Onion Rationing in the United Kingdom

During World War II, the supply and distribution of onions throughout the United Kingdom was restricted, along with many other foodstuffs. The Government did not order the rationing of onions until 1942. This was a relatively late date in comparison to other produce, and uniquely the Government ordered the de-rationing of onions in 1944, a full year before the end of the war. By comparison, many other items of food remained rationed in Britain until the early 1950’s. The true purpose behind the decision to ration onions in Britain during the war was not to conserve a valuable commodity, but to trick the German government and military into wasting resources in the pursuit of a fictitious scientific endeavour. [Nigel West, MI6: British Security Service Operations, 1909-45 (Triad Books, 1983),p.193.]

The Double Cross System

During the Second World War, the British Security Service MI5 captured all the German spies who landed in Britain. It then used a substantial number of them in the now celebrated "Double Cross System" which fed disinformation to an unsuspecting enemy. The messages that the double agents sent to Germany contained carefully selected true information of some value, but as the war progressed, they also included misinformation calculated to deceive the Germans and lead them to self-damaging decisions.

Operation Omelette

The British led the Germans to believe, via their double agents, that they had developed a powerful new explosive compound derived in part from onions and in particular, the volatile alliinase enzymes contained within them. Despite the lack of a pressing shortage of onions in Britain, the Government ordered the rationing of onions in 1942 in order to lend credence to the notion that onions had become an important component in the British war effort. The British military then began to hoard and conspicuously stockpile onions in seemingly poorly guarded warehouses in Berkshire. This was done in the hope of attracting the attention of, and arresting, new German spies sent specifically to investigate the existence of an onion based explosive called Octolitehydroxide. However, the main purpose of Operation Omelette was to induce the Germans into expending valuable time and resources on work to replicate a non-existent and unworkable chemical compound.

After two years, the British had not received any significant intelligence that would have indicated that the Germans were making a serious effort to produce Octolitehydroxide. Therefore, in 1944 the British Government ended Operation Omelette and made onions freely available to the general population.

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*Rationing in the United Kingdom