'The war will be over by Christmas!' was a popular sentiment in 1914. The reality proved somewhat different and staff at the emergency hospital in Torquay did their best to cheer up wounded soldiers during the Festive Season. Agatha had something else to celebrate when she got married on Christmas Eve to her fiancee Archie Christie, home on leave from the Royal Flying Corps. Despite the appalling casuality rate among flyers, Archie survived the war and was mentioned in dispatches on four occasions; awarded the CMG and DFC, and received the Order of St Stanilaus from the Czarist government.

Written by Mike Holgate

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