Rationing in the United Kingdom The paper shortage often made it more difficult than usual for authors to get work published. In 1944, George Orwell wrote: Whether rationed or not, many consumer goods became difficult to obtain because of the shortage of components. Examples included razor blades, baby bottles, alarm clocks, frying pans and pots. Balloons and sugar for cakes for birthday parties were partially or completely unavailable. Many fathers saved bits of wood to build toys for Christmas presents, and Christmas trees were almost impossible to obtain due to timber rationing. On 8 May 1945, the Second World War ended in Europe, but rationing
Rationing in the United Kingdom one kind of cheese, nicknamed Government Cheddar (not to be confused with the government cheese issued by the US welfare system). This wiped out nearly all other cheese production in the country, and some indigenous varieties of cheese almost disappeared. Later government controls on milk prices through the Milk Marketing Board continued to discourage production of other varieties of cheese until well into the 1980s, and it was only in the mid-1990s (following the effective abolition of the MMB) that the revival of the British cheese industry began in earnest. Petrol rationing was briefly reintroduced in late 1956 during the