Emergency ration for field service, or 'Iron Ration', 1899

Tinned steel, cylindrical with a central key opening strip; numbered on one side '99', possibly date of manufacture, and the other bears a fragmentary label printed with the contents, which is concentrated beef.

During the early 1880s the British Army began introducing rations which could be used to sustain troops on campaign when cut off from regular sources of supply. Each soldier was issued with an 'emergency' ration, made up of a tin containing beef and cocoa. Also known as an 'iron ration' it was only supposed to be eaten when normal supplies were cut off and when the commanding officer ordered the men to do so.

The tinned emergency ration consists of dried beef 'dinner' in one end and cocoa in the other. It was designed to sustain a soldier for 36 hours while on active service during the Boer War (1899-1902).