Christmas at War

No turkey. No fruit to make a decent pudding. No money for presents. Your children away from home; your husband, father and brothers off fighting. How in the world does one celebrate Christmas? That was the situation facing the people of Britain for six years during the Second World War. From the family whose dog ate the Christmas roast, leaving them to enjoy 'Spam with all the trimmings', to the exhibition of hand-made toys for children in a Singapore prison camp, these first-hand stories are by turns tragic, poignant and funny. Between them, they paint a picture of a world that was in many ways kinder and less self-centred than ours. Even if – or perhaps because – there was a war on.