At the front, and at home, another New Year dawned bleak. There were many who wondered if their lives would ever be normal again. After the destruction that had gone before, and in a year that would bring victory and peace, ironically, Britain would lose more men than in any other year of the war. 1916 had seen the government tighten its control of land with the very nature of rural life undergoing profound and far-reaching change. The government had asked famers to increase their yield and were pushing the use of tractors and steam ploughs. Mechanisation was the order of the day and, as with most new ideas, some were keen to embrace these ‘new fangled machines’ while others railed over the passing of traditional practices. Whatever an individual’s …show more content…
The Food Committee for Axholme met at Epworth Police Station and a long discussion took place over what constituted hoarding. It proved impossible to give a precise definition, or to lay down exact rules about what householders might reasonably ‘store.’ They concluded that each individual case should be judged on its merits. Generally, the accepted tolerance was, anyone with a fortnight to three week’s provision of a staple article of food, would not be regarded as having an excessive supply. Stocking up for longer periods could be allowed for those living in districts remote from the source or subject to difficulties of transport. Further, the committee agreed that stocks of any home produced food such as bacon, jam, bottled fruits, vegetables and eggs could be classed as hoarded food. There were those, however, throughout the district known to have ‘inadvertently’ overstocked their larders. All agreed that pressure must be put on them to surrender their excess provisions. The government had been reluctant to consider statutory rationing but news that the sacrifices of war had not been borne equally led to anger at home and abroad. Some claimed it was ‘one law for the rich and another for the poor.’ Sugar was the first commodity to be rationed and by the end of April meat, butter, cheese and margarine would be added to the list. Ration cards were issued and everyone had to register with a butcher and grocer. The committee on the Isle resolved impartiality must not only be observed but must be shown to be observed; no one would get more than their fair share! Members agreed further that farmers would no longer have to provide food for men engaged in threshing; the men would have to make their own