Christmas 1915

By December 1915, the realisation that the war was going to drag on for a long time yet started to hit home. As with today, people's thoughts turned towards Christmas and what they needed to buy. However, in wartime Britain this was easier said than done. Today we are used to an array of beautiful presents with something for every price range, yet in 1915, less and less could be found in the shops. Women were encouraged to only buy presents which was useful and those that could were encouraged to do without, in order to said the soldier's on the front line what they could. Useful gifts for the soldiers included items such as warm gloves, safety razors & cigarettes.

It was not only those on the home front whose thoughts turned to their loved ones at Christmas, for soldier's were also thinking of what to buy. The most popular item that was purchased was handmade cards from local villages near to the front line. These are more commonly known as world war one silks. They are so beautifully crafted and many came with their own personal message inside. For those of you who haven't been lucky enough to see one in the flesh, all I can say is the detail captured in these cards are truly amazing.

On the home front and the front line, people were remembering the Christmas Truce of the previous year. So were those of higher power who strongly discouraged any repeat of such an event. Soldier's were threatened that if they were caught to be in friendly company of the enemy, they would be court marshalled and the punishment would be severe. This meant that for the soldier's on the front line, it was a relatively quiet affair. With many of the soldier's fighting in Gallipoli throughout December, soldier's were battling with the bitter temperatures and fallen snow. Due to this, many soldier's in the area were suffering from frostbite and so not really in the Christmas mood. 

It wasn't just the army that were strict around Christmas, for the navy was too. Christmas Day for sailor's was highly regimented. For example, whether religious or not a sailor was first expected to attend a religious service. After the service, they would then go to the mess, where food adorned the tables as far as they eye could see. The ships Captain and officers would then sit at each of the tables and sample the food on offer. Only then would they have any free time, but they were always on high alert. 

Britain had seen some of its bloodiest battles in the war so far, and with this came a vast amount of injured soldier's, many of whom were to spend Christmas in hospital. To cheer their patients up, many of whom were suffering from horrific and life-changing injuries, nurses set about decorating the wards and organising entertainment such as concerts. 

For all of these people and many others, Christmas was celebrated in different ways. Yet they all had something in common and that was the hope that the war would be over soon, so that no more suffering came of the people of Britain. Unfortunately, this hope would not happen for another three years and there would be many who would never see the end of the war. So this Christmas take a moment to think of those people as well as those serving around the world today, of the sacrifices they paid and are still paying to keep us all safe. 

Lastly, I would just like to take this moment to thank you for your support and for reading my blog throughout the year. I would like to wish you a very merry Christmas and a prosperous and happy new year.