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Eggs or Anarchy: The Remarkable Story of the Man Tasked with the Impossible: to Feed a Nation at War
Eggs or Anarchy reveals the heroic tale of how Lord Woolton, Minister for Food, really fed Britain during WWII. As a nation at war, with supply routes under attack from the Axis powers and resources scarce, it was Woolton's job to fulfil his promise to the British people, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill in particular, that there would be food on the shelves each week. Persuading the public to not resort to the black market and to manage on the very limited ration was one thing, but Woolton had to fulfil his side of the bargain and maintain supplies in time of crisis.If Britain had gone hungry the outcome of the war could have been very different. This book, for the first time, finds out the real story of how Lord Woolton provided food for Britain and her colonies and discovers that for him there were days when it was literally a choice of 'eggs or anarchy'.
368 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 2, 2016
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March 7, 2021
Final Review It was interesting to read this biography of Lord Woolton, concentrating on his time as Minister for Food during WWII. As a businessman, he put business first, so as a politician you might have expected him to put politics first, but not a bit of it, he put people first and was known for plain, non-political speaking. He put the health of the country first and introduced free school meals and the nutritional elements they needed to contain so that even the poorest child would be well-fed. All this whilst a very, very well-respected member of the not-very-socialist minded Churchill government.
The book, at first so dry I dnf'd it for months, was actually so well-written that even the really boring bits weren't too bad. The boring bits were the political infighting between various ministers, worst with the Minister for Agriculture as they looked for more support and more influence, not to actually do their jobs better but to advance their own careers towards the holy grail of being Prime Minister (a job Woolton did not want).
I generally don't like political memoir type books, but this was an exception, possibly because William Sitwell is a food writer and critic rather than either a biographer or political animal. Not exactly recommended, but if you come across it.... worth a read.
____________________
Update March 5 This was a dnf I've gone back to and instead of finding it the detailed discussion of food rationing, the Food Ministry and Food Minister, Lord Wooten, deadly dull, this time round I'm finding it really rather interesting. I don't know why, I really don't. It's well-written but not a gripping subject and Lord Wooten hasn't been the subject of any biopics because he isn't a charismatic, flamboyant politician making sweeping changes that will affect the whole of the UK. He's a bit boring, his wife is a social climber, there's nothing that would make Netflix's cold financial heart gladden. But still, I'm enjoying it...
____________________
I suppose it was too much to hope for. I read the 10-star ultra-fantastic, enlighting The Restaurant: A History of Eating Out. So, all fired up I get A History of Food in 100 Recipes. 5 stars, really interesting, but not quite the sparkling, tight book that the first one was. SO on to this one and it is deadly.
I'm reading chapter 5. This and the preceding chapters were about a man who rose from a working class home to be rewarded with a knighthood, then a hereditary title. which entitled him to sit in the Houese of Lords, which he didn't, but also meant he could be brought into Churchill;s government. Otherwise he'd have had to be elected and that would never have happened.
Why mightn't he have got elected? Because he was a businessman, a manager, and as far as Sitwell shows, had very little personality or anything outside of the business arena to offer anyone. Certainly not a burning desire, or the 'sincere' appearance of one, to dedicate himself to the people and improving their lives beyond measure, which is how all aspiring politiicians present themselves to the electorate.
There is nothing so far that makes me think he wasn't deadly boring and if you got stuck with him at a dinner party, he'd tell you of all his glorious retail accomplishments. I'd rather talk to the butler! .
His wife, his girlfriend from university when he was very poor - turned out to be an absolute liar and snob. By now she is Lady Woolton with a grand house and household staff, including a butler, when asked about cooking, she replied, "I've never cooked anything in my whole life" as if to the manor born. Which she wasn't.
So here I am wondering whether it is going to be at all about the food and logistics of feeding Britain and the colonies during WWII or more about a man of supreme business acumen who put money and earning it before anything else. On his appointment to Minister of Food, in an interview with the Manchester Evening News, "He said he was 'giving up about ten directorships besides the chairmanship of John Lewis's,' adding, somewhat hopefully with regard to his bank balance, 'As soon as the war is over and I am released from office I hope to resume my commercial life." Too much is never enough for some. That could apply to food as well as money. Maybe i should perservere with the book.
So is Sitwell going to tell the story of food during the war and how Woolton sorted it out or is he going to carry on telling the story of Woolton and what he did, including sorting the food supply and distribution issues? I like Sitwell's writing, it is just very hard to stay focused on a book where the subject is someone I have not been able to summon up any interest in at all.
__________
I was reading in the Daily Rag from the diaries of a childhood friend of the Royals, that the Queen would wear battledress and was training as a mechanic and driver in the ATS and then come home to the palace, where,"We ate curried eggs and lobster, chicken in aspic and salad, and chocolate soufflé, orange salad and pastry cornets, filled with real cream and we drank Champagne and coffee." So was the ATS just publicity, all for show?
