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Men and women from York who were serving at Christmas 1914 received a gift of thanks from the city鈥檚 Lord Mayor and the Sheriff. It was a tin containing chocolate.

Some recipients were on board ships, such as HMS New Zealand, or serving as far afield as Egypt or Nairobi. Other troops were still training on home soil, including in Aldershot.

More than 250 letters of thanks were sent to the Lord Mayor. They are now housed in the city鈥檚 archives. However, some people did miss out, one even writing: 鈥淲hat did I do wrong?鈥�

The chocolate was manufactured by Rowntrees, which is now the Nestle factory in York. Five hundred men enlisted from Rowntrees in the early days of World War One and women took over their roles.

An original tin containing the rows of uneaten chocolate bars kept in York鈥檚 Mansion House.

Location: Nestle Rowntree, Haxby Road, York YO31 8TA
Image: An original tin containing Rowntrees chocolate, courtesy of Mansion House, City of York Council, York
Presented by Jonathan Cowap

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