A History of the Ministry of Information, 1939-46

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WARTIME SOCIAL SURVEY New Series 30 .

BRUSHES .

An inquiry made for the Board of Trade.

2858 interviews were made with non-working housewives between December 30th, 1942 and January 12th, 1943.

Housewives were asked whether they had tried to buy any of 17 types of brushes during the preceding 4 weeks: how many shops they had visited: whether they had actually bought any brushes; if so, what the prices had been and whether there had been any difficulty in obtaining them; those who had not been able to buy were asked the reasons for this. All housewives were asked what stocks of each type of brush they had.

THOSE WHO HAD TRIED TO BUY BRUSHES .id

Q. 1. Have you tried to buy any of these brushes in the last 4 week s ?

Type of brush Had tried to buy Had not tried to buy
No. % No. %
Soft broom 193 7 2665 93
Hard broom 172 6 2686 94
Soft banister brush 116 4 2742 96
Hard banister brush 79 3 2779 97
Scrubbing brush 410 14 2448 86
Stove brush 131 5 2727 95
Lavatory brush 82 3 2776 97
Saucepan brush 179 6 2679 94
Flue brush 40 1 2818 99
Shoe brush 76 3 2782 97
Clothes brush 35 1 2823 99
Nail brush 259 9 2599 91
Woman’s hair-brush 89 3 2769 97
Infant’s hair-brush 40 1 2818 99
Adult’s tooth-brush 337 12 2521 88
Child’s tooth-brush 74 3 2784 97
Denture brush 46 2 2812 98
Total sample of housewives = 2858

There are no significant differences between percentages of people who had tried to buy brushes in the five regions, except in the case of hard brooms, scrubbing brushes, stove brushes, nail brushes and adults’ and childrens’ tooth-brushes.

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REGIONAL ANALYSIS

Scotland Northern Midlands & S. Wales South-East London
% % % % %
Hard broom 3 3 8 7 10
Scrubbing brush 14 15 18 9 15
Stove brush 4 2 6 7 3
Nail brush 7 6 12 11 9
Adult’s toothbrush 13 5 17 14 12
Child’s toothbrush 2 1 5 3 3
Sample 228 854 663 731 382

CLASS ANALYSIS *

Answers to Q. 1 . A.& B. classes C.&D. classes Total
% % %
Had tried to buy one or more type of brush 359 48 1179 56 1540 100
Had not tried to buy any brushes 392 52 925 44 1318 100
Total sample in each class group 751 100 2104 100 2858 100

* Groups A & B include people of the upper and middle social classes; groups C & D those in the lower middle and working classes.

It can be seen from this table that an appreciably higher proportion of housewives in the C & D group than in the A & B had tried to buy brushes. (Compare with class analysis of stocks.)

Analyses of answers to questions which are dependent on a positive answer to Q. 1. are only given when the number of people answering Q. 1. is over 100, that is, for eight types of brushes.

NUMBER OF SHOPS VISITED .

In Q. 3. those who had tried to buy brushes were asked how many shops they had visited for the purpose.

Number of shops Visited Soft Brooms Hard Brooms Soft Banister Brushes Stove Brushes Saucepan Brushes Scrubbing Brushes Nail Brushes Adults’ Tooth-Brushes
% % % % % % % %
One shop 58 30 73 43 44 38 28 21 45 25 132 32 90 35 273 81
Two shops 33 17 28 16 23 20 12 9 17 10 53 13 26 10 18 5
Three or more shops 97 50 69 40 43 37 86 66 108 60 217 53 135 52 26 8
No answer 5 3 2 1 6 5 5 4 9 5 8 2 8 3 20 6
Number who tried to buy 193 100 172 100 116 100 131 100 179 100 410 100 259 100 337 100

Of those who had tried to buy any of the nine types of brushes for which the numbers are too small to give reliable separate analyses an average of 39%, 12%, 44% visited one, two, and three or more shops respectively, and approximately 5% could not say how many they had visited.

Owing to the small numbers it is not possible to give a separate table showing the number of shops visited by those who had tried to buy brushes, but had not succeeded.

BRUSHES ACTUALLY BOUGHT .

