In reflecting on the holiday times just past, imagine, if you can, sitting in a cold, muddy British trench on the Western Front just a few days before Christmas, 1914. Next, imagine being handed a shiny brass box, about 5 inches long by 3 inches wide and an inch or so deep, a bright, shiny gift box on a dreary day. The war was supposed to be over by Christmas, but it wouldn’t be, so the folks at home thought the troops in the field and the sailors should have a Christmas treat. Princess Mary, the 17-year-old daughter of King George V, took the lead in November 1914, and created a Christmas Fund, asking the country for money. The purpose was “to provide everyone who would be wearing the King’s uniform on Christmas Day 1914 with a gift from the nation.” The country responded with great enthusiasm and it was decided that an embossed brass gift box would make it through the harshest of conditions. The merchants Adshead and Ramsey designed it. The surface of the hinged lid depicts a profile of the young princess with a surround of a laurel wreath and the “M” monogram. Also on the lid are the words “Imperium Britannicum” and “Christmas 1914.” Swords and scabbards, battleships, flags and roundels with the names of the Allies complete the scene. While the box was itself a work of art, the contents pleased the recipients as well. For smokers, a pipe, lighter, one ounce of tobacco and twenty cigarettes. For non-smokers and boys, there was a “bullet” pencil and candy. Indian troops could get sweets and spices and nursing sisters received chocolate. Each box also contained a photo of Princess Mary and Christmas greetings. While the boxes were intended to reach the British Expeditionary Force, the wounded in Britain and next-of-kin of those killed earlier by Christmas, the “Illustrated War News” for February 17, 1915 reported that by that date in February, finally all of the Princess Mary Christmas Gift boxes had been delivered. The Liberty Memorial Museum has several of the boxes in the collection, and two still have most of their contents. http://www.theworldwar.org/s/110/liberty.aspx?sid=110&gid=1&pgid=950
