Bombers & Mash: The Domestic Front 1939-45

by Raynes Minns

Bombers & Mash tells the story of the Second World War on the domestic home front. It takes us from the kitchen to the nursery showing how women managed without almost everything from potato peelers, prams, food, fuel, transport, and cosmetics to men. These women coped with rationing, evacuation, separation from families, and long hours of work in factories, hospitals, and on the land. Through it all, they kept the nation fed on ingeniously nutritious and economical meals—hundreds of the best, and some of the worst, are included here. Moving and fascinating, this is both an illustrated social history and a cookery book offering a remarkable picture of the deprivation and drama of the women's war.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, World War II, War, British Literature

219 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1987

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating social history into the domestic front and the role of women during WWII. The text is set out in what I always think of as newspaper/textbook style with double columns and I worried at first that it would be a bit of a dry read. But it was fascinating!

One chapter of the book consisted of authentic and government approved recipes for women to use up their rations - this included sheep's head soup (you remove the head before serving the soup, but are expected to then slice all the 'meat' off the head, mince and then make into potted meat jars) and a method of cooking tomatoes to make them look like fried eggs (surely biting into what you are expecting to be a fried egg and ends up being a tomato would be more disappointing?). Given the book had covered the paid and voluntary work most women were expected to do as well as looking after their families and households (and when paid they were paid a lot less than their male counterparts had been) I was taken aback by how much preparation and planning the meals would take - lots of instructions to leave overnight or for at least an hour or two.

Generally, the book shows that people did find great reserves of strength and courage to endure the war but it was a real hardship and left everyone emotionally and physically wrung out at the end (resistance to everyday illnesses was very low by the end of the war).

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most popular histories of the homefront place so much emphasis on the stiff-upper-camaraderie that we almost forget how very difficult and how fearsome WWII was for English women and children. This book is an eye-opening and inspiring reminder.
It brims with relevant statistics about family life and women's brave contributions to the war effort, making it an excellent resource for historical study. Its frequent quotes, song lyrics, and advertising materials make it even more valuable as a vivid human document.
And as others have commented, the admirable behavior of certainly puts our everyday complaints into perspective. I have read and re-read it several times, always with respect.

[Tara Jersey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of British women during World War II told through pictures, personal stories, and recipes. If you're feeling overwhelmed, read this book. You'll be amazed by the courage, inventiveness, and pluck of these women.

[E G Melby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catching up on my stack of backlogged books. A worthy addition to my brief collection of the British home front (and those who signed up for domestic wartime service) during WW2, and the effect on war time food distribution, rationing, with the addition of advertising examples and even recipes ( glad I don’t have to make any of them 😉)

[Kelsey Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic historical overview of the English ww2 home front experience

[Mermaid Undine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have bi interest in the battles fought in the ww2. but i have an intense interest in what life was like in the home front. This kind of history seems real to me as its the history of women and all to often i find that women aren't covered a lot of times in history.

I have an ex library version of this book, and its been read so many times that pages are coming loose. Obviously I'm not the only one to enjoy such reading.

I read this last year, maybe the end of the year before and am about to start re-reading it.

Sometimes I feel that the reason I find so much fiction just ho-him these days is that I prefer reading text books like this.