Re: The Pages of Punch

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

Re: The Pages of Punch

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.

Re: The Pages of Punch

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.

Re: The Pages of Punch

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.

Re: The Pages of Punch

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.

Re: The Pages of Punch

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.

Re: The Pages of Punch

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.

Re: The Pages of Punch

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.

Re: The Pages of Punch

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.

Re: The Pages of Punch

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.