ARMY DIETARY

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, 22 November 1927, Page 6

ARMY DIETARY

CAMPARISON WITH 20 YEARS AGO FEEDING SCIENTIFICALLY. London, Oct. 30. Interesting comparisons of the soldier’s diet 20 years ago and to-day were made by Colonel Stephen Wright, who has just retired from the position of inspector of army catering, in an interview. “Twenty years ago,” he said, “the regular soldier received lib of bread and Jib of meat per day, and paid 3d out of his daily Is to receive potatoes, tea, and sugar; but to-day the food in the army is incomparably better than meals to be had in many a middle class home. Before 1907, the soldier could do what he pleased with his daily 11b of bread and Jib of meat. It was amazing how much was wasted. Sometimes at Aidershot civilians would come into barracks during the morning and take whole sackfuls of wasted bread. When I undertook the work of reorganising the system I soon found there was much more to be done than I had realised, so I became a student of the art of feeding scientifically. Practically the first change I made was when I realised that often a man did not need Jib of meat per day when in barracks. I saved enough out of that allowance to give him three breakfasts a week. That was a saving which meant thousands of, pounds in a year. But the money i; not lost to the soldier, because it goes into a reserve fund for extras on special occasions, such as manoeuvres or long route marches. Finally, I drew up a dietary by which 109 men are now fed for a week at a cost of £lB 15s lid, and their meals are arranged so that they get an adequate quantity of fats, proteins, and so on. FRUIT SALAD. “One thing soon struck me. Unless a soldier is in an isolated barracks some miles from a town he will not come in for supper. Formerly it was not supposed to matter. But it is a fact that a man loses weight during sleep. Normally a man loses about 80 degrees of energy. If, however, he goes without supper it works out at a loss of 1200 deg. That must not hap. pen t 6 a soldier. So in my dietaries I saw to it that for tea he had something really substantial —fish cakes, meat, cheese, or sardines, for example. A further study of the soldier shows that during the week-ends he is fairly flush with money. By Sunday night he is usually ‘broke.’ To meet that now in the army the tea on Tuesday is a little more substantial than on Mon. day. On Wednesday it is a good meal, and on Thursday it is sufficient to keep him going without another thing until next morning. “ Soldiers have their weaknesses. The man who has been in the army for several years will guffaw at the mention of a dish like fruit salad, but the young recruit likes it. To-day, therefore, an alternative dinner is supplied to meet the two types of soldiers.

LN WAR TIME.

“The great test came with the European War. and I think that the verdict will be that the army was well fed. Napoleon said that an army marches on its stomach, and how true this is was shown when the British Army retreated from Mons. The men were allowed during that time Ijlh of meat pea day, and they ate every bit of it. But when they were firmly entrenched before Ypres it was a quite unnecessary allowance. Any soldier will tell you what happened to many of the familiar 81b tins of bully beef. In former wars— I have served in three—the soldier who was in it at the start always came off worst front a food point of view. That will ever happen again, for if there should ever be another war the canteens will travel with the army right up to the field of battle. The soldier used to have a reputation for grumbling. Is it to be wondered at when the cook was dressed in a dirty pair of regimental trousers and an unwashed shirt, and kept his face unshaved simply because he was doing duty in the cookhouse? To-day the army cook is dressed and performs like a high-class chef. At first the soldiers laughed, but they do not now. They know it implies good food, and a well-fed man is a contented man, as any housewife will tell you.”