Travelling Kitchens and Soup carts - wheeled cooking equipment

Welcome to the page for Travelling kitchens, and its story

The following is a work in progress. It is not a definitive guide, but is a researched starting point.

What is a Travelling Kitchen?

The Original Travelling Kitchen was also known as a Conjuror. It was a small portable fire, with a hearth or grate for cooking on. It was used by doctors, military officers and the like. Kettles, frying pans and similar items of equipment were used with the unit.

Auction of a doctor's goods, including a Travelling kitchen.

This 1794 newspaper clipping shows that a Parisian had invented a four wheel "Travelling kitchen". No mention can be found in any French newspaper archive.

The National Convention was the assembly governing France from September 1792 to October 1795 during the French Revolution.

This shows that Travelling kitchen means a portable device for cooking on, in the same way that a Stove can be a portable, single burner - or a fixed home cooking range.

These two newspaper clippings below, from 1798, are two years after Count Rumford's suggestion of a soup cart. We see that a Parisian has designed a Travelling kitchen that can cook for 1200 men whilst on the move. It is mounted on a single car. To my mind, that makes it a soup cart, a cart for cooking or boiling food.

An "Irish car" drawn by a single horse is known as a jaunting car, a unique two-wheeled, open-sided vehicle popular in Ireland from the early 19th century. It featured a forward-facing driver's seat and two lengthwise passenger seats situated back-to-back over a shallow well for luggage, with lowerable footboards for the riders.

A cart with two axles was known as a "Long car"

Car

Long car

So we can cautiously presume that the Parisian's design mentioned in 1798, is a two wheel soup cart. Sadly, I have yet to find any evidence or reference to it anywhere, other than in the two English newspapers. So it can't be classed as the worlds first Soup cart or Travelling kitchen, until more evidence is found.

With regards to the military Travelling kitchen - There are three types of Travelling Kitchen.

One is a soup cart, a wheeled cooking apparatus that allows one type of food to be cooked or kept warm, and perhaps for water to be boiled at the same time whilst on the move, without the food spoiling - including for staff to be able to attend the food whilst on the move.
One is a collection of cooking equipment, usually on a trailer or latterly in an ISO container. When stationary it forms a kitchen, allowing for the cooking of various meals for hundreds of troops.
One is a truck or trailer, into which cooking equipment has been installed, which allows people to attend to the food that is cooking whilst in transit, and can cook a range of different foods.

Bakeries

According to the 1940s book, La Chasseur François (The French Hunter), in 1743 a certain Beauvisage de Lavault, presented to the war commissioner, Dupré d'Aulnay the very ingenious plan of his traveling bakery

From http://perso.numericable.fr/cf40/articles/4041/4041126A.htm

"During the campaigns of the reign of Louis XV, our French guards or other soldiers of the Beloved were followed by charming cooks, whose dresses seem to have been designed by Watteau. These pretty girls, canteen girls, vivandières, tossed around in a shabby cart, prepared Fanfan la Tulipe's dinner at the bivouac. The engravings and drawings of Watteau, le Paon, Parrocel, Casanova, show us these amiable children - the gallant Marshal of Saxony wanted only beauty prizes in his army - bustling around the pot singing on the fire. However, a brilliant precursor had invented a veritable rolling kitchen intended for the manufacture of ammunition bread - ancestor of our boule - in the open countryside; each traveling oven could cook two hundred rations. The creator of this bakery was a certain Beauvisage de Lavault who, in 1743, had presented to the war commissioner Dupré d'Aulnay the very ingenious plan of his system; he also recommended a hand mill. About twenty years later, M. de Lavault, ruined by women and in debt, was imprisoned; in the royal castle, he did not lack all the items that his suspicious fruit seller refused him."

Napoleon's mobile bakery of Waterloo

This mobile bakery is one of only two surviving units that Napoleon had follow him around the battlefield. The unit is at the RLC museum at Worthy Down.

It should be remembered that the French have always taken the cooking of food as the most serious of things to be undertaken.

