For those who still have doubts about the strategic importance of Tea for the Britsh. Tea in the First and Second World Wars By the beginning of the twentieth century, there could be no doubt about the importance of tea to the British people. This was acknowledged by the government during the First World War. Tea was not initially rationed, but tea prices began to rise as a result of ships being sunk by German submarines, and so the government took over the importation of tea and controlled prices. During the Second World War, the government took even more drastic action to safeguard this essential morale-booster. Just two days after war broke out, it took control of all tea stocks, and ordered that the vast reserves then stored in London must be dispersed to warehouses outside the capital in case of bombing. When during 1940 enemy blockades prevented ships from getting through, the Minstry of Food introduced a ration of 2oz of tea per person per week for those over the age of five. This was not a lot, enough for two or three cups a day of rather weak tea. But there was extra tea for those in the armed forces, and on the domestic front for those in vital jobs such as firemen and steel workers. Tea was also sent in Red Cross parcels to British prisoners of war abroad. http://www.tea.co.uk/a-social-history https://reprorations.com/Britain%20WW2/WW2-Britain%20page%202.htm
Corporal Bill Bailey’s section of 25 platoon was allowed to go back to the bridge; They took up position near the gun emplacement on the eastern side of the canal. He had had nothing to drink for fourteen hours: At this stage we got the first inkling of Commandos coming through, some with bicycles, and I thought this was a good time to make some tea. So I took my 'Tommy cooker' down into the position between the gun. Little primus stove with a little block and meths and tin water and a little mix of sugar and you’re away. Takes six or seven minutes. I think it was wally and Gus I saw sitting on the bunk watching and the bubbles had just started to came up. I'd just dropped the tea in and there was a God Almighty crash over my head. Charlie Gardner was up on the gun, and they fired this bloody thing whiIe I was down there and of course all the sand from China came crashing down on our heads! Bailey came up from the area beneath the gun. Wally Parr: He just looked at me and said Parr; don’t fire that bleedin’ gun again will you till I've had my cup of tea, theres all shit fallng on top of me. ’I said 'Yeah, alright alright. ’ So the war stopped for about fifteen minutes as far as the gun was concerned but they [the Germans] were creeping up and creeping up. It was over on the right hand bank, there was space between some bushes and another clump, and one shot across, [another] one shot across. Now there was already two there we knew, so that made four. And then two more came scurrying across because the gun was quiet and they were doing alright. There were six of them and I swung the gun round I’d got six of them behind this clump {bushes. I suppose it was a ten-yard clump give or take a thou; and I just aimed the gun and I fired The next thing you knew there was a terrible scream fom somewhere outside and I thought 'some poor bastards got it. ’ Then, believe it or not I saw two hands, big hands........ pulling himsef up the two steps inside the gun pit. It was Bailey. His face was livid his cup of char had just come to the boil He'd put his powdered milk and his sugar in it and I fired the bleedin’ gun and the whole of the roof fell in on top of it and turned it into mud! Bailey came into there, and I left my post and I run round the front end of the gun. He chased me round there. He eventually gave up the chase and he went off swearing and cursing; without his cup of tea. The Pegasus And Orne Bridges, Neil Barber 2014 page 234 235
British soldiers queue for tea at NAAFI Mobile Canteen No. 750 beside the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, July 1945. This van was the first mobile NAAFI to operate in Berlin.
THE BRITISH ARMY IN NORTH AFRICA 1942. © IWM (E 15079) A mobile tea canteen in the forward area, 31 July 1942.
Here is a story I heard from Nick Sgarro, a longtime television script supervisor and friend of my father's. NIck was also a WWII veteran, and he said he could always tell whether a buttoned-down Sherman tank was American or British because the British Shermans always had tea kettles dangling from the turret.
We covered this subject on ww2talk.com http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/49693-how-was-tea-made-by-tank-crews/ Ron
