The phoney panic was short lived as no enemy action
followed these initial raid warnings.
Memories of the use of gas during World War I brought real fear of
aerial gas attacks and the need to be
prepared. One precaution was to apply
green gas detector paint to the tops of pillar post boxes in the area. During these early days of the war everyone
was encouraged to practice wearing their gas mask whilst at school, at work and
at home.
Increasing home food production to replace the
imported seventy per cent from overseas resulted in pasture and derelict land
being ploughed for arable crops. Agricultural workers and tractor drivers,
together with agricultural engineers and mechanics if over 21 years old were
classed as being in a reserved occupation exempt from conscription, but those
who had joined the Territorial Army or were Military Reservist were called
up. The organization for the ploughing
and planting of crops came under the control of the War Agricultural
Committees whose officers advised farmers and local Councils which land to
plough, which crops to grow and where but this
advice was not always suitable for the designated land or the farmers.
The newly acquired arable land often failed to produce good yields, the village
recreation ground being one such area.
Legal action followed if the land was not farmed to the satisfaction of
the War Ag. Committee, Wartime Emergency Acts allowing the farmer to be
dispossessed of his land if found necessary.
Buckinghamshire War Agriculture Committee requisitioned 120 acres of
Dorney Common, the Eton Wick recreation ground, lammas fields and commons for
arable crops.
The area of
Burnham, Taplow, Dorney, Eton and Eton Wick was managed by local
agriculture officer, Mr C.J. Twist.
 |
| Photograph courtesy of Buckinghamshire County Council |
‘Dig for Victory’, a wartime slogan adopted by the Ministry
of Food to encourage the population to grow more of their own food. Responding to the call, Eton College boys under the guidance of their masters, took over allotments along the Eton
Wick road close by the Slough - Windsor railway line cultivating vegetables
during their school half days. Children
at Eton Wick school also did their bit by growing lettuce and other
vegetables.
Amy Buck, landlord of the 'Three Horse Shoes' public
house was a lady who knew her way around.
Despite the rationing, Amy always seemed to have the extra bag of sugar
or other things that were in short supply.
With these she would trade, such as
with the greengrocers wife, Mrs Bond in return for those scarce
vegetables, such as onions.
Pigs and chicken had always been kept by some people
in the village but the war brought greater need for this practice. Various regulations were introduced to
control the keeping and slaughter of livestock, a license being required from the
local Ministry of Food office to slaughter a pig for home consumption. This did not always stop the pig suffering an
unfortunate accident. A makeshift copper
for the required hot water, a secluded spot in a garden or yard and someone
with the skill, would quicken the demise of the unfortunate animal. This illegal slaughtering at times led to
acrimony amongst pig owners, with one party or the other threatening to report
the incident to the police. Killing of
the pig was disturbing to some children, one lady remembering that as a child
she would take herself to the far end of the village to get away from the
squeals of the animal.
The recipients of the meat asked no questions as to
the source of supply observing the wartime slogan ‘Be like Dad, Keep Mum’. Eggs,
rationed to one egg per week for each person, also became a commodity for
barter. Keeping rabbits was another way
to supplement the meat ration.
George Piggott, an evacuee, hearing his host needed a
chicken killed, offered to do the job.
Assuring his host that he knew what to do, he was told to carry on. Perhaps George had no knowledge for the
traditional way of killing a chicken, for he proceeded to dispatch the
unfortunate chicken by execution with an axe.
Evacuees found village life very different from that
of London, to them, the new growing crops of cereal looked the same as
grass. Having been caught playing in a
field of oats, they failed to understand why they would damage the crop which
to them looked the same as grass.
The local Ministry of Food office set up at 39 High
Street, Eton by the Urban District Council was managed by Mr J.D. Gale as Food Executive
Officer, and Mr G. Walley as chief
assistant. The loan of a typewriter by
Harry Chandler for the duration of the war gave a saving of £12 to the office. The
task of preparing the five thousand ration books in readiness for local
distribution took three and half days and required the voluntary assistance of
ladies from Eton College and a number of residents of Eton. Licenses were also issued to retailers to
sell rationed foods and to those dealing solely in butter, particularly
farmers. The license was later amended to include margarine.
Inspectors appointed to check the organization and
control of the rationing system were offered by the County Chief Inspector and
accepted by the Eton food control committee with the proviso that no legal
proceedings would be taken without reference to the committee.
The grocer held about two weeks supply of rationed
foods for customers registered with him. The Ministry of Food required the shop
keeper to furnish weekly returns of ration food stock, shortages and
complaints. Snap visits by Ministry
Inspectors to check on hoarding and any other irregularities was always a
possibility therefore accurate records of registered customers had to be kept.
(Harry Chantler)
This is an extract from Round and About Eton Wick: 1939 - 1945. The book was researched, written and published in 2001 by John Denham.
