D-Day ration pack last in the world, Dorset museum says

A museum believes a D-Day ration pack held in its collection is the only complete one of its kind in the world.

The sealed box at the Keep Military Museum in Dorchester, Dorset, was originally thought to date from the 1950s.

But a re-examination found it to be "the extremely rare assault rations of the Second World War", the museum said.

Its contents include chocolate, biscuits, tea and four pieces of toilet paper.

The pack is currently being held in storage due to its fragile state.

Assault ration packs were issued to British and Commonwealth soldiers for the D-Day landings.

The museum said: "Their small size allowed them to be carried in a mess tin. They were a lightweight solution to providing a soldier with the 4,000 calories he needed in a day.

"It is believed to be the only surviving complete assault ration pack in the world."

An X-ray on the waxed cardboard box by experts at Fishbourne Roman Palace in West Sussex revealed all the original contents were still intact.

Three chocolate bars, 10 biscuits, blocks of tea, sugar and milk and four pieces of toilet paper were among the items found in the pack.

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