This article uses a diary kept by a First World War soldier, Vince Schürhoff, to explore the British Army's food culture. It examines his journey through seven food contexts, the evolution of his cooking and consumption, and interaction with French food culture. This microhistory of everyday life demonstrates the centrality of food in the men's lives both emotionally and socially as well as physiologically. Additionally, it provides valuable insights into the relationships that formed around eating between the soldiers themselves and also with civilian providers. His rich account confirms the role of food as a key factor in the men's expression of the sometimes-shocking differences between military and civilian worlds.
The Reverend Oswin Creighton, who served as a chaplain on the Western Front, was immensely frustrated by the fi xation with food he witnessed amongst the troops. After yet another disappointingly illattended church parade, he wrote: It is really extraordinary the part played by the stomach in life. We are paralysed, absorbed, hypnotised by it. The chief topic of conversation is rations with the men, and food and wine with the offi cers. 1
The project process had many similarities to the practice of oral history, but there were also significant differences. This article considers the shared territory of the two methodologies while at the same time acknowledging the uniqueness of Age Exchange's approach to the making of histories.
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