A History of the Ministry of Information, 1939-46

45 46 47

Regional Differences in Sources from which Footwear is Obtained

Department store or large local shop

Proportions of men who buy their footwear from a department store or large local shop are significantly higher in the Glasgow area than anywhere else.

Small local shop

In the Glasgow area again, proportions of male workers getting their footwear from small local shops are significantly lower than average and than in Northern England or the area covering the S., S.W., S.E., and E. Anglia: and lower in the Midlands and S.Wales than in Northern England. (The term “small local shop” may in some cases refer to branches of large stores.)

Employer

Proportions of men who have their working footwear supplied by their employers are significantly higher in London and the Midlands and S.Wales area than in any of the other three areas.

Regional Differences in Attempts to Buy Since Christmas

Significantly higher proportions of men had tried to buy footwear since Christmas are well below 100 in all areas, it is not practicable to give a regional analysis of types of difficulty encountered. However, of the 103 men in the sample who had had difficulty in buying, a significantly higher proportion said that footwear was unobtainable than those who said they had found difficulty in getting small, medium or large sizes: though when the proportions who had difficulty in getting the 3 sizes are averaged, the frequency of the size occurring as a difficulty falls within the normal range.

TYPE OF FOOTWEAR Dept. store or large local shop Small local shop Employer Mail order Second-hand Not answer-ed Sample
No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
Hob-nailed boots 320 63 139 28 5 1 6 1 10 2 27 5 507
Boots 138 60 56 24 2 1 3 1 7 3 25 11 231
Rubber boots 47 23 35 17 111 54 1 - 4 2 8 4 206
Clogs 14 11 41 31 ± 8.2 62 47 ± 8.8 - - 1 1 13 10 131
Ordinary heavy shoes 58 65 18 20 3 3 - - 1 1 10 11 90

It can be seen from this table that the majority of ordinary boots, hob-nailed boots and ordinary heavy shoes, are bought at department stores or large local shops. More than half of the men who wear rubber boots for their work are supplied with them through their employer. There is no significant difference between frequencies with which clogs are supplied by employers and bought at small local shops.

Note.

Many investigators reported that workers had explained that the difficulty in getting rubber boots which were urgently and essentially required for some types of work - particularly with acids - was often due to the lack of permits rather than to shortage in the shops, where workers had seen rubber boots of the type they required.

Best Type of Footwear

Questions 6, 7 & 8 Hob-nailed boots Rubber boots Boots Clogs Total
No. % No. % No. % No. % %
Q.6 Tried to buy since Xmas 185 37 ± 4.1 74 28 ± 5.4 80 35 ± 6.2 36 27 ± 7.2 33
Has not tried to buy 310 61 163 63 142 61 80 60 62
Not answered 13 2 23 9 9 4 17 13 5
All who stated preference 508 260 231 133 1132
Q.7 Difficulty in buying 39 21 ± 6.2 31 42 12 15 ± 7.4 15 - 26
No difficulty in buying 145 78 40 54 65 81 21 - 72
Not answered 1 1 3 4 3 4 - - 2
All who tried to buy since Xmas 185 74 80 36 375
Q.8 None obtainable 6 - 11 - 1 - 7 - 26
Wrong type for work 11 - - - 2 - 2 - 15
Size unobtainable: small 3 - 2 - - - 1 - 6
Medium 4 - 1 - 1 - - - 6
Large 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 4
Have to wait for order 6 - 4 - 2 - 4 - 16
Others 7 - 11 - 5 - - - 24
Not answered 2 - 1 - - - - - 3
All who had difficulty in buying 40 31 12 15 98

There are no statistically significant differences between the frequencies of attempts to buy these four types of footwear since Christmas: but it will be seen that a significantly higher proportion of the men who had tried to buy rubber boots had experienced difficulty than those who had tried to buy other types of footwear.

Comparison of (1) Type preferred and type worn and (2) Type preferred and suggested alternative, in four hazard groups.

TYPES PREFERRED

TYPE WORN: Hob-nailed Boots Rubber Boots Boots Clogs Shoes Safeties TOTAL of types worn
No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
Hob-nailed boots 406 83 53 21 1 - 8 6 - - 5 - 473 39
Rubber boots 55 11 168 67 7 3 - - 3 - - - 233 19
Boots 30 6 18 7 193 89 9 7 2 2 13 - 265 22
Clogs 2 - 16 6 3 1 100 78 3 3 1 - 125 10
Shoes 10 2 9 4 21 10 13 10 83 97 3 - 139 11
Safeties - - 2 1 - - 2 2 - - 38 - 42 3
TOTAL of preferences given 488 252 218 129 86 55 1228
ALTERNATIVE TYPES:
Hob-nailed boots (279) (57) 50 20 16 7 23 18 - - 7 - 375 31
Rubber boots 42 9 (115) (46) 11 5 6 5 1 1 - - 175 14
Boots 77 16 32 13 (116) (53) 20 16 27 31 19 - 291 24
Clogs 18 4 22 9 9 4 (57 (44) 3 3 2 - 111 9
Shoes 5 1 3 1 30 14 6 5 (40 (47) - - 84 7
Safeties 12 3 4 2 8 4 11 9 2 2 (25) - 62 5
No alternative given 55 11 26 10 28 13 6 5 13 15 2 - 130 11
TOTAL of preferences given 488 252 218 129 86 55 1228

Safeties includes both ordinary safety-boots and hob-nailed safety-boots.

( NOTE . Vertical totals under “Types Worn” add to more than horizontal totals of “preferences Given” because in some cases men mentioned two types of footwear, either of which they usually wore, e.g., agricultural workers often need to wear both hob-nailed boots and rubber boots for their work.)

We use cookies to track usage and preferences.

Privacy & Cookie Policy Accept & Close