Horrible Histories: Rotten Rationing

• Doctor Carrot

  Doctor Carrot

  Under rationing during the Second World War, carrots became the most versatile vegetable - replacing sugar in apricot tarts and eaten on sticks like lollies.

• Potato Pete

  Potato Pete

  Doctor Carrot and his companion Potato Pete were two of the Ministry of Food’s most popular creations, and Pete even had a song about him sung by Betty Driver of 'Coronation Street' fame.

• The Queue at the Fish-shop, by Evelyn Mary Dunbar

  The Queue at the Fish-shop, by Evelyn Mary Dunbar

  Fish was not rationed during the war but was often scarce, and by 1941 prices were 17% higher than in 1939.

• Winter Meals from a Well-planned Plot

  Winter Meals from a Well-planned Plot

  The Dig For Victory campaign was launched in October 1939 by the Minister of Agriculture Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith to encourage civilians to grow their own vegetables.

• Lest We Forget, by Leonora K Green

  Lest We Forget, by Leonora K Green

  Rationing continued long after the war. It was finally lifted on 4 July 1954, when meat became freely available for the first time in nearly 15 years.