Friday 22nd September 1939

Petrol rationing was introduced in Great Britain. Brand name petrol was stopped and replaced with a national petrol pool. Fuel for commercial vehicles was coloured with a red dye to try and prevent it from being used in private cars. There were also inspections to try and catch out those who did try and use it privately. However in March 1942 petrol rationing was stopped altogether, only those emergency services were given an allowance. The Government advised motorists who must drive during the blackout to “eat plenty of fresh fruit and greens in order to increase the proportion of ‘visual purple’ in the eye, the quantity that enables one to see in the dark”.