Utility Furniture of the Second World War: The 1943 Utility Furniture Catalogue with an Explanation of Britain's Second World War Utility Furniture Scheme (Historic Booklet Series No. 3 3) - Tapa dura

When the Luftwaffe's Blitz on Britain began in September 1940, people's homes and their contents were destroyed at an alarming rate. Thanks to the bombing, furniture shortages in Britain hit an all time high by 1942. The government responded with a range of affordable furniture - the so-called Utility Furniture Scheme - but only for those that could prove their need. Jon Mills presents a comprehensive guide to the introduction of utility Furniture, to accompany a facsimile reproduction of the first Utility catalogue that appeared in 1943. Jon Mills gives a fascinating insight into the privations of the war years and a nostalgic look back for those who remember this sturdy furniture, much of which has survived into the 21st century.

Jon Mills is an author, researcher and collector specialising in the Second World War British Home Front. His interest in the period was sparked by family tales of his air raid warden grandfather, his father in the Home Guard and his mother who issued ration books and identity cards. A collector of wartime memorabilia for some fifty years, Jon is the author and publisher of the series Within the Island Fortress, an in-depth look at the insignia and ephemera of Britain's civilian war effort. The co-author of two wartime histories of the London Borough of Wandsworth where he was brought up, Jon is a regular contributor to military and family history magazines. For Sabrestorm Jon has written Utility Furniture a guide to the 1943 Utility furniture catalogue. Jon is editor of The Formation Sign, journal of the Military Heraldry Society whose members are supporting him in his next project, Badges on Battledress, an illustrated history of the cloth insignia worn by the British Armed forces from 1939 to1967. Originally a librarian, Jon worked for local authorities before providing information and records management to the property industry. Married with four grandchildren, Jon lives in Kent.