Thursday 11 December 2014

Cigarettes and Plum Puddings

From the Lichfield Mercury, 11th December 1914.

COMFORTS FOR THE 2nd SOUTH STAFFORDS.

[Extracts from a letter from Colonel C. S. Davidson, Commanding 2nd Batt. South Stafford Regiment.]

The consignment of comforts, chiefly consisting of warm clothes, that reached us the day after we got into rest camp has more than satisfied the present needs of my men; indeed, I brought out some things my sisters had made and collected and could find no one this morning who would accept anything in the way of shirts, socks, mits, scarfs, cap comforters, etc.  It is no use sending out more comforts in the shape of warm clothing until after January 1st.

The one cry from the men is for cigarettes (Woodbines) and matches.  .  .  .  Small one pound plum puddings in parchment covers would be most acceptable at Christmas time; they would be lighter than in tins and much easier to open, and each man could have one.


[Around Christmas 1914, Punch had at least one cartoon suggesting that the men at the Front were being overwhelmed with gifts of clothing and tobacco.  From this letter, it may have been true that the men of the British Expeditionary Force were by this time adequately equipped for the winter weather.]    

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