This mournful piece of doggerel, with its eloquent illustration, is preserved in the World War One diary of Major General Sir William Douglas Smith (ref: SMITH, WD 2/2). "AF" may be Smith’s fellow officer, Major Athel (or Athol) Murray Hay Forbes.
The poem’s sardonic final couplet, "Although wet through, I still keep bright and cheery/ Warmed by the pipe I got from Princess Mary," is a reference to the tobacco tin sent to all service personnel on the Western Front and in the Royal Navy from December 1914 (some took many months to arrive), under a scheme devised by Princess Mary, daughter of King George V and Queen Mary.
Source: King’s College London Archives
Thanks to a special friend I met on one of Mike's WWI tours, I have one of those tins. "With Best Wishes for a Happy Christmas and a Victorious New Year. from The Princess Mary and Friends at Home."
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