Christmas on menu for troops in trenches or jungles

But for the young Yorkshire soldiers stationed in these brutal surroundings so far away from home, nothing was going to get in the way of a good Christmas dinner.

As a new generation of British soldiers prepares to spend Christmas away from their loved ones in hostile lands, touching evidence has emerged of the value soldiers from the North Yorkshire-based Green Howards regiment placed on their turkey and all the trimmings even in the midst of the horrors of war.

Two menus, one from the trenches of the Western Front in 1916 and another from the Malaya emergency in 1950, have been discovered buried deep in the archives of the Green Howards Regimental Museum in Richmond.

The 1916 menu is hand-written on two pieces of paper torn from a notebook and was drawn up by a group of soldiers from the 12th battalion of the Green Howards – now part of the Yorkshire Regiment – who were working in the trenches as a repair team.

The soldiers had just returned from the Somme and on Christmas Eve that year had lost three men. But despite being forced to wade through waste-deep freezing water as they carried out their repairs, the menu is riddled with trench humour.

Among the delicacies on offer are Croquette du Saumon de la Somme, Camembert extra rapide & Frivolitis and Vins Chateau-la-Pompe volont – or pump water.

Museum director Lynda Powell, who discovered the menus as she searched their archive of 15,000 items for Christmas related exhibits, said: "The 1916 menu was set on a big chunk of wood which had been donated to us in the 1920s but had become buried – at first I thought what on earth is this but I was amazed when I took a closer look.

"It was quite funny to read, but also quite bleak, as they were working in the most appalling conditions and that is all they would have had to cheer themselves up."

She added: "While we're not sure sadly that these soldiers in the trenches actually got to eat any of the imaginatively named dishes they were writing down, the menu from Malaya is just incredible as it is quite a feat to be able to knock up a Yorkshire pudding when you are stationed in the middle of the jungle."

The Malaya menu was donated to the Museum from Private Thomas Tate, a blacksmith from Middlesbrough, who joined the Green Howards in 1947, aged 20 and rose to the rank of corporal before leaving the army in 1953.

It features turkey, brussel sprouts, Christmas pudding and Yorkshire puddings.

Sgt Ben Gun, 79, who served with the Green Howards in Malaya between 1949 and 1952, said: "I remember that menu well, it was the first time that we had fresh vegetables since we had moved in from Singapore.

"It was also the first time I have ever had turkey in my entire life – it was delicious.

"The lads were also allowed a beer or two if they could afford it, but no spirits.

"The food was always very good because we had regimental cooks back then who were often former sailors in the merchant navy, if they didn't cook decent food then they knew there would be trouble.

"The Christmas a year after, in 1951, myself and a group of 15 of us went in armoured vehicles around the rubber estates singing Christmas carols to the owners who were trapped inside – some of them had been murdered at the start of the fighting.

"I remember the delight on their faces, I was in the army for 26 years and it was the best Christmas while serving that I ever had – I still think of it now.

"I was 17 when I went out and because you are all away from your families you keep each others spirits up.

"It was hot, but the humidity was the worse bit, and it used to rain every day.

"We all still get in touch around Christmas time, we ring people up who no longer have their partners alive and write each other cards – some of mine have already arrived this year."

ARMY MARCHING ON ITS CURRIES

The food fuelling Britain's soldiers has changed a great deal over the past century.

While bully beef, biscuits and – when they could get their hand on them – cigarettes, were the main staple of the British Tommy, the men and women fighting for Britain now have a very different diet.

Major Michael Sullivan, who served for 38 years with the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire which was amalgamated into the Yorkshire Regiment in 2006, said: "Most of the food nowadays is freeze dried so it is very easy to carry around.

"Curry is a big favourite but you can also get cottage pies and spaghetti bolognaise as well.

"I have had some pretty awful meals but a special effort is always made at Christmas and Yorkshire puddings are an absolute must."