When you think of a Christmas meal, what comes to mind first is generally a golden roast turkey with all the trimmings and side dishes, washed down with a festive tipple. It’s been the same for centuries, and this RAF menu from 1941 reveals that it wasn’t much different for the members of the Royal Air Force at the start of World War II.

In a shot of the original 1941 menu posted by a local Facebook user, a generous spread featuring starter, main and dessert is described (particularly when you consider that this was war time).

The menu starts off with a soup, followed by fish cutlets in anchovy sauce, but the main event is yet to come. Boasting a selection of roast turkey and roast beef, accompanied with potatoes and peas, it’s clear that Christmas was still very much a celebration for the RAF in Malta in 1941.

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A post shared by Shelley's Catering & Events (@shelleycatering) on Dec 25, 2019 at 8:20pm PST

What’s interesting though, is that after the pudding, along with desserts of cheese and biscuits and mince pies (they are British, after all), one also finds cigarettes listed. Considered a luxury at the time, cigarettes were harder to come by during wartime, and must have been quite a treat for those celebrating Christmas Day.

Times do change after all, don’t they?