Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood was the third child and only daughter of King George V and Queen Mary and was born during the reign of Queen Victoria. She was educated at home, but the outbreak of World War 1 in August 1914 brought her out of seclusion as she launched a charity campaign to support British troops and sailors at just age 17. Part of her campaign was to make sure British troops did not go without a gift on December 25, and so the “Soldiers and Sailors Christmas Fund” was launched.

In total, £152,691 was raised (£17,307,057 today) in total to manufacture small boxes made of silver for officers and brass for all others.

Each was decorated with an image of Mary and other military and imperial symbols and typically filled with an ounce of tobacco, a packet of cigarettes in a yellow monogrammed wrapper, a cigarette lighter, and a Christmas card and photograph from Princess Mary, with some even containing sweets, chocolates and lemon drops.

Amazingly, these boxes are still floating around more than a century on and YouTube channel General Gordon explored the contents on his channel.

He said in 2017: “The main gift was the embossed brass tin that you see here, but the contents of the tins varied considerably.

The main gift was the embossed brass tin that you see here

General Gordon

“For smokers, the tin contained one ounce of pipe tobacco and 20 cigarettes in the distinctive yellow wrapper.

“On the wrapper, it says: ‘her Royal Highness, The Princess Mary’s Christmas Fund, 1914.

“On the cigarette, there was also an ‘M’ monogram of Princess Mary.

“For boys and non-smokers, the tin contained a bullet pencil, it was manufactured from an old 303 cartridge and made from sterling silver.

“The cartridge case was a mark 6 303 round and as you can see here it’s dated 1914.”

However, the gifts did not stop there.

Mr Gordon added: “The tin also included a Christmas card from Princess Mary and friends and a photograph of Princess Mary.

“The card says: ‘Best wishes for a happy Christmas and a victorious New Year’.

“Included in the box for smokers, there were pipes of various designs due to the number required, but this one was issued to a private in the Fifth Seaforth Highlanders.

“Various rope lighters were included in the box with the tin, this one made by Asprey, one of the rarest to survive.”

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There were one final touching gift too.

M Gordon explained: “There was a postcard-sized photograph of King George V and Queen Mary.

“On the back of the card it has an inscription by the King, which reads: ‘Our best wishes for Christmas 1914, may God protect you and bring you home safe’.

“You can see the King was wearing an Army uniform, but if it was sent to the Navy, he would have been in a Navy uniform.”

Christmas Day of 1914 was remembered for the right reason.

Despite the bloody conflicts inflicted on both British and German troops, a series of widespread ceasefires occurred along the Western Front.

In the week leading up to the 25th, French, German, and British soldiers crossed trenches to exchange seasonal greetings and talk. In some areas, men from both sides ventured into no man’s land on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to mingle and exchange food and souvenirs. 

Men played games of football with one another, creating one of the most memorable images of the truce. 

Fighting would continue until November 1918, after more than nine million combatants and seven million civilians had been killed.

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