It is unknown at this time if this bakery was created by Beauvisage de Lavault, in 1743. One of Lavault's bakery designs could cook two hundred rations.

Lavault also designed personal Hand mills, so that soldiers could grind their own corn into flour. The Hand mills could produce finer flower than the wind and water mills, resulting in better quality of bread. Bearing in mind that many wars were only fought during the spring, summer and autumn, it also had the benefit that the army could utilise the fields of crops as they marched, to feed themselves.

The idea of cooking on the move

The German, Maurice De Saxe (1696 - 1750), Marshal of France (called Marshal Saxe), it is believed, first suggested the idea of cooking while marching. In an English translation of his book, he talks about the Sutler being employed to cook soup and roast for 1000 soldiers.

This was to economize the strength of soldiers; have their food well cooked in all weather, and avoid the numerous diseases caused by bad cooking, and want of rest.

Google search in French

The idea of cooking on the march to improve soldiers' subsistence emerged after the death of Marshal de Saxe. General Jean-Baptiste Antoine de Vaumartin, in a memorandum addressed to the Minister of War in 1761, was the first to suggest the idea of equipping regiments with pots to cook food on the march. This initiative was intended to address health and fatigue problems associated with eating undercooked food and lack of rest during troop movements. Marshal de Saxe, who died in 1750, therefore could not have been the author of this proposal. Although Marshal de Saxe was a great tactician and military administrator, his work does not contain this specific proposal.

American loyalist, Benjamin Thompson, (1753 – 1814) fought for the English army during the American war of independence. He moved to England at the end of the war, and ended up as a Major General in the British Army.

He ended up in Bavaria in 1788, whilst on his way to Austria. He served as the Minister of War, Minister of Police, and Major General in Bavaria, with King George III consent. In 1792 he was promoted to Count in Bavaria, and took the title of Count Rumford (The town where he taught in America).

Whilst in Bavaria and London, he wrote many scientific papers and essays, In his essay “Of the management of fire, and the economy of fuel” he says “There is one more invention for the use of armies in the field which I wish to recommend, and that is a portable boiler of a light and cheap construction, in which victuals may be cooked on a march. There are so many occasions when it would be very desirable to be able to give soldiers, harassed and fatigued with severe service, a warm meal, when it is impossible to stop to light fires and boil the pot, that I cannot help flattering myself that a contrivance, by which the pot actually boiling may be made to keep pace with the troops as they advance, will be an acceptable present to, every humane officer and wise and prudent general. Many a battle has undoubtedly been lost for the want of a good comfortable meal of warm victuals to recruit the strength and raise the spirits of troops fainting with hunger and excessive fatigue.”

The Rumford Roaster

Count Rumford invented the Rumford Roaster, before 1797. It was designed to be built into a fireplace, with heat from it's own fire passing around both sides of it. This design forms the basis of most soup carts.

The two pipes underneath the Roaster, are to allow steam to rush in to brown the meat, when the ends are opened at the relevant time. The top pipe goes into the chimney, and drops low to stop the loss of heat from the Roaster - but to allow the steam to flow through quickly when the two ends are opened.

More digging and research is required, but it appears that Prussia and Bavaria lead the way with cart mounted cooking equipment, and like so many things, then forgot the way.

Reading various articles, books, and newspapers of the early 1800s, and an article in the British Medical Journal, it appears that the Soup cart, or Travelling kitchen was invented many times, and then dismissed and forgotten about.

Remember - MESS, a particular company (group) of the officers or soldiers, who eat, drink, and associate together.

The issue is the location of the food in relation to the troops. The reason that Wellington approved the D shaped Mess tins of 1813 for every soldier, is because every Mess' camp kettles were on pack animals further back down the line. And it could be hours before the pack animals for that unit finally reached the troops.

Picture a line of 250 soldiers and their officers, marching 3 abreast towards the enemy. Now image the length of road that the company takes up, especially with stragglers and poor disciple after hours of marching on yet another day. Now put 3 more companies and their officers behind that. After the marching units comes the regimental wagons, pack transport and sutlers. Now consider the items poorly secured to the pack transport, items falling off enroute, and animals having their own issues on the march. And if the regiment is relying on Ox powered transport, then the wagons will be even further down the line.

