yep, apparently the posts were provided with enough to provide food for 3 people for 2 weeks.
History of British Army Personal Cookers
- Thread starter Toadflax
- Start date
yep, apparently the posts were provided with enough to provide food for 3 people for 2 weeks.
When I first joined we had hairy shirts, large packs, boots combat high had just replaced puttees and exercise rations came like in the pictures in Mr Ed's post.
The hexy cookers came in each ration pack and were throw away items. The idea was for you to heat water in your mess tins, pierce the lid of the cans and heat them in the water. Once the food was hot, you used the hot water to make a brew or use it for washing/ shaving etc. This created a lot of waste - empty cans etc and wasn't very efficient in that it took a long time. Sod's Law dictated that you'd get a stand to or a bug out when your water was just about luke warm! So squaddies - being nothing if not resourceful - took to buying cookers to make the process quicker. Fashion dictated the type as well as the experience of the likes of the Royal Marines, who were always going to Norway at the wrong time of year! - Coleman Peak stoves became very popular at one stage and the current fad is for jetboils. Arctic rations (boil in the bag) were rare and much sought after and eventually became the norm.
Nowadays when I go on exercise - it's all centralised catering. The slop jockeys come out into the field with their field kitchens, source the local produce and produce some pretty good stuff (with choices of meals etc) - more cost effective and less impact on the environment (the same reason why we don't do "shovel recces" anymore - the Army nowadays hire portaloos at your exercise location). Most guys will have a personal brew kit - my current set up is a bushbuddy with a tatonka meths burner nesting in a 1L tatonka billy with brew kit and a couple of boil in the bag meals. this lives in my "go bag" (or bug out bag as some people would call it). I haven't seen a hexy cooker for years.
On kit in general: Kit issue used to be woefully inadequate and us squaddies would spend a fortune keeping ourselves comfortable in the field (boots were first on the shopping list, usually followed by Norwegian Army shirts and some sort of gas or liquid fuel stove). Great strides have been made recently with personal kit procurement - the powers that be are actually listening to the Tom on the ground. It started when Norwegian shirts became issued items and boil in the bag became the norm. When I went to Bosnia - they didn't have any cold weather boots in my size so I deployed with normal boots (I remember New Years eve being -24〫C!). With my, more recent desert issue I had a choice of Lowa or Meindl desert boots and the issued cold weather boots are excellent.
Returning to the thread - I haven't heard of the Army issuing Jetboils to individuals - although it wouldn't surprise me - nowadays the brass look at what the Tom is buying and try to get it procured - and the process is a lot quicker than it used to be.
The hexy cookers came in each ration pack and were throw away items. The idea was for you to heat water in your mess tins, pierce the lid of the cans and heat them in the water. Once the food was hot, you used the hot water to make a brew or use it for washing/ shaving etc. This created a lot of waste - empty cans etc and wasn't very efficient in that it took a long time. Sod's Law dictated that you'd get a stand to or a bug out when your water was just about luke warm! So squaddies - being nothing if not resourceful - took to buying cookers to make the process quicker. Fashion dictated the type as well as the experience of the likes of the Royal Marines, who were always going to Norway at the wrong time of year! - Coleman Peak stoves became very popular at one stage and the current fad is for jetboils. Arctic rations (boil in the bag) were rare and much sought after and eventually became the norm.
Nowadays when I go on exercise - it's all centralised catering. The slop jockeys come out into the field with their field kitchens, source the local produce and produce some pretty good stuff (with choices of meals etc) - more cost effective and less impact on the environment (the same reason why we don't do "shovel recces" anymore - the Army nowadays hire portaloos at your exercise location). Most guys will have a personal brew kit - my current set up is a bushbuddy with a tatonka meths burner nesting in a 1L tatonka billy with brew kit and a couple of boil in the bag meals. this lives in my "go bag" (or bug out bag as some people would call it). I haven't seen a hexy cooker for years.
On kit in general: Kit issue used to be woefully inadequate and us squaddies would spend a fortune keeping ourselves comfortable in the field (boots were first on the shopping list, usually followed by Norwegian Army shirts and some sort of gas or liquid fuel stove). Great strides have been made recently with personal kit procurement - the powers that be are actually listening to the Tom on the ground. It started when Norwegian shirts became issued items and boil in the bag became the norm. When I went to Bosnia - they didn't have any cold weather boots in my size so I deployed with normal boots (I remember New Years eve being -24〫C!). With my, more recent desert issue I had a choice of Lowa or Meindl desert boots and the issued cold weather boots are excellent.
