I remember years ago MrMagoo I lived in a house and the people next door still had an Anderson Shelter in the Garden. Named after Sir John Anderson I believe. I love the Out of His League cartoon
Snap. We used to play in it as kids until the corrugated metal roof became unsafe and it was pulled down. Some of the others on the street were used as garden sheds.
1942: Holding the greengrocer to account
Food was a major preoccupation during the war and prices were fixed by law. The alarming woman suspects the greengrocer of overcharging. I am sure that we are meant to know that the policeman did not know the controlled price of onions.
1940: Giving the game away
This block of flats has had all its windows protected against blast. Bombs were liable to break window panes in the general area of where they landed. Flying shards of glass tended to be very sharp and capable of inflicting serious injury. You could buy strips of meshed material backed by strong glue. I remember bus windows were all protected against blast in this way. Small gaps had to be left so that you could see where you were!
In this cartoon the artist has imagine that a Nazi sympathiser would give himself away by arranging his protection in the shape of swastikas. This would be unlikely.
1940: Trying to get the least bad news
Here we see that George Belcher is still at work. Here he shows the lady of the house imagining that the six o’clock news offers content that is slightly less unfavourable. This sounds quite unlikely.
1941: An unusual audition
This lady’s experience can easily be identified and it definitely does not include agriculture. However agriculture is what the country needs in 1941.
1942: Ammunition factory no place for butterfingers
Mary has clearly given her notice in order to take up a better paid job in a munitions factory. In fact she would never be entrusted with carrying a loaded shell.
1942: Clothing coupons
The trouble with loose coupons is that you may have bought somebody else’s coupons. This practice was illegal. The whole point of rationing was that everyone should get their fair share.
On the other hand I have a personal memory which contradicts this. When I reported for National Service in 1953 I had to hand over my ration book. When I was given a week’s leave I was given loose coupons for my food during that week. Perhaps it was different for clothing.
1940: The irony!
I doubt that such a conversation would actually have taken place. Even so, there was truth in what the soldier was saying. In order to defend freedom it was indeed necessary occasionally to limit it.
1941: Opportunities for romance
Alongside the bombs and the carnage there also existed this world which offered many more opportunities for romance than during peace time. The daughter of the house feels that her day is made. A subaltern is an army lieutenant with either one or two ‘pips’ on his shoulder. It is she who discovered him and it is the car that has had the accident. Nothing to do with her.
1942: Indian soldiers in London
These members of the Indian Army are being advised to reach their destination via the Elephant and Castle underground station. It is indeed colloquially spoken as ‘the elephant.’ Perhaps the official needs to explain that this is not the kind of elephant with which they are accustomed.
At its height the Indian Army numbered two and a half million men – all available to the British cause in North Africa, Europe and, of course, in Asia. It was funded by the Indian, not the British, taxpayer.
1942: Problem at harvest time
Mary hasn’t been on top where she should have been.
1942: The Women’s Land Army at work
Another opportunity for a Punch cartoonist is provided by large contingent of women working in farms to counter the threat posed by U boats.
I have a car like that Mr Magoo
1940: Coping with the blackout
My own memories do not tally with what is suggested here. We used to get about during of the blackout without resorting to this kind of procedure.
1942: Emmett at work
Emmett has departed from his usual material here. Instead of complicated machinery he shows the soldiers applying skills learned during assault training sessions simply in order to avoid using the bridge. There wasn’t an health and safety issue at the time.
1942: Fobbed off with sweets
There is something quite patronising at work here. Miss Simpson doesn’t look as though she uses up her own sweet ration.
1941: Women working in a munitions factory
The cartoonist surely knew that this situation is entirely fanciful. Individual munitions working would not be building up a shell from a recipe with Trinitrotoluene (TNT) as an ingredient.
1942: The Yanks are coming
With America in the war things definitely were looking up as far as winning the war was concerned
1942: Unwelcome visitor
This is a truly unlikely scenario. Lions in the Western Desert? However if we take this at its face value it might have made sense to present a target with the lion on top. However the enemy would in all probability aim for the tank, not the visitor.