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A Ministry of Food certificate dated 14 December 1917. It registers Frederick Carrick as a meat retailer under the control of the Local Food Control Committee. These registrations were to stop the ever increasing prices for essential items, such as meat, and put them under more controlled restrictions.
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Field service postcards had a selection of pre-printed messages which would be deleted as necessary. Their purpose was to give the soldier means to quickly send word home. The cards could be posted straight away as the limited responses meant they did not have to go through the censor.
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National Registration Act required anyone between the ages of 15 to 65, not in the armed forces, to sign a register in August 1915. Each person was given on of these cards. The information was eventually used for conscription in 1916. When rationing was introduced in 1918 they were required as proof of identity in order to claim rations.
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In October 1914 Princess Mary had the idea to send every man on the frontline and at sea a Christmas present. This is one of the gifts for a person who smoked. It consists of a brass embossed box, cigarettes, tobacco and a pipe. It would have also had a tinder lighter. Each gift came with a Christmas card and a photograph of the princess
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Poster with the caption ‘Carry home your own parcels’ showing the need to economise fuel and the use of horses which were needed at the front.
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Poster telling people to eat less bread, with the slogan ‘save the wheat and help the fleet’
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This helmet belonged to Arthur Bell who served in the Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Regiment. He was shot at the Battle of the Somme. The bullet went right through his helmet but was not fatal.
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Memorial plaquette or ‘Dead Man’s Penny’ for Corporal Percival Ballinger of the Gloucestershire Regiment, who was killed at the Battle of Loos 13 October 1915. These bronze plaquettes were issued to the kin of every British and Empire serviceman who was killed. There are around 1,355,000 in total. They were issued with a letter and a commemorative scroll signed by George V.
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The poppy had become a symbol of remembrance during the war, remembering those who died during times of conflict. The first poppy appeal took place in 1921. The idea came from a French woman, Anna Guérin, and was taken up by Field Marshal Earl Haig’s British Legion and veterans’ organisations and continues today.
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Shell casing which in the past has been cleaned to revive the bright golden colour of the bronze
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A tank-shaped money box and a necklace with glass beads. They were made by disabled servicemen after the First World War in order to provide them with an income. Items like this were often made from shell cases.
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Ration book 1918. Despite attempts to control prices and buying of certain items, there was still a huge food shortage and poorer communities suffered greatly. Compulsory rationing was eventually introduced at the beginning of 1918. Ration cards and book were provided and everyone had to register with a butcher and grocer.
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After the war Arthur trained as an artist, later teaching at Cheltenham College. This is one of his pen and ink drawings of Well Walk in Cheltenham, drawn around 1944.
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There were many hospitals in Cheltenham during the First World War. Aside from the permanent ones, eight temporary VAD Hospitals opened by the end of 1915. Unlike today, bandages would have been cleaned, sterilised and then re-used. These long strips would need to be wound up ready for use. If you were unlucky this would be done by hand, if not you may have a bandage winder to use which would do the job quicker.
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