12. Mathallarna

Complaints about the cooking pits resulted in the construction of four food halls, two cookhouses, two provision sheds and two wood sheds in 1880.

The food halls had no walls and a dirt floor. They were draughty. Sand, needles and leaves blew in and mixed with the food. The halls became a haven for birds that dropped their calling cards on tables, benches and in the food... It was not until 1903 that the halls were given walls, floors, fireplaces and large acetylene lamps.

Each man brought his own knife, fork and spoon as well as the tin cup, which they attached to the shoulder flap. Then it was off to the dining halls. There were ten at each table and it was strictly forbidden to start eating immediately. The day officer commanded "Attention!" and then "Read!". Everyone read loud and clear "God bless the food we get".

The Malays washed the plates. The cutlery and cups were washed by the conscripts themselves. The most common method was to run the cutlery in the sand a few times and wipe them and the mug on the porridge trough.