Meat Shortage at Bedford

Cauldwell Street, Bedford, Benson & Co. butcher’s in centre, 1918 [Z1306/10/11/3]

Wednesday 2nd January 1918: Bedford is facing an acute shortage of meat, with very little available in the butchers’ shops of the town. Where butchers have been able to make meat available, it has come from beasts purchased before Christmas which were slaughtered without going through the market. What supplies remain are expected to run out by the weekend. At Bedford market last Saturday only one beast was for sale, and although more are expected to be available this week it will not be enough to meet demand. The situation is even worse in the country districts, where residents depend on the visits of Bedford butchers who have now been forced to suspend their journeys to the villages.

Source: Bedfordshire Standard, 4th January 1918