NAM.2001-07-136-7

Hand printed christmas card, from Harold Edward Watts to his mother and father, Mesopotamia, 1916. Single sheet of white folded paper printed in black. Front cover shows drawing of a British soldier in tropical dress wearing a pith helmet and holding rifle with bayonet fixed standing over tattered Turkish flag. Behind is river bank with boat, palm trees and settlement. Top left corner occupied by Union Jack. Inside left, a humorous Cockney verse about life in Mesopotamia and Christmas good wishes. Inside right, a dedication. Back cover has cartoon of a British soldier carrying a Turkey wearing a fez and putting the slices into a dish marked ‘Mesopotamia’ and surmounted by a Union Jack. The caption below reads ‘We’re slicing “him” up and hope you are doing the same.’. One of 18 cards mostly produced by The Buffs Regiment and sent during World War One. From the collection of the former Buffs Regimental Museum.

World War One, Mesopotamia (1914-1918)