This book, aimed at generating funds for the Army Benevolent Fund and featuring a Foreword by General Lord Dannatt, narrates the personal experiences related to food and “brew-ups” of front-line soldiers from the Boer War to Helmand.
It emphasizes the critical role that food provision, including something as simple as a cup of tea, plays in maintaining morale and fostering camaraderie among units, as well as meeting the caloric demands necessary for combat, illustrated through numerous examples spanning a century. For many soldiers, until 1942, the primary sustenance consisted of “bully beef” and hard biscuits, supplemented by whatever could be sourced locally—sufficient yet monotonous.
At times, there were failures in supply, including instances where water was also scarce. The most extreme hardships occurred when regiments were under siege, as seen in Ladysmith during the Boer War and at Kut el-Amara in Iraq during World War I. At Kut, soldiers had to make do with minimal rations, often resorting to hedgehogs or birds cooked in axle grease along with local plants. The Retreat from Mons in August 1914 on the Western Front was similarly severe.
The logistics of food transport present a fascinating narrative, involving a variety of animals such as oxen, horses, mules, camels, reindeer, and elephants, as well as motor vehicles and aircraft, utilized in different theatres of war at various times. The first attempt at an airdrop of food, which was not particularly successful, occurred at Kut el-Amara in 1916. Experiences from the inter-war years, including those of mountaineers and polar explorers, along with academic studies on the diets of the unemployed in London and Northern England, contributed to the development of varied composite rations, or ‘compo’ rations. This marked a significant enhancement in the quality of soldiers’ food, a fact noted by the 8th Army, which, having subsisted on bully beef and biscuits, encountered the 1st Army in Tunisia, which had arrived from Algeria with tins of compo.
The Italian campaigns from 1943 to 1945, particularly the landings at Salerno and Anzio and the battle for Monte Cassino, posed unique challenges. At Cassino, food was delivered to forward units via mules, assisted by Basuto muleteers and Indian porters for the final leg to soldiers in their makeshift shelters. Conversely, soldiers landing in Normandy and advancing into Germany were generally well-nourished, even during the harsh winter of 1944-45. However, the most severe suffering was experienced by troops in the Burma campaign, particularly within the Chindit columns, where at one point, the only available food was the chaplain’s supply of Communion wafers. Many soldiers unnecessarily perished due to inadequate nutrition.
Units engaged in the Korean War faced significant challenges at the beginning; during the Borneo jungle campaigns of the 1960s, the primary concern was not the availability of food for patrols, but rather the method of consumption that would prevent the scent of food and waste from revealing their locations.
In the Falklands War, specialized cold-weather rations were necessary and were consumed during the lengthy marches known as ‘yomps’ or ‘tabs’. Soldiers patrolling the streets of Northern Ireland often subsisted on egg “banjo” sandwiches, yet a particularly severe situation arose for a Welsh battalion surrounded by Serbian forces in Gorazde during the Bosnia operations, where a lack of Vitamin C resulted in scurvy.
The narrative concludes with discussions on food supply, which frequently involved exchanges with American military rations, typically regarded as inferior to British standards, during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. An appendix details the contents of a standard ration box issued to soldiers in Helmand in 2011, noted for its generous portions and ease of preparation. A warning on one side of the box emphasizes the necessity for soldiers to consume all contents to sustain optimal fighting capability. In contrast, during the Boer War, such directives were absent from the food boxes, which instead bore the initials of the Senior Catering Office Field Force, leading to the phrase “Scoffs here at last.”
The work has been compiled from documents in the Royal Logistic Corps Museum at Deepcut, from memoirs, letters and interviews, and from the superb collection of regimental histories in the library of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. All royalties due to the author for this book will be sent to the Army Benevolent Fund, The Soldiers’ Charity.
Author: Anthony Clayton | Publisher: Helion & Company | Published: 15th November 2013 | Pages: 120 | ISBN: 9781909384187 | Publisher’s page
