From Suvla Bay the 1/5th Bedfordshires - our own Territorial Regiment - were transferred to another sphere of operations. We are not in a position to say exactly where they are [*], whether on Africa's sunny shores or Serbia's icy mountains, but of this we are satisfied from letters to hand that, in spite of all the fighting and the hardships they have experienced, they were "merry and bright" on Christmas Day, and in the peaceful surroundings of a rest camp enjoyed their Christmas fare to the full.

"Well," begins one letter, "here it is Christmas Day and we are at our festivities. But it is so difficult to realise it is Christmas. Everything possible has been done to give us a good time. Everybody who in any way belongs to the Battalion have been brought together."

The 1/5th drew with the other Battalions in the camp for the use of the mess house and lost, so they put their waterproof sheets on the ground and then set to work on cold turkey and sausages and hot cabbage and potatoes.

The menu also included hot Christmas puddings, nuts, apples and cigarettes, and a bottle of beer or minerals, but just as the feast had started it came on to rain and all had to make for their tents. But there was one consolation, the turkey had been carved so they took the helping with them, and later the puddings etc were also conveyed to the tents.

And referring to the rain, the letter from which we have quoted says the men don't bother much about the trifles of that sort now-a-days and are all merry and bright.

"We all had two crackers apiece and everyone seems merry and bright, which is the great thing."

From other sources we learn that, following their evacuation from the Peninsular, the 1/5th had "no mail for ages, nor any Christmas parcels," but this fortunately seems to have been remedied on Boxing Day, much to the delight of the Battalion - or at any rate all those who were so fortunate as to receive letters from home.

The Boxing Day tea, we learn, was very little below the high standard set by the friends at Bury St Edmunds last year, but "without the youth and beauty of Bury waiting to supply our needs". There was bread and butter, two eggs apiece, cake, oranges and crackers - and they WERE appreciated.

[* Following their evacuation from Gallipoli via Mudros, the 1/5th Bedfords travelled to Egypt and spent Christmas in camp in a suburb of Alexandria, before later moving further south].

[Beds & Herts Saturday Telegraph: January 8th, 1916]