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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

Expeditionary Force Canteens, General Price List 1916.


Toby Brayley

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Hello.

I thought this might be of interest to fellow member's of the GWF. These are scans taken from the original booklet,the pages below are just a selection of some of the pages. If you would like the entire booklet please let me know. I hope you find it as interesting as I did.

cover.jpg

23.jpg

45.jpg

67.jpg

89.jpg

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Fascinatng! I wonder what a soldier's buying power was? I don't have the information to know what the daily "net" pay was for a private.

All the best,

Gary

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Fascinating indeed and interesting to see so many familiar items.

Possibly comes under the heading of stupid question and dare I ask but Ammonia use?

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Lots of uses!... Scrubbs Ammonia!

Im18930909ILN-SC.jpg

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Well done Toby, nice to confirm the availability of khaki and 'web' blanco at the front in 1916. Very interesting list of items.

Regards

Tocemma

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Hi Toby,

A great document and out of interest a shilling was worth about 1 franc 35 centimes in 1916.

Regards

Pompey

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thanks chaps, glad it can be of interest to someone.

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Interesting that the currency seems not to have been defined. One assumes that it is French Francs, which suggests another thought: what about Belgium currency in the war?

I note that if a soldier had a dose of the runs, one day's pay would buy him a bottle of "stopper", ie Chlorodyne. Unavailable these days, presumably because it works.

Most old-fashioned solutions for all sorts of problems are similarly banned, such as Mortegg to treat fruit trees etc. Its the EU, innit?!

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There was questions raised about troops getting football's to the front. They are listed above so an item easy to hand.

Surprised at the cost of woodbines compared to Perrier water.

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Interesting that the currency seems not to have been defined. One assumes that it is French Francs, which suggests another thought: what about Belgium currency in the war?

The French and Belgian francs - and indeed a lot of other European currencies - were at par in 1914, at 25.22 to the pound sterling. See the Field Sevice Pocket Book 1914, pages 267-8.

Ron

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The French and Belgian francs - and indeed a lot of other European currencies - were at par in 1914, at 25.22 to the pound sterling. See the Field Sevice Pocket Book 1914, pages 267-8.

Ron

Parity presumably because of a gold standard?

Also ...

Toby,

Thanks for sending images

Ian

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Not a problem. You will note that a case of port is 46 Francs!

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Re: Chlorodyne

Dr. John Collis Browne’s Chlorodyne was marketed as a cure for coughs, colds, asthma, migraines and bronchitis, as well as for the treatment of cholera symptoms. One of the more famous patent medicines, it was a mixture of laudanum (an alcoholic solution of opium), cannabis tincture and chloroform and was a huge hit, inspiring a series of imitators to churn out their own versions of Chlorodyne. Many of the knock-offs replaced laudanum with morphine hydrochloride. Over the years, the tincture of cannabis was removed from the formulation and the morphine content gradually lowered.

On July 28, 1916 a law that forbade the sale of cocaine and opium based products to soldiers was voted in, so chlorodyne would be off the shopping list then or did they still carrying selling to they were out of stock?

Regards

Pompey

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My parents kept some in the cupboard, and it was known as "red light" or "stopper".

"Green light" was Andrews Liver salts. Emergency Green was ExLax.

With only one khasi in the house, and four occupants, regularity and predictability were much sought after.

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Not a problem. You will note that a case of port is 46 Francs!

I hope that everybody remembered to pass the mug of port the right way down the trench at, say, Railway Wood

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Re: Chlorodyne

Dr. John Collis Browne’s Chlorodyne was marketed as a cure for coughs, colds, asthma, migraines and bronchitis, as well as for the treatment of cholera symptoms. One of the more famous patent medicines, it was a mixture of laudanum (an alcoholic solution of opium), cannabis tincture and chloroform and was a huge hit, inspiring a series of imitators to churn out their own versions of Chlorodyne. Many of the knock-offs replaced laudanum with morphine hydrochloride. Over the years, the tincture of cannabis was removed from the formulation and the morphine content gradually lowered.

On July 28, 1916 a law that forbade the sale of cocaine and opium based products to soldiers was voted in, so chlorodyne would be off the shopping list then or did they still carrying selling to they were out of stock?

Regards

Pompey

This sounds like the sort of expert knowledge that should be originating from the home town of Jesse Boot, who probably sold a bottle or two himself.

Is that 'a huge hit' = very popular or 'a huge hit' = 'immediately stoned on consumption' or, of course, both?

More seriously, was the law forbidding sale of opium or cocaine products to soldiers enacted as result of abuse or problems with self-prescription for medical use in the field? Was it applicable only in the UK or within the BEF as well (where presumably the writ of UK civil and military law ran as well). I would have thought that there would have been some backstreet pharmacie in 'Pop' where such things could be obtained. No worries if no answers; thanks for the information

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Hi Grumpy,

how times have changed, we now keep IMODIUM® Quick-Dissolve tablets dissolve instantly on your tongue for fast, effective relief (other remedies are available).

Ian, how do you keep the bottle on the table or is it the duck boards as it passed on. Poor etiquette to lift it up when pouring !

Regards

Pompey

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No problem with RFC/ RAF ......... being a flying service the decanter [never a vulgar bottle] is required to be airborne between partakers.

The AAC also adopted this.

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  • 2 months later...
  • 3 years later...

hi, would it be possible to post the other pages of the price list? i'm doing some research on distribution of food and water at the front line, and these pages are really interesting to find out what products soldiers could buy at a canteen.

regards, branco

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On 13/08/2018 at 15:22, Branco said:

hi, would it be possible to post the other pages of the price list? i'm doing some research on distribution of food and water at the front line, and these pages are really interesting to find out what products soldiers could buy at a canteen.

regards, branco

 

Should be fine I need to see if I still have them on the hard drive! 

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Fascinating thread, thanks for posting the price list Toby. I've just finished re-reading Dunn's The War The Infantry Knew, and the good doctor had a very low opinion of EFC pricing - he appears to have thought of it pretty much as profiteering! However, 46FF for a case of port doesn't seem unduly extortionate... 

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  • 1 month later...

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