I'm really looking forward to this book. I love the way William Sitwell writes, he either picks out the good stuff or is able to present the boring in an interesting way. I'm not sure which.
The book, at first so dry I dnf'd it for months, was actually so well-written that even the really boring bits weren't too bad. The boring bits were the political infighting between various ministers, worst with the Minister for Agriculture as they looked for more support and more influence, not to actually do their jobs better but to advance their own careers towards the holy grail of being Prime Minister (a job Woolton did not want).
I generally don't like political memoir type books, but this was an exception, possibly because William Sitwell is a food writer and critic rather than either a biographer or political animal. Not exactly recommended, but if you come across it.... worth a read.
____________________
Update March 5 This was a dnf I've gone back to and instead of finding it the detailed discussion of food rationing, the Food Ministry and Food Minister, Lord Wooten, deadly dull, this time round I'm finding it really rather interesting. I don't know why, I really don't. It's well-written but not a gripping subject and Lord Wooten hasn't been the subject of any biopics because he isn't a charismatic, flamboyant politician making sweeping changes that will affect the whole of the UK. He's a bit boring, his wife is a social climber, there's nothing that would make Netflix's cold financial heart gladden. But still, I'm enjoying it...
____________________
I suppose it was too much to hope for. I read the 10-star ultra-fantastic, enlighting The Restaurant: A History of Eating Out. So, all fired up I get A History of Food in 100 Recipes. 5 stars, really interesting, but not quite the sparkling, tight book that the first one was. SO on to this one and it is deadly.
I'm reading chapter 5. This and the preceding chapters were about a man who rose from a working class home to be rewarded with a knighthood, then a hereditary title. which entitled him to sit in the Houese of Lords, which he didn't, but also meant he could be brought into Churchill;s government. Otherwise he'd have had to be elected and that would never have happened.
Why mightn't he have got elected? Because he was a businessman, a manager, and as far as Sitwell shows, had very little personality or anything outside of the business arena to offer anyone. Certainly not a burning desire, or the 'sincere' appearance of one, to dedicate himself to the people and improving their lives beyond measure, which is how all aspiring politiicians present themselves to the electorate.
There is nothing so far that makes me think he wasn't deadly boring and if you got stuck with him at a dinner party, he'd tell you of all his glorious retail accomplishments. I'd rather talk to the butler! .
His wife, his girlfriend from university when he was very poor - turned out to be an absolute liar and snob. By now she is Lady Woolton with a grand house and household staff, including a butler, when asked about cooking, she replied, "I've never cooked anything in my whole life" as if to the manor born. Which she wasn't.
So here I am wondering whether it is going to be at all about the food and logistics of feeding Britain and the colonies during WWII or more about a man of supreme business acumen who put money and earning it before anything else. On his appointment to Minister of Food, in an interview with the Manchester Evening News, "He said he was 'giving up about ten directorships besides the chairmanship of John Lewis's,' adding, somewhat hopefully with regard to his bank balance, 'As soon as the war is over and I am released from office I hope to resume my commercial life." Too much is never enough for some. That could apply to food as well as money. Maybe i should perservere with the book.
So is Sitwell going to tell the story of food during the war and how Woolton sorted it out or is he going to carry on telling the story of Woolton and what he did, including sorting the food supply and distribution issues? I like Sitwell's writing, it is just very hard to stay focused on a book where the subject is someone I have not been able to summon up any interest in at all.
__________
I was reading in the Daily Rag from the diaries of a childhood friend of the Royals, that the Queen would wear battledress and was training as a mechanic and driver in the ATS and then come home to the palace, where,"We ate curried eggs and lobster, chicken in aspic and salad, and chocolate soufflé, orange salad and pastry cornets, filled with real cream and we drank Champagne and coffee." So was the ATS just publicity, all for show?
I'm really looking forward to this book. I love the way William Sitwell writes, he either picks out the good stuff or is able to present the boring in an interesting way. I'm not sure which.
May 24, 2017
In 1939, when war was declared, the United Kingdom imported much of the food it consumed. With ships being needed to transport troops, trade routes dangerous and most of the adult population engaged in war work, it was imperative that someone was in charge of the seemingly impossible task of feeding a nation at war. With forty one million people in Britain, and Northern Ireland, and five hundred and thirty two million in the British Empire, someone had to oversee the purchase, and importation of food, the fair distribution of what was available, increase home grown produce and oversee rationing. On the 3rd April, 1940, seven months into WWII, Fred Marquis, Lord Woolton, was made Minister of Food – his job to feed Britain and her colonies.