I've not studied military strategies, but it appears that whilst senior officer recognised and understood the importance of troops getting their hot food as quickly as possible at each stop, so that the troops can eat and then rest - that the order was given for each Travelling kitchen to be amongst the Regimental wagon train. Common sense says that the kitchen should be directly behind the company, and not behind the regiment.

There is also the issue that because the food was still cooking whilst being transported, many cases of unpleasant burnt or bity soup being served to the troops. Hence the Soup carts being discarded and left behind.

An interesting note in one manual is that the travelling kitchen is some 23 feet long, with officers being more keen to fill that 23 feet with soldiers, and not cooking equipment.

So time and time again, we see Travelling kitchens designed, and then assigned to the store and forgotten about.

The Early Soup carts

Article extract

The following text is taken from
https://ar.culture.ru/ru/subject/pohodnaya-kuhnya-iz-oboza-velikoy-armii

Until the 19th century, soldiers of all armies ate what they could take from the civilian population of the enemy, and sometimes even from their own state. At best, they received "dry rations" in the form of crackers or cereals, which they cooked themselves during halts. The great innovator of military affairs Napoleon Bonaparte was concerned with this side of the soldier's life; the first canned food was invented for his army. And on the eve of the campaign in Russia, he ordered 60 military field kitchens (2 wheel Kurowsky-Eichen type) and obliged Marshal Davout, commander of the First Army Corps, to test them in combat conditions.

The troops of the "Iron Marshal" covered the retreat of the Grand Army from Moscow, fighting off Cossacks and partisans in rearguard skirmishes. Along the way, all the supply trains were abandoned to their fate, including the field kitchens. One of them became a trophy for the Cossacks of Count V. V. Orlov-Denisov (1775-1843). It was captured in the Gzhatsk district of the Smolensk province.

The design of the field kitchen is simple and functional. A strong wooden frame with an iron firebox is installed on a single-axle, single-horse cart with large wheels. The copper boiler above it is attached to an independent suspension, due to which it always remains horizontal. Cooked food can be transported in it and fed to soldiers immediately after stopping for a rest. Firewood and sections of a folding table were transported in a box under the driver's seat in the front. If a horse is unharnessed from such a cart, it can turn over. To prevent such an accident, the shafts are equipped with additional stops that fix the kitchen in a horizontal position.

Now it became clear how the famous manoeuvrability of Napoleon's army was ensured in the harshest conditions. The brave guards, cavalrymen and grenadiers were always fed quickly and on time, without stopping on the march for the sake of self-supply. The soldiers were provided with hot food and fresh bread, which raised their combat readiness to an unprecedented height. But only 2,000 retreating troops crossed the Berezina in December 1812, many Frenchmen died not from bullets and sabres, but from hunger, having lost their kitchens.

End of article

The first Soup cart Traveling kitchens

1794 and 1798

Two British newspapers of 1794 mention a 4 wheel travelling kitchen, which can cook for 100 men. Then in 1798, more newspaper articles report of a 2 wheel (single car) cart that cooks for 1200 men.

Preliminary research shows that a Monsieur Valette of Paris was the inventor. Awaiting responses from French Archives.

1803 onwards

The Royal Swedish Society of Science academy released quarterly publications of New documents. In the fourth quarter of 1807 is an article by C. G. Sjöstén, entitled "Notes on Fireplaces, including Description of a Field Cooking Cart and a Field Baking Oven." In this article, he advises of three successive 2 wheel soup carts being made, from 1803 onwards.

German books and newspaper articles from the early 1800s show us that Bavarian, Anton Baumgartner built the first four wheel soup cart in 1805.

Prussian, Friedrich von Kurowsky-Eichen, of Königsberg in Prussia (called Kaliningrad in Russia from 1946) designed a 2 wheel soup cart around 1810, whilst in Berlin. Kurowsky mentions of other Field Kitchens having previously been made in Munich (Baumgartner's 1805) and Königsberg in Prussia (not traced, but wonder if it's the Swedish one of 1803.

