Military Field Kitchen and Well Pollinkhove

This building is the last of the Belgian military field kitchen from the "Great War". It was put up in 1917 with brick and a roof made of asbestos cement sheets.

In the middle of the kitchen there was a large brick stove. A coalfired heated up three iron vats of 250 litres each. Next to it was a pantry and a smell dining room for the soldiers.

The meals were meagre and not varied. The soldiers would get a large spoon of coffee and a piece of bread in the morning. The cook would prepare a potato extract or rice with soup meat for lunch. For dinner, the troops had to make do with some potatoes mixed with minced meat and casing sauce.

The well is behind the field kitchen. The water from it could only be used for washing and cooking. Drinking water was brought in by the tonne from elsewhere.

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Source

• Text: Informatiebord
• Photos: Bart Valgaeren