Rum jar, British Army, 1916 (c)

Stoneware jar, impressed with the characters 'S.R.D', Supply Reserve Depot.

These jars, produced in vast numbers during World War One (1914-1918), were used to store and transport rum and other liquids. This jar was excavated in 1982 from the site of a trench occupied by British troops at Messines Ridge on the Western Front.

As in earlier conflicts, British and Commonwealth soldiers were entitled to a daily rum ration in the trenches. Army regulations ordered that the rum ration was to be drunk in the presence of an officer or non-commissioned officer so it could not be hoarded.

British service personnel had their own take on what the initials 'S.R.D' on jars like this one stood for; examples included, 'Seldom Reaches Destination', 'Service Rum Diluted' and 'Soon Runs Dry'.