When a British Army soldier was ordered to attack the enemy on the Western Front he carried a total of 30 kilograms (66 lbs) of equipment. This included a rifle, two mills grenades, 220 rounds of ammunition, a steel helmet, wire cutters, field dressing, entrenching tool, greatcoat, two sandbags, rolled ground sheet, water bottle, haversack, mess tin, towel, shaving kit, extra socks, message book and preserved food rations. The weight of the equipment made it difficult to move very fast across No Man's Land. 1. towel 2. haversack 3. extra socks 4. soap 5. iron rations 6. preserved rations 7. canvas holdall http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWregulation.htm
This would be what was carried in 1917/8 It also explains why the men did not run across to the other side! The so-called 'Iron Ration' comprised an emergency ration of preserved meat, cheese, biscuit, tea, sugar and salt carried by all British soldiers in the field for use in the event of their being cut off from regular food supplies. The Iron Ration in 1914 was as follows: 1 lb. preserved meat 3 oz. cheese 12 oz. biscuit 5/8 oz. tea 2 oz. sugar 1/2 oz. salt 1 oz. meat extract The U.S. Army adopted the principle of the Iron Ration based upon the British model. On the 12 August, 1914 the War Office gave Huntley & Palmers substantial orders to manufacture army biscuits, which involved working continuously day and night for several weeks. Army biscuits presented few ingredient problems because they required no sugar. In all £84,000 worth of such orders were fulfilled to the end of March 1915 and £653,000 worth by November 1918, nearly 6.5% of the firms total turnover. The No. 4 standard biscuit, measuring roughly 4 inches square, was made out of whole-wheat flour and was often issued as an emergency ration. It was very hard but highly nutritious and when soaked in water made a sustaining meal. From December 1916, food control by the government severely affected the production of biscuits at Huntley & Palmers. In 1913-14 Huntley & Palmers used 82 tons of sugar a week - its permitted weekly use until the end of the war was 28 tons. As an alternative, the company manufactured sweet biscuits without sugar, for example by reintroducing a form of honey biscuit. By March 1917 the cake factory had been closed and 242 kinds of biscuit were no longer being produced. The "iron rations" pictured are actually "biscuits brown" Here, you can get your own! http://www.armyrations.co.uk/products/product-86-UK_24hr_Biscuits_Brown__Five_packets.htm
Oh, and his housewife is missing from that roll... On second thoughts, I think label 2, haversack (pah!) is the housewife...
