Bottle of Cod Liver Oil (empty), Boots the Chemist, 1939-1955, England. (One of two)

Brown glass bottle, metal tin screw top lid, labelled 'Freshly Expressed, Pure Cod Liver Oil.' Also printed with text “Given to children and expectant and nursing mothers, it helps to form sound bones and teeth. Increases resistance to winter ailments.”

Cod liver oil is rich in vitamins A and D, which are essential vitamins for bone growth. A lack of these vitamins causes rickets, a condition where the leg bones become soft and twisted.

Bottles of cod liver oil were given out by the Ministry of Food during and after the Second World War to ensure that all children and adults were getting vitamin A and D in their diets at a time when some foods were rationed or in short supply. Unpleasant to the taste, a spoonful of cod liver oil was something endured by many thousands on a daily basis.