French children attending Australian graves. On Christmas day each company dined as a unit. At 12.30 p.m. the men sat down to a dinner which would have done credit to any chef in the prosperous times of peace. When dinner was over, every man received a Christmas box from the Brigade Comforts Fund. The officers had their Christmas dinner in the school hall which had been kindly placed at their disposal by the school master. The battalion officers donated a sum of money to provide a Christmas treat for the children of the villages of Bouillancourt  and Busmenard, and a Christmas tree was placed in a large marquee. Numbers of happy kiddies in high glee and full of excitement were present. Lieutenant C.T.Mason made an excellent "Father Christmas"and distributed toys from the tree. Effectively disguised as a buccaneer, Lieutenant O.R.Brown caused much fun. Appropriate band selections contributed to the pleasureof both adults and children. After the children had received their toys they were given cocoa, cake and chocolates. Finally they reluctantly left for their homes to tell their mothers and fathers all that Christmas meant to them. Before leaving the school master delivered the following address:- "Colonel Paterson and Officers of the 39th Battalion. The parents and children of the villages thank you very much for your kindness and wish you a happy New Year. We will keep for years to come the worthiest recollection of your generosity. For myself I tank you very much, and pray you to accept my most hearty wishes for the New Year. "It is tradition in Australia to dress a tree each Christmas within the family for the pleasure of the children, and to present them with toys and sweets. Colonel Paterson and the officers of the 39th Battalion are deprived of the pleasure of being with their families on this festive occasion. Today they desire to adopt the children of the battalion's billets and offer them presents. We are very proud of their intention and it forms for us a very agreeable satisfaction. Today everyone will have the pleasure of smiling, and the privileged ones will receive the toys their child hearts covet. As equality is a trait of Australian character each and all shall receive his or her share. I am very glad to tell you this. In Australia it is not a practice to make distinctions between the children of the rich and the children of the poor because distinction is made by the hand of Chance or Fortune. This remark I wish you to remember. The Australian officers are always good to their men, and, for this reason, we know them as a courageous army. They have supported the noble aims of the war rigorously and with animation, which will go down in history. In my address my children and you who are older, I ask you to endeavor to comprehend me. I ask you to keep this fete evergreen in your memory. Later, when you are older, and you reunite to speak of the war, it will be a great  pleasure to recount the kindness of the Colonel and the officers of the Australian Army whose battalion rested in the villages of Bouillancourt and Busmenard during Christmas and New Year 1918 and 1919 . Through the medium of the armistice you are gathered here to receive a gift. All the recognition I demand of your young age is to keep always the remembrance of the friends of France who left their parents, homes, wives and children without regret to succour us in our time of trouble and adversity. Just think! 5000 leagues and more separate their country from ours. I will be very pleased to convey to the Colonel and his officers the sentiments of recognition you all express. With very great joy I join my thanks to yours in recognition of untold pleasure." Happy was the thought which prompted  the 39th Battalion to brighten  the drab lives of the French Children by giving them a Christmas party.