ABSTRACT
The First World War presented the British Army with unprecedented logistical challenges, feeding the millions of men in its ranks was a task for which there had been no preparation. There was little that institutional feeding could do to comfort men who had to endure the conditions of the First World War. The British Army understood that proper feeding was important, not just physically, but also for the men's morale. Food poisoning from badly prepared or poor-quality ingredients was frequently the cause of the men' suffering and the army's exhortations that meals should be prepared in hygienic conditions do not always appear to have been heeded. The matter of teeth was of great significance in an army where so many of the men suffered from the consequences of a lifetime of poor diet and little or no dental attention. In general, a quieter sector, without the appetite suppressant of high velocity shells made men hungrier than the more dangerous positions.
