Feeding the Soldier

Featured Exhibition

Feeding the Soldier

Food, Rations, and Life on the Front Lines

Image: “13th Bn. men having a meal outside their dug-out. December, 1917” Canada. Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada/O-2332

6 min

Living conditions in the trenches were notoriously difficult, but one aspect that made it more or less bearable for the troops was the food. Over 400,000 soldiers of the Canadian Expeditionary Corps served in Europe and had to be fed every day, which required not only large quantities of supplies, but also the continued effort of support troops in the Army Service Corps.

In the Trenches

Rations and Hardtack

Image: "German Trenches [ASE Label]" German trench captured by the 38th Battalion (Ottawa) CCGW Collection / 2016.3.1.1-53

Officially, men were to receive food rations amounting to 4,300 calories daily, meant to fuel the physical demands of soldiering. However, more men needed to be fed as the War progressed, and the German blockade on Allied ships created shortages affecting not only the civilian population but the military as well. This meant that rations had to be reduced throughout the conflict, and the reality in the trenches did not always reflect what was prescribed by the military authorities.

Image: “Meat ration. 1st Divisional Train. (Cdn. Army Service Corps). July, 1916.” Canada. Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada/PA-000255

In addition to their regular daily rations, soldiers were also issued an emergency ration, or iron ration, which consisted of a portion of preserved meat, biscuits, cheese, tea and sugar. It was meant to sustain the men for a period of 24-hrs in case they found themselves cut from supply lines, and could only be opened with the permission of an officer.

Image: Canteen, Wool Felt Covered with Leather Carrier Straps and Chained Cork Stopper. 1914-1918. CCGW Collection.

Image: Double-ended Tea and Sugar Box. Tin metal with gold metallic glaze, 3.5 inch, 1914-1918. CCGW Collection.

Did you know?

Tea was crucial to the soldiers, not only for warmth, but also because the water was transported in petrol tins and tea helped camouflage the taste.

Managing the Supplies

Procurement, Cooking, and Supply Depots

Image: "German Prisoners [ASE label]" Photograph of German soldiers taken prisoner after the Battle of Coucelette during the Somme Offensive . CCGW Collection / 2016.3.1.1-10

Until late 1915, soldiers in the trenches were not supplied with hot food, and had to rely on “tommy cookers,” portable stoves fuelled by solidified alcohol that were inefficient and unreliable. Cookhouses were established behind the lines, and ration parties were sent to retrieve daily rations. However, by the time the food reached the men on the front lines, it was often cold.

Image: Portable Stove. CCGW Collection.

Image: Portable Stove. CCGW Collection.

Image: “Transport in line to load up. 1st Divisional Train (Cdn. Army Service Corps). July, 1916.” Canada. Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada/PA-000270

Supplies, from food to ammunition, were brought from England by train, ferried across the Channel, then to the battlefields. The main railway stations and central depots were situated some 10 to 15 miles behind the lines and divisional dumps and cookhouses about 7 miles from the front. Gaps in the supply chain had to be breached by lorries and light railways, horse-drawn carts and soldiers on foot carrying supplies and rations to the trenches, usually at night to minimize the risks.

Image: “Transport in line to load up. 1st Divisional Train (Cdn. Army Service Corps). July, 1916.” Canada. Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada/PA-000270

While men in the trenches ate rations of hard biscuits and canned meat or maconochie stew, it was not uncommon for officers, especially at the rear, to be offered a better diet. A reflection of civilian society within the army, class difference could be observed in the soldiers’ diet as well, and officers contributed a certain portion of their pay for “better messing” and ate separately from enlisted troops.

Image: “Officers dining at home estaminet, a type of cafe/bar run by women to provide income during the conflict. Possibly located at Mericout-l’-Abbe, in the Somme Department (region).” CCGW Collection, 2016.3.1.1-40

Image: “Officers dining at home estaminet, a type of cafe/bar run by women to provide income during the conflict. Possibly located at Mericout-l’-Abbe, in the Somme Department (region).” CCGW Collection, 2016.3.1.1-40

Did you know?

