Issued under the National Registration Act of 1939 The only time Britain had an identity card system was between 1939 and 1952. Compulsory registration of all citizens and issuance of identity cards was part of the terms of the National Registration Act of 5 September 1939. The Act set up a National Register, containing details of all citizens: 1. Names (Surname, Christian Name, Initials) 2. Sex 3. Age 4. Occupation, profession, trade or employment, 5. Residence (Postal address, City/Town, County) 6. Marriage status 7. Armed Forces Reserve/Auxiliary Forces/Civil Defence status The data was used by the government to track the huge numbers of persons who were dislocated due to mass evacuation/essential employment relocation and to provide information essential to implementation of rationing/war effort planning. The compilation of the Register data was entrusted to government registrars in conjunction with local authorities who were responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the information. Each registrant was issued an identity card which contained the holder's registration number, full name(s) and current address. Changes of address had to be recorded by the local registrar. All identity card entries had to be verified and certified (stamped) by a registrar. Members of the Armed Forces, Home Guard, Merchant Marine, Police and Firemen were exempt. Identity Cards had to be carried on the person at all times to provide proof of residency and had to be produced on demand by any uniformed Police Officer or member of the Armed Forces/Home Guard on duty. National Registration/Identity Card carrying may seem odious in this present age of Civil Liberties emphasis, but those were desperate times with the very existence of the nation in jeopardy. I cannot recall anyone objecting to the provisions of the National Registration Act during the War years.
Originally posted by jamesicus@May 23 2004, 04:20 PM Issued under the National Registration Act of 1939 The only time Britain had an identity card system was between 1939 and 1952. Compulsory registration of all citizens and issuance of identity cards was part of the terms of the National Registration Act of 5 September 1939. The Act set up a National Register, containing details of all citizens: 1. Names (Surname, Christian Name, Initials) 2. Sex 3. Age 4. Occupation, profession, trade or employment, 5. Residence (Postal address, City/Town, County) 6. Marriage status 7. Armed Forces Reserve/Auxiliary Forces/Civil Defence status The data was used by the government to track the huge numbers of persons who were dislocated due to mass evacuation/essential employment relocation and to provide information essential to implementation of rationing/war effort planning. The compilation of the Register data was entrusted to government registrars in conjunction with local authorities who were responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the information. Each registrant was issued an identity card which contained the holder's registration number, full name(s) and current address. Changes of address had to be recorded by the local registrar. All identity card entries had to be verified and certified (stamped) by a registrar. Members of the Armed Forces, Home Guard, Merchant Marine, Police and Firemen were exempt. Identity Cards had to be carried on the person at all times to provide proof of residency and had to be produced on demand by any uniformed Police Officer or member of the Armed Forces/Home Guard on duty. National Registration/Identity Card carrying may seem odious in this present age of Civil Liberties emphasis, but those were desperate times with the very existence of the nation in jeopardy. I cannot recall anyone objecting to the provisions of the National Registration Act during the War years. Interesting but I think that the type of identity card shown was not being used at the start of the war, only from 1942 or 1943. There was an earlier type of card which, IIRC, was plain buff in colour. I still have my fathers one, which dates from before he went into the army in 1941. I don't know how widespread it was but identity cards were also carried in WW1. I have one from about 1917 that was owned by a woman living in Brighton. Of course, it might just be that people within a certain distance of the coast carried cards in WW1?
Although I can remember most WW2 Homefront Britain details pretty well, I have forgotten some. I am searching for authoritative sources that detail the food rationing allotments during the war. The following section of my memoirs is the information I have gathered so far -- mostly from my own recollections. Early Food Ration Book Food rationing was introduced in January 1940 and, like clothing rationing, lasted until well after the war was over. Ration books containing allocation coupons were issued to all civilians and, although their appearance and format changed slightly from time to time, their content and usage remained fairly constant. In general, the Ration Book had to be handed to the Retailer who would then detach or cancel the appropriate coupons for the purchase -- it was unlawful for individuals to detach coupons themselves. The Rationing system proved to be eminently fair and surprisingly efficient. Food Ration Book Retailer registration page I can't remember the exact typical (mid-war) allowances -- and I believe they changed from time to time -- but they went something like this (per person per week): Meat -- 8 ounces (variable -- initially based on price) Eggs (hen and duck) -- 3 each Fats (butter, margarine and lard) -- 4 ounces Cheese -- 4 ounces Bacon -- 4 ounces (initially 2 ounces) Sugar (includes jam, syrup, honey, mincemeat) -- 8 ounces (initially 12 ounces) After 1941 Tea was included -- 2 ounces per week. Young children and expectant mothers were allowed extra rations including orange juice and cod liver oil. Exotic fruit such as bananas, oranges, peaches, etc. were simply not available, however, domestic fruit such as apples, pears, blcakberries, strawberries, etc. were -- and not rationed. Vegetables were not rationed, a situation that contributed enormously to the health and well being of the populace (some vegetables were occasionally in short supply, a fact that contributed greatly to the proliferation of home grown "victory gardens"). Bread was not rationed initially, although whole wheat flour was the type mostly available. Milk was not rationed although the local farmer/milk man might vary his allotment to customers due to emergency situations. Registration with specific retailers was required for each food ration type and you could only purchase from them. Theoretically, each retailer was provided with food item quantities equal to the number of registrants -- however, there was no guarantee that those quantities would be available each week. Retailers attempted to notify their customers when food item allocations arrived and those announcements would immediately generate queues of anxious shoppers -- hopeful to get their ration allowance before the retailer's allotment ran out, which did happen
Food rationing, and food shortages, were a shock at first. After 1939 I didn't see a banana for six years. Sweets were rationed and you could usually only get your favorites (mine were Rowntrees fruit gums & pastilles) at the shops that you had frequented before the war. Still, we ate healthy -- more whole wheat bread, lots of fresh vegetables, less sugar. Imported tinned and fancy goods were almost impossible to come by (battle of the Atlantic made cargo ship space a premium -- essential goods only). Rumors of the Black Market and inferior food substitutes abounded -- my mother heard that some Fish & Chip shops were using dog fat for cooking (lard was rationed) -- that was heartily denied -- still she would only buy fish & chips at our local shop. We ate a lot of home grown vegetables from our victory garden.
