During the Second World War, millions of people across Britain ‘dug for victory’, planting vegetables in their gardens to feed their families.
The campaign was set up by the British ministry of agriculture and encouraged men and women across the country to grow their own food in times of harsh rationing.
At the time two-thirds of British food was imported by ship, meaning supplies were at risk from enemy action at sea.
The campaign rapidly caught on, sending the number of allotments alone in the UK from 740,000 to 1.4 million.
During the Second World War, millions of people across Britain ‘dug for victory’, planting vegetables in their gardens to feed their families. This image shows part of a poster used between 1939 and 1946 promoting the benefits of growing your own
Open spaces everywhere were transformed into allotments, from domestic gardens to public parks – even the lawns outside the Tower of London were turned into vegetable patches.
Leaflets were part of a massive propaganda campaign aiming both to ensure that people had enough to eat, and that morale was kept high.
The Royal Horticultural Society began working with the Ministry of Agriculture on the campaign when war broke out in 1939, having already begun making detailed plans in preparation for war in 1938.
The efforts of volunteers made an important contribution to the nation’s health. The Girl Guides mean to play their part in the campaign and acquired an allotment on the ground surrounding Martin Way Methodist Church in Merton, a suburb of London (pictured)
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) wants to gather photographs of the wartime fruit and veg patches and allotments to plug a gap in our historical knowledge. Women members of the Richmond Athletic Ground First Aid Post are making use of their spare time by digging up part of the Athletic Ground to grow vegetables. Here they are seen at work on March 12, 1941
The ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign was set up during WWII by the British Ministry of Agriculture. Leaflets (pictured) were part of a massive propaganda campaign aiming both to ensure that people had enough to eat, and that morale was kept high. By 1943 it was estimated that around 55 per cent of households were growing fruit and vegetables
Advice was distributed via pamphlets, leaflets and exhibition packs that toured towns and villages across the country.
Some vegetable plots were created in unlikely places. For example, employees at the Wolsey Motors in Birmingham made cloches out of scrap car windscreens for their workplace allotment.
By 1943 it was estimated that around 55 per cent of households were growing fruit and vegetables, and their efforts made an important contribution to the nation’s health.
According to War Cabinet records, annual food imports halved to 14.65million tonnes by 1941.
The pictures gathered will be used in an exhibition to mark the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the war and the beginning of the Dig For Victory campaign.
Posters were also part of the campaign. Pictured: a photographic image of a booted leg poised to drive a spade into a bed of earth, circa 1942 (left). Rear view of a small boy wearing a white hat, white shorts and white shirt. He is holding a spade in his right hand and a hoe in his left. The ground appears to be dry and cracked, circa 1942 (right)
Soldiers help to clear the debris of Bank Underground Station, in front of The Royal Exchange, London, the morning after receiving a direct hit during the Blitz. The slogan ‘Dig for Victory’ adorns the Exchange
The campaign rapidly caught on, sending the number of allotments alone in the UK from 740,000 to 1.4 million. Dig For Victory allotments at Dulwich
At the time two-thirds of British food was imported by ship, meaning supplies were at risk from enemy action at sea. Wounded soldiers recuperate by digging the grounds of a Surrey hospital, as part of the Dig For Victory scheme, on May 10, 1941