Re: The Pages of Punch

1939: Coping with the blackout

I am puzzled by this cartoon. It obviously relates to the difficulty of getting about in the dark. Is the driver pretending that he can’t see whereas he really can? That would account for his confident tone. I can’t think of another plausible explanation.

Re: The Pages of Punch

Maybe he's trying to calm their fears of travelling in the dark by his bravado?

Re: The Pages of Punch

I think that you are probably right.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1939: Another nonchalant view before the war hotted up

Perhaps it is just as well to point out that ARP stood for Air Raid Precautions.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1940: Don’t expect that it is going to be glamorous

The Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) was the organisation which enabled women to work in support of the British army. In no way were they ever expected to be involved in hand to hand fighting but there were many support roles available.

This certainly including driving but as the cartoonist observed women drivers could not expect to be surrounded by outrageously handsome young officers. Nor could they ever expect to see German soldiers eager to surrender when they saw this glamorous apparition. If an ATS driver drove a staff car it would contain a gnarled Colonel or above aged at least 40.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1939: Such innocence

She hasn’t experienced the real thing. If she had she would know which was the alert and which was the all clear. I can still recognise them 78 years later.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1940: Sleeping in the Shelter

I don’t remember sleeping in the shelter. Being there at all tended to be cold and damp. We went into it at the beginning of a raid and got out after the ‘all clear’ was sounded. This cartoon seems to have been drawn before there were any air raids.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1939: More innocence!

This sort of ignorance clearly relates to a time before there were any serious air raids. The bucket would have contained sand so that it could be immediately used to put out the fire caused by an incendiary bomb.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1939: Misunderstanding the purpose of gasmasks

All the other children have placed their gasmasks on the desk in front of them. This small girl tells the teacher that she is safe from poison gas because she has no sense of smell. Just as well then there were no gas attacks on Britain during World War Two.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1940: Upper class warworker

During World War Two the British government felt the need to ensure that that the population would have enough to eat. By sinking UK bound ships the German U-Boat campaign was designed to ensure that they would not. Strong efforts were made to reduce the need for external supplies by growing more food at home.

The Women’s Land Army was formed to help farmers to do this in spite of their workers having been conscripted. It was formed from all classes of society. This cartoon should not be taken too seriously. The young woman doing the ploughing would not really be accompanied by her rather grand mother. But the mother, conditioned by a Victorian upbringing would really be worrying about the way her daughter was now living. Many such situations were going to occur before the war’s end.