From the archives of Bob Montgomery, motoring historian
MOTORING DURING THE 'EMERGENCY': With the outbreak of the second World War in 1939, the Government of the day appointed Sean Lemass as Minister for Supplies on September 16th and on the same day introduced an order covering the official rationing of petrol, to begin in October.
The official allowance for private motorists was eight gallons a month for cars up to 10 hp; 12 gallons a month for cars 10 - 16 hp and a bit extra for doctors, vets, priests and commercial travellers. However, the Government also announced that the value of each petrol coupon would vary according to the supply situation.
In fact, initially there was little problem with supplies, no doubt due to the stockpiling that the oil companies had been undertaking for some time as they filled garage tanks to their brim with a view to gaining as much storage space for product at their own storage installations.
However, petrol for private cars became increasingly unavailable by the middle of 1941 before ceasing altogether in March 1942.
As one can imagine, people's lives were severely affected by these changes as rationing and petrol shortages began to take hold. Public transport almost ceased and the humble bicycle underwent a revival and came to be worth its weight in gold.
At the same time there was an increase in the amount of horse-drawn traffic and a small number of motorists converted their cars to run on gas stored in large bags on their roof. Such cars were not put off the road but they received no supplies of petrol or tyres and no guarantee of the fuel needed to make the gas.
One form of transport that came into its own again was that using the canals. In 1942, 29 new barges were ordered to be used for the transportation of turf. From April 1944, the petrol ration, tiny as it was, that was still supplied to doctors and clergymen living in the city was withdrawn altogether.
As the "Emergency" continued into its third year, things improved to a certain extent, as Britain released enough fuel to meet the country's essential needs.
The end of the war failed to bring an end to rationing, which officially remained in place for a further six years before finally coming to an end on December 17th 1951.