Sowerbutt's Rules

"Jimmy Sorbay was fiercely protective of his people - friends, clients, tenants or the Poplar community generally," the retired writer for the East London Pioneer, who still has the notebook from his early 1960s interview with Sowerbutt, said. "The food inspectors in the war got up to all sorts of stupid tricks, claiming it sent a message to families to keep to the rules. One day in 1941 a team of women, strangers in the area, tried to trick shop assistants into selling goods without coupons. The woman handed over her ration book and asked for two ounces of tea or cheese or whatever the commodity was. When the assistant had almost finished serving her, the woman changed her mind and asked for four ounces. If the assistant forgot to take the second coupon, they were charged with breaking the law. Tipped off by the matchbox men, Sorbay's lads sealed off East India Dock Road and High Bob and hauled these women out onto the street. No disrespect was shown, but Jimmy tore up the charge sheets and they were told in no uncertain terms it would be to their advantage never to return. White-faced, they were marched back to Whitechapel and then left to their own devices. Nothing further was heard about the matter."
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