Shopping
during and after
World War II |
1.
|
Valerie Turner
Esk, Queensland, Australia
|
- Toothpaste
|
2.
|
Bob Henderson
Burdiehouse, Edinburgh
|
- Toothpaste
|
3.
|
Brian Gourlay
Biggar, Lanarkshire,
Scotland
|
- Toothpaste
- Sharing
- Germoline |
4.
|
Valerie Turner
Esk, Queensland, Australia
|
- Medicine
- Shampoo
- Daily Shopping |
5.
|
Joyce Messer
North Island, New Zealand
|
- Toothpaste
- Germoline and
Mercurichrome
- Protection against TB
- Antiphlogistine
|
6. |
Frank Ferri
Newhaven, Edinburgh
|
- Food
- Cleansing
- Own Products
- Cigarettes
|
7. |
Gus Coutts
Duddingston, Edinburgh
with replies from
Frank Ferri
Newhaven, Edinburgh
and
Bob Henderson
Burdiehouse, Edinburgh
and
Gus Coutts
Duddingston, Edinburgh
and again
Bob Henderson
Burdiehouse, Edinburgh
|
- Rolls of Tinfoil - Question
|
World War II Shopping -
Recollections
1.
Val Turner
Esk,
Queensland, Australia |
Thank you to Val for sending me her recollections below.
Also, many of Val's memories of living in Edinburgh are recorded
on the
Colinton Recollections page on the EdinPhoto web site.
Val
wrote: |
Toothpaste
"The other day, when seeing the latest
toothpaste ad, I remembered the small round tin of Gibbs toothpaste,
with the castle with turrets. Our teeth being our 'ivory
castles'!
The tins came in 3 colours. The whole
family brushed our teeth from the same tin - and we're all still here to
tell the story!!
Everything was so simple in those days."
|
Val Turner, Esk, Queensland, Australia: February
20,
2008. |
World War II Shopping -
Recollections
2.
Bob
Henderson
Burdiehouse,
Edinburgh |
Bob Henderson replied: |
Toothpaste
"Probably everyone of my generation remembers
Gibb's Dentifrice. It was a cake of very hard soap with added flavour and
as in Val's case everyone in our household, at that time, six of us, used
the same tin"
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh: February 26,
2008
|
World War II Shopping -
Recollections
3.
Bryan Gourlay
Biggar,
Lanarkshire, Scotland |
Bryan Gourlay added: |
Toothpaste
"Val Turner’s recollections of Gibbs’ tin of
toothpaste have almost brought back the unmistakeable taste to my mouth.
The toothpaste in the tin tended to last for
ages, depending on how many of the family used it, and how much time they
spent scrubbing their toothbrush on the hard block of ‘cleaning material’.
After use, the lid would normally be put back on while the round block of
‘paste’ was still softish and foaming – ready for the next person.
After a good while, a small hole would appear
in the centre of the paste to reveal the bottom of the tin. Over a period
of time, the hole would get bigger and bigger until only a small amount of
paste was left clinging around joint around the base. Even then, the paste
would still be used until chunks broke free and were chased around the
bottom of the tin in an attempt to get some paste on the brush – often
attracting unwanted little hard bits you had to spit out. It was always an
admission of defeat when the family had to resort to a new tin – leading
to a fight over who would be first to use it.
We sometimes had a tin foil tube of McLeans
(pronounced McLanes, not McLeens) toothpaste which we would squeeze the
last drop out of – knowing full well that, when it was finished, it meant
a return to a well-worn tin of Gibbs that had been staring at us
menacingly in the face for weeks.
Today’s hygiene storm troopers would probably
feint at the very thought of Gibbs and the many other so-called unhygienic
traits of kids 50 years or more ago." |
Sharing
"It was not unusual for one of your school
friends to ask for the runt (core) of your apple so they could get their
teeth round the soggy remains of your Granny Smith. Sharing drinks out of
lemonade bottles, without wiping the top, was standard practice as was
begging a ‘sook’ of someone’s lollipop or, wait for it, OXO cube – which
was a particular delicacy of mine. It was not unknown to share chewed
chewing gum, half-eaten yellow liquorice root, or a cinnamon stick we got
from the chemist." |
Germoline
"Another tin in most houses at the time was
the famous, cure-all Germoline. It had a fawn-coloured lid containing an
instantly recognisable, smelly, concoction with its own unique taste if
ever some got in your mouth.
