Free A Child's War by Mike Brown Page A

pairs)
1 blouse
corselette or brassiere and girdle (2 or 3 pairs)
Third year
Fourth year
2 pairs shoes
1 pair shoes
6 pairs stockings
6 pairs stockings
4 ounces wool or 1 yard material
6 ounces wool or 1.5 yards material
1 jacket
1 woollen housecoat or dressing-gown
1 skirt
underwear: cami-knickers or vest and
2 cotton or silk frocks
knickers (2 or 3 pairs)
2 slips
corselette or brassiere and
1 pair corsets
girdle (2 or 3 pairs)
6 handkerchiefs
6 handkerchiefs
 
 
    Evening-gowns are omitted from the plan since they are, in any case, not essential garments for most people. Special sportswear is also omitted on the same grounds. A macintosh is not included because umbrellas, which are unrationed, can be made to serve instead, used in conjunction with an old coat.
Four-year Plan for a Man’s Wardrobe
First year
Second year
1 pair boots or shoes
1 pair boots or shoes
6 pairs socks
6 pairs socks
1 suit (no waistcoat)
1 pair corduroy trousers
1 overcoat
3 shirts (silk or cotton)
collars, ties or handkerchiefs
2 pairs of pants
2 vests
1 pair gloves
Third year
Fourth year
1 pair boots or shoes
1 pair boots or shoes
5 pairs socks
6 pairs socks
1 suit (no waistcoat)
1 overcoat, or unlined mackintosh and
1 pullover
vests
2 pairs of pyjamas
collars, ties or handkerchiefs
3 shirts
2 pairs of pants
    Clothes rationing was a particular nightmare for parents. The scheme took little account of children growing out of their clothes. One early book had a section on this entitled: ‘To eke out children’s rations’; part of it ran:
    Either through the school or through your local Women’s Institute, you may be able to get in touch with other mothers and arrange to exchange your children’s garments. You give a good dress or a suit, too small for your own daughter or son, and get in exchange a pair of shoes or a coat which can be worn for a year or more.
    The question of school uniforms is already being tackled by the schools themselves. Uniforms are likely to be considerably simplified and, for the rest, an exchange system is almost certain to be worked out before the difficulties become formidable.
    All sorts of clothing were in short supply. John Merritt:
    In 1943 my family moved to Wokingham in Berkshire. I joined the 5th Wokingham Scouts and we used to have our meetings in a hall near St Paul’s School. I do know that uniforms were in short supply, especially shirts and shorts and the ‘lemon-squeezer’ hats, which were much coveted. I did, however, get some green binding tape for my mum to make flashes for my socks, they of course fitted to the elastic garters that kept my socks up. Ninety-nine per cent of the boys wore short trousers. I didn’t have a pair of long trousers until I left school at 15.
    As part of London’s evacuation scheme the London Clothing Scheme was set up. Some of the children being evacuated came from very poor families indeed, and had few suitable clothes or shoes. Clothing stores were set up by the Women’s Voluntary Service in reception areas, stocked partly by clothes supplied officially and partly by gifts. Children’s parents paid according to what they could afford.
    Clothes could be passed on and patched only so often before they became unwearable. At the end of 1942 it was announced that older children would receive extra clothing coupons in the following year’s book; those born between September 1925 and December 1926 were to receive 10 extra coupons; between January and July 1927, 20 coupons; and from August 1927 up to the end of 1929, 30 extra. And if you think that was a bit complicated, there was more:
    Children born after 1929 – who, when measured on or before 31st October 1943 are 5 feet 3 inches or more in height or who weigh 7 stone 12 pounds or more* (or need to wear boots or shoes of a size larger than 5½ in boys’s or 3 in girls’s) will receive 20 extra coupons (in addition to the 10 extra already supplied to them with their clothing book).
    *Heights and weights must be