Rum jar fragment : Australian and New Zealand Army Corps

Fragment top section of a rum jar. The neck and mouth of the jar are present, and the letters 'S.R.D.' are stamped into the outer surface, which has light yellow-brown glazed finish.

Gallipoli relics collected during the late 1970s by a member of the Australian diplomatic corps working in Turkey.

Hundreds of thousands of these jars were produced during the First World War for the storage and transport of rum, lime juice and various other liquid supplies. The markings 'S.R.D.' (which stand for 'Supply Reserve Depot', contrary to the views of the troops, who maintained that it represented 'Seldom Reaches Destination', 'Service Rum Diluted' and 'Soon Runs Dry') on this example indicate that it originally contained rum, a staple ration item for British and Empire troops in the front line, particularly in cold weather. Some 3577 rum jars were destroyed on the Gallipoli peninsula prior to the Allied withdrawal in December 1915.

• Rum jar fragment : Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
• Rum jar fragment : Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
• Rum jar fragment : Australian and New Zealand Army Corps