Rum jar S.R.D

Stoneware bottle... World war i. The rum was delivered in clay or ceramic jugs bearing the inscription s.r.d., for "supply reserve depot". Soldiers invented other humorous meanings such as "service rum diluted, " "sergeants rarely deliver, " and "soon runs dry." during the first world war, high-alcohol rum was widely distributed to canadian soldiers on the front line. It was kept in jugs like this. Soldiers received a good sip in the morning and, often, another before a battle. The beverage helped them cope with the tension of war. Rum, wrote lieutenant claude williams of the canadian expeditionary force, should be "regarded more as a medicine than as a drink".