For the British people, food and drink, especially tea has always played an important part in our lives. So when the First World War broke out, how was everyone going to be able to cope, especially if the German's succeeded in cutting off our tiny island.
Before war broke out, the rich dinned at fancy restaurants and went to social events such as dinners whereas the poor tended to make so with what they could after, sometimes being only bread and dripping. Rationing wasn't to come into force until much later in the war so traditional favourites could still be enjoyed. These favourites included porridge, pies, stews, kippers and a takeaway of fish and chips if it could be afforded.
At the outbreak of war such a vast number of men volunteered to fight, that the government had to work out how they were going to feed them all. It wasn't going to be as easy as popping to the local shops. The food had to travel across the channel, through the dangers that lurked beneath the sea, before then travelling to the trenches that needed it. The government therefore decided that there would be a restriction on how much food a soldier could have daily, thus ensuring that no matter how far down the trenches you were, you all got the same amount. The guidelines were: A pinch of both pepper and mustard, 8 ounces of fresh vegetables or a tenth of lime juice, 4 ounces of jam or 4 ounces of dried fruit, 4 ounces of butter or margerine, 3 ounces of cheese, 20 ounces of bread or 16 ounces of flour or 4 ounces of oatmeal. In terms of meat, soldiers could have 4 ounces of bacon, 1 1/4 pounds of meat or 1 pound of salt meat. Also allowed was up to half a gill of rum or 1 pint of porter per soldier. Due to the amount of time and effort it took to get the food to the soldiers, the government also stated that nothing was to be wasted. By the time bread got to the front line it was usually stale but this was not to be thrown away. Instead cooks were expected to put it in cold water and rebake for an hour to give it new life. Alternatively, slices of bread could also be put in milk and baked which turned them into rusks. Any food that was left over could be sold to local farmers to be used as swill, whilst left over dripping could be used in the manufacturing of explosives. To add flavour to their dishes, cooks was taught to look for nettles, sweet docks, wild mushrooms and marigold flowers, all of which could be used to season food. One of the most used recipes was that of the Maconochies Meat Stew, which was made up of fatty meat, sliced turnips, carrots and thin gravy. Although easy to make on a large scale, soldiers grumbled about it and said that when warm it was barely edible yet when cold it could kill. Hard biscuits, made from salt, flour and water was also widely available, however, soldiers soon realised that you needed to dunk them in a drink or loose your teeth!
Originally, the war was meant to be over by Christmas, yet as it dragged on food became scarce and things were harder to find in shops. The government distributed leaflets to homes across Britain with tips on how to use every piece of food, making sure nothing was left over. These leaflets also included how to use vegetables as a substitute for other ingredients such as potatoes to make pastry and cakes. Propaganda played a huge part on the homefront to ensure women was doing their bit for the war effort. Posters included one that stated: Women of Britain - our soldiers are beating the Germans on land, our sailors are beating them on the sea, You can beat them in the larder and the kitchen. For women, it gave them a role in the war, to ensure they used as little food as possible so that the soldiers and sailors could have the food they needed in order to fight the enemy. A book was released to help women achieve this in the form of the Win The War Cookbook, where women could find recipes with many substitute ingredients that they otherwise wouldn't have known about.
By 1916 flour was almost non-exsistant in the trenches, so bread started being made from other ingredients such as dried potato, oats, barley and sometimes even pulverised straw. Some small French towns had opened up cafe's, often in the front room of their house, to accommodate the soldiers when they were on leave. Here a soldier would find foods they wouldn't normally eat in the daily trench life such as egg and chips. These business ventures proved popular, with many soldiers looking forward to visiting them on their next leave. With food supplies becoming more difficult to get through, soldiers were no longer getting the set amount that they had previously had in 1914 and by 1917, Bully Beef was restricted to 6 ounces a day. Although army ration packs were not introduced until after the war, each soldier did carry with them an emergency Iron Rations Kit in a tin. This was made up of various long life foods but could only be opened when told to do so by officers. Meat was also in short supply and was often substituted with horsemeat, whilst dishes such as potato pie and milk biscuit pudding became popular.
Drink, especially water was also becoming more and more difficult to transfer to the front line, with some soldiers resorting to drinking from puddles. This as well as the poor diet, led to deficiencies in important vitamins and stomach upsets became increasingly common. The government came to the conclusion that more had to be done - An army did after all, march on its stomach.
The answer was rationing which came into force in 1918. Everyone was issued with a ration card, even including the King and Queen and had to take it with them whenever they wanted to purchase anything on ration. Foods that were rationed included sugar, meat, flour, margarine, butter and milk. This, like on the front line, ensured that everybody was entitled to the same amount of food, rich and poor alike.
The process of ensuring everybody had enough to eat took its time but got there towards the end. It meant that when the Second World War came along later, the government could look at the First World War techniques and make it quicker and more efficient. Rationing also brought with it new food technology that we still use today - having something dried from a packet and just adding water. By 1918 this was commonplace in custard and dried soup powder and again would have its day during the Second World War.
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