French chef, Alexie Soyer, living in England designed a soup cart that he took to Ireland in 1847 for the Potato famine.

German, Theophil Weise, living in Czechoslovakia designed a Soup cart around 1850.

Alexie Soyer designed a Traveling kitchen for the British military in the late 1850s.

And American, Moritz Pinner designed a "Portable furnace" with ovens, etc in 1863. And they had all been forgotten about by the Second Boer war.

In 1902 (republished 1905), Fritz Netzler published a book in Sweden, with his proposal for a 4 wheel cooking cart. He requested that the king fund this cart for assessment. I can't find any more on this proposal.

The first soup cart, designed by Carl Gustaf Sjöstén and made in Sweden, on Count Rumford's proposal. Sjöstén, born 17 May 1767, died 9 January 1817, was a Swedish Artillery professor and scientist.

Anton Baumgartner's Suppenwagen - 1805.

Anton Baumgartner would have worked under Count Rumford - see "The Idea of cooking on the move" above.

Anton's "Suppenwagen" (Soup truck) was a double boiler (cooking pot), with a chimney in each corner. The cooker was mounted on 4 wheels, and had chains to help the cooker stay upright on uneven ground. The kitchen was built by coach manufacturer Johann Martin Roth, of Rosenthal, Bavaria.

There is what appears to be a reproduction example of Baumgartner's Soup cart at the Invalidendom, in Paris.

Drawing by Roth, of Baumgartner's soup cart

A French lead model of the Soup cart

The French army Museum have a wonderful model of Baumgartner's soup cart.

Visit https://basedescollections.musee-armee.fr/ark:/66008/20130635

Article extract

150th anniversary of the ‘goulash cannon’

One of those inventions that is usually thought to belong to the very recent past is the field kitchen - quite commonly known as the ‘goulash cannon’.

This undoubtedly justifiably popular invention can now look back on an age of 150 years. According to ‘Neuheiten und Erfindungen’, Gümligen-Bern, it was invented in 1805 by the ‘Bayerischer Werklicher Rat’ Anton Baumgartner, who designed his ‘travelling kitchen wagon’ with the intention of ‘transporting edible food to places where it could not be transported by ordinary means’. His construction consisted of a ‘sealed oven with boiler, combustion chamber and draught chimney,

This first mobile kitchen, filled with water, had a weight of approximately 14,000 kg, making it a rather cumbersome piece of furniture to move. The first practical tests led to the ‘satisfactory result that the water reached boiling point in two hours’. This ancestor of all field kitchens was used for the first time on the occasion of a farm hunt organised in the winter of 1805; the farmers employed as beaters received hot food from it, which they accepted with both amazement and gratitude.

Napoleon who saw a demonstration of this "goulash cannon" was so impressed that he ordered them for his army.

End

Friedrich von Kurowsky-Eichen's Travelling kitchen - 1813

Born 16 December 1780, in Eichen near Königsberg in East Prussia. Königsberg is now Kaliningrad in the Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea.

Died 16 June 1853.

This drawing appears to be from an early version of Kurowsky's design. It only has one tube or chimney sticking up.

The example preserved in the Moscow museum has four tubes coming up from below, two at both ends. One of the images shows the carriage light on one of the tubes.

A group of reenactors have made a reproduction of Kurowsky's soup cart. See www.lelivrelhistoireetlobusier.fr/cuisine.html

Alexis Soyer's Travelling kitchen - 1847

Alexis Soyer had his Soup cart made before going to Ireland. This cart inspired Alexis to think of a mobile kitchen for the army. The following image and text about this idea is from his 1854 book, A shilling cookery for the people.

In Alexis Soyer's book, a Culinary Campaign, he mentions the idea of a stove mounted in a wagon. Sadly, Alexis was still ill when he returned from the Crimea, and died in 1858. One can only dream at how he may have significantly improved things through the 1860s if he had recovered from his illness and injury.

