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Articles
Christmas 2007
"THE
SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS PAST"
by Marilyn Stephenson-Knight
James Banks was peacefully cutting
evergreens for Christmas decorations when a huge explosion blew
him out of the tree. It was Christmas Eve, 1914, and when Mr
Banks ran next door he discovered his fellow gardener, Mr Kemp,
mournfully surveying a large hole where his cabbage patch once
grew. Christmas dinner would be short that year, for only
scattered broken stalks remained. The first bomb ever dropped
 on
British soil had just fallen in Dover. Far from seasonal
tidings of comfort and joy, it confirmed the war would not, as
hoped, be over by Christmas.
Dover, our frontline town, became used to
war-time Christmases. But no matter the hardships, Christmas is
a time of sharing and friendship. Dovorians, defiant and
determined, continued to celebrate. In the Second World War they
decorated the cave shelters with garlands and held parties for
the children. Navigating the sleigh amongst barrage balloons
can be tricky, but with true Dover grit, Father Christmas always
got through. In 1943, he even enlisted the balloonists as his
helpers. Led by Corporal Sherman, a civvy street tailor, they
made stuffed toys from scraps and saved up their sweet rations
for the “cave kids” Christmas.
Dover children could enjoy Christmas in the
Great War too. In 1917 Dawson’s shop, on New Bridge, still
boasted toys from France in their Children’s Wonderland. There
were engines and dolls’ prams, tricycles and growly bears, and
large bright rocking-horses to gallop away on. Money was tight
for children orphaned by the war, but Brisley’s in the High
Street had toys for even the smallest of purses. Irene’s father
was lost at sea, but, now in her 90s, she looks back fondly on
Christmas, with plates piled high with scrumptious vegetables
from Granddad’s allotment. It was a special family day, and
after the washing up was done aunts and uncles, grandparents and
cousins, played games and the children entertained Grandma with
a dance or a joke or a carol buzzed through comb-and-paper.
In 1914, in Belgium, Private Frank Tapley
was far from his family. But the Christmas message of peace and
goodwill was always close. On the Western Front soldiers from
opposing sides sang
 carols from their trenches, and met in No
Man’s Land to exchange cigars. In the biting cold on Christmas
Day, Frank enjoyed a vigorous game of football, and then dined
on tinned stew, with plum pudding sent from home. Accompanied
by a rickety old piano hauled in from a nearby village and with
Belgian beer to help the singing, his regiment held a concert in
a deserted convent, where the windows were blown out and the
walls pock-marked by shells.
Christmas is always a time for remembering
others. Despite air raids and shelling in the 1940s, Dovorians
gathered for carol singing, collecting money for Prisoners of
War. During the Great War envelopes on the Christmas table were
filled with coins for “plucky little allies”, destitute in
Serbia and Belgium. There were presents for serving soldiers
too. Flashman’s in the Market Square offered “The Tommy’s
Cooker”. It fitted in your pocket and was guaranteed to fire up
in the harshest wind. But for Private Metcalfe the best present
was the tobacco tin Princess Mary distributed to all the troops.
His tin ricocheted a sniper’s bullet - and saved his life.
To him and to so many others, to the
indomitable spirit of the past, we owe our precious gifts of
freedom and peace. During the Battle of Britain, Pilot Officer
Mudie lost his life at Dover. He is buried near the home of Mr
and Mrs Tee, who grew up in the war. Every Christmas they lay a
wreath on his grave. Like them, in this special season and
always, let us never forget what we owe to those who served and
still serve today.
A cheerful Christmas and a peaceful New
Year to you all, from the Dover War Memorial Project.
This article first appeared in the Dover Loyalty Card
Newsletter, December 2007
illustrations:
advertisement from the Dover Express from Christmas 1917, for
children's toys and games
marking the site of a football truce from 1914, near Prowse
Point cemetery, Belgium
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