How Yorkshire’s wartime survivors coped with crisis

The current pandemic has been compared to wartime Britain – but are the two really so similar? Those who lived through the Second World War tell the Yorkshire Post what both have in common - and what we can learn from the past.
Mucking in at a farm near Askham, 1944.Mucking in at a farm near Askham, 1944.
Mucking in at a farm near Askham, 1944.

Scenes of shoppers stockpiling loo roll and scrapping over pasta in recent weeks has led some to bemoan the greediness of certain individuals as a symptom of our modern age.

The idea that people today are more selfish than ever before is a common platitude, aired frequently in casual conversations, across social media and by newspaper columnists.

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Looking back to Britain’s last major, life-altering crisis - the Second World War - they argue that such greed was uncommon during the age of the stiff upper lip and the Blitz spirit. So popular legend goes, the nation pulled together unanimously to weather the challenges and terror that war brought to Britain.

Barbara Robertson (far R) as a young girl.Barbara Robertson (far R) as a young girl.
Barbara Robertson (far R) as a young girl.

Doris Williams, however, doesn’t remember it quite like that. Aged 17 in 1939, Doris was working at her local Co-op in Mirfield when war broke out. Just a year later, rationing was introduced across the UK and her job took on an additional level of importance in the community.

Though she says that “stockpiling didn’t really happen”, she attributes this firstly to a lack of spending money and secondly to rationing itself, which early on limited families and individuals to the amount of food they could take home to store in the pantry.

She says, however, that this didn’t stop people from trying to bend the rules - just as they do today:

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“You got a rationing book with pages, and we had a black stamp to stamp it when they [shoppers] got their rations...but some people panicked, some were greedy like they are now - they rubbed their stamp out”.

Doris Williams has first-hand experience of working in a supermarket during a crisis.Doris Williams has first-hand experience of working in a supermarket during a crisis.
Doris Williams has first-hand experience of working in a supermarket during a crisis.

And while stockpiling is unlikely to land you in prison today, back then violations like this could see people taken to court.

Doris says, however, that she “didn’t want to go to court” so usually let these shoppers off with a stern warning; it seemed to do the trick.

Of course, food shortages are not the only thing that wartime Britain has in common with the current coronavirus pandemic.

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An upswing in community spirit, ramped up production lines, (albeit for medical, not military equipment) restrictions on movement and unfortunately, a rising daily death toll, have disrupted life in Britain to a level unprecedented since the war.

Barbara Robertson grew up in Wakefield during the war.Barbara Robertson grew up in Wakefield during the war.
Barbara Robertson grew up in Wakefield during the war.

Yet while it’s easy to claim the crises are two of the same, there’s only a dwindling proportion of the population who can truly testify to the similarities - and differences.

Though Barbara Robertson was very young at the time, she has vivid early memories of life in Wakefield during the war, and says that one of the strongest parallels she’s noticed between then and now is the public’s thirst for constant updates:

“There's a parallel in the fact that we’re [currently] getting bombarded by information to the point where you have to switch it off...back then it was then radio, the radio was a very, very important means of communication...the radio was on a lot and my parents never missed a news broadcast”.

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She says, too, that the recent proliferation of broadcasts to help people stay fit, cook with limited supplies and otherwise stay well during the current pandemic are nothing new:

Euphemia Preston says that she saw examples of Blitz spirit during the war.Euphemia Preston says that she saw examples of Blitz spirit during the war.
Euphemia Preston says that she saw examples of Blitz spirit during the war.

“On the radio, they used to have a sort of recipe of the day, and I have this memory of my mother - she wrote shorthand - sitting there avidly writing these squiggles down to remember the recipe...there were a lot [of shows] to help people, telling them how to make the best of what they could get”.

Making the most of what food was available was a vital skill during the war, and though many today are finding themselves stretching ingredients further, back then supplies were far more scarce.

And while you might be limited to buying no more than three of each item at a supermarket today, Barbara recalls rationing being as stringent as just “one egg a week, if you were lucky”. The choices we have today, adds, are enormously improved - even with some empty shelves included.

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Yvonne Peel, who grew up in the countryside just outside Halifax during the war, says those - like herself - with garden space had a huge advantage when it came to food supply:

“We had a big garden...we grew vegetables there and we had hens. You could have one hen each and there were five of us. Not many people had enough room for five hens though”.

The place where the two crises - the war and the current pandemic - diverge most is of course on the kind of threat that the public was facing.

As with those able to lounge in their gardens during today's crisis, Yvonne Peel says those, like herself, who had garden space during the war had an advantage. Though rather than allowing them time outside, gardens allowed space to keep hens and grow food.As with those able to lounge in their gardens during today's crisis, Yvonne Peel says those, like herself, who had garden space during the war had an advantage. Though rather than allowing them time outside, gardens allowed space to keep hens and grow food.
As with those able to lounge in their gardens during today's crisis, Yvonne Peel says those, like herself, who had garden space during the war had an advantage. Though rather than allowing them time outside, gardens allowed space to keep hens and grow food.

While people during war lived in fear of bomb attacks from Germans, today it’s an invisible virus that threatens the lives of the nation.

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And in spite of the stories of the British public soldiering on throughout bomb attacks, survivors can clearly remember the terror that struck them while sheltering.

Doris, whose family sheltered in the cellar of a Mirfield business during air raids, remembers the fear she felt during these attacks:

“I was terrified, absolutely terrified… I can remember places nearby being hit”.

Yet among the fear, Barbara recalls how generosity in the community helped to mitigate some of the feelings of hopelessness that threatened to dampen people’s spirits:

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“It was always a standard saying - “this is all for the war effort.” It was all about supporting the community and the people that worked with you”.

While she says that today’s crisis “is different in many ways [to the war] because it’s something that we’ve never really been through”, she says that the resurgence of community togetherness has been one cheering similarity between the two:

“All these local community support groups are just wonderful”.

Blitz spirit wasn’t a total myth, however, says Euphemia Preston, who now lives in Mirfield but resided in Edinburgh for some time during the war. She believes that a dose of stoicism could be a useful way to power through today’s crisis:

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“Blitz spirit [was present], people just got on with it... we just had to get on with it”.

Barbara agrees with the sentiment to a degree, saying that “it’s no good moaning...it’s a case of getting on with it...making the best of it…[because] we will get through this”.

Furthermore, Barbara actually hopes that the aftermath of this crisis might actually lead to positive improvements and changes in society.

The aftermath of the Second World War saw a huge expansion of the welfare state in Britain, with the creation of the NHS - today’s “frontline” force - in 1948.

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Today’s crisis has made the social ills that plague Britain, from homelessness to precarious work, clearer than ever. Many, like Barbara hope that the help offered during this crisis will again provide an opportunity to shape a better future for everyone.

“There’s constant change in life, and often, in the end, it’s for the better”, says Barbara.

“All sorts of things will come out of this, [crisis] some will be negative, but a lot will be positive”.

With thanks to Hopton Cottage Care Home, Mirfield for assisting with interviews. If you’re looking for a welcoming new home for your elderly relatives, you can contact them at [email protected]