Theophil Weise's Soup cart

Theo Weise, born in Dresden in Germany, designed a 2 wheel soup cart whilst in Prague, Czechoslovakia.

The Bavarian Army Museum have a model of the cart, which was given to the museum in 1855.

Visit https://bayern.museum-digital.de/object/4112

Here's a list that is being worked on, of inventors who had patents for their design of wheeled kitchens, or cookers that were designed to be carried by wagon and the like.

There will be a number of submissions that failed to get approval, either because the inventor didn't pay the fee, or the design was too similar to someone else's to get Patent. Then of course we have the designs that were given directly to the military, which means they were already in the public domain, and could not be patented.

Japanese Field kitchens / Soup carts

It is said that Japan made some Soup carts during or after the war with Russia, before 1900. But I am struggling to find any evidence of what they made.

Early Russian Field kitchens / Soup carts

In November-December 1867, Parichko's "apparatus" was tested in St. Petersburg by a special commission, and then by a convoy commission. In 1868, a second copy was built in Warsaw to continue testing at the Life Guards Lithuanian Regiment, and in 1870, a third copy, which was again tested in St. Petersburg in 1872-1873. As a result, it was decided to build 10 copies of the "apparatus" to send to military districts for testing. There is no information on how the tests of Parichko's "apparatus" ended, but it was not accepted for the army.

Yulian Parichko's 1873 Field kitchen, in the Danube Army during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 - drawing from the Military Encyclopaedia by Ivan Sytin. Engraving from the Niva magazine for 1877

Drawings from the Russian book "Military Field Kitchens" - Military Encyclopaedia.

Krysztof Brun's first and second field kitchens 1898

Below are two state-owned infantry-artillery and cavalry kitchens of the "Krysztof Brun and Son" system, adopted in 1898.

Fig. 1 Infantry-artillery four-wheeled field kitchen - with one boiler.

Fig. 2 Cavalry two-wheeled field kitchen - with one boiler.

In 1893, the Yakov Friedland kitchen system was tested in units of the Odessa garrison. In 1896, the Main Quartermaster Directorate announced a competition to create new models of mobile field kitchens. 15 models were submitted to the competition: Stanislav-Henryk Brun (son of the founder of the Warsaw firm Krysztof Brun), M. Bogaevsky, de-Tillot, Nikiforov, Savrimovich, and others. The competition did not reveal a winner, but the most developed were recognized as the single-pot four-wheeled infantry-artillery and two-wheeled cavalry kitchens of the K. Brun and Son system (Warsaw firm Krysztof Brun and Son), which in 1898 were recommended for mandatory purchase by military units. Military units were required to purchase them independently using their own “economic funds.”

The following four were entries for the Competition

Fig. 3 Infantry-artillery two-wheeled field kitchen (with one boiler) of a lightweight type.

Fig. 4 Infantry-artillery four-wheeled field kitchen (with two boilers) of the state-issued model of the Staff Captain Margushin system.

Fig. 5 Infantry-artillery four-wheeled field kitchen (with two boilers) of the Kryshtof system.

Fig. 6 Infantry-artillery four-wheeled field kitchen (with two boilers) of the Putilov Plants Joint-Stock Company system.

For an article on the Russian development of Field kitchens, visit https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Полевая_кухня

Patented Travelling kitchens

1863 - Moritz Pinner - Ambulance kitchen - US

1863 - Moritz Pinner - Travelling kitchen - US

1873 - Yulian Parichko - Field kitchen - Russia.

Looking for patent

1884 - E Geneste - Portable bake oven - France

1890 - Louis Malen - Portable kitchen - France

In 1896, Russia returned to the idea of field kitchens, announcing a competition for the best design. Still searching around that.

1897 - David Grove - Transportable Cooking apparatus. Germany.

1897 - Manfred Weiss - Campaigning Baking Oven - Hungary.

