An army marches on its stomach, Napoleon is credited with saying.
So having looked at these pictures, we’re really hoping the British Army doesn’t have to do too much marching any time soon.
Soldiers have shared pictures of what’s been given to them in mess halls – including raw chicken, ‘meat water’, and some very sloppy lasagne.
The dining experience is so poor, one former commander fears it could ‘seriously damage morale’. One troop says it’s the ‘worst I’ve seen in the 12 years I’ve been in’.
A meal served at Longmoor Camp in Hampshire last month ‘can only be described as meat water and a potato’, one soldier said in a post on the Fillyourboots page on Facebook.
Another picture shared by the account shows a bowl containing a soggy mess of meat and pasta believed to be lasagna. In another, a maggot is seen among pasta.
The page has also posted pictures of oily soup containing pink chicken, and a pale pizza base with a wide crust around dried tomato sauce and meat. The latter is believed to be from MOD Worthy Down, Hampshire.
It might be no surprise for those watching the evaporation of army chefs in recent years.
From 2,547 in 2010, their numbers had fallen to just 868 by 2024, Luke Pollard, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Defence, revealed in response to a written question from Derek Twigg MP in January.
While the number of regular, full-time army personnel has decreased from 114,000 to 75,000 in that time, the remaining chefs have more work on their plate.
Each chef had 45 people to cater for in 2010. Now they have 86.
Tory MP Sir Bernard Jenkin warned last month that the UK ‘must be ready to go to war with Russia’.
He was echoing Army chief General Sir Roland Walker who said last summer that an ‘increasingly volatile’ world Britain must be ready to fight a war in three years.
This came after a government report suggested the British Army may only last a couple of months in a war against Russia.
Such warnings have gained urgency as the USA under Donald Trump isolates itself from NATO partners, who are scrambling to support Ukraine without the US.
Given ‘an army marches on its stomach’, the quality of food served to troops may prove a cause for concern.
Colonel Philip Ingram, a former military intelligence officer, told the Mail: ‘An Army marches on its stomach. On operations there were four highlights to the day – breakfast, lunch, dinner and bed, and they were highlights because of the standard of food produced by Army chefs.
‘Happy soldiers are much more operationally effective than those with poor morale and this is where the decline in Army chefs is having a disproportionate effect, not just on morale and retention, but on the operational effectiveness of troops as they train for conflict.
‘I can’t believe Army commanders are so short-sighted to let this happen.’
Catering at Longmoor and Worthy Down is provided by Sodexo, a private contractor responsible for feeding a third of the British Army.
Its catering, cleaning and retail contract for garrisons across Aldershot and Salisbury Plain, held since 2006, was extended for a further 17 years in 2023. The deal is worth £730million over the first 10 years.
Describing its catering services for the Defence Forces, Sodexo’s website says: ‘We know that food and dining are essential, not just for the physical development of military staff, but also for their mental wellbeing and social needs while they are on base.
‘From nostalgic comfort food to global bowls and plant-based plates that pack a real taste punch, Sodexo’s menu options set the standard for modern, high-street style dining.’
Metro has contacted the Ministry of Defence and Sodexo for comment.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
