Z1360/1/39

Letter (4 sheets) from Wilfred Hammond, marked: BEF France December 14th 1916. My Dear People, Just a short communiqué to let you know that everything is still carrying on as usual. I received your parcel containing pudding recently but have not yet got it cooked. Shall probably do so the next time in the line if we are lucky. Christmas is rapidly approaching (as it occasionally does at this time of year) and people are counting the days to see whether we shall be back at rest or in the line at Christmas. With decent luck we shall be out of the line. We shall have to see what we can rig up for it. You, Mother, make me smile with your sublime faith in the Army. I mean when you say that you expect we shall be issued out with a pudding at Christmas. Where on earth is it to come from? If we get an extra piece of onion in the stew we shall be damned lucky. Talking of grub, I will tell you of one thing we get issued. This is called “Pork and beans”, is sent in tins like jam tins and consists of small yellowish-brown beans in an oily sort of fluid with somewhere in the tin a cubic inch of fat pork. The beans are alright but I only know of one man who has ever tackled the alleged pork. He was a professional swallower and it killed him. Another delightful affair is known as Maconackie (known, owing to the word’s similarity to Marconi, as “Wireless”). Rations. This consists of cold pieces of beef, potatoes, carrots, etc. all cooked and mixed with fat gravy and sealed in a tin. The correct method is to heat the lot before opening and all is well but I’ve known a good fellow’s character “go west” through opening one cold and the Sanitary Officer seeing it. Then again there is the far-famed “bully” but even with this despised stuff it is wonderful what a tasty rissole can be wangled with the aid of a pulverised biscuit, minced “Bentos” and a little stray bacon fat or dubbin. One day the cooks had a go at rissoles but unfortunately the rissoles failed to “riss” and the result was a “runny” affair at the bottom of a 60 pint Dixie. Strange to say the Orderly officer happened to stroll by just then, he looked at the stuff once, jumped and then yelled “Who did this in the Dixie?” We got the papers to-day containing the news of the Kaiser’s peace touch. For some time it formed a big topic of conversion. I certainly think it is a step in the right direction, anyhow. Some day when It comes, eh! We shall all get drunk. Then we shall have to start emptying all these sand-bags before we come back. The enclosed card of a pal of mine may interest you. You understand I am not melancholy to finish. Yours with love, Wilf

14 December 1916

From: 1916 To: 1916

item

Hammond, Wilfred,
Maconackie,
Wilhelm II, Kaiser

France, letters, service personnel, overseas (WW1), 18th Battalion King's Royal Rifle Corps, puddings, Christmas, onions, pork, beans, beef, potatoes, carrots, gravy, food, biscuits, bacon, drinking, drunkenness