Tin of emergency rations for Field Service, 1900 (c)

Made by Bovril Ltd, London.

In 1811 the pioneering Donkin and Hall partnership developed the vacuum tin can and the world's first factory solely for canning food. Used from the Napoleonic Wars onwards, the inventions had a major impact on how food could be delivered to troops engaged in conflict. Supplies could be preserved and protected from damage before consumption.

The tinned emergency rations consists of a meat '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).