Q. 4. asked if a brush had actually been bought.

Did you buy a brush Soft Brooms Hard Brooms Soft Banister Brushes Stove Brushes Saucepan Brushes Scrubbing Brushes Nail Brushes Adults’ Tooth-Brushes
% % % % % % % %
Yes 79 41 89 52 56 48 36 27 46 26 196 48 130 50 315 94
No 114 59 83 48 59 51 95 73 130 73 214 52 129 50 21 6
No answer - - - - 1 1 - - 3 1 - - - - 1 -
Number who tried to buy 193 100 172 100 116 100 131 100 179 100 410 100 259 100 337 100

Of those trying to buy any of the other nine types of brushes, approximately 46% had actually bought brushes, and 54% had not.

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DIFFICULTIES MET IN BUYING BRUSHES

Numbers who had bought brushes were below 100, and therefore no analyses of Questions 5, 6 and 7 are given, except in the case of scrubbing-brushes, nailbrushes and adults’ tooth-brushes, for which the results are as follows:-

Q. 5. If a brush was bought, was there any difficulty in getting it?

Answers to Q.5 Scrubbing Brushes Nail Brushes Adults’ Tooth Brushes
% % %
Yes 76 39 52 40 42 13
No 116 59 75 58 265 84
No answer 4 2 3 2 8 3
Number who bought 196 100 130 100 315 100

Of those who had bought any of the other 14 types of brushes, an average of 35% had had difficulty, 62% had not had difficulty, and 3% did not answer the question.

In no case did the number who said they had experienced difficulty getting any particular type of brush exceed 76, so that detailed analysis of the following question, which asked what the difficulties had been, is not practicable. However, if difficulties met in buying all the 17 types of brushes are grouped together the following averages can be obtained:-

(Percentages represent averages for the 17 types of brushes)

%
Prices too high 39
Poor quality 26
Had to visit several shops 16
Wrong type 9
Not answered 10
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PRICES PAID.

Those who had bought brushes were asked the prices they had paid for them. Reliable results can again be given only for scrubbing brushes, nail-brushes, and adults’ tooth brushes.

Q. 7. “If bought, what was the price ?”

Price Scrubbing Brushes Nail Brushes Adults’ Tooth-Brushes
% % %
Up to 1/-. 63 32 12 9 16 5
1/-1/2 to 2/-. 92 47 70 54 121 39
2/-1/2 to 3/-. 18 9 22 17 111 35
3/-. And over 14 8 20 16 33 10
No answer 9 4 6 4 34 11
Number who bought 196 100 130 100 315 100

For the other 14 types of brushes ranges of prices are given, with a rough indication where the median lies.

Type of Brush Range of Prices Paid Median Price Numbers buying brushes
Soft broom Up to 15/-. 4/10 79
Hard broom Up to 10/-. 3/9 1/2 89
Soft banister brush Up to 7/-. 3/6 56
Hard banister brush Up to 5/6. 3/3 40
Stove brush Up to 4/-. 2/-. 36
Lavatory brush Up to 4/-. 2/6 25
Saucepan brush Up to 3/-. 11d. 46
Flue brush Up to 3/- 1/3 23
Shoe brush Up to 4/-. 2/3 1/2 35
Clothes brush Up to 10/-, occasionally over. 4/-. 19
Woman’s hair brush Up to £1, occasionally over. 7/6 27
Infant’s hair brush Up to 10/-. 4/1 8
Child’s tooth brush Up to 3/-. 1/5 56
Denture brush Up to 3/6, occasionally over 2/2 21

UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS TO BUY BRUSHES.

People who replied to Q. 4. that they had not bought a brush, were asked the reason for this. The numbers of negative replies to Q. 4. justify individual analysis in the case of 5 types of brushes: soft brooms, scrubbing brushes, stove brushes, saucepan brushes and nail-brushes.

Reason why Brush was not bought. Soft Brooms Scrubbing Brushes Stove Brushes Saucepan Brushes Nail Brushes
% % % % %
Unobtainable 65 57 171 80 77 81 122 94 86 67
Wrong type 7 6 7 3 2 2 6 5 5 4
Price too high 42 37 31 14 16 17 2 2 37 29
Poor quality 3 3 12 6 1 1 2 2 4 3
No answer 1 1 - - - - - - - -
Number who did not buy 114 100 214 100 95 100 130 100 129 100

Reasons for not buying given by those who bought any of the remaining 12 types of brushes were distributed in roughly the following proportions:- an average of 62% said the brushes were unobtainable, 23% complained that the prices were too high, 10% said the brushes had been of the wrong type, and 5% said they had been of poor quality.

