Can Spanner

Jackspeak - A guide to Royal Navy and Royal Marines Slanguage.

CAN SPANNER - Tin Opener.

This tiny, clever little implement enabled Royal to feed himself in the days before dehydrated flat pack meals were available. They arrived in a 24 hour ration pack, and everybody kept one in a pocket, around his neck, anywhere as long as you had one. On the inside it has stamped "Morfed1969." It has been in my possession since about 1971.

Thus you were able to 'enjoy' the thrill of such delicacies as 'Cheese Possessed' (processed cheese in a small tin; 'Babies Heads' steak and kidney pudding in a tin, when the tin was opened it really looked as if a baby's head had been forced into it. I promise, when you are hungry you will eat anything.

Gradually through the 70s the provisions changed, especially towards dehydrated contents for the Arctic food packs, as snow provided the water that was not always available. Try imagining getting by on one litre of water a day. That's for drinking, cooking and washing/shaving. But that's how it was and in a climate such as Cyprus or Turkey it requires a lot of discipline to organise your consumption.

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