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Why were some things rationed during the Second World War? Why was it so important to close the blackout curtains at night? And what happened to ships that tried to cross the Atlantic during the war?
Rationing
During the Second World War, you couldn't just walk into a shop and buy as much sugar or butter or meat as you wanted, nor could you fill up your car with gasoline whenever you liked. All these things were rationed, which meant you were only allowed to buy a small amount (even if you could afford more). The government introduced rationing because certain things were in short supply during the war, and rationing was the only way to make sure everyone got their fair share.
Izzie's mother and father owned a small shop, and when customers wanted to buy some sugar, for example, Mrs. Publicover would ask for their book of ration coupons and cut out the right number of coupons before selling them the sugar. Once all the coupons were gone from their book, they couldn't buy any more sugar until the next set of ration books was issued by the government.
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Air Raids
Every night, Izzie had to make sure the blackout curtains were tightly drawn over every window in her house. If even the tiniest bit of light got through, an airplane flying overhead could see that light and know where to drop a bomb. At school, Izzie and her friends had air raid drills, similar to fire drills today, to practice what to do if enemy airplanes attacked their village.
Enemy bombers never did attack Canada, but Great Britain, because it was much closer, was attacked many times. Between September 1940 and May 1941, London was bombed thousands of times by German airplanes. Whole neighbourhoods were destroyed, and even Buckingham Palace was hit. More than 30 000 people were killed, and many thousands more were badly injured during what became known as "the London Blitz."
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The Battle of the Atlantic
When war was declared in September 1939, the Battle of the Atlantic also began. Great Britain desperately needed supplies from Canada, but the Germans wanted to prevent those supplies from arriving safely. That is why they sent submarines to attack the Allied ships. The ships carried not only supplies (such as food and weapons) but also people -- soldiers going to fight for the Allies in Europe. Crossing the Atlantic during the war was extremely dangerous, and so ships travelled together in convoys, with several warships protecting a group of supply ships.
 The people who worked on these supply ships were known as merchant mariners, and although they were very brave and took many risks for their country, they were not considered part of the military. This meant they received no benefits (such as pensions or death benefits) nor were they given medals when they did something especially courageous. In February 2000, the Canadian government decided to recognize the sacrifices made by merchant mariners during the Second World War and gave $50 million to the surviving mariners and their families.
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