REASONS FOR NOT TRYING TO BUY BRUSHES.

Those who replied to Q.1. that they had not tried to buy any brushes in the last 4 weeks were asked why they had not tried. Not more than 3% in any case said they had not tried to buy brushes because they had heard of the shortage, or had heard or seen that prices were high. The majority had not tried because they did not need any brushes; though a small proportion - ranging from 1% for infants’ hair brushes to 13% for scrubbing brushes - with an average of 5%, said they needed certain kinds of brushes, but had not yet tried to buy them.

STOCKS OF BRUSHES HELD .

In Q. 9 all housewives were asked how many of each kind of brush they possessed.

Stocks held by those who had and had not tried to buy brushes during the last 4 weeks are compared below for the 8 types of brushes which sufficient numbers of housewives had tried to buy.

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STOCKS OF BRUSHES HELD BY THOSE WHO HAD AND HAD NOT TRIED TO BUY .

Stocks held by those who
Type of Brush Had Tried to Buy Had not Tried to Buy
0 1 % 2 or more 0 1 % 2 or more
Soft Brooms 26 65 9 11 77 12
Hard Brooms 30 61 8 25 68 7
Soft Banister Brushes 33 55 12 27 63 10
Scrubbing Brushes 20 57 23 4 57 39
Stove Brushes 33 30 35 18 39 43
Saucepan Brushes 60 32 8 65 27 8
Nail Brushes 30 39 30 22 46 32
Adults’ Tooth Brushes 0 11 88 9 15 76

From this it can be seen that, except in the case of saucepan brushes and adults’ tooth brushes, the proportions holding no stocks are appreciably higher amongst those who have tried to buy than amongst those who have not tried.

INTENSITY OF DEMAND.

Total Stocks 0 1 2 or more
Had or Had not tried to Buy Total with 0 stock Had Tried % Had not Tried % Total with 1 stock Had Tried % Had not Tried % Total with 2 or more stock Had Tried % Had not Tried %
Soft Brooms 339 15 85 2190 6 94 327 5 95
Hard Brooms 729 7 93 1922 6 94 199 7 93
Soft Banister Brushes 772 5 95 1776 4 96 306 5 95
Scrubbing Brushes 170 49 51 1625 14 86 1062 9 91
Stove Brushes 532 8 92 1089 4 96 1232 4 96
Saucepan Brushes 1854 6 94 763 7 93 239 6 94
Nail Brushes 661 12 88 1293 8 92 896 9 91
Adults’ Tooth Brushes 232 - 100 401 9 91 2219 13 87
TOTAL NUMBER OF INTERVIEWS = 2858

This table shows that where no stocks of these eight types of brushes were held the greatest number of attempts were made to buy scrubbing brushes, soft brooms and nail brushes; the numbers who had no stocks of hard brooms, soft banister brushes, stove and saucepan brushes and had tried to buy these brushes are relatively lower. The position as regards adults’ tooth brushes is interesting since it can be seen that those with the largest stocks had made considerably more efforts to buy tooth-brushes than those with only one toothbrush, and of the 232 families with no adults’ tooth-brushes none had made any attempt to buy one.

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REGIONAL ANALYSIS OF STOCKS OF BRUSHES HEL D .

