Friday 8 May is VE Day, or Victory in
Europe Day. It marks the day towards the
end of World War Two when fighting against Germany came to an end in Europe.
All this week we will be publishing articles associated with allotments during
the War and that extraordinary time when everyone ‘Dug for Victory.’
Above: Plots being worked on Clapham Common during WW2
Today we
recognise the significant effort made to feed the nation whose supply lines
were being challenged by the U Boats in the Atlantic. Some 70,000 tons of
British shipping alone was sunk in the first week of the war.
At the beginning
of the war, 70% of Britain’s food was imported so the impact was significant. Pastureland
was dug up to grow the wheat we were now not getting from Canada which in turn lead
to dairy shortages. Rickets became a danger as vitamin-rich products could no
longer be imported and onions, which had come from Europe, became prized objects.
At the beginning of the war there were only 3.5 million private gardens and
819,000 allotments in Britain. By 1943 the House of Commons was told the number
of allotments had risen to 1,675,000 and the number of private gardens used for
growing vegetables had risen to 5 million.
The land girls, farms, allotments and growing vegetables made
a huge contribution to the war effort with over 80,000 women being members of the Women’s
Land Army. Without such an effort harvests could not have been picked and food
would have been even scarcer.
The government
organised ‘Dig for Victory’ exhibitions up and down the country and released a
blizzard of information pamphlets and bulletins on how to rotate crops, improve
the soil and make a compost heap. Gardening became part of the curriculum in
virtually all schools.
Vegetables
were also planted in the dry moat around the Tower of London and demonstration plots
dug in Kensington Gardens and at London Zoo. Soil often had to be sieved
through pierced dustbin lids to remove glass shards and bomb debris.
Above and left: the moat plots at the Tower of London
Tomorrow we
feature ‘Seeds from America’
The author is indebted to the research and archive provided by Mick Lemmerman and the work and archive of the Island History Trust which enabled this untold story to be written.
The author is indebted to the research and archive provided by Mick Lemmerman and the work and archive of the Island History Trust which enabled this untold story to be written.
