ABSTRACT
Post-war austerity intensified the demand for outdoor leisure from municipal authorities as the British attempted to enjoy every activity available. Cinema attendances rose to over 30 million in 1945 before reaching their all-time peak in 1946. The Second World War had a huge impact on London’s green spaces. As in the previous war, huge areas of public green space were requisitioned. The London County Council allocated over 2,200 acres of its 4,800 acres of public green space for various wartime use, notably for allotments. This was based on governmental initiatives that were instrumental also for the promotion of a new outdoor leisure policy. In the immediate post-war years, the number of allotments remained substantial, despite the desire of most authorities to recover them. Post-war austerity and food shortages forced the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries to order municipal authorities to continue to provide allotments.