Any type of scrape, cut, spot, boil or
infection was attacked again and again with an liberal covering of the
creamy, almost indescribable substance. Like Gibbs toothpaste, no matter
how many times dirty fingers scraped around the tin, the lid was put
firmly back on and the tin put back on the shelf until the next time.
Also like Gibbs, a new tin of Germoline was
not brought into play until the old one was fully exhausted. Unlike Gibbs’
toothpaste, Germoline is still around in various guises – but not tins!" |
Bryan Gourlay, Biggar, Lanarkshire, Scotland:
February 26, 2008 |
World War II Shopping -
Recollections
4.
Val Turner
Esk,
Queensland, Australia |
Val Turner added: |
Medicine
"I remember the medicine bottles we used to
get from the chemist, with the very 'square shoulders' and a cork for the
lid, and the little pill boxes."
|
Shampoo
"I also remember the lovely big jars which
looked like good idea for sweets but contained coloured liquids (I think).
They were in the chemists' windows and in the hairdresser.
I think the name was 'Louise' We
could buy shampoo in little 'soft plastic cushions' and we didn't need
hair conditioner then."
|
Daily Shopping
"Shopping was done daily, back then. We
had no freezers to store a week's supply, just a daily walk to the shops,
with mothers pushing prams, stopping to chat with neighbours.
I was told when Mum met up with a friend to
"run on ahead and put the kettle on". We were never allowed to
listen to 'grown ups' talk, and Mum always liked the tea made as soon as
she came home. We'd have a 'digestive' biscuit from McVities, with
'the original' stamped on it. I can buy them here in Australia now and
they are delicious."
|
Val Turner, Esk, Queensland, Australia: January
26,
2008. |
World War II Shopping -
Recollections
5.
Joyce Messer
North
Island, New Zealand |
Joyce Messer wrote: |
Toothpaste
"I laughed at Brian Gourlay's
recollections of Gibbs toothpaste which I had completely forgotten about .
I could taste the stuff as I read about it. I think it was
pink.
|
Germoline and Mercurichrome
"I'd also forgotten about Germoline.
It brought back memories. I could even remember where it was kept in
the bathroom cupboard, along with Mercurichrome which was another cure-all
and would surely be banned now as I think it contained mercury and was
probably highly toxic."
|
Protection against TB
"We had Scot's Emulsion and cod liver oil.
My mother, like many of her generation, was haunted by the spectre of TB
and believed a daily dose of these products would protect us.
|
Antiphlogistine
"We had Antiphlogistine. It had a
very comforting smell and was heated and put in cloth as a poultice for
earache, from which I seemed to suffer constantly, or on your chest as a
remedy for coughs and colds"
|
Joyce Messer, North Island, New Zealand: April
15, 2008 |
World War II Shopping -
Recollections
6.
Frank Ferri
Newhaven, Edinburgh |
Food
"Mother would ask you to get 3 pence
worth of turnip, onion and carrot from the greengrocers, and a marrow
bone from the butcher to make soup."
|
Cleansing
"We used long bars of Sunlight soap, for bathing, washing
our
hair and clothes.
We purchased soap and various other cleaning things
from Nisbet’s on the corner of Bowling Green Street and Junction Street."
|
Own Products
"Nisbet's
made most of their own products:
- soot from the chimney to brush your teeth
-
cut up squares of newspaper for the toilet."
|
Cigarettes
"Cigarettes were scarce.
Unscrupulous
shopkeepers would only sell five Woodbine or any other major brand
if you also bought five inferior oval shaped brands, named Pasha
or Abdul. They had a horrible toasted Turkish smell when lit."
|
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh: June 12,
2008
|
World War II Shopping -
Recollections
7.
Gus Coutts
Duddingston, Edinburgh |
Thank you to Gus Coutts
who wrote:
|
Question
Rolls of Tinfoil
"I was four years
old at the end of WW2 and can remember rolls of tinfoil about 1/2"
across with a small white parachute attached being on sale, I think
in Woolworth's.
This tape was
quite thick and sharp edged. I remember cutting my finger on
it.
I've always
wondered what it was for, latterly believing it was 'window', which
I later heard was strips of foil cut to the length of the wavelength
of German Radar.
