20:
151:
92:
79:, launched an appeal to fund a Christmas gift for every member of the armed forces. Shortly before Christmas 1914, advertisements were placed in the British press seeking donations for the "Soldiers and Sailors Christmas fund" and £152,691 was soon raised. When fund was wound up in 1920 the remaining funds were transferred to
182:
The boxes were originally intended for "every sailor afloat and every soldier at the front" on
Christmas day 1914, but eligibility was soon extended to everyone "wearing the King's uniform on Christmas day". Whilst around 400,000 were delivered by Christmas, distribution was not completed until 1920,
130:
The standard gift (referred to as the smokers gift in some post war publications) consisted of the box itself, twenty cigarettes in a yellow monogrammed wrapper, an ounce of pipe tobacco, a pipe, a
Christmas card and a photograph of Princess Mary. It was meant to also include a tinder lighter, but a
146:
A non-smokers gift was also produced at a ratio of 1 for every 28 smokers gifts. It consisted of the box, Christmas card and photograph of
Princess Mary, but also, instead of smoking related materials it contained a packet of "acid tablets" (a type of sour lemon flavoured sweet) and a khaki writing
173:
ships getting a gift having been met by 5 January 1915, attention was turned to the remaining forces ultimately under
British command (classified as class B and C by the committee). For these, it was decided that the gift would consist of the box, a New Year card and a pencil.
158:
Three further gift types were produced for Indian troops. Most Indian troops received the box itself, cigarettes, a tin box of spices, a packet of sugar candy and a
Christmas or New Year card. Sikhs got the same without the cigarettes and a third gift for
19:
131:
shortage of these meant that in the case of the army they were often substituted with other gifts and those in the navy received a bullet pencil. The bullet pencil consisted of a silver tipped pencil (either
160:
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or alloys. Each tin was decorated with an image of Mary and other military and imperial symbols along with the names of the UK's then allies. The design was by
111:. Obtaining enough brass strip to make the boxes remained a continual problem, a situation not helped when a large consignment from the US was lost due to the
99:
The funding was used to manufacture small boxes made of brass; however, due to metal shortages in the later stages of the war some tins were made from plated
166:
A version was also produced for nurses. It consisted of, again, the box itself, a packet of chocolate and the usual
Christmas or New Years card.
115:. Not all the items would fit in the brass box, so the collective gift including the brass box was contained and distributed in a cardboard box.
76:
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Memorializing the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902: Militarization of the
Landscape: Monuments and Memorials in Britain
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was a brass tin containing a number of gifts intended to be distributed to all members of the armed forces of the
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Non-combatant personnel, referred to as "followers", served on the
Western Front with the British
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8:
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530:'A Box of Conflict Memories' - Materiality, Memory and Princess Mary's Gift Box 1914-2020
502:'A Box of Conflict Memories' - Materiality, Memory and Princess Mary's Gift Box 1914-2020
422:'A Box of Conflict Memories' - Materiality, Memory and Princess Mary's Gift Box 1914-2020
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For Every Sailor Afloat, Every
Soldier at the Front: Princess Mary's Christmas Gift 1914
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For Every Sailor Afloat, Every
Soldier at the Front: Princess Mary's Christmas Gift 1914
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Condell, Diana (1989). "A gift for Christmas: the story of Princess Mary's gift Fund".
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consisted of a tin box of spices and a Christmas or New Year card.
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by which time approximately 2.5 million had been delivered.
280:
British Political History, 1867–2001: Democracy and Decline
223:
527:
Barry, Martin N (September 2022). "Acid Tablet (Sweets)".
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arriving before the end of the year. On 14 October 1914,
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and performed administrative or other service functions.
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With the aim of every man at the front and every man on
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A set of dies used to make the boxes was donated to the
16:
WWI brass tin containing gifts for armed British forces
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Malcolm Pearce; Geoffrey Stewart (13 September 2013).
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recovered from UK firing ranges and marked with an M.
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499:Barry, Martin N (September 2022). "Bullet Pencil".
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419:Barry, Martin N (September 2022). "Introduction".
227:Tommy at War: 1914-1918 The Soldiers' Own Stories
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584:"Princess Mary Gift Fund 1914 Box and Contents"
253:"Princess Mary Gift Fund 1914 Box and Contents"
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536:(PhD). University of Bristol. pp. 76–77
508:(PhD). University of Bristol. pp. 69–72
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224:John Sadler; Rosie Serdiville (9 May 2013).
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561:. Cambridge University Press. p. 36.
428:(PhD). University of Bristol. pp. 8–9
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398:. History Press Limited. pp. 13–14.
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147:case with pencil, paper and envelopes.
23:The front of Princess Mary Christmas box.
310:. Troubador Publishing Ltd. p. 78.
304:Valerie B. Parkhouse (28 January 2015).
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63:and was soon joined by troops from the
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450:The North Irish Horse in the Great War
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558:The Indian Army on the Western Front
230:. Biteback Publishing. p. 267.
613:. Lewes: Unicorn Publishing Group.
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29:Princess Mary Christmas gift box
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447:Phillip Tardif (30 June 2015).
392:John Hudson (15 October 2014).
283:. Routledge. pp. 289–291.
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139:) in a case made from a spent
51:Following the outbreak of the
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453:. Pen and Sword. p. 49.
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555:Morton-Jack, George (2014).
113:sinking of the RMS Lusitania
95:The 1914 Christmas gift box.
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47:Princess Mary Christmas fund
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81:Queen Mary's Maternity Home
57:British Expeditionary Force
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368:Imperial War Museum Review
75:'s 17-year-old daughter,
478:. uniform. p. 118.
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609:Doyle, Peter (2021).
474:Doyle, Peter (2021).
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643:Christmas traditions
257:Imperial War Museums
77:Mary, Princess Royal
55:in August 1914, the
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120:Imperial War Museum
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122:by Princess Mary.
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620:978-1-91-349153-6
568:978-1-107-02746-6
460:978-1-4738-3375-3
405:978-0-7509-6038-0
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178:Distribution
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638:World War I
595:25 December
161:"followers"
101:base metals
41:World War I
632:Categories
262:20 October
211:References
171:Royal Navy
540:30 August
512:30 August
432:30 August
87:The boxes
37:Christmas
374:: 69–78.
73:George V
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65:Empire
534:(PDF)
506:(PDF)
426:(PDF)
187:Notes
69:India
615:ISBN
597:2017
563:ISBN
542:2023
514:2023
480:ISBN
455:ISBN
434:2023
400:ISBN
312:ISBN
285:ISBN
264:2015
232:ISBN
107:and
27:The
135:or
35:at
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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