Canteens Collection

First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY)
A woman cyclist first aid scout of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY), riding along in her distinctive uniform. The FANY was created in 1907 as a first aid link between front-line fighting units

Seminole Indians - USA, Florida, Everglades
The Everglades, Florida, USA. Seminole Indians on the Tamiami Trail. The Kitchen of Chesnut Billys Indian Camp. The Tamiami Trail was opened in 1928

Mobile Canteens
A row of mobile canteens in Brighton. Note that one of the vans has Y.M.C.A. printed on it. 1940

A French cantiniere 1890
French cantiniere, named as Madame Vialar, striking a distinctly sassy pose which well displays her two medals; the military medal and the Crimean medal, during the first Franco-Dahomean War

LCC-LFB canteen van at Lambeth LFB HQ
Located at Lambeth fire station, the London Fire Brigade canteen van which attend major fires and incidents to provide the firefighters with light refreshments. Date: circa 1950s

General Strike 1926: Society women volunteers
In support of the General Strike ladies from society helped, photograph showing volunteers working in Hyde Park, London, in the open air peeling potatoes, Lady Quilter (with tray)

Trench coat for canteen workers by Aquascutum, WW1
A trench coat of khaki drill interlined with oil silk with a detachable fleece lining from Aquascutum and ideal for ladies working in canteens in draughty places such as railway stations during

GLC-LFB Canteen Van
The GLC-LFB was created on 1 April 1965. A series of photos was commissioned of each type of fire engine, either within or absorbed into the enlarged London Fire Brigade

GLC-LFB - Canteen van at Lambeth HQ
The GLC-LFB was created on 1 April 1965. A series of photos was commissioned, showing each type of fire engine either within or absorbed into the enlarged London Fire Brigade

The National Gallerys Wartime Canteen
Volunteers prepare food for their customers at The National Gallery canteen, established during the Second World War in order to raise money for the war effort. 1940

Y. M. C. A. Canteen in Surrey
Two voluntary workers chat outside the Y.M.C.A. canteen in Pirbright, Surrey. 1940

Laying the Tables at the Gordon Services Club
A volunteer lays the tables at the Gordon Services Club, based at the former Gordon Hospital in London. The Club, established in June 1940 by the Canadian Red Cross

The Gordon Services Club, 1940
Margerie Doutie writing up the menu for the Gordon Services Club, based at the former Gordon Hospital in London. The Club, established in June 1940 by the Canadian Red Cross

Canteen in Blandford
The inside of a canteen in Blandford, Dorset, where women volunteers are dishing out food and tea to the troops. 1940

Y. M. C. A. Canteen in Wiltshire
Soldiers in Codford St. Mary, Wiltshire, gathered outside a canteen, formerly a Womens Institute meeting-place and a barnyard. 1940

Soldier Given Tea from a Mobile Canteen
Sapper A. Kent is given tea from a mobile canteen by two members of the Womens Transport Service in Eastbourne. 1940

Stanley Bruce Alongside Two Australian Soldiers
Australian High Commissioner Stanley Bruce (left) stands beside two of his compatriots outside the Strand Theatre, London

Mobile Canteen being unloaded
Mobile canteen being unloaded at Cooden Beach, East Sussex

Loading a Mobile Canteen
Women loading an urn onto a mobile canteen in Brighton. Bananas and cakes can also be seen. 1940

Wartime Canteen
Several volunteers unload food from a cart outside a village barn in White Waltham, Berkshire, which has been converted into a canteen to provide sustenance for servicemen billeted in the area

A Y. M. C. A. Mobile Tea Car
Three female volunteers wait to restock a mobile canteen outside at Gattis on The Strand, London, which was converted during the War into a Y.M.C.A. hostel for servicemen based in the city. 1940

Sailor at Y. M. C. A. hostel on The Strand
A sailor checks into the Y.M.C.A. hostel, formerly the restaurant Gattis on The Strand, London. Gattis was taken over by the Y.M.C.A. as a canteen for troops stationed in the city. 1940

WWII - El-Amriya station canteen in Egypt
Canteen of El-Amriya station, a dispersal camp by the British Army during World War II in Egypt. Date: circa 1941

A Countess Gave me a cup of tea, WW1 soldier & canteen
A First World War soldier received a cup of tea from an aristocratic lady in a nurses uniform. Canteening was one of the favourite voluntary occupations of well-born women during the Great War

