[Colin Alford]

Background:

A few years ago I decided that I wanted to acquire a Cooker, Portable, No. 2 (J2/JA 0275 Consisting of Pot, cooking; stove; and strap) to fill the tray on the left fuel tank of a Mark 1* Universal Carrier.* This lead to an Internet search for information and images to determine exactly what I was looking for.* I was somewhat frustrated at the time because there seemed to be a lack of concrete evidence on when the various models were introduced and despite being able to find countless images and opinions of British produced stoves (and some images of Australian stoves) I could find no information about any Canadian production.

Armed with the information that I could find at the time, I purchased the earliest example of a British Cooker, Portable, No. 2 (Mark 2) Stove that I could find although I wasn't completely content that the Stoves, Mark 2 were produced during the war.* Later, I had the opportunity to obtain a 1942 dated Stove, Mark 1 and I jumped at the opportunity to have one that was definitely used during the war.* Still later I found another 1942 dated Stove, Mark 1 which was in much better condition than the first.* Along the way I obtained a 1944 dated Pot, cooking, with lid.* I also obtained a post-war dated Cooker, Portable, No. 2 Mark 2 complete for parts.

About 8 months ago I discovered that I could access many Canadian war-time files on-line but didn't pursue an in-depth study of the information on Petrol Cookers.

About 2 months ago I spotted a stove for sale on kijiji which completely changed my point of view on Canadian use and production of Cookers, Portable, No. 2 and prompted me to completely review all of the available information.

I absolutely do not have all of the answers regarding these cookers but I have found some very interesting information that I think will help expand the knowledge base of Militaria/Military Vehicle collectors.