The parishioners agreed to pay all persons who will destroy the sparrows in this parish in the following manner – for every dozen sparrows four pence.
During the two World Wars, the Government were very concerned with the preservation of food supplies and by prevention of waste, less money needed to be expended for the import of food and the obvious risk of getting shipping past the enemy. In order to try and prevent waste, pests needed to be culled. This gave rise to correspondence initially from the Home Office.
The Under Secretary of State, Home Office, 6th June 1917
Sir,
In view of the importance of taking all practical measures at the present time for protecting the National food supply, the Board of Agriculture have recommended that certain measures be taken for the destruction of rats and house sparrows.
The Board of Agriculture issued a leaflet detailing the following rewards to be made:
•Rats tails 1/- per dozen
•Heads of unfledged house sparrows 2d per dozen
•Heads of fully fledged house sparrows 3d per dozen
•House sparrow eggs 1d per dozen
The leaflet also encouraged the setting up of Sparrow and Rat Clubs to encourage the population in the destruction of the pests.
Greensted and Stanford Rivers both had such cubs during the Second World War.
Difficult to imagine anything like this happening today, but desperate times called for desperate measures.