Rag Rag : The Rag Rag Annual Magazine, 1946

University of Manchester Student Union

Rag Rag

<p style='text-align: justify;'><b>Content warning: As an historical item, some content in this magazine contains language and imagery that reflect the prejudices of the era, which are offensive, oppressive and may cause upset. This is not condoned by The University of Manchester, but we are committed to providing access to this material as evidence of the inequalities and attitudes of the time period.</b></p><p style='text-align: justify;'>The 1946 Rag Rag magazine was produced by students to raise money for medical charities in Manchester. The cover line ‘Wot – back again?’ is directed at students returning from military service during the Second World War. The Rag Rag had not been published from 1941 to 1946 due to the war.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Features include ‘Talking of the Manchester plan’, satirising the plan to redevelop the city and remove substandard housing. There are also jokes referencing austerity, necking and contemporary politics. Cartoons show men discussing military tactics, Lancaster bombers and Hitler. Some cartoons show sexualised female imagery, including nudity.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>There are comedic advertisements for Hydes brewery, Saint Mary’s hospitals, W. H. Smith electrical engineers, Lancashire United Transport, Manchester Northern Hospital, P. McKiernan & Sons food merchants, the Manchester and Salford Hospital Saturday and Convalescent Homes Fund, S. Dodd & Sons textile merchants, Copley’s knitting wools, Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, John Green car dismantler, Jones & Jackson decorating, Robinson’s cakes, Tetley’s brewery, Ancoats Hospital, William Partington machine tools and others.</p>