WW1: British Expeditionary Force Vegetable Shows, Allotment Culture, And Life Behind The Lines During The Great War
Rather than engaging in battle with the enemy, BEF servicemen and Belgian military personnel, alongside French civilians, were displaying the fruits (and vegetables) of their more peaceful labours.
By Alex Mayhew
Cambridge University Press
28 January 2021
Excerpt:
In 1917, these allotments were widespread enough to make a large-scale vegetable show practical. It seems that these gardens were first established by individual units and were later embraced by senior leadership for their own ends. Not every unit appears to have developed allotments, and so the base commandant, Brigadier General Nicholson, was interested in encouraging the cultivation of ‘all vacant land for the production of vegetables’ and the show was an ideal way to do so. It also provided an opportunity to nurture a sense of corporate identity within the different camps around Le Havre and the auxiliary units based there: ‘all Units having gardens will be invited to exhibit samples of their produce’.
Tellingly, the show was linked explicitly to the aims of military training, at least its ‘moral’ dimensions that sought to develop men’s character. It was hoped that the initiative and prospect of competition would help develop the ‘right spirit’ amongst men permanently or temporarily posted to the base. Afterwards, officers felt that it had been a success and men had ‘shown’ this spirit by devoting their ‘spare time’ to the enterprise and had been ‘usefully employed’.
