The Princess Mary 1914 Christmas Gift

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’.

The result was the production of an embossed brass box containing gifts, which would also go to the wounded on leave or in hospital, to nurses, and to the widows or parents of those killed. Prisoners of war at the time had theirs reserved until they were repatriated.

The tin itself was approximately 13cm (5″) long by 8cm (3¼”) wide by 3cm (1¼”) deep with a hinged lid. The surface of the lid is decorated with a portrait of Princess Mary, surrounded by a laurel wreath and with an ‘M’ either side.

At the top are the words ‘Imperium Britannicum’ with a sword and scabbard either side, and at the bottom are the words ‘Christmas 1914’, flanked by the bows of battleships forging through a heavy sea. In the corners are the names of the Allies: Belgium, Japan, Montenegro and Servia, with France and Russia either side.