British WWII Haversack Ration
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 31 май 2024
- A look at the makeup of the British WW2 haversack ration.
Patreon - / riflemanmoore
Paypal - www.paypal.me/riflemanmoore
Facebook - / riflemanmoore
Instagram - / riflemanmoore
Twitter - / rifleman_moore
Contact - riflemanmoore@yahoo.com
These literally just look like extremely wholesome classic British packed lunches. Surprising how timeless that concept is even in war
Absolutely. I can attest it was all delicious
@@RiflemanMoore It's certainly made me want to try them!
@@RiflemanMoore How to make Mashed beans & meat sandwich spread. It says 10lbs of meat roll, 7lbs of beans...what exactly is meant with meat roll ? Is this suppose to be minced meat ? Do you first make meat roll dish and then mix it with mashed beans... ? Or is it minced meat that you cook and then mix it with mashed beans ?
@@MultiWatcher1000 I would guess it's a meat paste (usually from a tin) kinda like mousse type cat food.
@@MultiWatcher1000 I think its something like SPAM or Bacon Grill
I was brought up on this food.Also in the army late 70s early 80s we used to get this as a packed lunch ,never did me any harm
Me too. I was spoiled when my late Gran made mine up... She included a packet of gammon flavoured Tudor crisps or a packet of Spangles.
was it difficult to carry compared to more modern compact rations?
It’s not a far shout from the Pusser’s bag meal we used to get in the Navy when on shore duty in the 1980’s. I remember swapping my cheese sandwiches for a watermelon with some local kids in Jamaica when we were doing disaster relief after a hurricane. I dont think they had ever had a cheese sandwich before (sweating away and curling up in the heat), and I’d never had watermelon. We played cricket afterwards with the scrunged up tin foil the butties came in. They won
Inspired by this video I did some corned beef sandwich spread and it was very nice. I found two teaspoons of English Mustard really sets it off. Perfection is with sliced cumumber.
Beats the sweaty cheese sandwich and virgin cola death packs we got in the 90s for range days lol
Awesome info!!! I wish more reenactors would actually pack period rations. It fulfills the experience and is accurate. My whole ideal is that if you want to reenact and relive the war...do it correctly. Great job my friend!!!
Agreed.
We had a social distance VE 75 years remembered Street Party yesterday, I had prepared Haversack Rations groups A&B (for two) to this video’s norms, with a Beer ration of Doombar or London Pride dependant on Shortages or Ration coupons available.
A pre luncheon cocktail of Ammunition quality Gin and Tonic ( Export or NAAFI ) was also issued on the orders of the MO to counter the ever present threat of Malaria.
It was a very safe but pleasant event.
Excellent choices of tipple! I hope you had a lovely time of it.
The modern version in a white box was much the same except the addition of a small pack of biscuits and a drink of cheap pop. Which got me thinking while watching this. Was their drink : water from their canteen or section/platoon tea urn ?
Water from the waterbottle, generally speaking.
Thought so still better than the modern cheap can of pop ! Thanks for the quick reply. Another interesting topic
Not much has changed, you still get a pork pie, apple, bag of crisps, penguin and a bottle of panda cola in the modern day horror bags 😁
Andrew Johnston Panda we got P. Water from the pennines ( a make called Pennines) issued worse than panda trust me
Bag meals for the win.
You used to get exactly the same issued by the police for Public Order training/Ops
Due to cost cutting you don't even get that now! (Mind you, I'm not sure that's necessarily a bad thing.)
Don’t forget the Wagon Wheel and the dry cheese or spam sandwich
This is brilliant for my home guard impression :)
Glad you found it useful!
I remember six of us throwing up 🤮 after eating our haversack ration in the mid sixties we where in the RAF and being posted to another RAF station after our training , we learnt our lesson early , never touched them again .
I was an American Civil War reenactor (27th Indiana Vol Infantry Co B and 6th Michigan Vol Cavalry Co E) and the WWII British ration looks much more appealing
This was fun to watch and incredibly informative! Fun!