Even in the first day, it became clear that Woolton had a hard task on his hand. A man who came from business, he was expected to be a figurehead by his second in command, Sir Henry French at the Ministry of Foods. With virtually no knowledge of his task, he was duly told he had to give a speech the next day – then given the speech he had to give. Throwing himself into his job, he refused to give the speech written for him. Not for him the Civil Service ideology that the officials decided the policies and he just presented and explained them. He wrote, and made, his own speech and then set about his task.
Lord Woolton was a stickler for detail and accuracy, a hard worker, who came from a working class background, with an adoring mother and a happy marriage. He was straight talking; in the early years of the war he offended American visitors, and ministers, alike – as well as having a difficult relationship with Churchill, who fought against his attempts to reduce rations. In a way, though, Churchill put checks and balances on Woolton. Woolton was a man who disliked over-eating, who thought people should eat frugally and healthily (indeed the war improved most working class diets and he was passionate about helping improve the nutrition of pregnant women and children in particular), while Churchill moaned and groaned over any attempt to limit foodstuffs.
This is an interesting account of the Ministry of Foods in wartime and of Woolton’s attempts to create a fair system of feeding not only the country, but everyone he was responsible for. He was a man who fought the system to argue that the Home Front was as important as the war overseas and, although there were issues with the Black Market, and distribution, nobody in the country starved – even though rationing continued for many years after the war. Indeed, at one point, Woolton is even suggested as a man who should replace Churchill, when the war was going badly and the Prime Minister not in favour. The book is a little unstructured, but it is a fascinating account of how the war was fought at home, as well as overseas.
Even in the first day, it became clear that Woolton had a hard task on his hand. A man who came from business, he was expected to be a figurehead by his second in command, Sir Henry French at the Ministry of Foods. With virtually no knowledge of his task, he was duly told he had to give a speech the next day – then given the speech he had to give. Throwing himself into his job, he refused to give the speech written for him. Not for him the Civil Service ideology that the officials decided the policies and he just presented and explained them. He wrote, and made, his own speech and then set about his task.
Lord Woolton was a stickler for detail and accuracy, a hard worker, who came from a working class background, with an adoring mother and a happy marriage. He was straight talking; in the early years of the war he offended American visitors, and ministers, alike – as well as having a difficult relationship with Churchill, who fought against his attempts to reduce rations. In a way, though, Churchill put checks and balances on Woolton. Woolton was a man who disliked over-eating, who thought people should eat frugally and healthily (indeed the war improved most working class diets and he was passionate about helping improve the nutrition of pregnant women and children in particular), while Churchill moaned and groaned over any attempt to limit foodstuffs.
This is an interesting account of the Ministry of Foods in wartime and of Woolton’s attempts to create a fair system of feeding not only the country, but everyone he was responsible for. He was a man who fought the system to argue that the Home Front was as important as the war overseas and, although there were issues with the Black Market, and distribution, nobody in the country starved – even though rationing continued for many years after the war. Indeed, at one point, Woolton is even suggested as a man who should replace Churchill, when the war was going badly and the Prime Minister not in favour. The book is a little unstructured, but it is a fascinating account of how the war was fought at home, as well as overseas.
February 23, 2018
It takes a special kind of author to make a niche area of history like WWII food rationing really interesting, but Sitwell manages just that! I read it over a couple of days rather than the couple of weeks I was expecting it to take in bitesize chunks (I like history, I just don’t like textbooks).
He bounces around topics quickly enough that you don’t have the opportunity to get bored and it’s biased in Woolton’s favour without being cringeworthy, so you have a ‘hero’ to follow in the book. For serious history readers, this might be a bit of a turn off because the opinion:fact ratio is a bit off but for lay readers, this is the best way of shoehorning historical knowledge into your brain without resentment.
Lord Woolton, originally Fred of Manchester, was an excellent businessman who was snapped up by the government during the war effort and took the role of Minister of Food. It was this real-ness and not having been groomed from politics in the womb that made him perfect – he actually cared about the poorest people in the country and where their next meal was coming from, he was prepared to tell rich people to tighten their belts and his ability to negotiate food deals internationally was miraculous.
What I found fascinating is that he suffered from colitis (which can’t have been fun) and so had a fascination with nutrition and health, so he co-operated with doctors to find out the nutritional needs of different demographics of the population and ended up with a country with greater nutritional health coming out of the war than they did going on. He cared about pregnant and nursing mothers’ health and that of young children especially, which is a demographic that has a tendency to suffer the most during wars.
The author uses various reliable sources to write this book, the best being recollections of certain situations from both Woolton and his wife’s journals so you can see how they parallel. Woolton’s relationship with his wife was something truly lovely to read about, he sent her love letters and thanks when they were apart and wouldn’t make any major decisions without her input because they truly were a partnership – something that Churchill scoffed at, apparently.
