The food shopping experience of the 1940s was very different from that of today.

Housewives were used to having the butcher, baker and fishmonger deliver to the door. They would take receipt of their goods and then put in their order for the next week. Milk was delivered by the morning milkman, arriving with his horse-drawn or electric milk float. So it only left a short walk or bus ride to the local greengrocer’s shop for their seasonal fruit and vegetables.

Women were comfortable in the knowledge that the salesmen knew what they wanted. They often stopped for a chat or a…