Thanks! Very informative!
I am guessing Canadians during WWII over in the UK, would have had the same type of meals when off base, and on training runs. It is very similar to what the mess halls would prepare for us Royal Canadian Air Cadets back when I was one in the 1970's. when we were off base. Excellent research and presentation on actual lists, and instruction for the non ration pack meals. Making it easier for the rest of us who might like to replicate this as a reenactment option.
I would imagine so, I've not come across Canadian specs for these but imagine training in the UK would have seen a very similar issue.
fascinating............during my service in the 60's-80;s...evertyhing was tinned..(and they even included a tin-opener in the ration box))...........well presented....thank you.........h6
Great video! I’ve always been interested in WWII rations and the British part was a missing piece to it, thanks for uploading.
Glad you enjoyed, thank you!
Nice video, thanks great addition to use instead of combat rations.
That looks delicious. Reminds me of my packed lunches at school.
I forgot all about fish paste, I haven't had that in years! I'm going to have to get some next time I go to the shops.
It was my first time trying it, on the Derwent march, I really enjoyed it!
I know that, I'm gonna hate this? But, what is fish paste? Is it like tuna salad?
@@paulwolf7562 like a meat Pate except Fish taste,very nice and not over 'fishy tasting' usually
Canadian forces continues something like this today. the Canadian "Boxed Lunch" issued for road trips, travel meals, half day exercises. Essentially you get a box, with a sandwich or "bowl" (pasta bowl, taco bowl, to be eaten cold). 1-2 boxed drinks, a fruit, a custard or fruit cup, often would come with something like pb and jam or pb and honey and a cracker pack. and a Chocolate bar.
They were designed to not require any mess kit to eat.
They’re pretty versatile and honestly pretty tasty. I took some surplus ones home (after a Sgt ordered me to dispose of the leftovers by taking them) and my sister used them for lunch at her high school.
@@HaloFTW55 Yep, and the coffee crisp.
Here I am thinking to myself surely the humble British Potato Crisp came after WWII? Well I am wrong Smiths Crisps came on the scene as early as the 1920s. Then there's sausage roll surely that is another post war food, no that is even earlier coming on the UK scene in 1863 and first mentioned in the Times.
Awesome. Thankyou
The WW2 pack lunch menu is incredibly similar to the modern day Army pack lunch which is still supplied to this day. We would have these if we were out for a day on the ranges etc and a hot meal out of the Norgie was not going to be provided. most of the items are premade by outside sources except the sandwiches which are made fresh in the army kitchens but not as adventures as the WW2 fillings, they are usually grated cheese and pickle spread or sliced ham/corn beef. They used to consist of Sausage roll/pastie, Apple/banana, Sandwich wrapped in clingfilm, small fizzy drink (usually panda pops), packet of crisps (Usually Tayto crisps), chocolate bar (Mars/Snickers), a piece of fruit cake/biscuits. They were put together in the kitchens in a small white card box
Thanks for the info! I suppose there's only so many combinations of packed lunch out there.
Tayto? Food of the gods! I never saw Tayto in a horrorbox, I can remember it was always horrible flavoured brands I'd never heard of!
@@cmck472 invariably prawn %#%^*+ cocktail…
Look better than what we got in the army back in the 80s
The menu options really are pretty good.
Am officially offended as an ex army chef in the middle 80s lol
I had to prepare sandwiches as I was on Galley duties.....the greasy chefs got me on the buttering aspects of said sandwich.....the marg was melted in a small tin and then painted on quick and sloppy. That should help with your authenticity!
I didn't see the page of the instructions that state all items must be one or two days past their use by date, and must a e been made 48 hours before and left out on the counter in a warm kitchen for two days before use
Made from a loaf of bread marked ‘Thursday’
If you try chewing a gun you"ll break your teeth!
