• 10.00am - 5.30pm
  • FREE
  • Chelsea, London
  • 10.00am - 5.30pm
  • FREE
  • Chelsea, London

Festive First World War gift tins

Workshop

Date

15 December 2018

Time

11.00am

Audience

Families

Location

National Army Museum

Admission

FREE
Booking is not required.

Subjects

First World War
Christmas

Princess Mary gift tin, 1914
Learn about the Christmas gift tins sent to soldiers in the First World War and make your own in this free family craft session.

Can you imagine what Christmas would have been like for soldiers serving in the First World War? In 1914, Princess Mary, the 17-year-old daughter of King George V, decided to send every soldier a Christmas gift tin to cheer them up and provide them with treats for the festive period.

Learn more about the gift tins in our collection and get involved by creating your own.

Drop-in family events are subject to availability on the day. Children must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

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Here we look at some of the Christmas cards sent by soldiers during the First World War, and how they helped ease the pressures of life on the front line.

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Christmas in the trenches, 1915
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A First World War Christmas

Soldiers throughout the First World War found ways to maintain morale and mark the festive season while separated from their loved ones.

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Parliamentarian soldiers at a tavern, c1645
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The war on Christmas

In 1647, Christmas was almost cancelled as the Long Parliament and its army tried to banish all festivities that smacked against the sober Puritan values of the period.

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"First time @NAM_London today. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Thought the presentation & interpretation made the subject accessible..."

National Army Museum, Royal Hospital Road, London, SW3 4HT
Registered Charity Number: 237902