It’s only later in the book that you realise quite how fine the line he was treading – if the rationing system failed, the blackmarket overtook it or vital foodstuffs ran out, there would be riots and fighting in the street to get what was left. It was only by getting things right and working with the media to reassure the public that everything was under control and their best interests were genuinely in mind, that Woolton was able to keep everyone calm and carrying on.
Now, if this author would like to write about any other areas of history, I’d be more than happy to read them!
He bounces around topics quickly enough that you don’t have the opportunity to get bored and it’s biased in Woolton’s favour without being cringeworthy, so you have a ‘hero’ to follow in the book. For serious history readers, this might be a bit of a turn off because the opinion:fact ratio is a bit off but for lay readers, this is the best way of shoehorning historical knowledge into your brain without resentment.
Lord Woolton, originally Fred of Manchester, was an excellent businessman who was snapped up by the government during the war effort and took the role of Minister of Food. It was this real-ness and not having been groomed from politics in the womb that made him perfect – he actually cared about the poorest people in the country and where their next meal was coming from, he was prepared to tell rich people to tighten their belts and his ability to negotiate food deals internationally was miraculous.
What I found fascinating is that he suffered from colitis (which can’t have been fun) and so had a fascination with nutrition and health, so he co-operated with doctors to find out the nutritional needs of different demographics of the population and ended up with a country with greater nutritional health coming out of the war than they did going on. He cared about pregnant and nursing mothers’ health and that of young children especially, which is a demographic that has a tendency to suffer the most during wars.
The author uses various reliable sources to write this book, the best being recollections of certain situations from both Woolton and his wife’s journals so you can see how they parallel. Woolton’s relationship with his wife was something truly lovely to read about, he sent her love letters and thanks when they were apart and wouldn’t make any major decisions without her input because they truly were a partnership – something that Churchill scoffed at, apparently.
It’s only later in the book that you realise quite how fine the line he was treading – if the rationing system failed, the blackmarket overtook it or vital foodstuffs ran out, there would be riots and fighting in the street to get what was left. It was only by getting things right and working with the media to reassure the public that everything was under control and their best interests were genuinely in mind, that Woolton was able to keep everyone calm and carrying on.
Now, if this author would like to write about any other areas of history, I’d be more than happy to read them!
January 1, 2018
An interesting subject handled like a commercial food writer doing his best to write history. Great in parts, sadly wandering off the path in others. The worst parts were the author's (or maybe editor's?) truly irritating habit of doing what I call "unauthorised autobiographising"*, where we simply leap off the path of facts and onto the rainbow road of "the headmistress sat back in her chair, sighing peacefully and chuckling to herself as the halls, so recently echoing with the laughter of schoolgirls, lay silent about her."
Ie, writing a clunky fictional scene into a popular history book to illustrate something which I suppose they couldn't find any pesky facts for. That damned headmistress didn't write her memoirs, so we shall just have to imagine how she felt seeing G Men walking up the path to manpower her school out from under her, etc.
All in all, interesting enough but written too lightly to be good history and ultimately forgettable.
*I just made this phrase up but I do refer to this habit all the time, so I stand by it.
Ie, writing a clunky fictional scene into a popular history book to illustrate something which I suppose they couldn't find any pesky facts for. That damned headmistress didn't write her memoirs, so we shall just have to imagine how she felt seeing G Men walking up the path to manpower her school out from under her, etc.
All in all, interesting enough but written too lightly to be good history and ultimately forgettable.
*I just made this phrase up but I do refer to this habit all the time, so I stand by it.
February 11, 2023
Borrow.
I was expecting the worst based off this silly book title, but this was actually quite good and interesting. A little peek into the domestic side of war with just as important implications on its outcome.
Woolton is a unique character when compared to his contemporary peers, which makes him a good title character and at times I wished this book had extended into a more comprehensive biography.
Regarding sources, it felt like there was a too heavy reliance on the memoirs of Woolton and his wife. While excellent primary material, it never felt like this was balanced with other more objective sourcing.
I was expecting the worst based off this silly book title, but this was actually quite good and interesting. A little peek into the domestic side of war with just as important implications on its outcome.
Woolton is a unique character when compared to his contemporary peers, which makes him a good title character and at times I wished this book had extended into a more comprehensive biography.
Regarding sources, it felt like there was a too heavy reliance on the memoirs of Woolton and his wife. While excellent primary material, it never felt like this was balanced with other more objective sourcing.
August 15, 2017
A slightly disappointing look at the fascinating topic of wartime food supplies. My experience of the book suffered from the fact that Sitwell is a food critic, not a historian: this read like an extended series of magazine features, slightly unstructured, drifting between the Ministry and the Man, and with a pointless final chapter about the current state of food in the UK. The ending also seemed a bit abrupt. Yet, were there a lot of interesting snippets in here? Yes, and I'm grateful to Sitwell for sharing them.
September 28, 2017
This was such an easy to read biography. Focused primarily on Lord Woolton's tenure as head of the Food Ministry during WWII and the mammoth task of keeping Britain fed.