Yeah, I only noticed that after this went live, wondered who'd be the first to comment on it!
anybody else notice that one line on the lisr, meat dripping with Bovril? now being born in 1953 and most definitely working class I've had my fair share of dripping on toast usually with a sprinkling of pepper but I've never heard of mixing in or spreading on top Bovril and I've never had it made as a sandwich.
No it's an odd one that. I'm assuming it was a wartime expedient when other ingredients weren't available.
@@RiflemanMoore bovril, marmite, vegemite all WW2 food additives to extend good food and fill the empty belly, add TO better food and pray you don't notice the factory made sludge...
@@robaldridge6505 I don't know, I rather like marmite.
@@RiflemanMoore lol
A “Havvibag” . Normally issued on RAF flights, route moves from Camp, and Range days. They were just packed lunches, only issued from the cookhouse in camp when on the move. Never seen the menu you have! Not in 70,80,90s. Crisps, etc are used and frequently in my day boiled eggs. Plus tinned pop. They are not rations per se . Just a packed lunch. Rations are technical, with calories counted to the Nth degree.
My grandma tells me story’s of my great grandfather in the 51st highland division he was in North Africa they got so sick of bully beef they ended up burying most of it in the sand
Yeah, bet they longer for home service rations!
Now that you say that, part of me wonders if it's still there, maybe it'll make a nice hiss...
MNguy98 something’s probably eaten it now haha god knows might be there
Rifleman Moore yeah! One time my great grandfather forgot to salute an officer and was put on a charge when he was on leave so him and his mates followed him around saluting him all day
Thanks Ramsey!
Shall pass that on.
The Brits would also often scrape the 'cheese' from the bottom of their own Nutsack and eat it on biscuits.
Beats the 24 hour ration taste wise by a long shot!
True indeed!
I think this is no doubt why we called them packed lunches Haverbags, as they went in your Haversack.
Very similar to the white box or horrorbag haversack rations we were issued for range days or other day activities. I distinctly remember the Cornish or beef pasties eaten cold with the flakes of fat sticking to the roof of my mouth but not bad, in some situations I could make a brew as mess tins, brew kit & hexi stove were always carried in kidney pouches on 58 ptn webbing, so I could wash the fat out of my mouth with piping hot tea out of the huge mug.
On occasions, we got organised and put the pastie / saussage roll well wrapped in tinfoil in the engine bay of a Landrover. as if by magic, a hot snack when we stopped for a break!
I remember that fat/roof of mouth sensation…
@@cmck472 also possible to heat the cans in the 4/10 man packs along the exhaust of a CVR(T). You had to be careful opening them though…
Really interesting video, it made me hungry.
I have a question.
Which battledress should I use for a Coldstream Guards (possibly) during the italian campaign impression?
My suggestion would be to dig up photos of 3rd Battalion in Italy and try and work out what pattern of blouse predominated.
@@RiflemanMoore thanks, I'll do it
I'm hungry now.
Well, must be appetizing then!
Would love to know what document you guys used? :) love the content
I had no idea that these were the types of rations typically eaten by British troops during the war. Somehow, I'd imagined that they were eating canned bully beef or some such. I suppose I had an image of WW1 rations stuck in my head, which to my understanding were very hum drum and boring. These rations, on the other hand, are foods that I would happily eat.
Comments from a Yank who was a reenactor back in the '80s. I did US 82nd A/B and British Para....all at different military bases around the Midwestern US. I owned and wore in the field an original Denison smock (core blimey), and I had a nice Enfield #4 as well as a full auto Sten SMG. Fun, fun, fun.
Wish I still had all that stuff. It would now be worth a fortune.
As explained in the video these are haversack rations intended mainly for troops in training and troops in transit in the UK where fresh food could be easily provided. In the field tinned rations were the norm until centralised cooking using field kitchens could be set up.
@@RiflemanMoore Ah, indeed, I was somewhat distracted while watching the vid, and missed some key points.
