The Second World War didn’t come as a surprise to Britain, and neither did the danger our hungry little island would be in. We were importing an estimated 55 million tonnes of food – 70 per cent of the total consumed – from overseas every year, and these ships would obviously make tempting targets for German submarines.
With the outbreak of war on 3 September 1939, the Government immediately assumed direct control of the nation’s imports of food and raw materials. A price freeze was also introduced, along with the rationing of petrol.
On 8 January 1940 rationing was introduced on butter, bacon and ham, and sugar,