Woolton was born Fred Marquis, the only child of poor parents. He studied sociology and economics and made his way into business. He became a partner at Lewis's department store and in the 20's and 30's helped grow the store into one of the largest in Britain. He was Knighted in 1935 for services to the retail industry. When war broke out he was tasked with sorting out the mess of the Government's uniform supply and once that was sorted he was elevated to the Peerage "for public services". With this came the hereditary Lordship. As the name Baron Marquis would have confused people he and his wife settled on the name Woolton (after the area he had grown up in Liverpool).
In 1940, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain asked Woolton to take on the role as Minister of Food. The man he was replacing had been ineffectual and Woolton was the ideal man for the job. Woolton's background of poverty and sociology gave him an acute insight into the risks of malnutrition and starvation. His background in business gave him negotiation and people skills. He was the ideal man for the job.
At the start of the war the UK had a population of around 47 million and a further 532 million in the British Empire. Fortunately, the colonies of Britain were largely self sufficient. Unfortunately, Britain was not. But Woolton recognised the unique position he was in: he was determined to not just hold back starvation but to improve the health of every citizen in the UK.
Woolton and the 5,000 strong workforce that made up the Ministry had to source, transport and store food. They had to ensure it was distributed evenly and fairly, had to control prices and deter black marketers. They had to encourage vegetable gardening and consumption, changing ingrained attitudes to food in the process. They had to take unappealing policies and get people to welcome the changes they brought.
The logistics alone are a bit mind boggling - it would be challenging even with today's widespread refrigeration and computers.
Eggs or Anarchy was hugely readable and I learned heaps about the way rationing worked and the challenges of the time. Woolton himself seemed like a decent man who tried to deal honestly at all times. His goal of improving the health of the nation was realised. In fact it had never been so healthy: Adults were fit, childhood & maternal mortality rates were the lowest they had ever been and tooth decay had been reduced - all while most doctors and dentists had been deployed overseas.
This is a fascinating aspect of the war and very well told. I'd have loved to see a timeline of major events (the narration jumps about a little to keep similar topics together) but overall if you have any interest in WWII history, food & / or sociology this is a great read.
Woolton was born Fred Marquis, the only child of poor parents. He studied sociology and economics and made his way into business. He became a partner at Lewis's department store and in the 20's and 30's helped grow the store into one of the largest in Britain. He was Knighted in 1935 for services to the retail industry. When war broke out he was tasked with sorting out the mess of the Government's uniform supply and once that was sorted he was elevated to the Peerage "for public services". With this came the hereditary Lordship. As the name Baron Marquis would have confused people he and his wife settled on the name Woolton (after the area he had grown up in Liverpool).
In 1940, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain asked Woolton to take on the role as Minister of Food. The man he was replacing had been ineffectual and Woolton was the ideal man for the job. Woolton's background of poverty and sociology gave him an acute insight into the risks of malnutrition and starvation. His background in business gave him negotiation and people skills. He was the ideal man for the job.
At the start of the war the UK had a population of around 47 million and a further 532 million in the British Empire. Fortunately, the colonies of Britain were largely self sufficient. Unfortunately, Britain was not. But Woolton recognised the unique position he was in: he was determined to not just hold back starvation but to improve the health of every citizen in the UK.
Woolton and the 5,000 strong workforce that made up the Ministry had to source, transport and store food. They had to ensure it was distributed evenly and fairly, had to control prices and deter black marketers. They had to encourage vegetable gardening and consumption, changing ingrained attitudes to food in the process. They had to take unappealing policies and get people to welcome the changes they brought.
The logistics alone are a bit mind boggling - it would be challenging even with today's widespread refrigeration and computers.
Eggs or Anarchy was hugely readable and I learned heaps about the way rationing worked and the challenges of the time. Woolton himself seemed like a decent man who tried to deal honestly at all times. His goal of improving the health of the nation was realised. In fact it had never been so healthy: Adults were fit, childhood & maternal mortality rates were the lowest they had ever been and tooth decay had been reduced - all while most doctors and dentists had been deployed overseas.
This is a fascinating aspect of the war and very well told. I'd have loved to see a timeline of major events (the narration jumps about a little to keep similar topics together) but overall if you have any interest in WWII history, food & / or sociology this is a great read.
February 17, 2018
The subject of how Britain managed not only to feed itself during the war, but actually to improve the health of its population is an interesting and under-appreciated one, and in that sense this book is very informative. However I cannot help but think that this subject could have gotten a much better treatment than the one proposed by Sitwell, who seems out of his depth writing history.
Most annoying is Sitwell apparent disregard for the scholarly litterature and his refusal to give us much hard facts. Instead, we are subjected to endless exchanges between Woolton and and the press without ever quite knowing who was right.
