Allotments in times of crisis
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Occasionally, as in the two world wars, the function of allotments as an alleviation of individual poverty has been extended to cover their role in the task of surmounting a national food crisis. But inevitably, as soon as such a crisis has passed, their original, traditional and individual purpose would re-emerge.
According to the Sunday Mercury on 17 October 1965, Birmingham Corporation controlled 10,931 plots on 161 sites covering 984 acres. The paper's resident gardening expert Jim Pearce, said, "A lot of allotment land in Birmingham is quite definitely idle and should be looked at according to present day priorities." That purpose included serving Birmingham's growing population of flat dwellers.
Sunday Mercury 17 October 1965, p.10.
Image: Copyright Birmingham Post and Mail.
Location: Recreation and Community Services, Box 16/ Gospel Lane-14
