Rationing was experienced, or should we say endured, by everybody in Britain during the Second World War from the average person on the street right up to the Royal Family!

Rationing was introduced in early 1940 as a measure to try and control the consumption of food which, in the most part, had to be imported.

As an island nation, Britain imported vast quantities of goods before the war. Before Nazi U-Boats so successfully disrupted or destroyed the Merchant convoys that brought these goods to our shores we were importing 55 million tonnes per year.

Obviously, those worst hit by rationing were in the cities.

 For those who lived in the countryside there was always the option of growing plenty of different foods to supplement the rations.

 In the cities this could still be done, but required people to dig up their flower gardens and replace them with vegetables.

 Even the moat at the Tower of London (which was of course not full of water!) was turned into a giant allotment to feed the Beefeaters.