1901 - Alfred Furrer - Automotive Field Kitchen - Switzerland

1903 - Lewis Lakos - Portable kitchen - Hungary

1905 - Victor Mikini - Mobile Field Kitchen - Russia

1905 - William Thursfield - Mobile field cooker with steam heating - Austria

1905 - Edmund Postinger - Mobile Field Kitchen - Hungary

1906 - E Thirion & A Mottant - Military Field Kitchen - France

1906 - Manfred Weiss - Field cookstove - Hungary

1906 - Louis Höhnke - Portable Field-Kitchen - Germany

1906 - Geb Schnyder - Mobile Field Kitchen - Switzerland

1907 - A Senking - Mobile Field Kitchen - Germany

1908 - Rudolf Ubermaser - Mobile Field Kitchen - Austria

1908 - Werner & Pfleiderer - Mobile Field Kitchen - Austria

1909 - John Bradshaw - Field & Travelling Kitchen - Britain

1909 - Maurice Loir - Portable Field Kitchen Oven - France

1909 - Jindrich Andres - Mobile Field Kitchen - Czechoslovakia

1910 - August Warchalowski - Mobile Field Kitchen - Austria

1910 - Manfred Weiss -Rolling Field oven (bakery) - Hungary

1910 - Alexander Marinitshir - Portable Camp Kitchens - Russia

1911 - Nicholas Soyer - Cooking Ovens - Britain

1911 - Rosina Schweizer - Automobil with Field kitchen

1911 - Blake & Son - Portable Field or Camp Ovens - Britain

1912 - Siegmund Sachsel - Transportable kitchen - Austria

1912 - James Roberts - Portable or Field cooking apparatus - New Zealand

1913 - James Wiles - Portable camp oven and steam generator - Australia

1915 - Verkstadsaktiebolage Vulcan - Mobile field Kitchen - Sweden

1915 - Henry Banister - Field or Travelling Kitchen - Britain

1915 - Frederick Berwick - Portable Field Kitchen - Britain

1915 - E Bloxham & w Owen - Camp kitchen - Britain

1916 - William & Harry Vincent - Portable Field Cooking Apparatus - Britain

1916 - McClary - Portable Cooking apparatus - Canada

1916 - Harry Scofield - Travelling kitchen - Britain

1916 - Clarence True - Portable Kitchen - US

1916 - E Bloxham & W Owen - Camp Kitchen - Britain

1916 - James Roberts - Salamander Cooking Apparatus - New Zealand

1939 - Richard & James Wiles - Improved steam field kitchen - Australia

Travelling kitchens from 1890s onwards

This transportable boiler, was designed by a David Grove of Germany in 1897.

This traveling Military field kitchen was patented by Frenchman, Thirion Edouaro in 1907

This cart and limber, Kitchen Travelling Number 1, appears in the 1918 to 1933 editions of the Manuel of Military Cooking and Dietary. It appears to be the Soyer unit, or an updated version of.

The Limber (front part) had 4 compartments, which could keep cooked food warm for several hours.

The Body (rear part) had compartments for five boilers (6.5 gallon containers). Four boilers for food, and a boiler, fitted with a tap for boiling water.

See PDF for more information.

Kitchen Travelling - Wheeled kitchen.pdf

Mills Cooking apparatus - Possibly 1910

The credit of the invention is due to Mr. Henry St. John Mills, London, whose son is Sergeant-Master-Cook, 1st Battalion The Buffs, at Aldershot.

This pair of stoves are mounted in such a way that the boilers can swing, to reduce spillage whilst cooking on the move.

Imagine large Soyer stoves, with two lugs on the sides.

In this photo, the swinging boilers can be seen, placed on the ground for ease of cooking.

The boilers can be seen swinging in this Pathé News video clip.

The following Swinging stove, patented as An improved military or Camp kitchen, was patented in 1915

The following traveling kitchen was patented in 1915 as, Improvements in Field kitchens.

The Australian Army Museum at Bandiana has quite the collection of cooking equipment on display. Amongst the collection is this replica Wiles traveling kitchen

Australia

The Australian story of the travelling kitchen involves the Wiles family. Joseph Wiles is another ex soldier who invented cooking equipment. Joseph started it off with his 1913 steam kitchen

With WW2 coming, the sons of Wiles designed a steam kitchen, mounted on a modern chassis. Two versions were designed. The Wiles Junior was a single axle unit. The Junior had a single oven, and steam powered boilers.

