War Effort in Branscombe 1945.

Decade: 1940

The Devon village of Branscombe played its part in the war effort.
Not being bombed or making headline news doesn’t mean there is no story to tell.
The ladies of the village met for sewing parties, Sewing circles were known as work parties as they produced millions of socks, balaclavas, pullovers, gloves and general comfort items for the troops. One particular group that benefitted from their efforts were sailors serving on board minesweepers in the freezing waters off the British Isles.
Camouflage netting was also made by weaving coloured hessian through netting not on a huge scale but smaller nets, tank covering size.

Children and their parents collected berries and nuts during the... Read more The Devon village of Branscombe played its part in the war effort.
Not being bombed or making headline news doesn’t mean there is no story to tell.
The ladies of the village met for sewing parties, Sewing circles were known as work parties as they produced millions of socks, balaclavas, pullovers, gloves and general comfort items for the troops. One particular group that benefitted from their efforts were sailors serving on board minesweepers in the freezing waters off the British Isles.
Camouflage netting was also made by weaving coloured hessian through netting not on a huge scale but smaller nets, tank covering size.

Children and their parents collected berries and nuts during the summer and autumn, These berries were then accumulated by the government and would then be made into jam (preserves) because these were a cost effective method being grown in the wild made them essentially free and these would then be sent over to the soldiers. Other fruits and berries were cooked at home for family use and in 1943 the Ministry of food produced a leaflet called Hedgerow Harvest which encouraged the picking of this 'free food'.

Branscombe played its part in the compulsory recycling – or, as it was known, salvage – of paper in wartime and postwar Britain focused primarily on raising household collections. The scheme formed a key part of a wider National Salvage Campaign comparable to the American Salvage for Victory campaign. It was inextricably linked to military and economic concerns and drew upon the experience of the First World War when prices had been driven up by the disruption to imports.

The Ministry of Food encouraged people not to waste food and to grow their own, if possible, because of rationing. A ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign was started and people were urged to use any spare land to grow vegetables – this included: parks, golf clubs and even the moat at the Tower of London.

Salute the Solider Week’ was a national fundraising effort to encourage civilians to place their money in government accounts, as Britain prepared for a final assault on Nazi Germany. Across the country celebrations began with a parade and culminated on public space, such as a village green, with a mixture of speeches, blessing ceremonies, sporting events and games.