British Army ration biscuits

Army issue biscuits or ‘hard tack’ have been a staple part of ration packs throughout the history of the British Army. Within our collections at South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture we have three such biscuits. One is wrapped in the pages of The Glasgow Herald dated 13^th October 1900 and dates from the Boer War. The second dates from the early 20^th century, most likely from the First World War and the third is from the Second World War.

Ration biscuit from the Boer War wrapped in pages of The Glasgow Herald dated 13th October 1900.

During the First World War British troops consumed approximately 4,500 calories a day. Whilst this sounds a substantial amount, food at the front was often poor quality and rations could be sporadic. Feeding an army was logistically, a complex task. Supply lines were often affected by fighting and shortages were prevalent. By the end of First World War there were over 2.3million men at the Western Front alone. The food supplied was often monotonous and at times inedible, however, in comparison to French and German troops, the British were believed to have been relatively well fed.

There was no official standard army ration during the First World War but all men received roughly the same allowance. Colonel H.H. Story M.C. states in The History of the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) 1910-1933 that the rations issued to the 19^th Infantry Brigade during the winter of 1914-15 were as follows,

Bread/Biscuit:     1lb

Meat:                  12oz

Vegetables:         8oz

Bacon:                 4oz

Sugar:                  3oz

Jam:                     4oz

Butter/marg:         2oz

Cheese:               3oz

These were issued daily with the exception of butter which soldiers received twice a week. Meat was usually tinned known as ‘Bully beef’ or issued as the infamous ‘Maconochie,’ a mixture of fatty meat, vegetables and gravy. The food often had to be eaten cold and the men had to prepare their meals themselves whilst at the front. Bread was scarce, particularly in 1916 when there was a flour shortage. Men often had to resort to ‘biscuits’ made from salt, flour and water. In 1914 Huntley and Palmers were contracted by the British government to produce the No.4 standard Army Biscuit, so called as it was approximately 4 inches square. At the time Huntley and Palmers were the world’s biggest biscuit manufacturer and had even supplied Captain Scott with biscuits on his expedition to the Antarctic in 1911.

These ‘hard tack army biscuits’ were incredibly tough and often had to be soaked in tea or water for some time before consumption. Sometimes they were ground down to use as a thickening agent (known as ‘duff’) for stews. Other men found more novel uses for the humble but durable biscuit. Some used them as postcards by writing messages on the surface and posting them home to arrive at their destination intact. Others used them as a blank canvas to paint or draw on, but perhaps one of the most popular uses was as a photo frame. The frame was created by carving out the centre and placing a photograph in the hollow.

Biscuit from the early 20th century, possibly First World War 1914-18.

Whilst many found humour in the hard tack biscuits others were angered by the poor quality food that they received. One biscuit in the collections of the Imperial War Museum, North bares the handwritten message, “YOUR KING AND COUNTRY NEED YOU AND THIS IS HOW THEY FEED YOU.”

The fact that so many of these biscuits survive today, 100 years after their production, is testament to their durability and perhaps the incredulity of many men who kept these biscuits not only as mementos but as physical evidence of the diet that they were subjected to.

Iron ration biscuit from the Second World War 1939-1945.

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Christmas in the trenches with The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)

As we commemorate the 100 year centenary of the First World War the collections team here at South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture have been sorting through all the objects and archive we have relating to the First World War. During this process we have come across a number of poignant and interesting objects relating to Christmas in the trenches.

For most soldiers Christmas Day in a theatre of war would be like any other day perhaps with the added bonus of a few extra cigarettes or cakes to share amongst them. December 1914 in France also saw very cold, wet and muddy conditions so men would have struggled to stay dry and warm for long. These photographs from the museum collection show officers of the 1^st and 5^th Battalions in the trenches on Christmas Day 1914 with Captain T. R. McLellan playing the bagpipes for the men and Private Coghlan doing his best to cheer up the men by dressing up.

Christmas day in the trenches

McLellan final image

Rfn Coghlan final

There has been much mention recently of the Christmas Truce of 1914, when soldiers of the British Army and German Armies observed a truce for Christmas Day and met in no-man’s land to exchange gifts and play football. The truce was not observed everywhere along the Western Front and fighting continued in many places. Extracts from the war diaries, which have been fully transcribed by our volunteers, The Friends of Low Parks Museum, show that of the three battalions of The Cameronians who were out in France by December 1914, the 1^st and 2^nd Battalions carried on as normal. The 1^st Battalion reported: “Enemy very noisy during night. One man wounded.” The 5^th Battalion however reported: “Very little sniping, almost an understanding not to fire but one man killed by a sniper”. The 5^th Battalion History book elaborates on this saying:

“On Christmas Eve we could hear the Germans (XIXth Saxon Corps) celebrating the advent of Christmas by singing and merrymaking. We could also hear a brass band behind the houses in their lines playing Christmas carols. For roughly twenty-four hours, Christmas Eve to late afternoon on Christmas day, they ceased firing at us, and we reciprocated. An attempt at fraternisation took place on Christmas day, ” Jerry ” leaving his trench unarmed. Certain souvenirs were exchanged and, if it had been left to the soldiery of both sides, the war would there and then have been declared a draw. But towards late afternoon on Christmas day a stray shot from our right front hit one of ours, No. 6 I 79, Corpl. W. S. Smith, No. 2 Company (from which he died next day). The Saxons opposite us were at pains to let us know that it was a Prussian who had fired the shot which killed Smith. This broke the spell, however, and the war was resumed after a tacit truce of twenty four hours. This truce drew forth an army routine order reminding us that we ‘were in France to fight and not to fraternise with the enemy.”

Christmas could be a lonely time for soldiers when thoughts would turn to loved ones at home. Friends and families would send letters and parcels to the men at the front and often soldiers would send embroidered postcards like the one below to their beloved.

Christmas embroidered postcard final

We recently came across the postcard below in the collection. Writing home to the daughter he has yet to meet, Rifleman Davidson wishes her a “merry merry Christmas…and a merrier and prosperous New Year.” Unfortunately we have been unable to track down exactly who Rfn Davidson was and if he did indeed survive to meet his new daughter. If you have any information which could help us with this then please do let us know.

Rfn W Davidson Xmas Card front final

Rfn W Davidson Xmas Card back final

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