Dr Carrot
A post card featuring Dr Carrot celebrates what, in the war years, was billed as the children’s best friend. Carrots were used in several wartime mock recipes including carrolade and carrot jam.
Carrots were also pressed into two other forms of wartime service. Government propaganda encouraged the belief that the beta-carotene or vitamin A they contained was responsible for helping Royal Air Force night fighter aces – such as ‘Cats Eyes’ Cunningham – shoot down German bombers.
The humble vegetable also featured in a code message – “The carrots are cooked” – to report successful landings on the first day of the invasion.