Princess Mary Gift Tin: Private C H Livingstone, 6 Light Horse Regiment, AIF

Embossed, gilded brass rectangular tin with a hinged lid. The lid is embossed with a profile of Princess Mary surrounded by a wreath. The letter M is embossed on either side of the wreath in cursive script. A decorative border around the lid contains the words 'IMPERIUM BRITTANNICUM' at the top and 'CHRISTMAS 1914' at the bottom. The corners and sides contain the names of Britain's allies between decorations of flags, ships and weapons. The nations represented are, from the top right hand corner, 'JAPAN', 'RUSSIA', 'MONTENEGRO', 'SERVIA', 'FRANCE' and 'BELGIUM'. The tin has some dents and creases, and has been extensively polished, removing most of its original finish. There are no contents.

Charles Henry Livingstone was born at Fremantle, Western Australia, in 1892. In 1912 he travelled to NSW, intending to see the eastern states before returning to his home at Harvey, WA. He was working in Sydney as a tram conductor when war broke out, and enlisted in October 1914, sailing as Trooper 663 with the 1st Reinforcements to 6 Light Horse Regiment. Livingstone landed at Gallipoli with his regiment on 20 May 1916, and served until the evacuation. He continued to serve throughout the Sinai and Palestine campaigns, and was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his actions near Dhaheriye, north east of Beersheba, on 3 November 1917. Livingstone was en route to Australia on 'Anzac leave' when the war ended. He was discharged with the rank of Corporal in January 1919, and after a brief period in Western Australia, returned to NSW, where he worked as a tram driver in Sydney for 40 years. In retirement, he moved to Tasmania to live with his daughter, and died at Launceston in May 1985. Princess Mary's gift tin was distributed to all British, Commonwealth and Empire soldiers and sailors who were serving on Christmas Day, 1914. HRH Princess Victoria Alexandra Alice Mary was responsible for a public appeal to ensure that 'every Sailor afloat and every Soldier at the front' received a Christmas present. Boxes such as this one, given to Australian troops in Egypt, would originally have contained a New Year's greeting card, a small pencil in the form of a .303 bullet and cigarettes.