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An interesting display in the National Army Museum is this comparison of the foot intake of British soldiers during different campaigns.

Fat is yellow. Carbohydrate is red. Protein is blue.




Images courtesy of the National Army Museum.

At nearly 4,000 calories per day, the Boer War soldier was, on average, well fed.

Lots of carb's across the centuries!

I was very surprised how good the average diet was in the Boer War. I has read elsewhere that men would join up solely for the food the service in the army provided.

No doubt there was a huge amount of variation and I wonder how often this target figure was met?

There was no welfare system, to be clothed, fed and watered on a daily basis must have been a salvation to so many in those days.
I was actually quite surprised to note how similar the diet was for the Second World War and Operation Herrick.

djb wrote: I was very surprised how good the average diet was in the Boer War. I has read elsewhere that men would join up solely for the food the service in the army provided.

No doubt there was a huge amount of variation and I wonder how often this target figure was met?