Rationing

[Nick Balmer]

Hello,

As this is a list dedicated to old vehicles, and populated by a lot of Colonial farmers, I have posted a photo of machine to keep you all contented.

In order to get the food production up in Britain the government established the War Agricultural Committees which advised farmers on methods, provided machinery, and even took over failing farms.

There are several really good books wrtten at the time by A G Street and a Wiltshire farmer called Hosier describing the work. Britain's farmers had gone through a series of terrible recessions in the 1880's, 1900's 1920's due to competition from cheap colonial imports of foodstuffs.

Under invested and with large areas out of production (just like today) they suddenly had to bring into production areas of land which had not been ploughed since the Napoleonic Wars or before the Black Death.

Tremendous numbers of machines were shipped here, and old machines like steam traction engines and Australian stump busters imported in 1917 were pulled out of the stinging nettles and brambles where they had rusted since 1919.

Teams worked around the clock to get land prepared. In my teens I used to work farms at harvest with the men who had done this work 30 years before. They took great pride in telling me of the struggles they had had harvesting flax on the 70 acre field, and of ploughing through the terrible winters of 1939-40, and 1947.

In their own quiet way, and now unrecognised way, these men and girls, made just as important a contribution as many a soldier, sailor or airman.

Regards

Nick Balmer