Another glaring lack in the book is the treatment of the food policy in the wider British Empire. We are informed that Woolton was "responsible for 532 millions souls in the British Empire", but apart from two brief mentions, the British Empire might as well not exist. The Bengal Famine, in which over 2 millions people starved to death apparently doesn't even deserve a mention in a book about food in wartime.
Keeping those failings in mind, the interest of the subject still make it overall an enjoyable book, although I would encourage prospective reader to check if some better written history might not be available.
Most annoying is Sitwell apparent disregard for the scholarly litterature and his refusal to give us much hard facts. Instead, we are subjected to endless exchanges between Woolton and and the press without ever quite knowing who was right.
Another glaring lack in the book is the treatment of the food policy in the wider British Empire. We are informed that Woolton was "responsible for 532 millions souls in the British Empire", but apart from two brief mentions, the British Empire might as well not exist. The Bengal Famine, in which over 2 millions people starved to death apparently doesn't even deserve a mention in a book about food in wartime.
Keeping those failings in mind, the interest of the subject still make it overall an enjoyable book, although I would encourage prospective reader to check if some better written history might not be available.
June 16, 2025
This book seeks to paint an extremely flattering picture of a man that, based on the actual stories being told, seems like a bit of a piece of work. The author constantly talks about how Woolton was a salt of the earth, hard worker of simple tastes but also relishes in describing his expensive outfits and elaborately adorned study. The heavy use of Woolton’s own diary leads to constant examples of the cool and collected woolton out maneuvering bumbling bureaucrats who pale in comparison. As such, this veers heavily into a very “Great Man” view of history. Finally, some sections of this book are just poorly written, I found at least a few instances of the same exact quote being used twice in consecutive chapters, and Sitwell frequently speculated about things he had no way of knowing happened but that made Woolton look cool.
This topic has a ton of really interesting aspects to it that I would have loved to see explored more, but these get completely dropped to fawn about Woolton more
This topic has a ton of really interesting aspects to it that I would have loved to see explored more, but these get completely dropped to fawn about Woolton more
April 22, 2017
An interesting book about how Lord Woolton managed the Ministry of Food and fought all the political battles required to keep the nation fed during the Second World War. With his background in the retail business, his methods often circumvented the normal protocols and whilst the strict rationing system meant the well off had less than they were used to, the diet of the poorer sections of society was improved and the health of women and children was protected. Since my grandfather, having fought in the First World War, was seconded from Cadbury's to the Ministry of Food in Birmingham, regularly travelling out to Colwyn Bay, this book had particular relevance both to me and my elderly mother.
August 10, 2020
3.5 stars. A remarkable biography of Frederick Marquis (Lord Woolton), Britain's Minister of Food during World War II. Tasked with ensuring that every member of the Commonwealth will be adequately fed at a time when severe shortages are looming, Woolton utilizes all of the business skills he honed as head of the Lewis' department store chain to succeed in this endeavor. What could have been a dry, numbers filled, accounting slog or a serving dinner to fourteen million guests how to book is instead an intriguing look into the machinations and mysteries of the British wartime bureaucracy and one man's singular drive to not only feed the people, but to ensure that all receive nutritionally balanced meals regardless of class or status. That he succeeds brilliantly is one of the great joys of Sitwell's book. A fascinating and fun read.
February 5, 2017
I have no idea why this book intrigued me so much but finally got round to reading it and overall glad I did. The simplest plans and schemes seem to take years in the 21st century government but in the 40's, drastic changes in food production and consumption needed to be made and one man was tasked with the job. This along with The Crown meant that I really settled in the 1940's this month.
January 1, 2018
A gift , the biography of a man I'd never heard of dealing with a problem which began before I was born, but whose legacy I can - just - remember. Fascinating and exceptionally well-told.
October 15, 2022
For me, this was a rare foray into the world of non-fiction, and I’m delighted that I did. This is both a very enjoyable book but also a fascinating one and vey probably an important one too. It is about Lord Woolton who had the job of ensuring there was adequate food to feed the nation during World War 2. No mean task when you consider that less than half of our food was domestically produced and for lengthy periods German submarines were destroying many of the cargo vessels that brought in goods from around the world. Additionally, food ships were frequently repurposed to carry to troops.
Lord Woolton, started life as humble Fred Marquiz in a terraced house in Salford, the son of an itinerant saddler. Fred was bright and worked and studied hard and in time became the managing director of John Lewis. In war time, his leadership skills were recognised, he was ennobled and brought into government to eventually run the Ministry of Food with the job of ensuring everyone had enough to eat via a system of rationing. Despite many challenges, not least of all with Churchill, he is regarded as having made a good job of it. Interestingly, he was also concerned with improving the health of the nation and of children and pregnant women in particular. I quote from page 305:
‘For Britain at the end of the war was not just in good physical shape, it had – and has never been – so healthy. This wasn’t just a healthiness that presented itself in the form of slim adults and rosy faced children; child mortality had never been so low, and far fewer mothers died in childbirth. Fewer children had been stillborn, and children were both taller and sturdier’.