Soldiers could also obtain food from civilian markets behind the lines, as well as from military canteens run by YMCA volunteers, where they were offered jams, preserves and chocolate.

Field bakeries were established across France and England to supply the different divisions with bread. However, as they were far from the battlefields, the bread was often stale by the time it reached the troops in the trenches.

Image: “78th Bn. men leaving Y.M.C.A. Dugout near front line. September, 1917.” Canada. Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada/O-1982

Agriculture and the Home Front

Harvesting, Rationing and Propaganda

Image: "Wancourt [ASE label]" Snapshot of German prisoners of war (P.O.W.s) at work carrying wooden beams on the Arras front in the spring of 1919. The landscape displays the destruction of the area during the war, which was the site of battles in 1914, 1917 and 1918. CCGW Collection / 2016.3.1.1-9

The offensives and artillery shells left behind devastated countryside and French farmers were left to cultivate their fields in the midst of the conflict. British and Canadian military authorities first provided assistance to these farmers and later established army farms near the front. As a result of farming the French countryside near the front lines, fresh produce could be more easily supplied to cookhouses and supply depots, helping feed the men in the trenches.

Image: “Canadian Cavalry ploughing and harrowing ground on Vimy Ridge where potatoes etc., are to be planted. April, 1918.” Canada. Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada/DAPDCAP459121 / Item ID number 3522447

Did you know?

While the production and exports of wheat from the Prairies skyrocketed during the Great War, it came at the price of soil exhaustion and inflation, which drove up the price of wheat and flour for the local population.

Did you know?

While the production and exports of wheat from the Prairies skyrocketed during the Great War, it came at the price of soil exhaustion and inflation, which drove up the price of wheat and flour for the local population.

As the demand for agricultural products grew throughout the course of the war, military authorities relied on production from Canada and other British territories to supply the Imperial armies. In Canada, wheat production skyrocketed, as did exports of cheese and meat. With the advent of the Military Service Act and conscription, increasing numbers of farm workers were recruited to fight overseas, and national and provincial initiatives such as ‘Soldiers of the Soil’ and the Farm Service Corps recruited young men and women to work on farms.

Image: “Buy Fresh Fish: Canada Food Board sensitive campaign. 1918.” Canada. National Archives Poster Collection/Library and Archives Canada/3635511

The Canadian government initially did not impose rationing during the Great War and instead, appealed to the civilian population to reduce their consumption of key products. Fuel, meat, wheat flour were among the targeted products that were necessary for the war. Propaganda posters urged the population to reduce their consumption of meat, or fuel, and newspapers published “war menus” with alternative ingredients.

Image: “Are You breaking the Law? Patriotic Canadians will not hoard Food : Canada Food Board sensitive campaign. 1918.” Canada. National Archives Poster Collection/Library and Archives Canada/3635512

As the demand for agricultural products grew throughout the course of the war, military authorities relied on production from Canada and other British territories to supply the Imperial armies. In Canada, wheat production skyrocketed, as did exports of cheese and meat. With the advent of the Military Service Act and conscription, increasing numbers of farm workers were recruited to fight overseas, and national and provincial initiatives such as ‘Soldiers of the Soil’ and the Farm Service Corps recruited young men and women to work on farms.

Image: “Buy Fresh Fish: Canada Food Board sensitive campaign. 1918.” Canada. National Archives Poster Collection/Library and Archives Canada/3635511

The Canadian government initially did not impose rationing during the Great War and instead, appealed to the civilian population to reduce their consumption of key products. Fuel, meat, wheat flour were among the targeted products that were necessary for the war. Propaganda posters urged the population to reduce their consumption of meat, or fuel, and newspapers published “war menus” with alternative ingredients.

Image: “Are You breaking the Law? Patriotic Canadians will not hoard Food : Canada Food Board sensitive campaign. 1918.” Canada. National Archives Poster Collection/Library and Archives Canada/3635512

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