Princess Mary's Christmas box
Date made: 1914
Description: Rectangular box with hinged lid with medallion portrait on lid.
Brass box known as the 'H.R.H. the Princess Mary's Christmas Box', issued to all servicemen during Christmas 1914. The box contained a photograph of Princess Mary, two Christmas cards (1914, 1915) and a bullet pencil.
The ‘Sailors & Soldiers Christmas Fund’ was created by Princess Mary, the 17-year-old daughter of King George V and Queen Mary, with the purpose of providing everyone wearing the King’s uniform and serving overseas on Christmas Day 1914 with a ‘gift from the nation’.
Inside the tins were a variety of gifts according to which group of people they were being sent to. Some were actually sent separately as not all the items would fit into the tin. Servicemen at the front or at sea (‘Class A’) received the following:
Smokers: embossed brass box, a pipe, an ounce of tobacco, a packet of cigarettes (20) in a distinctive yellow monogrammed wrapper and a tinder lighter.
Non-Smokers: embossed brass box, a packet of acid tablets, a khaki writing case, paper and pencil.
When the fund finally closed in 1920, almost £200,000 had been donated for the provision of more than two and a half million boxes with contents.
Measurements: overall: 3 x 13 x 8.5 cm
Materials: metal: brass
Object name: box
Collection: Social History Collection
ID Number: 1954-0501