Typical menu at a communal kitchen, WW1
A blackboard showing a typical menu at a communal kitchen in 1918. Communal and National Kitchens were established to help combat food shortages during the First World War by catering in bulk

Munitions workers waiting for the tea hooter, WW1
Women munitions workers outside the National Control Canteen, run by female volunteers, waiting for the tea hooter to sound

Tea Time in Dining Hall of National Control Canteen, WW1
Female munitions workers in the dining hall of the National Control Canteen, run by voluntary lady workers to provide cheap, nutritious meals for employees. Date: 1916

The first National Kitchen, WW1
The first National Kitchen in Britain, opened on 21 May 1917 by Queen Mary. The National Kitchens were opened during the First World War to provide one solution to food shortages

Y. M. C. A canteen in WWI
Y.M.C.A canteens and other organisations during World War One, providing troops with cigarettes and tobacco, and often the luxury of cooked meals

Lady Lawrence, founder of the Munition Makers Canteen Committee in 1915, designed to maintain the good health of muntions workers with the provision of regular meals at canteens established at

Miss Muriel Perry, Soldiers Free Buffet at Victoria Station
Miss Muriel Perry, the capable quartermaster of the Sailors and Soldiers Free Buffet at Victoria Station during the First World War, where 200, 000 men were fed at a cost of one penny per head

Violet Gordon Selfridge
Miss Violet Gordon Selfridge, daughter of retail magnate, Harry Gordon Selfridge, pictured in The Tatler in 1916 which writes of her doing a lot of hard work in the cause of war charities

LCC-LFB Canteen van at Colonial Wharf fire
Hungry and thirsty firefighters gathering for refreshments at the Brigades canteen van following a major fire at Colonial Wharf

Salvation Army Canteen Van
The London Fire Brigade had dispensed with its own canteen vans, due to financial cutbacks, and relied on the services of the Salvation Army to provided refreshments to fire crews at major fires

AFS Mobile kitchen in use after major exercise
AFS staff collecting refreshments from a mobile kitchen after taking part in a major exercise conducted at the Fire Services Technical College, Moreton in Marsh, Gloucestershire

London Fire Brigade canteen van at a fire
Firefighters of the London Fire Brigade queue at the canteen van for lunch, after dealing with a commercial fire

Blitz in London -- mobile kitchen serving meals to AFS, WW2
Blitz in London -- a mobile kitchen serving meals to AFS, firefighters. These vehicles were donated to Britains fire services for the war effort by the Canadian Red Cross

Blitz in London -- tea break for AFS firefighter, WW2
Blitz in London -- an AFS woman in a canteen van pours a cup of tea for her male opposite number

LCC-LFB canteen van at Lambeth LFB HQ
Located at Lambeth fire station, the London Fire Brigade canteen van which attend major fires and incidents to provide the firefighters with light refreshment

Fire station wet canteen (bar), WW2
The AFS bar built in the fire sub-station (80V) at Clapham Central School, Aristotle Road, Clapham, London SW4

London Region (LFB) mobile canteen van
Home Office supplied mobile canteen van typical of those used throughout the London Region to provide tea and refreshments to firefighters at large incidents

The General Strike, 1926: volunteers
Are we downhearted? The answer is Negative. A page from The Tatler, applauding the magnificent response which all classes of Society made to the Governments call for volunteers in the wake of

The General Strike - canteens in Hyde Park
Lady Betty Butler (left) and Miss Collett Doughty armed with large frying pans; part of an organised response to the General Strike where canteens were set up in Hyde Park

Filling water canteens, 1872
Soldiers of the Army Service Corps filling canteens from the water cart on Bottle Bush Down, during their Autumn Campaign in Wiltshire, England. Date: 1872

YMCA Fund to commemorate Womens War Work
Postcard detailing the YMCA Fund to commemorate Womens War Work in Munitions factories during World War One and to raise money for rest rooms and factory canteens Date: circa 1917

How they helped in Hyde Park and Whitehall during the strike
Typical volunteer workers in Hyde Park and Horse Guards, helping in the canteens and hanging out the washing

Hoover advert
The Hand that held the Hoover helps the Bombed! Advert celebrating the good work of the Womens Voluntary Service, showing the mobile canteens used to provide sustainance to the wartime workers

The General Strike - peeling potatoes in Hyde Park
A Snap-Shot of Striketime Society: Lady Mary Ashley-Cooper and Lady Carmichael-Anstruther peeling potatoes in Hyde Park. Front cover of The Sketch emergency issue produced during the General Strike

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