Wiles also produced the same steam kitchen, mounted in a 4 wheel trailer that they made. This allowed food to be cooked whilst the convoy was on the move.

With thanks to Gina, for sharing her manuals

There are two pages on this website, which has been written by a relative of Wiles. https://www.nashos.org.au/wiles.htm

The GB patent for this travelling kitchen is at https://worldwide.espacenet.com/patent/search?q=pn%3DGB191501742A

New Zealand

The New Zealand Travelling cooker was designed by the New Zealand army officer, James Ferdinand Groom Roberts.

Do visit this website https://rnzaoc.com/tag/salamander-cooker/

Robert's Travelling kitchen lost out to other makes, as the others were able to keep food warm, without spoiling, until the troops were ready for the food.

The UK patent of this stove is at

https://worldwide.espacenet.com/patent/search?q=pn%3DGB191302141A

British Travelling Kitchens

Kitchens, Travelling Number 1

(See plate 7)

The travelling kitchen consists of two main parts, viz., the limber (or front part), the body (or back part). The Limber (Front Part) The limber is constructed with four compartments lined with a packing of asbestos; these can be hermetically sealed by closing the lids, which have a lining of the same material. These compartments contain four boilers, fitted with anti-splash plates and lids. When food at boiling point is placed therein it will remain hot for six or eight hours. Tea is usually quite hot after five hours; and ordinary stew will, as indicated above, retain a good heat considerably longer, but in all cases the weather must be taken into consideration.

Frying Pans

Four frying pans are carried, two on the " near" and two on the " off " side of the limber. These fit the openings over the fire in the body of the cooker. Each pan is provided with a cover, so that cooked food can be kept hot till served. Joints of suitable size can be baked in these pans.

Compartments

There are two compartments in the rear of the limber, " near " and " off. " In the " near " compartment cook’s implements should be stored, such as hand axe, holdall, with knives, etc., and in the " off " compartment the inventory board ; also any spare cook’s implements.

Drawers

The four drawers at the back part of the limber are to be used for the storage of sugar, tea, salt, and other condiments.

Page 96

Lockers

There are also two lockers under the rear of the limber, " near " and " off." In the " off " locker should be stored such accessories as spanners, washers, box of candles, lantern and holdall for small stores, and in the " near " compartment brake blocks, water brushes, canvas buckets and cordage.

Rake

A rake is supplied with each cooker and carried on the “ off ” side of the body.

The Body (Back Part)

Boilers

The body has compartments for five boilers. Four boilers, each with anti-splash plate and lid, are used for the cooking of stews, puddings, soups, vegetables, tea, coffee, etc. There is also a boiler, fitted with a tap and an anti-splash plate and lid, for stock or boiling water, to make up the loss in cooking boilers due to evaporation.

Fireplace

The fireplace contains a "heat-regulator" and two gratings," the correct adjustment of which should not be disregarded. The " heat-regulator " is moved by means of the rake to a " forward position " when heat is required in the direction of the rear boilers and pulled back over the entrance to the fireplace when forward heat is required, and placed in a central position for equal distribution of heat to all boilers.

Gratings

Both gratings should be fixed on the lower rests when wood fuel is used, and on the top rests if a steady coal fire is required, and when all pots are boiling push the bright embers forward and damp down to retain a steady heat. This kind of fire is also suitable for frying. When mixed fuel is in use it is usual to fix the back grating (farthest from the entrance to the fireplace) on the upper and the front grating on the lower rests.

Dampers

There are two dampers. These are used to regulate the draught and should remain open until the fuel has well burnt through and a clear fire remains.

Page 97

Dampers Down,— This is a common expression and means that the flues are partly or wholly closed when a small clear fire is burning, thereby retaining a good heat in the body of the cooker, and at the same time effecting a greater economy in the use of fuel than would be the case if the flues were kept free.