When I was in the USMC Reserve here in the states, we would get a "boxed" lunch provided to us when we were being transported to a training area. It usually consisted of a sandwich, a piece of fruit, and a piece of pie or cookies. It might also include a bag of chips. Once in the field, we were issued C Rations or, later on, MREs. These rations were carried in our packs and we'd usually have a couple on hand. We did not have any equivalent of the 24 hour ration. Nevertheless, the MREs and C rations were similar in some respect to the 24 hour ration--but probably provided a more balanced meal, nutritionally speaking. Upshot is, the overall meal plan for us was not significantly different from those featured in your vids.
Good presentations, by the way.
I'd like to know what exactly meat roll is, I endured ten years of 1980's haversack rations on range days, unit road moves, RAF Flights, and on exercises and they were known universally as horrorbags.
american meat loaf
You should get this onto a mess kin tray. That would be nice.
Hah, yes.
😂😂😂😂
Steve might be watching
I'm joining up ,on the food alone
How were these wrapped? Were they just tossed into the top of a haversack? Who made these rations? From where were the ingredients sourced, who paid for them?
I don’t suppose you still have access to the scans of the originals?
They are available on facebook on the WW1 - WW2 British rations group I believe.
To be honest some of the haversack rations I was issued with as a boy soldier in 1972 tasted like they were made in 1944.
Watch your most interesting video now making me
Feeling very hungry. Question. Were are the food items stored in the haversack Was it inside the mess tins ?
That would be the logical place, yes. It's where I carried mine on the march.
Is that the historical way to cut the sandwich or the British way or just how you do it? I have never seen a sandwich cut that way before.
How do you cut them? This way makes them easy to wrap and stow in the mess tins, it's an assumption and my part. Cutting them into triangles would be very inneficient in terms of space.
@@RiflemanMoore vertically down the center or at a 45° angle.
Do you have anything on Compo rations? I remember they would stop you up, and a tin of "Rich Cake" would always loosen things up so you could take a dump!
Would individual soldiers have the opportunity to choose the items they wanted, or was would it of been more of a case of swapping between each other when it came time to eat?
You got what you were given, as I say the sandwich filling recipes are for 100 men so I don't think there would be much opportunity to swap and change.
@@RiflemanMoore Thanks
is there a good source for the ration guidelines or other british rations?
I believe Ramsey is planning a book at some point, it really depends on what period you're thinking of, there are some books covering Great War era rations.
@@RiflemanMoore I hope he does, I have a couple on the WW1 stuff but not really anything good on WW2.
Interesting!
Very informative. Not sure how much would like the fish paste though. lol!!!
Wait would you still need to refrigerate it with the meats and cheese? Or is it ok to just leave out?
Looks like my usual lunch!
That lunch looks amazing although I would love a plowman's sandwich bit of cheddar cheese some Branson pickle etc although I do love corned beef especially with Tomato Ketchup
Being from the US, I haven't the slightest idea of what some of these ingredients are, but I want to try them. From what I can tell, the GI equivalent would be the C-ration and/or the K-ration. Kinda wish we had food like this in the field nowadays.
The British equivalent to the C-ration was compo, both being based around tinned products, as opposed to what's shown here, which is all fresh.
@@RiflemanMoore I see. Having looked through some of my material, I can't find any US literature for an equivalent to these Home Guard rations. There may not be an official US equivalent. It wasn't appropriate for me to have proposed the K-ration as an equivalent since that was a combat ration. Very interesting video. Thanks for the reply, as well!
No worries! I would note this ration isn't Home Guard specific but rather used by the regular army, where appropriate.
