| Much of
Woolton’s genius lay in his ability to communicate and motivate. He arranged weekly
press conferences and ensured that reporters were given factual reports on the situation,
including regular press and information notices. He also made himself available for
questions from the press which created an air of confidence and support. ‘Food
Facts’ is typical of the material produced by the MOF throughout the War,
characterised by timely and useful information. Woolton
quickly realised that he would need to devise publicity that would ‘appeal to every
individual woman in the country’. He appreciated the power of the wireless to take
him into every home in the country. He learned voice techniques from broadcasters in the
BBC and took considerable time to prepare for his 12 minute talks which were a regular
feature. The most famous programme was, of course, The Kitchen Front broadcast on
an almost daily basis throughout the war and aimed specifically at housewives. The evening
programme In Town Tonight provided another vehicle for communication.
Molly’s involvement started with a chance
encounter with a Ministry of Food official who had stayed with Molly’s family in
Dunvant. Molly’s practical nature and obvious ability to produce appetising meals on
the ration impressed the official and it also coincided with a new strategy from Woolton
who was set on enlisting the help of housewives from the regions of Britain to devise
useful and economic recipes. The Ministry had accumulated a number of chefs and
nutritionists who worked on devising recipes which were tested in the special kitchen
built in the Ministry’s building in Portman Square. Successful recipes were then
aired in a variety of ways including Food Facts in the newspapers or via the radio
on The Kitchen Front.
Being deemed suitable, Molly was taken to London accompanied
by her family. The agenda was simple, she was to recreate her favourite recipes for basic
meals under the eyes of the Ministry’s experts. This entailed an amount of shopping
in the London markets all of course subject to the ration. The chances of photo
opportunities were not lost on the MOF publicists and Molly’s visit was covered in
both the local and national press. A number of discussions with the Ministry nutritionists
culminated in an appearance on In Town Tonight on 24 October 1942. This was a very
formal occasion and the script for the item was very carefully prepared by the BBC and
vetted by the Ministry. Although there was a great deal of small scale coverage in various
newspapers, the best cover was in the 31 October edition of Illustrated which we have reproduced here.
Below: The original caption for this
photo read: 'At the Ministry of Food dishes are "tried on the dog". The
"dog" in this picture is Bill, the liftman, an ex-sailor. He's sampling a
typical Welsh dinner meat, vegetables broth and dumplings.
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As mentioned previously, there was a
genuine and pressing need for such visits. Whilst the Ministry spent considerable time and
resources on information for people through radio and newspapers, Woolton appreciated the
need for reliable feedback on how women such as Molly were coping with the difficulty, and
perhaps more importantly, what they were doing to get round the problems of scarcity. By
the time of Molly’s visit one of the biggest problems was trying to come up with
exciting ways of serving up rather dreary fare and Molly would have been questioned
closely on how to enliven meals with local or regional additions. (Continued) |