Feeding Tommy

A famous saying asserts that an army marches on its stomach, and in this episode, we examine food and drink for men on the front line. 

The challenge of feeding an army was immense, and the war office employed science to calculate the exact calorific intake needed by a soldier to survive.

Feeding the men was one thing; feeding them something palatable was something else. We look at trench rations, from the infamous Army Biscuits to cans of "dog vomit," and see that the culinary life of a soldier in the trenches was not a happy one. Occasionally, however, comfort came in mysterious ways, as men of the Hampshire Regiment found out when the Germans shelled the canal near Cuinchy and provided an unexpected and welcome treat. 

Alcohol played an essential part in soldiers' lives from all sides, and we discover more about the daily rum ration, "Pinard", and celebratory German beer mugs.  We learn the origin of the phrase "to be on the fiddle", and hear about how excessive alcohol consumption caused huge problems for the Germans advancing in March 1918.

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