VE Day 80: Patten World War II Collection

Peter Patten amassed a collection of more than 1000 leaflets, booklets and other paper items, which was donated to Lancaster University in the late 1980s.

The collection consists of materials covering a broad range of topics, a large proportion of which were published or sanctioned by the British Government. These include ration books, leaflets providing information about cooking and preserving food on a wartime diet, and air raid precaution booklets that provided advice to British citizens on how to protect themselves against bombing raids and gas attacks.

VE Day 80: Patten World War II Collection

Other documents in the collection relate to military organisations including the Royal Air Force, British Army, Navy, Fire Service and Home Guard. There are several propaganda documents about the German, Soviets and other nations’ military organisations and a small number of books written in the German language.

Theatre programmes, comedy and music publications reflect people’s social and leisure interests, whilst political papers show their differing responses to the war effort and hopes for the future.

Cabinet 1: Air Raid Precautions

The Air Raid Precautions Department of the Home Office was established in 1937 tomaintain public morale, ensure the continued functioning of vital services and reduce the loss of life and property if War became a reality. Various publications, seen here, were produced to prepare the population for air raids. By the start of World War II 1.5 million Anderson air raid shelters had been distributed across the country and gas masks had been given to every citizen.

Cabinet 2: Entertainment

Publications relating to entertainment during World War II. Entertainment venues remained open during the war, despite black-out restrictions and the threat of air-raids.

The British Government, recognised that maintaining public morale was crucial to the war effort, established the Committee (later Council) for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts, funding local amateur drama and music groups to counter the effects of blackout restrictions. This organisation continues today as the Arts Councils for England, Scotland and Wales.

Humour and Culture

Selected newspaper cartoons were reprinted as books and postcards are held in the collection. Newspapers played an important role in keeping the public engagedwith the war effort, and editors focussed on sharing positive news stories to maintain public morale.

Several major newspapers incorporated regular cartoons in their publications which reflected the public mood, ridiculing Britain’s enemies and creating humorous portrayals of British forces, politicians and the daily lives of ordinary British citizens.

Home Life

After the outbreak of war in 1939 the Ministry of Food, first established during World War I, was reinstated. It was responsible for the administration of ration books to control the distribution of limited food resources.

The Ministry produced a range of publications advising the public on how to make the most of their food rations. These included advice and recipes on how to make meals using powdered milk, one-pot meals and soups. People were also encouraged to supplement their rations by collecting and preserving wild fruits and edible mushrooms.

Haybox

This demonstration haybox was created based on a guide from the collection.

Fuel shortages meant that households were encouraged to reduce their use of coal and gas. Housewives were encouraged to use a haybox to reduce their fuel use when cooking meals for the family. A haybox is a form is slow cooker that uses the thermal properties of hay to cook meals using the minimum of external heat. It couldbe made relatively easily from a few basic items.