from the darkest corners of Marlborough Lines....

I write about drinks. I’m doing a piece on rum for Restaurant magazine. It’s a field I’m fairly expert in, but I have never been able to get to the bottom of the rum ration that used to be made to British soldiers as opposed to sailors. Notably: was the rum the same as navy rum (54.6% ABV), drunk diluted 2:1? Which ranks received it? Was the ration made to all soldiers even those in UK barracks, or only those in war zones? When did it cease? And, if possible, where was the rum sourced? I need the info urgently

The Naval tot finished in 1970....and if I recall it was sourced in Jamaica....whilst many accounts of WW1 mention the Army rum issue, was service Rum available to those ashore on Op Corporate ?

be interested to know from anyone with an authoritative source for this ?

Don (hic) Cabra

I am about to issue myself the same. i have some difficult telephone conversations to make with foreigners. engage! let battle commence. victory shall be that of England on this day.

A mate of mine (17/21 Lancers) reckoned to have been issued rum whilst on excercise in Der Vaterland during the 70s due to the extreme weather conditions.

Not sure if I believe it to be true.

Originally Posted by Woofer829

A mate of mine (17/21 Lancers) reckoned to have been issued rum whilst on excercise in Der Vaterland during the 70s due to the extreme weather conditions.

Not sure if I believe it to be true.

Well it was a cold war.

Yup....anticipate random Army Urban Legend dits galore, not least how it was the gallon jars of Service Rum that caused the Donnington fire........howsomeever...Nota Bene:

Originally Posted by some random ould josser

anyone with an authoritative source for this ?

( 9 dark-rum-and-limes later I couldn't even speak, let alone say her name...)

Don't know about the Army issue Don, other than it was still in place during the first ww for sure. On a possible note of interest to you despite the "daily Grog issue" being dead the RN en masse still do a rum issue to "splice the mainbrace" also during arduous conditions the RM issue rum (more as a tradition during training evolutions rather than getting the lads rummed up to "go over the top") 42 Cdo RM did it after a church service the day before the start of Telic.


PS I have just found out the TA do it with Brasso

In 1966-69 rum was issued to snow clearance teams at RAF Troodos in Cyprus but only if the temp dropped to a specified level. The main problem was to get it out of the demijohn at that temp. It had the viscosity of honey and the trick was to take a mouthfull out of a bottle of Coke and then refill with rum - let it dissolve in the Coke and then use it as personal antifreeze. It came in wicker covered demijohns and it was best not to mix them up with battery acid which came in similar, but bigger, jugs! The RE clearance team were good enough to share with our blue light patrols which flew cover for them. There was also an emergency bottle of whisky kept in the RAF Plod Duty Room at the top of Mount Olympus. Only used it once. It was lovely over an icicle broken off the guttering!

I recall a rum issue to sub-units from the QM in both Germany (c.1984) and UK (c.1991), both on long ftx' in cold weather. I vaguely recall it was Lambs Navy Rum in normal bottles, and that the official "shot" was quite small. Maybe the "shot" was calculated to be issued as grog at the official mix ratio with an equal amount of water added? I do recall that the UK unit had deployed at about 30% manpower, which combined with the abstainers and drivers, meant that the "shot" for the rest of us was about half a mug of neat rum (OC: "water is to be saved for shaving and cooking, etc, Er, cough"...)

Was issued it whilst training 23 SAS on .50 cal HMG and GPMGSF in Jordan in 2008. Whether it was through the correct channels though is another matter. The RQMS had shit loads though.

The last official R.N. tot issue took place on Friday 31 July 1970. Navy rum was imported from The West Indies, mainly from Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad. Rum was imported in oak casks by E D & F Man & Co. The company held the contract from 1784 until 1970.