Hotlocks, Food Flying Squads and Soya Boilers - the equipment of
Royal Voluntary Service
Hi it’s Jennifer here again, welcome back to the Heritage Bulletin Vlog, in the past
we’ve posted a number of blogs focusing on food from services like Meals on
Wheels to recipes from the Bulletin but we never really talk about the equipment
which made the volunteers work possible. You can also access a written version of
this blog with images of the objects shown on our website.
Firstly I would like to present to you a Hotlock;
Meals on Wheels was launched in 1943 and
after some early experiments to try and keep
meals warm, the solution came in the form of
Hotlocks in 1954. As you can see this is a metal
box which was heated by charcoal in here and
this is what the coal shovel looked like. Either
side the meals would be stacked in small
warming trays. The Hotlocks were lifted into the
back of member’s cars or placed in vans and then the meals were delivered to
grateful recipients. Hotlocks were used right up until the 1980s by WVS/WRVS
volunteers who delivered meals. From the 1990s onwards volunteers used thermal
bags and polystyrene boxes to keep meals warm while on rounds.
Around the same time that WVS solved
one food problem they were asked to take
on another service which played to their
strengths. In 1952 the Ministry of Food
asked WVS to take most of the
responsibility for a new convoy service,
Food Flying Squads. This is a set of
twelve metal toy vehicles 6cms length x
2.5cms height x 2cms width, painted blue
in the colours of the Food Flying Squad. I
have provided more details about these toys below *; the real convoys were used for
providing food during large scale emergencies such as flood or fire. There were 20
convoys in Britain, including two in Scotland working with the Scottish Department of
Health. They were made up of two store vans, four canteen vans, one 500 gallon
water tanker and one utility van for use as an office. Squads in England and Wales
© Royal Voluntary Service 2017
were also accompanied by motorcycles. Volunteers were recruited from the Civil
Defence Welfare Section of WVS and most of their time training with convoys was
training however 16 out of 20 convoys were particularly active in 1953 during the
East Coast Floods. The Flying Food Squads were stood down on 9 th July 1968, the
same year Civil Defence Corps were disbanded, at a special Luncheon hosted by
the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food at Rubens Hotel, London.
Although their services for Civil Defence were no longer
required by the government WRVS still saw a need for
volunteers to provide help in emergencies. The Emergency
Services Department was formed and involved feeding
firemen, police officers and paramedics on the scene as well as
victims in the rest centres. Over the years WRVS used a wide
variety of equipment including mobile canteens or pods as they
were known in some areas in Scotland, improvised trench
cookers and full sized versions of this model soya boiler. This
was an invaluable piece of equipment according to “A Handbook on WRVS
Emergency Welfare Work” published in 1968. Resembling an old fashioned wash
boiler they hold 10 gallons of water and can be moved by two women. Usually the
boilers were filled with water in the pan but I have heard reports of them being used
for stews and bran mashes. To heat them volunteers used wood then added coal or
coke, in this area below the pan. A good fire would boil the contents of the boiler in
45 minutes. Later on food was provided by more modern cooking facilities which
replaced Soya Boilers.
I hope you’ve enjoyed being able to see some of the objects which form part of our
unique and interesting collection. You can find more examples in our interactive
timeline available on the website.
*Twelve metal toy vehicles 6cms length x 2.5cms height x 2cms width, painted blue
in the colours of the Food Flying Squad. Six Pickford Removal vans with Food
Flying Squad painted in black on both sides, one blue painted Corgi Dormobile, one
Commer 30 cwt van painted blue, one Thames estate van painted blue and with
Food Flying Squad painted in black on both sides, one Austin 200 gallon water truck
painted blue, one Service Ambulance Ford 3 ton 4 x 4 vehicle painted blue, one
Lomas ambulance painted blue, and one cotton reel painted blue.
© Royal Voluntary Service 2017