TOTAL STOCKS OF BRUSHES 0 1 2 3 4 or more
REGION Scotland Northern England Midlands & S. Wales South & Eastern England London Scotland Northern England Midlands & S. Wales South & Eastern England London Scotland Northern England Midlands & S. Wales South & Eastern England London Scotland Northern England Midlands & S. Wales South & Eastern England London Scotland Northern England Midlands & S. Wales South & Eastern England London
Soft broom 20 8 15 9 16 71 79 77 77 74 9 12 7 13 8 - 1 1 1 2 - - - - -
Hard broom 48 25 23 24 19 51 67 68 69 75 - 7 7 6 6 - 1 1 1 - - - - - -
Soft banister brush 57 19 35 24 18 40 65 59 64 71 3 15 5 10 8 - 1 - 2 2 - - - - -
Hard banister brush 25 29 29 22 31 67 64 66 72 62 7 7 5 6 5 1 - - - 1 - - - - 1
Scrubbing brush 6 4 12 4 4 66 45 62 59 67 24 40 22 31 23 3 9 4 4 4 1 2 - 2 2
Stove brush 17 22 17 19 15 45 48 38 28 32 30 26 39 40 37 6 4 4 1 14 2 - 1 2 2
Lavatory brush 36 37 43 39 30 62 60 52 53 62 2 3 5 7 7 - - - 1 1 - - - - -
Saucepan brush 58 55 70 74 64 41 25 27 22 29 1 4 3 4 4 - 5 - - 2 - 11 - - 1
Flue brush 39 40 49 57 47 54 58 46 41 50 7 2 4 2 3 - - 1 - - - - - - -
Shoe brush - 3 3 1 1 4 10 7 4 5 36 40 38 28 39 22 17 19 22 22 37 30 33 45 33
Clothes brush 3 4 6 2 11 39 47 46 30 47 32 30 30 35 30 17 12 12 17 7 9 7 6 16 5
Nail Brush 23 31 23 18 14 42 46 47 46 43 25 18 21 24 24 7 4 6 7 15 3 1 2 5 4
Woman’s hair brush 21 15 13 8 9 30 38 37 37 34 29 29 31 31 38 13 12 12 14 15 7 6 7 10 4
Infant’s hair brush 88 88 83 79 81 10 10 13 17 15 1 2 2 2 3 - - - - - - - - - -
Denture brush 74 66 68 73 83 19 25 22 21 11 6 8 7 5 5 - 1 2 1 1 - - - - -
Adults’ tooth brushes 4 12 9 5 6 14 13 17 13 13 25 28 28 32 22 19 22 22 22 22 38 25 24 28 37
Average No. in family 3.8 3.3 3.4 3.4 3.5 3.8 3.3 3.4 3.4 3.5 3.8 3.3 3.4 3.4 3.5 3.8 3.3 3.4 3.4 3.5 3.8 3.3 3.4 3.4 3.5
Childrens’ tooth brushes - in families with children under 5 years. 44 61 50 44 34 31 22 31 34 32 15 13 13 16 26 4 3 2 3 5 6 1 4 2 3

Regional Samples: Scotland 228- Southern England 854- Midlands & South 55. Wales 66 South & Eastern England 731-London 382.

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CLASS ANALYSIS OF STOCKS OF BRUSHES HELD

Type of Brush Classes A & B Classes C & D
0 1 2 % 3 4 or more 0 1 2 % 3 4 or more
Soft broom 6 74 18 2 - 14 78 8 - -
Hard broom 16 71 12 1 - 29 66 4 - -
Soft banister brush 16 64 17 3 - 31 62 6 1 -
Hard banister brush 19 68 12 1 - 30 66 4 - -
Scrubbing brush 4 42 42 8 4 7 62 26 4 1
Stove brush 23 30 35 9 2 17 41 34 7 1
Lavatory brush 18 66 14 2 - 45 53 2 - -
Saucepan brush 38 56 6 - - 51 47 2 - -
Flue brush 38 56 6 - - 51 47 2 - -
Shoe brush 1 23 38 21 17 6 48 29 10 7
Clothes brush 1 23 38 21 17 6 48 29 10 7
Nail brush 6 33 35 16 10 29 50 16 4 1
Woman’s hair brush 4 21 37 22 16 16 42 29 10 3
Infant’s hair brush 84 13 2 - - 83 14 2 - -
Adult’s tooth brush 3 6 23 25 43 10 17 30 20 23
Denture brush 61 24 12 3 - 74 20 4 1 -
Sample 751 2104

This shows that percentages who have no stocks of brushes are higher in the C & D group than in the A & B, except in the case of stove brushes, and childrens’ hair brushes.

CLASS ANALYSIS OF STOCKS OF CHILDRENS’ TOOTH-BRUSHES in families with children under 5

% %
Childrens’ tooth brushes 39 35 19 4 3 50 29 15 3 3
Average number of children under 5 1.2 1.3
Sample 751 2104
- 8 -

THE SAMPLE
REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION.

