Tables manners 101: Try not to look like an animal when eating at the table.

A British major general has banned soldiers from eating sandwiches after being unhappy with the "barbaric" practice of soldiers eating with their hands.

FOX News reported that Major General James Cowan wrote a three-page letter criticizing the "barbaric" eating habits and table manners he saw on display among soldiers and officers at Bulford Camp in Wiltshire, England. The letter was published in the Sun on Wednesday.

Major Cowan, who oversees 20,000 soldiers and 2,500 officers in Three U.K. Division, which is mostly based at Bulford, insisted that soldiers showed a lack of etiquette at the military base, such as holding their forks and knives incorrectly.

"Quite a few officers in the divisional mess seem to be under the impression that they can eat their food with their hands," he wrote. "The practice of serving rolls and sandwiches in the mess is to stop. A gentleman or lady always uses a knife and fork."

He added that "The fork always goes in the left hand and the knife in the right. Holding either like a pen is unacceptable, as are stabbing techniques. The knife and fork should remain in the bottom third of the plate and never be laid down in the top half."

In the letter, addressed to "Chaps," Cowan also gave advice to the soldier which include, "the secret of a successful marriage is never to sit next to your spouse at dinner, except when dining alone at home. It displays a marked degree of insecurity."

The note also offered tips on grammar.

"In common with officialdom the world over, military writers love to use pompous words over simpler language. Combined with underlining and italics, the wanton use of capitals, abbreviations and acronyms assaults the eye and leaves the reader exhausted."

A spokesman for the army insisted the note was meant to be taken as a joke.

"This note was part of a light-hearted correspondence between a commander and his officers about an expected code of behavior," the spokesman said.