What did British soldiers eat during the war?

The bulk of their diet in the trenches was bully beef (caned corned beef), bread and biscuits. By the winter of 1916 flour was in such short supply that bread was being made with dried ground turnips. The main food was now a pea-soup with a few lumps of horsemeat.

What did soldiers in ww2 eat?

At first, the meals were stews, and more varieties were added as the war went on, including meat and spaghetti in tomato sauce, chopped ham, eggs and potatoes, meat and noodles, pork and beans; ham and lima beans, and chicken and vegetables.

What rations did British soldiers get in ww2?

The mainstays were “bully beef”, “M & V”, biscuits, and tea, sometimes supplemented with chocolate.

  • Bully Beef. Bully beef was tinned corned beef with a small amount of gelatin.
  • M & V.
  • Biscuits.
  • Tea.
  • Chocolate.
  • Haversack Ration.
  • 24-Hour Ration.
  • Composite Ration (“Compo”)

Which foods were not available in Britain during WW2?

On 8 January 1940, bacon, butter and sugar were rationed. Meat, tea, jam, biscuits, breakfast cereals, cheese, eggs, lard, milk, canned and dried fruit were rationed subsequently, though not all at once.

What did soldiers drink in WW2?

The daily ration of alcohol traditionally existed to help soldiers cope with the stress of combat and daily life within the military. In WW2, the British Army did continue with a Rum ration to troops, but only in some situations and only with the consent of a medical officer.

What food did the army eat?

The most common food given to soldiers was bread, coffee, and salt pork. The typical ration for every Union soldier was about a pound of meat and a pound of bread or flour.

What did the Wehrmacht eat?

Standard German rations for SS units in the field consisted of a four-day supply: about 25 ounces of Graubrot (gray rye bread); 6-10 ounces of Fleisch (canned meat) or Wurst (canned sausage); some five ounces of vegetables; a half ounce of butter, margarine, jam, or hazelnut paste; either real or ersatz coffee; five …

Why was canned milk rationed in ww2?

Supplies such as gasoline, butter, sugar and canned milk were rationed because they needed to be diverted to the war effort. War also disrupted trade, limiting the availability of some goods.

What did the British soldiers eat in WW1?

They were fed a pound of beef a day, and a pound-and-a-half of bread, while morale was kept high through a daily ration of a pint of wine or a third of a pint of gin or rum.

How many people served in the British Army in WW2?

The British Army, an all-volunteer force until 1939, was small in comparison to its enemies at the start of the Second World War in 1939, as it had been in the First World War. By the end of the Second World War, however, over 3.5 million men had served in the British Army.

What food saved lives in WW2?

The 5 Survival Foods that Saved Lives During World War II. 1 Egg Biscuits. Soldiers in the field ate a lot of egg biscuits. But these weren’t the egg biscuits that you can buy at just about any fast food 2 Bully Beef. 3 Turnip Bread. 4 Stinging Nettles Soup. 5 Horsemeat.

What was a food department in WW2?

A Food (Defence Plans) Department was set up as part of the Board of Trade to do the project planning. Ration booklets were printed up in 1938, ready to go. Britain declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939. Lord Woolton, Minister of Food, serves up food to diners at a mobile field kitchen in Sussex 1941.