Rum Jars

[Steve R]

I haven't seen these on the forum before so I thought I would share some of mine with you.

Probably every British soldier in WW1 enjoyed seeing these. The SRD Jar held rum rations that were distributed to the troops as part of their rations. In particular I believe that this happened just before trench raid and larger fight. The standard size was 1 gallon and all the ones I have seen had a cork stopper.

The rum has been described in books as being a thicker texture than you would expect and no doubt these jars were made in there millions. The two Jars on the left and centre are the standard size, the one on the right is a little rarer smaller size and is possibly 1/2 gallon.

Most but not all in my experience were marked. I see many parts of these jars on the Somme when walking the fields but I only collect bits with writing or marks on and the necks. You will see that one part of a smaller jug still has an ink stamp which has survived in the ground for 90 years.

I have heard SRD standing for several things.

Special Rations department
Special Reserve depot
There are others but the soldiers stated that they 'Seldom Reached Destination'

:thumbup:

Regards Steve R

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Steve, I would like to add one of these to my collection some day. I have seen them for sale in the past but always something more pressing has come up.

Funny you say that about the SRD initials, I would really like to know what they stand for as well.

Cheers, Ade.

[Steve R]

Ade

There are a few different sites on the internet under 'Rum jars' and what the initials stand for remains uncertain.

I have also heard 'Service Ration Depot' as a possible and have also seen these marked up for WW11 so they had a long life.

Steve R

:thumbup1:

[RaymondG]

Hi Steve

I really like these and have not come across them before.

The rum was indeed a lot thicker than was commercially available at the time, and indeed, today.

I know in the Navy that it was watered down after it was onboard for some or all of the following reasons: a) it wasvery strong and b) was not actually that palatable c) for the obvious transportation and space savings. I recall my Navy friend saying that the rum was more like syrup in its undiluted state. He also states that you simply cannot get Rum that is as good commercially.

Raymond

[wiggles]

These are nice looking things, and an interesting bit of history. I hope to add some to my collection some day. Thanks for showing.

[Gallipoli]

I found this extract in reference to your WWI jars. Nice collection you have by the way.

WW1 SRD RUM JAR

S.R.D. known as 'Rum Jars' but not necessarily so, other possible meanings could be ' Service Reserve Depot' 'Services Rum Diluted' 'Special Red Demerara' 'Standard Rum Diluted' 'Service Rum Distribution' 'Service Ration Department' 'Service Rum Department'.

Soldiers Slang for it was 'Seldom Rarely Delivered' 'Soldiers Run Dry' 'Soon Runs Out' 'Seldom Reaches Destination'. One thing is certain, soldiers during the First War did get a rum ration usually before ''going over the top''.

Introduced in the winter of 1914 as a remedy for the cold, or to give some ''Dutch courage'' before fighting, it is strange that this was done, as it certainly would not help with the cold or bad weather conditions, and given the amount in the ration, it would take more than the whole bottle to get any man willing to face the German machine gunners.