The method of selection of the samples and their distribution

The inquiry was concerned with the expenditure of coupons in Great Britain. As the numbers of demobilised persons in each region were not know, quotes were allocated according to the proportions of the whole population living in broad regional groups, and divided proportionally between urban and rural areas. National Registration Offices were visited in the areas chosen to represent each region, and the names of persons to be visited were taken out at regular intervals from the index cards of all the demobilized persons living in these areas; the cards for demobilized person are kept separately, at the ends of the registers, Extra names were taken, to allow for those calls where the informant chosen could not be found.

The interviews were distributed as follows:

8 6 9 7

The composition and validity of the samples

For the purposes of the inquiry the date of demobilisation was taken to be the day on which demobilisation leave began. Nobody who had been demobilised for less than four weeks was interviewed as it was thought that interviews with such people would not produce useful information. Informants were asked from which service they were demobilised, whether they were released in Group A or B, and in what month their demobilisation leave began.

The figures resulting from these questions may usefully be compared with figures published by the Ministry of Labour which show the number of releases from the three services and in each release group, between 18th June and 31st October 1945, though this period of time is not exactly the same as that covered by the inquiry. Persons demobilised from May onwards were interviewed (while some of those demobilised during the last week of October were not included in the sample, as they had been demobilised for less than four weeks when the survey started.

The comparison suggests that the sample interviewed is representative.

The month in which each person was demobilised was also recorded:

Here it is less easy to make a comparison with the numbers actually demobilised, but it is possible to compare the percentages demobilised during September 1945 and before that month with figures given by the Ministry of Labour:

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Other information was obtained about the sample on which there are no data already available. Informants were asked their age, and their marital status. The results of these questions are given below.

Informants were also asked their occupation, if they were already in employment. The occupations of the men were grouped into broad categories and answers to the questionnaire analysed by these groups. This was not done with the women as the sample was too small to produce reliable results. The grouping of the main occupations, as well as the more detailed figures, is shown in the following table.

The ‘unoccupied’ group includes those who were still on demobilisation leave at the time of the interview unless they had already started work.

Fewer woman than men had taken up work.

The classifications used for analysis

The men’s answers were analysed by their occupation, grouped as is shown in Table VII. They were also analysed by whether the informants had dependents. Informants were classed as having dependents if they were married and/or if they had children of their own, of any age, living in their household. 456 (or 89%) had dependents, and 56 (11%) had not.

The answers for both men and women were analysed by the length of time since they were released as follows:-