Allotments

Looking at archive photographs of my home town, on the border of Surrey and South London, there were a number of aerial photographs taken by the RAF in 1946.

What amazed me, were the huge areas and numbers of allotments and I mean thousands, which were probably the result of the "Dig for Victory," campaign during WW2. Most now will have been long built over with housing.

 

I read a lot of permaculture books and the same thing comes up a lot. Self sufficient living.

I wasn’t around so it’s ignorant for me to comment, but I do think that DIY approach to life, then, did so much for a persons character and ability.

We live in a time of consumerism, where we buy instead of fix or create. It’s becoming a very dumb down world. I do a lot of sub contract work at Jaguar Land Rover, and to watch an army of robots build the cars, while a handful of scattered workers push buttons is a worry to me.

 

I think, in reality, it was far more a case of "survival" as opposed to a lifestyle choice of self-sufficiency. At the time the photos were taken in the OP (1946) the war had barely ended (Sept 1945) so the amount of allotments would not have been surprising. I doubt anyone thought: Yup, wars ended, lets shut down our lotties forthwith! In fact, many public parks were requisitioned for vegetable gardening - it was a necessity; so, not quite so amazing for those who either lived those times, or understand them. Add to that the fact that areas in Europe, equally devastate by war and under British control, were in need of much needed nutrition (and we were to supply it!) there remained a demand for fresh produce.
Add to the mix that bread rationing only began in 1946 (due to wheat harvests failing as a result of bad weather) yet more need for root vegetable as a filler-upper; this rationing lasted until 1948 - who would get rid of their right to an allotment at such a time of need? Add to that the fact potato rationing began in 1947 (which was also a time of dock and transport strikes) ... who dare give up on their lotties?
As for the taking over of allotments for housing developments, that is also not surprising: add together the devastation on the housing market as a result of war, coupled with the post war baby boom is not a surprise that a boom in population will also require a boom in housing. In both instances, classic supply and demand of economic theory.

It is not "ignorant" for you to comment, it is very interesting to read your comments. I wasn't around either, but, my parents were and I learned so much from them. I'll gift that knowledge to you
I will only state that they were not lifestyle choices for my parents generation (which we have the luxury of today) but borne of necessity and by golly they did it very well! My thanks to all of their generation for their ingenuity, bravery in the face of adversity, their stiff upper lip, noses to the grindstone mentality and ... for enabling *us* to make a choice on DIY/Self-sufficiency at a time when they had *no* choice. Bravo, indeed!

 

I wholeheartedly agree with you. I didn’t word my own post the best to be honest. It wasn’t a life choice it was an essential part of survival as you say. But either way, self sufficient, and I have nothing but admiration and respect, and I actually feel that all of those traits shown then, are fading fast.

Life now has been made too complex, and our eyes are shifted from what matters. Food, water, warmth and shelter. As I get older, my eyes seem to look backwards and I’m glad of it because the future looks bleak to me. On this basis of mad consumerism anyway.

 

You worded it just fine

I think today's challenges may call for a slightly different set of skills? However, wise be the man that can embrace the current challenges, whilst retaining those skills of old, with the ultimate goal to advance.

Absolutely!!!! It's a balancing act for sure. The trick being, knowing which ones to embrace and which to discard.
I'm not a fan of mad consumerism and I am wholeheartedly grateful for the skills I was bequeathed. If my own family do not appreciate them, I only hope someone, one day, somewhere benefits from them

 

I'm well aware that allotments were taken over for housing, it wasn't an issue with me. My surprise was how many there were at one time. Presently we're used to seeing a few dozen together in urban areas, but what I was seeing were many areas with up to a few thousand on the fringes of suburbia.

I'm aware that here in Manchester Piccadilly Gardens were dug up for allotments, but this was more a political initiative, to encourage residents to grow vegetables.






There were far more suitable sites Manchester compared to London being a relatively small city, which were likely to have been used.

 

Where we live we are the only people to grow veg and we live in the countryside, we do see lots of shop.com deliveries daily