William Sitwell writes well and although some of the other reviews I read noted that he wasn’t an historian and that he presented the tale in a largely uncritical way (fair comment I think), he is a talented food writer and in the latter pages particularly presents Lord Woolton’s achievements against the current state of diet and health in the UK, which makes for sober reading.
Highly recommended.
Lord Woolton, started life as humble Fred Marquiz in a terraced house in Salford, the son of an itinerant saddler. Fred was bright and worked and studied hard and in time became the managing director of John Lewis. In war time, his leadership skills were recognised, he was ennobled and brought into government to eventually run the Ministry of Food with the job of ensuring everyone had enough to eat via a system of rationing. Despite many challenges, not least of all with Churchill, he is regarded as having made a good job of it. Interestingly, he was also concerned with improving the health of the nation and of children and pregnant women in particular. I quote from page 305:
‘For Britain at the end of the war was not just in good physical shape, it had – and has never been – so healthy. This wasn’t just a healthiness that presented itself in the form of slim adults and rosy faced children; child mortality had never been so low, and far fewer mothers died in childbirth. Fewer children had been stillborn, and children were both taller and sturdier’.
William Sitwell writes well and although some of the other reviews I read noted that he wasn’t an historian and that he presented the tale in a largely uncritical way (fair comment I think), he is a talented food writer and in the latter pages particularly presents Lord Woolton’s achievements against the current state of diet and health in the UK, which makes for sober reading.
Highly recommended.
November 18, 2025
The author, a noted British food critic, writer, judge etc, did not set himself an easy task in turning the dry political football of how to feed a population of roughly 46.5 million people in a climate of impending doom at the beginning of WWII, with no end in sight into something readable. But, much like successfully feeding the UK population during these very straightened times, the author has succeeded in producing an interesting, at times quite riveting and fascinating account of these years.
Extraordinary times always produce extraordinary people. In feeding the nation, Britain had Lord Woolton at the helm as the Minister of Food. Can you even imagine such a government department today. What he and his team accomplished with oceanic and overland supply routes under threat or simply no more, the need to woman-power the population to grow fruit and veges, the management of managing people's spending and access to food - such a massive task. I marvelled at how the nation, as a whole, took on this challenge, tolerating for the most part the much reduced availability of food products such as sugar, eggs, milk to name a few. I couldn't believe reading that at the end of the first day of ration card registration late September 1939, 41 million of those 46.5 million people had signed up. Can you even begin to imagine such a feat happening today?!!!
The three stars rather than more.... a lot of political argy-bargy and tedious correspondence between Woolton, his ministry, other ministers, Lords, Churchill himself. But also plenty about the black market, moving supplies around, growing potatoes, the everyday challenges for women in purchasing and preparing food, the trans-Atlantic shipping disasters, the stories of the average Brit going about their lives during all of this. Fascinating, and a glimpse into a time and way of doing things we will never see again.
Extraordinary times always produce extraordinary people. In feeding the nation, Britain had Lord Woolton at the helm as the Minister of Food. Can you even imagine such a government department today. What he and his team accomplished with oceanic and overland supply routes under threat or simply no more, the need to woman-power the population to grow fruit and veges, the management of managing people's spending and access to food - such a massive task. I marvelled at how the nation, as a whole, took on this challenge, tolerating for the most part the much reduced availability of food products such as sugar, eggs, milk to name a few. I couldn't believe reading that at the end of the first day of ration card registration late September 1939, 41 million of those 46.5 million people had signed up. Can you even begin to imagine such a feat happening today?!!!
The three stars rather than more.... a lot of political argy-bargy and tedious correspondence between Woolton, his ministry, other ministers, Lords, Churchill himself. But also plenty about the black market, moving supplies around, growing potatoes, the everyday challenges for women in purchasing and preparing food, the trans-Atlantic shipping disasters, the stories of the average Brit going about their lives during all of this. Fascinating, and a glimpse into a time and way of doing things we will never see again.
December 28, 2021
I began reading this biography of Lord Woolton, the Minister of Food for the UK during World War II, a few months ago when the UK was experiencing food supply chain issues, and thought it would be interesting to see how things were handled during World War II under much more dire circumstances.
The writing is somewhat dry, especially at the beginning, and there was some degree of repetition, but things got more exciting in later chapters. I had the overall impression that large chunks of potentially very interesting content were left out. I've read a fascinating Twitter thread by @garius on the lengths they went to to secure the tea supply chain in 1942, for instance, buying up the entire free world's supply, but that was not mentioned. What happened in the larger Empire, which was also under Woolton's purview, is rarely mentioned other than an incident with rice in Ceylon.
