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In the days before computers the administration was all paper based.
Each person was issued with a ration book, with different allowances for adults and children. Some with special diets or certain occupations had a different ration allowance. Most items were rationed by quantity, like 3oz (85g) cheese, but meat was by value. The meat ration allowed a person to buy a small amount of a good cut or a larger quantity of cheaper cuts.
People had to register with local shops to use their ration points so the Ministry of Food could supply the shops with the right amount of the product. Last November therefore it was interesting when a war time ledger from Stares the butchers was donated to the Romsey Local History Society. The ledger contains detailed lists of people who registered with them for both meat and bacon. It also has detailed lists of meat purchased. It will be a useful primary source for anyone studying civilian life in WW2.
The lists provide a fascinating view of the coverage of the shop. The customers registering came mostly from Romsey and the surrounding villages, but a few came from other places, like Cadnam and Southampton. It would be interesting to investigate what these people’s connection was with Romsey.
The lists of purchases are equally interesting as they reflect how the wholesale cost of meat changed during the war. The terms for meat can be puzzling to a non-butcher, particularly types of offal. Also hinds were rear parts of cow, not deer. Smaller animals were bought whole then butchered on the premises. The price rationed meat was bought and sold at was controlled by The Ministry of Food.
The following prices are left in shillings(s) and pence(d) as they are only for relative comparison rather than absolute value. (There were 12d in 1s.) For example in January 1942 lamb was 9d a pound and hinds were 10½d a pound but fores 8d a pound. They bought tinned beef at 6/3 a tin. That is 75d which seems expensive compared with the unprocessed meat, unless the tin was at least seven pounds weight. The ledger does not record what price the customers were charged.
Romsey Local History Society is always interested in seeing old documents relating to the southern end of the Test Valley and can be contacted at romsey.history@gmail.com.
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