Regional Groups Number %
Scotland 228 8
Northern England 854 30
Midlands and South Wales 663 23
South and East England 731 26
London 382 13
Total sample 2858 100

Towns visited in each region are as follows:-

SCOTLAND . Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling, Dunblane
NORTHERN ENGLAND . Durham, Darlington, Northallerton, Leeds, Dewsbury, Huddersfield, Hull, Beverley, York, Warrington, Macclesfield, Crewe, Manchester, Nelson, Colne, Lancaster (and Rural), Kendal (and Rural).
MIDLANDS AND SOUTH WALES Birmingham, Coventry, Nuneaton, Derby, Burton-on-Trent, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Shrewsbury (and Rural), Wellington (and Rural) Warwick (and Rural), Leamington (and Rural), Swansea, Neath, Aberdare.
SOUTH AND EAST ENGLAND Kind’s Lynn, Hunstanton, Braintree, Colchester, Slough, Windsor, Portsmouth, Canterbury, Deal, Bristol, Gloucester, Taunton, Bridgewater. (Rural calls in all these districts)
LONDON AREA Kingston, Croydon, Wandsworth, Stepney, Lambeth, Westminster, Acton, St. Pancras, Tottenham.

CLASS DISTRIBUTION

Class Number %
A 142 5
B 609 21
C 1090 38
D 1014 36
Not answered 3 -
Total sample 2858 100

AGE DISTRIBUTION

Age Number %
Under 35 614 22
35 – 50 1208 42
Over 50 1031 36
Not Answered 5 -
Total sample 2858 100

URBAN/RURAL DISTRIBUTION .

District Number %
Urban 2402 84
Rural 448 16
Not answered 8 -
Total sample 2858 100
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BRUSHES

WARTIME SOCIAL SURVEY

New Series No. 31

Class Age Number in Family Type of Dwelling Office Use
Interviewer:......... A......... 1 Under 35......... 6 Children under 5......... Whole house......... 1 Urban......... 5 1 2 3 4
Town:......... B......... 2 35 - 50......... 7 Children 5 - 14......... Part house......... 2 Rural......... 6 5 6 7 8
Date:......... C......... 3 Over 50......... 8 Men......... Flat......... 3 9 10 11 12
D......... 4 Women.........
Total.........
Scrubbing Stove Broom Banister Lavatory Saucepan Flue Shoe Clothes Nail Hair Tooth Denture Office Use
Soft Hard Soft Hard Wm. Inf. Ad. Ch.
1. Have you tried to buy in the last 4 weeks? Yes Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
No X 0 1 X 0 1 X 0 1 X 0 1 X 0 1 X 0 1
2. If No , Why not? Not needed Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Heard of shortage X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Heard or seen price high 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
Needed, not yet tried 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
2
3. If Yes , How many shops did you go to? (Write number) 2
4. Did you buy one? Yes 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
No 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 6
5. If Bought , Was there any difficulty? Yes Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
No X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 8
6. If Yes , What difficulty? Wrong type 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Poor quality 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
Price too high 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
Had to go to several shops 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
7. If Bought , What was the price? (s/d) / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / 7
8. If Not Bought , Why not? Unobtainable Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Wrong type X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Price too high 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
Poor Quality 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
9. ( Ask Everyone ) How many have you altogether? (Write number) 4

P.T.O

10. Have you tried to get any pots and pans mended during the last three months? Did you have any difficulty?

Have not tried......... 1
Tried. No difficulty......... 2
Tried. Succeeded after difficulty......... 3
Tried and unable to......... 4

10a. If difficulty, or unable to .

What was the difficulty?

10b. If tried.

Would you have had this mended in the ordinary way, or would you have bought a new one if possible?

Would have had mended......... 1
Would have bought new......... 2
Some new. Some mended......... 3
Don’t know. ......... 4

11. Have you tried to get any electrical repairs done during the last three months? Did you have any difficulty?

Have not tried......... 1
Tried. No difficulty......... 2
Tried. Succeeded after difficulty......... 3
Tried and unable to......... 4

11a. If difficulty or unable to.

What was the difficulty?

12. Have you tried to get any plumbing repairs done during the last three months? Did you have any difficulty?

Have not tried......... 1
Tried. No difficulty......... 2
Tried. Succeeded after difficulty......... 3
Tried and unable to......... 4

12a. If difficulty or unable to

What was the difficulty?

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