Daz is joined by living historian Pete Neal of the TikTok page Pete’s Living History to explore how the British Army was fed during the First World War.

Feeding the British Army in the First World War was a logistical struggle as much as a necessity. Soldiers relied on basic, calorie-rich rations such as bully beef, biscuits, bread, jam, tea, and tinned vegetables, with hot meals from field kitchens when supplies reached the line. Disruptions caused by mud, shellfire, and the German blockade often reduced these comforts, leaving men with cold, repetitive fare like Maconochie stew or pea soup, sometimes made with horsemeat. In these conditions, parcels from home and the daily rum ration played an important role in sustaining morale as well as bodies.