:15,040 --> 00:09:19,840 Speaker 1: course unpopular, rationing did have a beneficial impact on the 141 00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:24,200 Speaker 1: country's overall health. To its credit, the government had taken 142 00:09:24,200 --> 00:09:27,320 Speaker 1: steps to ensure that every citizen had access to a 143 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:32,960 Speaker 1: varied diet. As a result, infant mortality declined during rationing, 144 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:38,760 Speaker 1: and with the exception of soldiers, life expectancy rose. On 145 00:09:38,800 --> 00:09:41,480 Speaker 1: the other hand, there's more to a happy life than 146 00:09:41,559 --> 00:09:44,720 Speaker 1: just good health. The small joy of a candy bar 147 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:48,080 Speaker 1: may not seem anywhere near is important, but to a 148 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:50,319 Speaker 1: kid who had been shut out of the candy store 149 00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:54,000 Speaker 1: for all of their life, it probably felt pretty close. 150 00:09:56,200 --> 00:09:59,760 Speaker 1: I'm Gaye Louzier and hopefully you now know a little 151 00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:03,959 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. If you 152 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:06,080 Speaker 1: want to keep up with the show, you can follow 153 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:09,480 Speaker 1: us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t D I 154 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:13,880 Speaker 1: HC Show, and if you have any comments or suggestions, 155 00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:16,680 Speaker 1: you can always send them my way at this day 156 00:10:16,920 --> 00:10:20,640 Speaker 1: at I heart media dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays 157 00:10:20,760 --> 00:10:23,839 Speaker 1: for producing the show, and thank you for listening. I'll 158 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:26,840 Speaker 1: see you back here again tomorrow for another day in 159 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:39,360 Speaker 1: history class. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit 160 00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:41,719 Speaker 1: the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or where ever you 161 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:42,920 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.