Dining in the trenches

[Desdichado]

Caryl,

What a kind and benevolent parent. I wonder how many of his children opted out via the next to last paragraph.

tyrim

We're going to veer off topic a bit here but the provision in Maconochie's will is no suprise. He was a member of the Liberal Unionist Party which was vehemently opposed to Irish Home Rule. Maconochie actually served for a while as the MP for Aberdeen.

[SiegeGunner]

What did French soldiers eat in the trenches?

The Poilus called their preserved meat ration 'singe', which means monkey.

[Tyrim]

Desdichado-- Pretty sad! Another wealthy man trying to control his money, even from the grave. A good laugh on him, though, if he failed.

Siege Gunner-- There were bound to be some French Chefs in the line turning "monkey" into a very fine meal. Who knows how many bistros of the 20's won five stars because of their monkey sauce. C'est magnifique!

[centurion]

The Poilus called their preserved meat ration 'singe', which means monkey.

Actually it was their corned beef which came in tins with the brand name Madagascar, a place associated with primates (monkeys) but not beef cattle. After a while monkey meat became their term for any meat in a tin including British bully beef and even captured German corned beef.

[CarylW]

Actually it was their corned beef which came in tins with the brand name Madagascar, a place associated with primates (monkeys) but not beef cattle. After a while monkey meat became their term for any meat in a tin including British bully beef and even captured German corned beef.

Well they may have boiled some up here to make soup in this abandoned German field kitchen

Caryl

[centurion]

French arrangements for feeding troops in action were heavily dependant upon the use of mobile field kitchens. French tactical thinking before the war had assumed a highly mobile war (with the French on the attack) and assumed that it would be essential for the kitchens to keep up with the troops. With the advent of the trench war the numerous kitchens stood at the rear of the lines but 'hellas' no provision had been made for the transportation of the food from the kitchen to the troops, it having been assumed that they would come to the kitchens. So 1914 through 1915 expedients such as carrying soup in open buckets and loafs stuck on sticks were used, as a result much of the food arrived in the trenches cold and contaminated. By 1916 specialised food containers on A frames had been produced and issued but these proved to be too heavy when loaded. French troops in the trenches were heavily dependant on iron rations (much the same as British ones - tinned corned beef and very hard biscuit) supplemented with sausages (not British emulsified offal tubes) and privately purchased tinned or jarred foodstuffs. To be fair the French did try and 'make it up to them' when they got out of line (a British account says French garrison rations were "queer but plentiful")

[CarylW]

Talking of French food rations found these snippets in: Battles & bivouacs; a French soldier's note-book ; Jacques Roujoun, translated by Fred Rothwell. Published 1916 archive.org

.........Final preparations : all the tins of preserves we had piled up in Girardot's loft are divided out amongst the men of the squadron ; these tins foies gras, tongue, knuckle of ham, corned beef are called Rimailhos*, because of their calibre.

We rise at a quarter to three. It is quite cold. We hurry to the kitchen, where Varlet and Charensac, the cooks of our section, are preparing

coffee and cooking beefsteaks. They have not slept at all ; in fact, they only received supplies about ten at night, for revictualment carts can approach the line only in the dark. The fire flames up in the vast country chimney, lighting up the whole room. The farmer and his wife, grumbling and blink'-eyed, are seated in a corner.

The coffee is very hot ; already we feel better. It is followed by a quart of broth. Then Varlet portions out to each man a small piece of calcined meat : the beefsteak for the noon meal. 'En route...........

.......Monday, 16/7; November.

Reymond's birthday ; he is thirty years of age.

To celebrate the occasion, we organize a special lunch. In the afternoon the lieutenant reviews each man's supplies of food : his haversack, spread open at his feet, must exhibit to the officer's vigilant eye two tins of corned beef, a dozen biscuits, two little bags containing sugar, coffee, and two tablets of condensed soup.

One of our men has neither biscuits nor corned beef. Questioning glance of the lieutenant. Evasive gesture of the man, who immediately stands at attention. " Have you eaten your two tins of corned beef? "A sign of assent. " Your biscuits too, naturally? " Another sign of assent. " Ah ! And why did you eat your tins of corned

beef? " " Mon lieutenant, one evening I was hungry. . . ."

" Better and better. If the men begin to eat their reserve supplies whenever they are hungry, there will be no army left I "

That evening we laughingly relate the incident to Belin. Being an old soldier, he cannot get over it." Eat one's reserve supplies without orders I If he had been in the Foreign Legion he would have received eight days' prison for every biscuit missing. The lieutenant was right. . . . You have your dozen biscuits and two tins, at all events? " ..............

Corned beef, corned beef everywhere. Hadn't realised so much was eaten on all sides but what did they mean by "corned beef are called Rimailhos, because of their calibre"?.

Caryl

[centurion]

Corned beef, corned beef everywhere. Hadn't realised so much was eaten on all sides but what did they mean by "corned beef are called Rimailhos, because of their calibre"?.

Possibly a round tin about 155mm in diameter - same calibre as the Rimailho heavy gun?

[centurion]

Corned beef, corned beef everywhere.

In 1917 alone Argentina exported 1,331,000,000 pounds of beef, more than the total production of the USA and Australia put together. Most of it went to feed soldiers

[chrissparrow]

How many cattle is that?!!!

