During the second world war,' Paper Salvage' was part of a programme launched by the British Government in 1939 to encourage the recycling of materials to aid the war effort.
The admission fee to an evening of 'Dancing on The Castle Lawn' in Tonbridge during the war years reflected the nationwide campaign with civilians paying 6d plus 2 books, or 2lbs of waste paper.
The compulsory recycling was known as the 'Salvage Campaign' and focused primarily on raising household collections of paper, and from 1942 people refusing to sort their waste could be fined £2500 and face two years in prison.
It was run locally in Tonbridge by volunteer
Salvage Stewards who manned depots and encouraged the sorting of waste. In 1947 the scheme was heavily marketed and
newspaper adverts explained how every ton of paper saved was equal to
2,956,800 cigarettes - 12,000 square feet (1,100 m2) of ceiling board - 17,000 sheets of brown wrapping paper or 201,600 books of matches.
My dad told me that in the late 1920's and 1930's, he and his brothers would each take a jam jar and a newspaper for free admission to the local Saturday morning cinema for children.
ReplyDeleteAh, yes, brown wrapping paper, much used at this time of year in my childhood.
I remember my excitement as the Postman delivered battered parcels wrapped in brown paper and tied with brown string, and tantalising glimpses of Christmas paper peeping out of the tiny (and sometimes not so tiny!) tears in the brown wrapping.
My mum would whisk them away to be hidden until Santa called on Christmas eve..luckily he was better at finding them than me!!