Two charts:

Daily Ration Scale W.E.F. 13th. March 1942.

This page with two charts from Robert Dickinson’s journal, “Servigliano Calling,” shows Robert’s awareness of basic nutritional needs and his meticulous effort to ensure those needs were met.

The food categories in the first chart (December 22, 1941) are:

Meat, rice or macaroni, oil or fat, tomato, grating cheese, table cheese, vegetable, sugar, coffee subs., biscuit, bread, and wine.

The food categories in the second chart (March 13, 1942) are slightly different. Vegetables listed are in dried form, and the chart lacks biscuit and wine categories.

On March 12, 1942, 
Robert wrote in his diary, “News of drastic cut in rations.” And on the following day he recorded, “Rations cut by more than half!!” The second chart reflects that severe cut.

It’s alarming to see the drop in rations for several categories from one chart to the next. The second chart, for instance, lists a reduction of meat from servings on five days a week to only two, and the portions on those two days are smaller. Rice or macaroni servings and bread are substantially reduced in the second chart. Oil or fat are a little reduced, but quantities of tomatoes, cheese, vegetables, sugar, and coffee are similar in the two charts.

Do the charts reflect what Robert actually consumed in a given week in the camp, or the balance he hoped for, given the scarcity of food in the Camp 59? The reference to “grammes per head” suggestions that he had his “chums” in mind as well as himself.