Heritage from Home - Issue 3

Heritage from Home

About the Project Welcome to our third issue of Heritage from Home. This week Henry has expanded his research around the Black Market. HollyAnne and Sharon have been thinking about how to find moments to still celebrate in moments of national crisis.

We have been really delighted to receive photos and memories from people reading the newsletter.

Next week we will be thinking about VE Day. If you would like to contribute in any way please do get in touch with Louise. We can arrange for a telephone call or an email exchange as suits you.

Thank you so much for reading.

With love from Louise, Holly-Anne, Henry, and Sharon at Bounce Theatre.

All photos from the project with young people

Things to read Heritage with Henry

One of the other lesser-discussed elements of WWII is the armed forces reliance on reservists - men who’d recently been army or naval officers.

As vital as new sign-ups were to the war effort, reservists were already trained. The trouble was, many of these reservists were police officers, leaving a window of opportunity open to any potential criminals.

One such criminal was “the dapper gangster” Billy Hill. As war began, any prisoner with less than three months left to serve was released.

Hill was one of the first lucky criminals to get this get-out-of-jailfree card, and he made use of “that big, wide, handsome and, oh, so profitable black market”.

Early on, Hill’s gang staged a series of jewellery robberies; on one occasion they broke into Carringtons on Regent Street in London, making off with £6,000 worth of goods. Within weeks of rationing’s introduction, Hill was selling whiskey and sausage skins at £500 a barrel. Despite the odd spell back in prison, by war’s end Hill was a wealthy man, thanks to his black market exploits.

But the black market also made criminals of ordinary people.

Through desperation or desire, many who wouldn’t consider themselves lawbreakers participated in it. In 1940, one woman was caught using four ration books to get food for her family of three; her 15-year-old son had been sent a child’s book and

an adult’s book; she’d used both for six months to get extra supplies.

She was fined £160 - £9,015.79 in today’s money! The woman claimed she thought the extra rations were because her son was a “big schoolboy”.

Food was ripe for the black market.

A W Morgan told the BBC of how his family managed to get meat from a butcher in exchange for surplus eggs, while his mother exchanged his sweet coupons for sugar coupons with neighbours, so they’d have enough sugar to make jam.

Former fireman Francis Goddard, meanwhile, recalled how his wife, who worked in a restaurant, would have access to steak, salmon and other rationed food items. At the end of her shifts, she would wrap up a few items in tissue, and carry them home hidden in her knickers!

Goddard wasn’t alone - in 1941, several London hotels were fined for illegally buying over 150,000 eggs from a dealer in Folkestone. The hotels paid up to twice the controlled price for the eggs, claiming they were

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“desperate to feed the guests”.

But though we often think of rationing in terms of food, like with the examples above, the black market also found its way into other areas of rationing. In 1943, five million clothing coupons were stolen in one go, and the government had to cancel the entire issue.

Even celebrities became infamous for black marketeering; Ivor Novello, the Welsh composer and actor, was sentenced to a month in prison in 1944 for misuse of petrol coupons, offered to him by a fan.

By 1945 more than 114,000 prosecutions for black market activities had taken place. Yet there is still nuance to this story - however poorly viewed by the public, as Mark Roodhouse noted in Black Market Britain, most black marketeers, from Novello to ordinary citizens swapping rations, didn’t consider themselves wrong-doers. Novello considered his petrol coupons vital so he could travel to perform in The Dancing Years - in his view, he was doing ‘essential war work’, boosting morale of off-duty servicemen and women. Although he didn’t escape a prison sentence, he was seemingly vindicated when the government released actor Barry Sinclair

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from the RAF, to replace him in performances during his prison sentence. On a smaller level, the aim of rationing was keeping the nation fit, and government policy clearly wasn’t one-size fits all - families with children often were granted extra rations of milk, eggs or clothes - it’s not impossible the woman in Hartlepool really did think she was meant to have two ration books for her son!

We can see potential comparisons with today - as with Novello’s performances in WWII, the arts have been vitally important keeping morale going during this pandemic - from the work we as Bounce Theatre have been doing, to the way the nation came together, from a distance, to enjoy The Big Night In on BBC One last Thursday. For all that people instinctively anger at reports of those not socially distancing in parks, with small groups jogging together, we don’t know what their story is. Government guidelines allow families and housemates to exercise outside together, and they’re exempt from the six feet distancing. Cameras can also mislead as to how close together people are standing - zoomed-in pictures can affect depth perception, making people appear closer together. As much as there will always be people who flout the rules, it’s worth us being mindful that we don’t know the circumstances of others - whether it’s WWII or COVID-19, then even when it’s difficult, when it comes to our fellow citizens, we should try to always show benefit of the doubt, and compassion and understanding, to one another.

Memory lane

Letters, memories and photos from our participants Here is an extract from an interview from a gentleman called Peter who was interviewed during the project. It picks up on both the small joys of home life and the Black Market operating in the background.

What was your favourite dinner during the war?

Well my gran used to make fantastic dumplings.

Dumplings!

Oh yeah.

So was that in a stew?

Yeah, it was in a stew. She used to get all the ration, you know… well as far as I know, and make this wonderful stew. My gran was a very good cook. No doubt about that. I mean, she brought up ten kids for a start. We had to eat every bit of food on the plate.

What happened if you didn’t?

You got a smack round the earhole!

She’d say, “come on eat that up or you don’t get any more”.

Food was very scarce.

What did you have for breakfast as well…what did you have for breakfast?

Well, eggs were rationed. We used to get an egg occasionally.

Did you eat a lunch? Like a sandwich, or…?

Well, we had a breakfast, and dinner, and something for supper.