Returning to the thread - I haven't heard of the Army issuing Jetboils to individuals - although it wouldn't surprise me - nowadays the brass look at what the Tom is buying and try to get it procured - and the process is a lot quicker than it used to be.
no, whats mreinfo?
MRE as in Meal, ready eat?
no imnot, why has someone been ripping off my photos again?
on that basis, the unit cost of a jetboil might be significantly lower, if the MOD approached the manufaturer to say, buy 130,000 units, would they get a deal as it were? so making them less than the high street price?
its the basis that private companies like tesco and lidl etc can sell stuff so cheap, they buy in massive bulk, but does that buying power extend to the MOD?
Fin, what unit you with? I'm witht the TA QOY in York.
One thing i hate about being on ex now is the slop wagon that comes with us and cooks our meals, takes the fun out of being in the field. I tend to use my wee gelert micro now, alot quicker and quieter than firing up the wagon to heat the BV
One thing i hate about being on ex now is the slop wagon that comes with us and cooks our meals, takes the fun out of being in the field. I tend to use my wee gelert micro now, alot quicker and quieter than firing up the wagon to heat the BV
yes MRE as in meal ready to eat there's just a member there who had some similar picture's beside's the last 2 it's a ration forum just thought i aught to let you know mate
regards,Jordan
regards,Jordan
in theory, the MOD would be getting them at wholesale price. which would be somewhat cheaper.
however, this being the british ministry of defence, they would probably end up getting them for more than high-street price.......
have you got a link please mate, as those pics i posted on here are mine, i know exactly when and where i took them lol
wouldnt be the forst time i have had my pics ripped off........
having a think about this, those packs date from the late mid to late 80's, would that make them 10 man compos?
Not the same photo's mate
http://www.mreinfo.com/international/great-britain/british-rations-picture-gallery.html
Ed, love the pic of the Tommys cookers
http://www.mreinfo.com/international/great-britain/british-rations-picture-gallery.html
Ed, love the pic of the Tommys cookers
I seem to remember having 10 man compo packs in the late 1970s, early 1980s.
Back to the original thread subject, I'd forgotten that many of the group type cookers were petrol fuelled. Seems to make sense that you can use vehicle fuel for the cookers, eases supply issues.
Geoff
Back to the original thread subject, I'd forgotten that many of the group type cookers were petrol fuelled. Seems to make sense that you can use vehicle fuel for the cookers, eases supply issues.
Geoff
Not the same photo's mate
http://www.mreinfo.com/international/great-britain/british-rations-picture-gallery.html
Ed, love the pic of the Tommys cookers
ok cheers, yeah i was surprised to find them nearly twenty years after the bunker was stood down! Bunker hunting is a hobby of mine lol
you want to see some of the massive bunkers i have been in, here in england
that fits, the place was operational from C1960 to 1991
Slightly off topic but has the US army capillary stove (As opposed the the MSR civy version) started reaching sandy places for our lads to proff or swap for?
http://picasaweb.google.com/hikin.jim/MSRCapillaryStove#slideshow/5329462804066755314
ATB
Tom
http://picasaweb.google.com/hikin.jim/MSRCapillaryStove#slideshow/5329462804066755314
ATB
Tom
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A couple have come up on eBay last year, went for about a hundred dollars each. Last I heard the project for the army was on hold? May be wrong.
Ed, 'Bunker hunting' great stuff are you on
http://www.subbrit.org.uk/
ok cheers, yeah i was surprised to find them nearly twenty years after the bunker was stood down! Bunker hunting is a hobby of mine lol
you want to see some of the massive bunkers i have been in, here in england
that fits, the place was operational from C1960 to 1991
Off topic Mr Ed but have you ever been to this bunker/tunnels ?
http://www.stokes277.freeserve.co.uk/pages/drakelow.html
no, there was a trip i believe that i was unable to attend, i have missed a few good trips recently due to this leg situation
and back on topic lol, tommy cookers are currently a tenner on ebay
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/British-ratio...Collectables_Militaria_LE?hash=item2c539aea5f
i should have boxed up all those i found lol
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Mailing gas, behave yourself
the Jetboil sets issued to the men on the ground were commercially bought as an operational requirement.
