Selected by Patricia Methven, Director of Archives & Information Management

What

Three photographs by C H Foulkes reflecting the scale of effort required by the British Army Service Corps and Belgian farming community in feeding the troops. The photographs are captioned ‘British supplies at Boulogne’, ‘Belgian peasants threshing corn for the supply of troops’ and ‘Field bakery’.

Why

Soldiers letters home from the Front often include requests for home comforts and gratitude for treats sent. They rarely reflect the herculean efforts that were made to ensure that they were fed and the practicalities of making that happen. The scale of the supplies at Boulogne, the lengthy row of field ovens and the deployment of the local community in threshing all bring home the detail and the roles of the perhaps unsung heroes of the war.

Ref: Foulkes 6/87

www.kingscollections.org/catalogues/lhcma/collection/f/fo70-001