York Museums Trust Blog

The latest from our curatorial bulletins, this is from the Military Historian, Keith:

This chocolate tin was presented by the Mayor and Sheriff of York to a soldier from York for Christmas 1914. This act of generosity, presenting all servicemen from York with a Christmas gift, was helped by the Sheriff being Oscar Rowntree, of the chocolate firm. What makes this tin very special is that the recipient resisted temptation and kept the contents intact. To the servicemen this was a very welcome gift. Most were not regular soldiers or sailors having joined the forces in the patriotic fervour of war breaking out in August. Many were away from their home city for the first time.

The realities of modern warfare were beginning to reveal themselves - such as static trench warfare, mass artillery bombardments, submarine warfare and use of aeroplanes. The promise of being ‘home by Christmas’ was not happening. The arrival of the gift was a real boost. This is shown in letters to the Mayor’s office now held in the Local History Section of York Library. Many recipients wrote to thank the Mayor and Sheriff for their gift, some wrote asking for more! Once the true nature and scale of the war was realised such gestures became rare. There was no similar gift in 1915.