THE YPRES TIMES
47
ingredient was meal, with an occasional raisin embedded in itHere am I, and
where are you? so to speak. On the whole it made a palatable sweet." While
dinner was being dished, we were usually brought to attention by the camp orderly,
who appeared with the orderly officer for the day. Immediately on compliance it
was the officer's duty to say Any complaints? If the answer was None,
sir," he retreated at once, feeling much relieved, no doubt; but if we had the
temerity to plead there wasn't enough of this or that particular item of food, he
could always prove to us how completely mistaken we were, and that there was an
ample sufficiency for everyone. Then he
turned away leaving us looking foolishly
at one another. This "Any complaints
stunt seemed always to be a meaningless
gesture. a
Later in the day the orderlies paraded
for the last time for general rations, which
consisted of bread, cheese, jam, and
margarine, and occasionally there was an
issue of tobacco and cigarettes and green
envelopes. It will be remembered that
letters for home enclosed in green
envelopes were forwarded uncensored. The
soldier sealed the envelope, but he had to
sign a declaration on the cover to the
effect that his letter contained no reference f»
to the war or to unit's whereabouts.
Of course, the military reserved the right
to open the envelope if they thought fit,
and doubtless not all of these green-
shrouded missives were delivered with the
seal unbroken.
As to the distribution of the food, M
each section was given a tin or two of jam
and a jar of margarineand to every man
two or three inches of cheese and a quar
ter of a loaf, or perhaps a third or, at
times, even as much as half a loaf. It
all depended on circumstances. Note,
however, that the loaf wasn't the hefty
fellow of the baker's window, but often a pale, attenuated lump of dough which
only these thin days could provide. The man who fetched these rations sometimes
had his theory of the fall in the bread ration when that occurred, say from a half
loaf to a quarter. It was the German prisoners who were getting the bread
intended for the British Tommy. Boys," he would announce, as he arrived with
the big box of provender on his shoulder, there's been a huge haul of German
prisoners, the bread ration's down to a quarter of a loaf to each man." And
whether we believed his story or not we usually took occasion to curse those German
prisoners.
As tobacco was only an occasional issue, we couldn't tell whether enemy
prisoners were absorbing our supplies or notand as for the green envelopes, we felt
sure they could not be. It was also some satisfaction to know that, while the
Quartermaster could say, One loaf between two men," he couldn't say, One
green envelope between two men." It was said, however, that one envelope did
on one accasion do duty for two men. The families of both were known to each
other, accordingly the two communications were enclosed, and the Siamese envelope
Photo J
[imperial War Museum, Crown Copyright
DINNER IN THE TRENCHES
