Ration books. How did it work ?

[Gwylan]

Not only did people survive on a wartime diet, they thrived on it. The diet was heavily based on seasonal vegetables and fruit, fish and cereal (including bread). It was light on sugar, meat and eggs - in fact, it's the sort of diet that's recommended for us today. There's even a wartime diet cookbook
The Ration Book Diet: Amazon.co.uk: Mike Brown, Carol Harris, C.J. Jackson: Books

I do know that you didn't have to buy ration books and I'm pretty sure they weren't available on the black market - although goods that were rationed (petrol particularly) were.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

I do know that you didn't have to buy ration books and I'm pretty sure they weren't available on the black market - although goods that were rationed (petrol particularly) were.

You had to show your Identity Card to get, or renew, your Ration Book.

I've still got my (post-war) Identity Card.