Name/TitleLeaflet
About this object'Dig for Victory' leaflet No. 20 (new series). This leaflet was issued as part of the 'Dig for Victory' campaign in the second world war by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. The leaflet is about how to dig. Pictured on the front is a foot on a garden spade. Inside are 10 pictures on how to dig a garden trench. On the back are details of another leaflet in this series.
Stewart Murphy, Research volunteer:
These leaflets are from the Dig for Victory campaign, a propaganda campaign which was designed to increase the availability of food while also keeping civilian morale high. They contain instructions and advice to help members of the public adopt animal husbandry and farming, to supplement rationed foodstuffs.
This collection of leaflets was discovered in a tin in the donor’s father's shed, but probably belonged to the donor’s grandfather. The owner of the leaflets grew vegetables during the war and probably also had an allotment. The general wear and tear on these leaflets indicates that they were handled with some frequency. Marks have been made in pencil along the side of an allotment plan, perhaps indicating which vegetables he had decided to grow that year.
Large amounts of land were turned over to cultivation, but growing vegetables at home could be difficult. Mistakes could lead to crop failure, as could inclement weather. He, like many others, may have used these leaflets as reference material throughout the war and in later life. These particular leaflets were used in Ipswich, but the campaign had both a national and a global reach. It is likely there were also sentimental reasons to keep them, as mementos of the war.
MakerThe Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Maker RoleIssued by
PeriodSecond World War
Medium and MaterialsPaper and ink
Inscription and MarksTitle: HOW
TO
DIG
At bottom of leaflet DIG FOR VICTORY LEAFLET NUMBER 20 NEW SERIES ISSUED BY THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE
MeasurementsLength: 117 mm
Breadth: 71 mm
Object Typeleaflet
Object numberSTMEA:1991-21.9
Copyright Licence
Attribution - Non-commercial (cc)