@@stevengoodloe3893 Aircrews in the Pacific got a bag lunch. Roughly: 1 Sandwich -- baloney and American cheese on white, w/mayo, 1 Fruit -- Apple , Orange or Banana [in season], 1 Can Fruit Juice 5 oz, [orange, pineapple], 1 Candy bar. 1 Bag potato chips. The peanut butter and jelly sandwich was invented by US Navy nutritionists to replace the baloney and cheese which spoiled in tropical heat. (Fun fact: its acronym, PBJ, was also the designation for the B-25, for Patrol Bomber [J = North American].) M+Ms replaced Hershey bars, since they didn't melt. Hershey also produced a Hershey's Tropical Chocolate bar from pressed cocao powder, cocao butter, sugar and dry milk. Wouldn't melt below 100*F. Usually a 2 quart Stanley thermos of black coffee was sent on the mission. Canned fruit could be subbed for fresh. Raisins for the candy. Sodas behave atrociously at pressure altitude. Never included. The juice cans were not great at ambient temperature. Each airman carried a 1 quart canteen on his pistol belt, opposite the M1911A1. I flew on a C-130 from MCAS Cherry Point NC to MCAS Yuma AZ in 1975.
We were still getting the above bag lunch. Called the Bag Nasty.
Forgot how the army handles stuff, during dessert Strom 1 couldn't get MRE so got bag lunches, put in garage bags tossed into then out of trucks the bags broke open so did the sandwich wrapped in paper towels,
I like how he mentioned that the sandwich spread quantities were for a 100 men..can imagine someone making purely off quantities shown and realising have rather a lot of spread!
Fantastic Video, now for a snack
Enjoy!
This is literally what they gave us in the horror bags at cadets, a pasty, sandwiches and apples.
Thin slices essential.... to remain appetizing. Yew wot - ? ! Squaddies prefer a 'doorstep' every time - ! 😁
Hi Nice video. I review some modern military and civilian rations
Hey I can get behind these rations. These sound bomb as hell even without comparing them to the dehydrated MREs out on the continent.
Following a wartime recipe for scones, cake, sausage rolls etc would be good, for accurate ingredients. Bread would be the fortified National Loaf type? Made with the less refined national flour with added vitamins?
I wonder who’s coupons they used in the making of this video?
To be truly accurate I imagine you'd need to work from Army recipes. I'd imagine, where possibles they baked bread in house as well. Ramsey may have the answer.
As said in the video this was done with off the shelf items to show just how easy it is to put something together which fits the specification and looks right.
@@RiflemanMoore I doubt the army had access to anything special, have a look at national loaf and flour. All to do with shipping bulk and weights. Wasn't popular, grey and grainy, a stark contrast to the white bread everyone ate in the 1930's.
I'm not British, but have more than an interest in military history and cooking, rations, etc. Those look really great. The idea, of instead of using up valuable prepackaged rations (K-rations, C-Rations, etc) like the Americans. They did it the more economical way. Necessity is truly the mother of invention, so to speak? Btw, we used to do things like that, in the ROTC, back in the 80s, some times. Some times, it was MREs, the old dark brown bags.
Great content as allways . Now off to make a sandwich.
Glad it was appetizing.
Excellent video, but I’m not going to make a meal of it.
What have I done to deserve this punishment?
Dad jokes inc.
I very much doubt that this was a Haversack Ration for an infantry battalion in WWII. I served in such a Regiment in 1950 and our Haversack Ration on the march was always: one cheese paste sandwich and one fish paste sandwich, nothing else. For a battalion of 600 men you could not expect anything else. The ration was eaten during the midday one hour halt. We marched for 50 minutes and rested for 10 minutes every hour of the day. I might add the two sandwiches always tasted delicious because we were always ravenous!
So the army just printed those lists back then for no reason? Or someone decided to just make this up?
And all the other comments here stating that they had much the same at the time, and in the 50s, 60s, 60s, 70s and 80s are all also lying?
I'm guessing all the other blogs and articles also noting this list and providing examples (a quick Google search yielded 3 such) are also just pulling this out of thin air ?
When did they actually use these and who made and deployed these rations? Were they deployed in this manner in combat?
Excellent food. Haverbags today are just full of cheap confectionary….as are modern ration packs.
lad goodmornng i want the receipe of the cake in 12 05 if you can
I shall ask my wife!
