FEEDING THE SOLDIER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19834, 3 January 1928, Page 12

FEEDING THE SOLDIER.

SCIENTIFIC METHODS. BRITISH ARMY'S GOOD FARE. That the British soldier to-day enjoys bttt6r meals than many members of the middle class homes is the proud claim of Colonel Wright, who has just retired from the position of Inspector of Army Catering. Twenty years ago the regular soldier received lib. of bread and |l'o. of meat per day, and paid 3d for potatoes, tea and sugar. Since Colonel Wright introduced the system of scientific feeding in the A rmy his diet has become far more varied, wholesome and attractive. One o£ the first things Colonel Wright realised was that often men did not need fib. of meat per day, when in barracks. " I saved enough," he savs, " out of that allowance to give him three breakfasts a week. That was a saving which means thousands of pounds a year, but the money is not lost to our soldiers, because it goes vnto a reserve fund' for extras on special occasions, such as manoeuvres or long route marches. Fihally, I drew up a dietary by which 100 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." Colone' Wright discovered that Tommy 1 Atkins, unlike Tommy Tucker,, was not very fond of supper, sine© the time spent in consuming this meal interfered with his amusement programmes. So, in his dietaries, he saw to it that for the tea the soldier had something really substantial. A further study of the soldier showed that during the weekends he is fairly flush 1 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 Monday. 1 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," says Colonel* Wright. " The man who has been in. the Army for several years will guffaw at the mention of a dish like fruit 1 salad, but the young recruit likes it. To-day, therefore, an alternative dinner is supplied to mfcet the two types of soldiers. " When the British Army retreated from Mons to Ypres, the men were allowed l£lb. of meat a day, and they ate every bit of it; but when they were firmly entrenched before Ypres it was ri quite unnecessary allowance. Any soldier will tell you what happened to many of the 81b. tins of bally beef. In former wars—l have served in three —the soldier who was in it at the start always came off Worst from a food point of view. That will never happen again, for if there should ever bs another war the canteens wtll travel with the Army right up to the field of battle."-