The ‘motto’ stitched to this biscuit was written by Private Alfred Jackson. He received the biscuit as part of his rations when he served in the First World War.

This Number Four army biscuit, made by Huntley and Palmer in Reading, is very hard. It was designed to survive the worst conditions in the trenches, but that didn’t make it any easier to eat. Soldiers often soaked them in water or tea to soften them, making a paste which wouldn’t crack their teeth. To make matters worse, the biscuit contains only whole-wheat flour, water, and salt. They were nutritious, and filling, but hardly tasty.

Soldiers despised these biscuits – Alfred wasn’t the only one to protest eating them. However, despite the complaints, they remained a vital part of a soldier’s 4000 calories a day ration until the end of 1917.