Chris

[centurion]

How many cattle is that?!!!

Chris

Approximately 2,376,000 (assuming a steer yields about 560 lbs of usable meat)

[PhilB]

WW1 doesn`t seem to have generated its own trench dishes. I`m reminded of the Ins & Outs in Pratchett`s Monstrous Regiment who made scubbo.

"Nothing like a bowl of scubbo when your`e hungry. You can put anything in scubbo. Pork, beef, mutton, rabbit, chicken, duck... anything. Even rats, if you`ve got `em. It`s food for the marching man, scubbo."

Surely the WW1 men had an equivalent where they boiled water and added anything that came to hand - herbs, vegetables, bully beef, biscuits etc?

[Desdichado]

WW1 doesn`t seem to have generated its own trench dishes. I`m reminded of the Ins & Outs in Pratchett`s Monstrous Regiment who made scubbo.

"Nothing like a bowl of scubbo when your`e hungry. You can put anything in scubbo. Pork, beef, mutton, rabbit, chicken, duck... anything. Even rats, if you`ve got `em. It`s food for the marching man, scubbo."

Surely the WW1 men had an equivalent where they boiled water and added anything that came to hand - herbs, vegetables, bully beef, biscuits etc?

Makes sense. The resourceful British soldier would probably eat anything to hand if he was hungry enough. I'll bet they could make a nice bit of rat stew. I've never heard the expression 'scubbo' before though. Where does that come from?

[GlenBanna]

Anyone recognise this one?

[PhilB]

I've never heard the expression 'scubbo' before though. Where does that come from?

From Pratchett`s book!

Scubbo

Scubbo is a gruel-like concoction, staple food of the armed forces in Terry Pratchett's book, "Monstrous Regiment", consisting of anything edible (though this is a fairly elastic term) that can be thrown in the pot and boiled up. Usual ingredients include vegetables, pack animals, and anything else to hand.

When times are hard, the army is sustained by the delicacy "Blind Scubbo", consisting of boiled water, vegetables, and anything else to hand, minus the vegetables and the "anything else to hand".

[Pete1052]

The British army ate a lot of Van Camp's pork and beans, a brand still available in the U.S.

[centurion]

WW1 doesn`t seem to have generated its own trench dishes. I`m reminded of the Ins & Outs in Pratchett`s Monstrous Regiment who made scubbo.

"Nothing like a bowl of scubbo when your`e hungry. You can put anything in scubbo. Pork, beef, mutton, rabbit, chicken, duck... anything. Even rats, if you`ve got `em. It`s food for the marching man, scubbo."

Surely the WW1 men had an equivalent where they boiled water and added anything that came to hand - herbs, vegetables, bully beef, biscuits etc?

Yes such cooking described in a number of postings on this thread bully was usually what came to hand but so sometimes did rabbit and other rodents, bacon fat was a key ingredient- see also the link on http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=150242&view=findpost&p=1450073 for some trench recipes

[PhilB]

Did the men have a name for this concoction of what was to hand?

[squirrel]

From Napoleonic times "stirabout" was a name used for chuck everything in together, heat and see what it turns out like.

I did hear a more recent story first hand from the Falklands Conflict of a soldier who used to put the entire edible (allegedly) contents of a 24 hour rat pack in a mess tin, including the Mars bar, and heat it up and scoff it - no name for it mentioned though.

Once heard a song about WW1 food in the trenches and Machonochies was mentioned. The first line was: O a little bit of everything fell out the sky one day.........sadly, I have never found all the words to this.

[centurion]

Did the men have a name for this concoction of what was to hand?

Scoff

[Martin Bennitt]

From 'Subalterns of the Foot' by Anne Wolff

"In honour of the promotions on October 16th (1915), Heald stood the other three officers in his trench a dinner of seven courses with 'fizz', coffeee and liqueurs

The following was the menu

Hors d'oeuvres

Consommé Argentine

Lobster Mayonnaise

Pâté Canard rotie au 'George'

Petits pois. Sauce des Pommes

Pomme de terre brouillée

Fruits. Gateau

'Un petit piece de moutard'

Liqueurs. Café. Music

Heald comment quoted: 'Not bad for the trenches. We held it in the largest dugout and it was a huge success. Our batman turned up trumps and everything was very good and went smoothly'.

cheers Martin B

[johnreed]

We used to call it "All in Spew"

John

PS It always had carrots in it!

[Desdichado]

The British army ate a lot of Van Camp's pork and beans, a brand still available in the U.S.

Is that right? When I lived in California, I used to take a couple of tins on camping trips with me. Didn't know it was British.

[centurion]

Is that right? When I lived in California, I used to take a couple of tins on camping trips with me. Didn't know it was British.

Don't think it is.

[marinheiro]

From my grandfather's diary:

At dinner time we got some fine beef & duff, the first duff we'd had for a whole month. What should we have said at home if Mothers and wives had made us go without duff for a day let alone a whole month

.

The only duff I know is plum duff, which is another name for Christmas pudding. All the 'duff' menus I can find on the internet are also sweet puddings - did people really eat these with beef, or is this duff something else?

Graham