All I can think
of is that it was possibly part of the D-Day Fortitude South
Deception Plan** whereby formations of aircraft flew in precise
formations back and forward over The Channel to create the radar
impression of an invasion fleet heading for the coast around Calais.
Is it possible that the rolls of foil I mentioned formed part of
that operation?
I look forward to
discovering what the rolls of foil were used for."
Gus Coutts, Duddingston, Edinburgh: November
17, 2011
|
Reply
Gus
Coutts tells me that he asked the question above to the Imperial War
Museum, but they were unable to comment, adding:
"They could be any number of things if they
were sold in Woolworths" !
So
it would be good if some of the EdinPhoto contributors were able to
come up with some suggestions. If you have any ideas,
please email me, then I'll pass on your message to Gus
Thank you.
Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: November 18, 2011 |
** There appears to be quite a lot of
information on the internet concerning the wider aspects of
the deception plan that Gus mentions above, including this page from
The Other Side web site.
Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: November 18, 2011 |
Recollections
7.
Reply
1.
Frank Ferri
Newhaven, Edinburgh |
Thank you to Frank
Ferri who replied:
|
Rolls of Tinfoil
"Yes tinfoil was
dropped during the war to confuse the German radar defences which
were quite primitive then.
This technique is still used by aircraft and
Royal Navy ships to this day. When an enemy missile is
detected, they send up a shower of aluminium to confuse it into
redirecting its course."
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh: November 20,
2011 |
Hi Frank:
Just one thing puzzles
me. It makes sense to me that the tinfoil would have
been used during World War II as you describe above. But why
was it also being sold by Woolworths?
Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: November 20, 2011 |
Recollections
7.
Reply
2.
Bob Henderson
Burdiehouse, Edinburgh |
Thank you to Bob
Henderson who replied:
|
Rolls of Tinfoil
"I can't remember
Woolworths selling MoD surplus. A more likely store to have
seen the the rolls of tinfoil in was J&R Allan on the bridges. They
sold lots of surplus after the war."
|
War Surplus
"I still have a
gasmask carrier that I used as a school bag, then as a piece bag
when I started work.
I also bought a
couple of small parachutes, about 3 feet in diameter. These
were used for parachute flares or small cargo drops."
|
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh: November
21, 2011 |
Recollections
7.
Reply
3.
Gus Coutts
Duddingston, Edinburgh |
Gus Coutts replied at
about the same time as Bob Henderson above, with similar
recollections of war surplus purchases.
Gus wrote:
|
Rolls of Tinfoil
"After WW2, lots
of War Surplus stuff made its way into the shops and the rolls of
tinfoil were obviously seen as being attractive to kids.
That's probably why the tinfoil was bought up by Woolworth's
It was quite a
popular thing with myself and my friends and, if my memory serves me
right, it was also used to decorate Christmas Trees."
|
Haversacks
"One of the most
common things sold was webbing haversacks and canvas gasmask
haversacks which more or less replaced the old leather schoolbags
Millets in
particular sold a lot of War Surplus but there were several other
shops in the city selling such goods."
|
Toys
"There were also
several toys obviously made from melted- down aircraft aluminium. I
had a toy pistol which was a rough replica of a Webley Service
Pistol. (The brand was Fairylite).
A
very popular toy was a little Field Gun which could fire matches -
they had one weakness in that the spokes in the wheels were easily
broken."
|
Service Rations
"Service rations
also appeared on the market - I can remember a cupboard at home with
a shelf full of large olive drab tins of creamed sweetcorn
(presumably ex-GI Issue)."
|
Military Vehicles
"On the subject
of War Surplus I can remember a field full old military vehicles on
the right hand side of Duddingston Road West going towards
Craigmillar, just before the point where The Innocent Railway
crossed the road via a Level Crossing."
|
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh: November
21, 2011 |
Recollections
7.
Reply
4.
Bob Henderson
Burdiehouse, Edinburgh |
Bob Henderson replied:
|
Toys
"Gus Coutts
really stirred up some memories. I too had a Fairylite
pistol. If you want to see one visit the Museum of Childhood in the
Royal Mile.
|
Vehicles
"I also remember
the surplus vehicle sales at Duddingston, in the field which is now
part of the nature reserve. The main car that I remember there was
the old long-nosed Humber which was used as a staff car. There
were also lots of two ton lorries."
|
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh: November
21, 2011 |
|