Australian Army Museum of Western Australia > Records

Australian Red Cross Christmas Gift Box - 1917

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Overview

Heavy card box (without contents) and lid of stapled construction with paper label glued to lid. Red printing on label reads: "With .../ Christmas Greetings / from / AUSTRALIAN / RED + CROSS / XMAS 1917". Over 50,000 Australian Red Cross Christmas boxes, were distributed to, and received with pleasure by patients in almost 400 hospitals, casualty clearing stations and command depots in France and Great Britain in 1917, Australian packed boxes contained 'a pipe, tobacco, cigarettes, chocolate, playing cards, match-box, handkerchief and a card conveying greetings from the Society.

Historical information

The distribution of the 1917 Christmas box was frustrated by the combined strike by Waterside Workers and NSW Railway Workers. This industrial action later escalated into mass strikes involving coal miners, carters, railway workers, gas workers and other trades. The strike was not resolved until early August, meaning long delays in transporting material to Europe in time for Christmas. Foreseeing the delay, the Australian Red Cross arranged for 30,000 boxes to be packed in London and subsequently distributed. These lacked the 'Australian native flowers' decoration on the Australian packed boxes.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-32-99-985

Inscriptions and markings

The Red Cross maintained a policy of ensuring that comfort and entertainment for the wounded in hospital at so that “wherever they are, our boys will have a reminder on Christmas Day that the thoughts and sympathy of their people in far-off Australia are with them.”

Contextual Information

The Australian Army Museum of WA has a British packed on display in the World War 1 Gallery This gift continued the example of gifts to deployed troops started by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1900 during the 2nd Anglo-Boer war. The practice of sending Christmas gifts to deployed troops is a tradition that continues through to today.

Australian Army Museum of Western Australia

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