I didn't really care for all the politicking and jockeying for power, which Woolton largely abstained from but were nevertheless present around him. I must say that I didn't realise that Churchill was such a poor manager when it came to anything other than war. The most interesting bits were about interesting negotiation tactics (esp Chapter 13) and when they introduced real innovations. So overall - interesting, but could have been even better.
The writing is somewhat dry, especially at the beginning, and there was some degree of repetition, but things got more exciting in later chapters. I had the overall impression that large chunks of potentially very interesting content were left out. I've read a fascinating Twitter thread by @garius on the lengths they went to to secure the tea supply chain in 1942, for instance, buying up the entire free world's supply, but that was not mentioned. What happened in the larger Empire, which was also under Woolton's purview, is rarely mentioned other than an incident with rice in Ceylon.
I didn't really care for all the politicking and jockeying for power, which Woolton largely abstained from but were nevertheless present around him. I must say that I didn't realise that Churchill was such a poor manager when it came to anything other than war. The most interesting bits were about interesting negotiation tactics (esp Chapter 13) and when they introduced real innovations. So overall - interesting, but could have been even better.
June 9, 2017
Lord Woolton is an unsung hero of World War II. Leaving a cushy job at a department store, he was hired by Neville Chamberlain to feed the people through World War II. Despite Churchill dashing his hopes to be replaced when he took over as PM, Woolton made it his mission for the United Kingdom and colonies not to face the same effects as malnutrition as they did in World War I.
Woolton won over skeptical bureaucrats. Negotiated with people who tried to turn their desperation into profit. He and his team had to anticipate the losses they would face with U boats torpedoing food supplies and still feeding every man, woman and child. AMAZING.
Woolton won over skeptical bureaucrats. Negotiated with people who tried to turn their desperation into profit. He and his team had to anticipate the losses they would face with U boats torpedoing food supplies and still feeding every man, woman and child. AMAZING.
October 19, 2018
Interesting as a little hymn to the power of administration but the story is unevenly told... dare I say amateurish? But indeed, keen as I am on good administration, it should not be sensationalised. There is plenty of good detail here but I think the problem lies in the decision to present this as a sort of lesser-grade biography; it would be more effective repackaged (with significantly better organisation) as the story of how people were fed during the war, with (oh my god I forgot his name already and I only finished this today...) Lord Woolton emerging as the hero.
May 24, 2017
This biography of Lord Woolton was fascinating and uplifting. His job: to feed Britain during WWII. He devised rationing schemes, fought black marketeers and saw his work as a duty to keep the people healthy and fit with proper nutrition. His dealings with other politicians and public servants brought to mind the televisions series "Yes Minister", and his relationship with his wife Maud was touching. This book provides a very different perspective of Britain during the war years.
August 1, 2017
I did like this book but it disappointed in that it contained far less social history than I'd expected. The political shenanigans left me a little cold but there were some gems in there. It is well researched and the author clearly knows his stuff.
August 11, 2017
Intriguing, entertaining account of the operation of the Ministry of Food during WW2. The lengths they went to in order to keep the civilian population fed and healthy throughout the war is an extraordinary success story.
December 4, 2017
An excellent book that relates the problems, and solutions, to feeding not only the country but also a large part of (what was then) the empire.
Fantastic job carried out by a working class lad from Salford.
Fantastic job carried out by a working class lad from Salford.
February 17, 2021
A great telling of Lord Woolton and his work as the Minister of Food in England during World War II. This is very much about the Minister with lots of personal quotes and information about his work and his political life. A great flavour of how the Ministry of Food and the ration system operated.
April 7, 2022
There were parts of this book I found really interesting, others that I found turgid and a lot that I found middling.
The writing was of relatively good quality, but did not set the pulse racing.
This was an OK book on an interesting subject, but it was nothing special.
The writing was of relatively good quality, but did not set the pulse racing.
This was an OK book on an interesting subject, but it was nothing special.
August 5, 2025
A very readable account of an interesting time in our history and of a one of the key players.
I note with interest that the nature of politicians seems not to have changed in 80 years or maybe it has…for the worse!
I note with interest that the nature of politicians seems not to have changed in 80 years or maybe it has…for the worse!
September 4, 2017
Five stars if you skip the last two chapters but so read the epilogue and postscript.
September 7, 2017
Really fascinating read
July 2, 2019
Stumbled across this in a second-hand bookstore. A gem of a book. A highly readable biography of Lord Woolton the Minister for Food during WW2
February 28, 2023
Very readable even for the non-scholarly, this book recounts the remarkable sense that Lord Woolton brought to the Ministry of Food during World War II.
June 16, 2023
Much more interesting than I'd expected it to be. Lord Woolton did an amazing job keeping the British public fed during WWII.
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