This is an entry in a year-long project to post-blog the demobilisation experience for British servicemen at the end of the Second World War. See here for an introduction to the project and here for a brief overview of the demobilisation process.
The News Chronicle reports on the disparity between civilian and military rations in the UK which has created some controversy given the desperate food shortage both at home and on the European continent (in Germany, bread stocks will be exhausted by the end of the month).
Currently a British civilian receives, per week: 14 oz. of fresh meat (including 1.4 oz. of corned beef), 3 oz. bacon, 3 oz. cheese, 8 oz. sugar, 3 oz. butter, 3 oz. margarine, and 2.5 oz. of tea.
A servicemen based in the UK, by comparison, receives 35 oz. of fresh meat, 8 oz. of bacon, 6 oz. of cheese, 13 oz. of sugar, 2 oz. of butter, 8.5 oz. of margarine, and 2 oz. of tea.
Servicemen overseas receive higher rations still, but this is more easily justified by the service departments due to the extra physical duties of occupation. Given the largely sedentary nature of military life in Great Britain currently, the difference between the home service soldier's ration and that of his civilian counterpart is harder to explain ...
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