Have 6(well 5 now) ration tins, I sacrificed one to document the contents and share with those interested. If you would like the original higher resolutions photos PM me.
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Have 6(well 5 now) ration tins, I sacrificed one to document the contents and share with those interested. If you would like the original higher resolutions photos PM me.
Brave man opening that can.
Interesting items there.
The MRE of their day! When was the tin produced?
Yes, Very interesting. They must have depended a lot on high energy food like choclate. Made me thirsty looking at those rations and I do not mean an adult beverage..
The chocolate and other items in these 'emergency' or 'lifeboat' rations contained no (or very little salt) so that you wouldn't fancy a drink afterwards unlike everyday chocolate. They seem to last for ages so I wouldn't mind betting that yours would still be perfectly edible. My old friend who died recently told me when I was looking into them that the last time he ever saw them issued was as 'operations' kit during ops in Korea where they could be used for escapers and evaders.
As a matter of interest, our now obsolete ration packs also contained chocolate bars that tasted 'different' to what was available in the shops (Yorkie bars.......) These were salt free too
The same VERY limited saline content also applies currently to the drinks, especially the powdered variety if anyone's ever wondered why they taste nothing like anything in the commercial world
What! No smokes. No *** wipe. Do you have a date assigned to the rations?
Mind you I wouldn't want to be the poor chap who'se lost most of his gear and is trying to get the bloody can open by banging it on a rock or something .... While evading the enemy....
Ours were in airtight sealed tins with an easy wrap seal. I've got a UK/Army 1951 dated one here, the size of a tobacco tin/cleaning kit tin. I'll open it one day!
Here is one dated September, 1943. It has not been opened.
Attachment 26554
those are pretty neat. :thup:
i wonder where i could get a more modern version. anyone know?
You can often find surplus rations advertised among camping and other outdoors pursuit suppliers. Usually 5 to 10€ per 24hr box. I don't know who the wholesalers are. The French stuff is excellent and includes a little 'methenanim' re-heater.
Interesting, slightly, that it's "Fry-Cadbury", not "Frys". "RCN-GSW" would probably be Royal Canadian Navy - General Steel Wares" GSW being a famous mostly sheet metal fabricating and stamping outfit.
I wonder if the food contractors of WWII got away with the crimes some of them did in WWI.
Shouldn't be hard to make up something much better than HMG used to supply; except perhaps for the waterproof qualities of container. Dry "brick chili" is a good start.Quote:
Originally Posted by 7.62x39
Here is a picture of my ration tin and I was hoping to someday put it in the transit chest I will build to house my LB sniper clone. I would think that the ones coldzero has shown were for the Royal Canadian Navy life boats, but I may be wrong?
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...VAWEB028-1.jpg
How did everything taste? :)
If its army rations should have on the out side "not fit for human consumption" or should come with a hammer or a spare intestine to a. break up the hard stuff and b. help digest that yummy food!
Oh im sorry i must sound like a real cinic, after living on such fine delicasies you would find in some of the different types of ration packs atleast they had done away with bully and dog biscuits!
Regards
Fergs
We still have packets of 'BISCUITS, A.B. x10' in our ration packs. Which apparently stands for BISCUITS, AxxE BLOCKING. Generally speaking it's all boil in the bag stuff that you can eat hot or cold. The longest serving bits of our ration packs are the oatmeal blocks and the 'hard-tack' potato based munchy biscuits. They really ought to put the potato based 'hard-tack' in lifeboats. They are so absorbent, you could just throw a few packs into the ocean and watch them sop the water up - then just walk home
As a matter of interest, after a spate of finding that these ratoion packs were appearing on that auction site, the boxes and main ingredients are serially numbered and traceable ............... as some have found to their cost!
Although slightly tangential to the topic of this thread, I thought some of our members migh also be interested in this series of MKL entries ...
As part of her Enfield rifle collection, my wife owns this these wonderful little pieces if history .... :thup:
It's amazing to see all of these individual items from the 1940's, stamped with government ownership military "broad arrow" markings, including the individual cigarettes stamped "HM Forces". :)
Quote:
MKL entry - 1937 Pattern - WWII British Soldier's Haversack (click here)
(Packed with soldier's personal kit dated from the 1940's)
http://photos.imageevent.com/badgerd...20_Medium_.JPG(Click PIC to Enlarge)http://photos.imageevent.com/badgerd...20_Medium_.JPG
http://photos.imageevent.com/badgerd...20_Medium_.JPG(Click PIC to Enlarge)http://photos.imageevent.com/badgerd...20_Medium_.JPG
167 pic detailed photo montage (click here)
Regards,Quote:
Doug