The card was sent by my great uncle, Arthur Burdett Collins to his mother, Elizabeth Collins,who lived in Berriew, Powys, Wales. He is known to have fought in the Battle of the Somme. The card is made with a flap and the greeting inserted into the pocket. Arthur Burdett Collins emigrated to Canada in 1928 and no more contact was made with him. The card remained at the family home in Wales until 2004 when it was presented to his children, after they were traced in Canada through family history research. Editor's Comment: 'Happy Xmas', church with Holly, bells, and Mistletoe. Two Arthur B. Collins appear in the Medal Card index of the Nation Archives, and both served in the Royal Engineers.

In the transcript attached, Paul Hudson shares what his family knew of Arthur G. Woodley, an East End teenager who became a DCM-winning rifleman and father before being killed at Loos in 1917.Contributed via Age Exchange (http://www.age-exchange.org.uk) as part of the Children of the Great War project (http://www.childrenofthegreatwar.org.uk) at a collection day at Leyton Orient supporters club, London, UK. To see all material contributed by Age Exchange, or to see more contributions from this collection day, follow the links at http://www.childrenofthegreatwar.org.uk/archive.html - For further information email: greatwar@age-exchange.org.uk || || Arthur G. Woodley in uniform, marked 'X' || Photograph || Arthur G. Woodley || || Transcript of interview with Paul Hudson || Interview || Arthur G. Woodley || || Arthur G. Woodley || Medal || Arthur G. Woodley, 1914-1915 medal || || Arthur G. Woodley, Great War medallion || Arthur G. Woodley || || Arthur G. Woodley, school mention || Book || || Excerpt from 17th London Poplar & Stepney Rifles' trench diary || Trench Life || Arthur G. Woodley

This parole card allowed officers to leave the prisoner of war camp to go into the local town. It contained a promise that they wouldn't try to escape. My father, Captain Collins did try to escape once, by walking out of the camp with a group of German workers who had come to do some work at the camp. He was recaptured and sent to another camp, where he was given another, similar parole card.