And I always remember, before we went to bed, we had a big tablespoon of Radio Malt.

Radio Malt?

It’s like cod liver oil. It’s better than cod liver oil, it’s not as nasty. We had a spoonful every night.

It strengthened your body as far as my gran was concerned. “That’ll do you good, lad!” she used to say.

She sounds like a really nice lady.

Yeah, everybody liked my gran. She used to make, um…what was it called?

She used to make macaroni. And grate cheese on top. Oh it was lovely.

So it was macaroni cheese? …cheese, yeah. And I also remember she used to make rock cakes. And when I say rock cakes… [laughter]…they were BIG! Really?

Not like these tiny little things, they were about that big!

Wow. The sort of size of your palm really?

Yeah. And once you ate it you were full up! You know.

And what was in it. Was it, you know, raisins…?

Well, yeah. She used to put raisins in, yeah. I remember having raisins in it.

Did you ever help her cook?

Well, I used to help her wash up.

[Laughter] Well that’s brilliant, Peter. What about any, sort of, crimes, do you remember those?

Well, we didn’t do it ourselves – I know we were little rascals I must admit, but we heard there was some purloining of stuff from bombed out houses.

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Memory lane So would that mean that people would go in and steal?

Yeah, steal, you know.

Whatever they could.

Yeah.

And did you hear of anything else that was going on? Did your gran ever…?

She’d say, “oh, can’t get this stuff unless you go on the black market,” and it was quite a thriving business actually. They could get you extra meat, extra eggs, things like that.

For money?

For money. Oh yeah! You had to pay them an exorbitant price.

And who were the people doing it?

Who…just local people that people knew?

Well, just local villains I suppose.

Trying to make money. Because, being a kid, you don’t really get to hear things like that. You only

overheard what your gran…

Although if they caught these black marketeers they were chucked in prison.

They were?

Oh yeah. I’ve no doubt about that because everybody hated them really.

Yeah, yeah.

You know, because they were not doing anything for the war effort.

Wow. Ok. Out of interest if you could tell a young person now, about World War II, why would you say you shouldn’t forget it?

All the sacrifices that were made by people.

Each week we will be sharing memories from our participants.

If you would like to be interviewed for the project please email louise@ bouncetheatre.com

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Things to write Creative writing with Sharon

The Little Things

This week we’re thinking about celebration and how we can appreciate the small things around us. I’ve been reading about how people have been celebrating during the lockdown. I was inspired to hear about a group of cohabiting students who marked a housemate’s birthday by turning their house into a pub!

The group put up pub signs on doors and changed clothing before going into each room, which each featured a designated cocktail. The bathroom was ‘dress to the nines’, the garden was ‘British summertime’, the kitchen was 70s, and the living room was pyjamas. And in each bedroom, you had to dress like the person whose room it was!

There are many ways in which we can find the extraordinary in the ordinary, even if there isn’t an occasion attached. Start with what’s around you, here are some ideas.

Tune in to your environment Music and sound can change our mood. What sounds can you hear around you? For example, if you can hear birds singing, can you listen carefully and pick out the sounds of the different birds contributing to the chorus?

Find the other interesting sounds around your home, from birdsong to the sizzle of a frying pan or the rhythm of the water running to make up a bath.

Use your radio or the internet to play a different type of music to what you might usually tune in to. How does your mood change when you hear a classical track? A country song? Or a jazz beat? Experiment with sounds from all over the world.

Smell sensations Smell is the strongest of our five senses. It can very quickly evoke memories and also change our mood. Find some of the different scents in your home and write down a description of the smell and what it reminds you of. Is the smell sweet? Is it woody? Does it remind you of something from nature like a flower or item of food? Is there a memory attached to this smell?

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I’ve written this about suntan lotion: I squeeze the lotion into my palm. Suddenly I feel like I’ve left my house and travelled back in time to last August, to the bank holiday when I went to the beach and ate ice cream. The smell of the lotion is strong and sweet, scents of coconut and vanilla that take me back to holidays from years gone by.

Start a Gratitude Wall It’s good to remind ourselves of the things we like and that are positive in our lives. On a post it note write down three things you’re grateful for and the date. Stick the post it notes somewhere very visible, for example on your fridge, bedside table or bathroom door.

Daily Treat Plan a daily gift for yourself to look forward to. For example, watch a TV programme you love, eat a sweet treat after you’ve done the washing up or take a long bath before bed.

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Museum of Me

Museum of Me Find some of the objects in your home that are important to you and that reflect your experiences and interests. You also could include letters or tickets from journeys or events.

Write about one of the objects in detail. Describe what it looks and feels like. How did you acquire the object? And what does it mean to you?

Now organise the objects together so that you can take a picture of them.

Below each one write a few lines about it, these could be: Name of Object Where I got it from What it means to me Now take a picture of your Museum of Me! As always we’d love to hear from you! Please send us pictures of your Museum of Me and any writing you’ve generated from the tasks this week to louise@bouncetheatre.com

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Things to make Art with Holly-Anne

Timeline of your life This week we are casting our mind back over our life remembering the milestones that have shaped up as individuals. Take some time with a notepad and pen to think and jot down about major events in your life.

This is an enjoyable activity, take as much time as you want and keep adding to your notes. Once you have a good overview of the story of your

life take a fresh sheet of paper and start at the top by putting the first event i.e. year and place of birth – then go to the bottom of the sheet and put in the most recent milestone – add all of the events in a creative way throughout the page. Take some books and magazines and cut some images to accompany the events.

Stick the images down and create a pleasing design, once you are happy sit back and admire the amazing life you have created.

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