This is also the same rations that were used in WW1. The American had the same rations made by the English but those mostly had the meat sandwiches. The French had those nasty can of "Madagascar Monkey Meat" for their rations and they liked to trade because that meat was foul.
This sort of ration was used up to the end of the 80s by the British Army
German airman taking amphetamine and dark chocolate full of caffeine, meanwhile we are doing picnics, lol, no wonder we won
Nose bag lunch for range days, with a brew from a norgi flask, lovely days.
Is there a recipe for the salad dressing?
Yes. It`s called Heinz salad dressing.
@@russbooth6766 Thanks!
3:22
Slab cake? Well that just sounds mysteriously delicious.
Cheers from the United States
How would this have been stored?
In greaseproof paper I believe.
Not for long, they are not British Rail sandwiches of the 1970s and 1980s.
Iceberg lettuce seems unlikely. I believe they would have been using romaine or roundhead lettuce. I remember my grandfather (a WW2 veteran) complain at length about the horrible iceberg lettuce of the yanks. I'm not sure, but I find it unlikely iceberg was something used in the WW2 era in the UK.
We're is the ration part it just him talking
So it's just a normal days lunch. I guess if it's not broken you don't need to fix it.
First attempt at Quarantine cooking - some cheese pasties and some Bully Beef Pasties with Franks Red Hot infused Baked Beans - (need to chill my dough a bit longer) imgur.com/a/tnqBbRE
Nice! They look spot on.
Haversack rations at lunch time.... yum...... yeah... .
The dislike is for the Beetroot, I am with you there brother.... .
Love beetroot, not sorry about it.
@@RiflemanMoore As an Aussie, I have to agree with you. Beetroot is awesome!
Make it taste of Beef and you can win me over.
Beetroot is a biological weapon and should be banned under the Geneva Conventions. It even pollutes food nearby…
Auto subs are confusing it kept saying Russians instead of rations and i've no idea what zebra meant.
I eat this every day.
got to be better than the haverbags we got in the 80s
You need a tray
I'm happy with my greaseproof. Also use of trays in conjunction with MREs and other miscellaneous rations is copyrighted.
Watercress is peppery enough on it's own. I do not think it needs any more help... =/
Obviously sent to the Soviet Union in preparation for Operation Bag Ration.
And there's me thinking all my predecessors lived off bully beef boiled or fried, in sarnies, on a plate, hot or cold and washed down with a gallon of tea.😂
Anyone remember the Sun paying for thousands of Mars Bars to be shipped to the Falklands in '82? Bet they were lifesavers compared to the crap that we laughingly called 'scran'.
Yup ! You can live on it but it t---tes like chit .
It wouldn't be soft brown bread... It would have been national loaf... A firm and rather shit bread. You would be unable to find anything quite like it these days.
Yes, you'd have to make your own most likely.
Chewing gun?
Just a typo.
Kl
Fish paste, i am put off by remembering Keith lemon, pretending to be Mel B. Oooo fish paste....
Princes salmon paste is excellent, I can assure you.
‘Fish paste?”.... German for “what time is it?”...
I'd eat it.
Yeah, it's just good food.
Would the Canadians have the same
I don't know for sure but I'd assume we would of.
Not sure but I know the specs for these came out of the National Archives, maybe Canadian archives/museums could provide the answer?
If I got a fish paste sandwich I'd cry
Why? It's delicious.
My army haversack meals in the 70’s were a disgrace by comparison. White bread, margarine, a cheap processed filler, crisps, a very poor sausage roll that a vegan would happily eat; contained no meat lol, cheap chocolate bar and the only thing worth eating; an apple or orange. Don’t forget the sugar filled soft drink to accompany it.
Stop, please! You're bringing back memories best forgotten.
@@robertstallard7836 …🤣🤣🤣🤣…….happy days…
Fish paste and lettuce, that just doesn't sound good to me
Quite nice actually.
Not much different to what we get today. Generally called a 'horror bag'.