Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object ID # |
1961.064.096 |
Object Name |
Tin |
Title |
Ration Tin (Boer War, or Shortly After) |
Lexicon category |
5: T&E For Science & Technology |
Year Range from |
1899 |
Year Range to |
1902 |
Made |
Unknown |
Place of Origin |
England, United Kingdom? |
Description |
Cylindrical, tin military food ration container to store food (bully beef?) intended to be consumed by a soldier. The tin is cylindrical and once was hermetically-sealed with cap-style ends. There is a flat strip of metal around the mid-region. The exterior of the tin is finished dully so that there is no glinting. There is no lettering or identification marks on the tin. |
Makers mark |
None |
Provenance |
The ration tin formerly belonged to Hugh McDonald, who reportedly carried it with him during the Boer War (South African War, 1899-1902). Hugh McDonald enlisted in 1---- and was discharged in 1---. He was with the ------------ unit when he was in South Africa. His rank was that of ....... His parents were Mr. and Mrs. Archie McDonald of Sullivan Township, Grey County. There is an image of Hugh, as he looked in the Boer War period (mustached, and wearing a wedge cap), published in A HISTORY OF SULLIVAN TOWNSHIP, Volume 2, p. 216. The book THE UNOFFICIAL HISTORY OF THE GREY & SIMCOE FORESTERS (p. 3) mentions that there were two Canadian contingents sent to South Africa. About 30 of those men were from Grey County, and several died. Researcher Carman Miller wrote that about 7,368 Canadian men served in the Boer War. All were volunteers. 267 Canadians died in the conflict. Hugh McDonald joined up later on, to serve again in the First World War, as many Boer War veterans did. He was killed in January, 1917, in France. His death was reported in the CHATSWORTH NEWS newspaper edition of Jan. 25, 1917. |
Collection |
Military, 20th-c Collection |
Material |
Metal |
Dimensions |
H-14 Dia-5 cm |
Found |
Grey County, Ontario |
People |
McDonald, Hugh McDonald, Beatrice McDonald, Peter |
Subjects |
Boer War South African War Military rations |