Chimney

The chimney is retained in a vertical position by means of three bolts. It should be lowered to a horizontal position and supported by the rest when the cooker is not in use and when travelling over broken ground. The cowl of the chimney, when in use, can be adjusted to suit the prevailing wind.

Soot Doors

There are four soot doors, three at the front and one at the rear of the body. They should be opened for the purpose of removing soot deposits from the floor of the cooker.

Foot Rests

The foot rests on either side of the cooker are for the cooks to stand on for the purposes of cleaning, also for making up, skimming and stirring the contents of the boilers.

Carrying Poles

The carrying pole is in two parts, each 5 ft. long, with two - hanging hooks. The two parts are connected by means of a socket and are to be used to remove the boilers, which should never be removed by hand.

Fuel Carriers

Two fuel carriers are situated at the rear of the body. Each has a holding capacity of 14 cwt. of coal. The components, accessories, spare parts, equipment stores, etc., appertaining to a travelling kitchen are enumerated on A.F. G 1096-7.

Plate 7 - The Travelling Field Kitchen

The spreadsheet below shows that at least 20 Kitchen trailers were made in the early 1930s.

British WW2 travelling kitchen

I believe the images below show an example of JA 7039, Cookers, Trailer, Hydra type - with one range as listed above on each side of the trailer.

The board over this trailer model reads,

A larger version had 6 burners on each side of the trailer

No. 4, (Mk. 1) Gasoline trailer

7360-99-209-9498

No images or documents yet. But the Mk. 1 is very similar to the Mk. 2 trailer.

This small sample from MERLIN shows some of the NSN, Asset codes and Contract numbers associated with cooking trailers of the British Army.

It should be remembered that MERLIN computer program wasn't started until 1986, and back dated to anything that was in service in January 1984. So anything cast (disposed of) before 31st December 1983 does not appear in MERLIN

The Documents before AESPs included:-

Army Code 40197 - Cooking Equipment Complete Equipment Schedule.
Army Code 31224 - Complete Equipment Schedule.
Army Code 14510

This appears to be the Hydra No. 1 fuel source for the Cookers, Trailer, Hydra Type listed in the 1939 VAOS.

An image from 7360-J-100-201, showing the Hydra 4 outlet burner. So an early AESP.

It had a Hydra burner stored on both sides of the trailer. Giving a total of 8 outlets.

No. 4, Mk. 2 Gasoline & LPG trailer 7360-99-130-5642

No 4 Mark 2 cooker trailer 7360-J-100-S-W.pdf

Contents of the Cooking trailer includes

No. 4 Cooking trailer items

This image shows the following being used together with a No. 1 burner.

Yellow - Pans, Frying, Large Mk. 2
Blue - Dixie - 3 gallon.
Red - Container, Cooking - 6 gallon.
White - 2 gallon Water container.

6 Gallon cooking / transport pot

6 gallon rectangular Stainless Steel cooking pot with splash lid

• Length 35.3cm (15")

• Width 25.3cm (10")

• Depth 26.4cm (10 3/8")

• Weight 6.5kg

6 gallon containers in 1917

Trucks converted to Army Field kitchens

An unknown vehicle, showing how the containers were restrained for cooking on the move.

The vehicle below is a GMC ACKWX-353 6x6 truck, but it shows how some Mobile Kitchens were laid out, with a frame to hold the No. 1 burner and frames in place.

Yellow - Fold up table.
Purple - Stowage for 6 Water cans per side.
Blue - "Insulator" hay boxes.
Red - Stands for cooking pots.
Green - Hydra No. 1 burner, with cover on.

Dinky 1930s Cooker trailer

In 1937, Dinky released a number of military sets. These were based on the modern mechanised army of the 1930s. A number of these sets were called the Royal Tank Corps Medium Tank set, and incorporated a water bowser and Cooker trailer.

Coincidentally, in the 1939 edition of the British Army's Vocabulary of Army Ordnance Stores - it lists a Cookers, Trailer, Hydra type.