''The first commercial Christmas card was produced by Sir Henry Cole in 1843.
<p><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Firstchristmascard.jpg#/media/File:Firstchristmascard.jpg"><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Firstchristmascard.jpg" alt="Firstchristmascard.jpg" height="410" width="640"></a><br>
With the outbreak of World War One came an increased demand for Christmas cards for soldiers to send to their loved ones and vice versa.
Here at the Fusilier Museum London, we have a wonderful collection of personal items and mementos, from diaries to sweetheart badges. Our collection of Christmas cards, starting from 1915, offer a glimpse into the lives of soldiers from major conflicts.
Click [[here]] to see our first card on the list...''
''This Christmas card was given to soldiers from Princess Mary in 1914. The card was part of the Princess Mary Gift Fund Box.
<img src="https://www.fusiliermuseumlondon.org/assets/object_images/3/83/19383/v0_web.jpg" width="225" height="300"> <img src="https://www.fusiliermuseumlondon.org/assets/object_images/2/83/19382/v0_web.jpg" width="370" height="300">
It was the Princess' wish that 'every sailor afloat and every soldier at the front' receive this gift and card.
[[Click here]] to see the next 'card' in our collection!''
''This Christmas 'card' from 1916 is made from khaki cloth and was sent from East Africa by Royal Fusilier Thomas William Francis to his mother.
Francis served with the 25th battalion RF Legion of Frontiersmen in East Africa.
<img src="https://www.fusiliermuseumlondon.org/assets/object_images/1/93/19391/v0_web.jpg" width="350" height="400">
Christmas greetings made from materials such as cloth and silk were popular during WWI, and the designs were wide ranging, from sentimental, seasonal images to more patriotic images.
From here we move to Christmas postcards of WWI.
Please click [[this link]]''
''During WWII, the YMCA set up //The War Prisoner's Aid// to support Allied and German POWs. They provided radios, musical instruments, arts and crafts equipment and other items.
They also printed prisoner-designed Christmas cards, like the one below from 1944, which was to be the POWs last lonely Christmas.
<img src="https://www.fusiliermuseumlondon.org/assets/object_images/1/83/19381/v0_web.jpg" width="250" height="300"> <img src="https://www.fusiliermuseumlondon.org/assets/object_images/0/83/19380/v0_web.jpg" width="350" height="300">
The aim with these cards was to show that POWs still yearned for Christmas and the sentiments of the outside world.
[[Last]] on our list are two Christmas cards from the Korean War ''
''This Christmas card and message are from the Korean War (1950-53). The Royal Fusiliers formed part of the United Nations Forces to protect South Korea from the North and its Chinese allies.
They were given to Kenneth J Bennett in 1951, from //The Chinese People's Volunteers// and both contain propaganda messages within, urging soldiers to go home to their loved ones.
<img src="https://www.fusiliermuseumlondon.org/assets/object_images/7/83/19387/v0_web.jpg" width="200" height="250"> <img src="https://www.fusiliermuseumlondon.org/assets/object_images/6/83/19386/v0_web.jpg" width="350" height="250">
<img src="https://www.fusiliermuseumlondon.org/assets/object_images/4/83/19384/v0_web.jpg" width="270" height="250"> <img src="https://www.fusiliermuseumlondon.org/assets/object_images/5/83/19385/v0_web.jpg" width="270" height="250">
[[End]]''
''These poignant Christmas postcards were given to Sergeant Leronard J Neal by his mother during WWI.
<img src="https://www.fusiliermuseumlondon.org/assets/object_images/9/73/19379/v0_web.jpg" width="250" height="400"> <img src="https://www.fusiliermuseumlondon.org/assets/object_images/8/73/19378/v0_web.jpg" width="250" height="400">
Both include sentimental poems, expressing longing for soldiers to come home quickly.
Up next is a card from [[The Second World War]]''
##''Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the Fusilier Museum London!!''
<img src="https://scontent.flhr3-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/37342012_1761070847346770_5482280038264995840_n.jpg?_nc_cat=109&_nc_ht=scontent.flhr3-2.fna&oh=d18c7eb4100b69425ba0d02b509c62f9&oe=5C97CEC1" width="550" height="550" >