Divisional Recommendation Card &'Fraternisation'

[MelPack]

I have been researching the personal war diary of my Grandfather, George Henry Waites, who served with the Royal Berks (8th &1st Battalions) from 1915 to his demobilisation in 1919. I have gleaned an enormous amount of information from the Battalion war diaries posted at TheWardrobe.org.uk. However, there are a couple of entries that I would very much appreciate assistance with.

On 20 October 1918, George received a Divisional Recommendation Card from Major General Pereira and received a further such card and a Regimental Card upon his discharge. Can someone please explain the significance of these cards and whether it would be possible to trace the records of them ?( I have tried the PRO 'burnt records' but George's service records did not survive)

In his diary entry for 26 January 1918, George mentions that he was in the front line at Villers Plouich and comments, 'We had Saxons opposite us, very quiet, we exchange cigarettes for cigars'. How common were these episodes of 'fraternisation'?

Thanks for your help.

[Paul Reed]

Sadly there are no records of Divisional Cards - they are usually not even noted in service records, in my experience. They were handed out in the field for acts of gallantry that could or would not result in the award of a medal. Many divisions had them, and they were far more common than many people realise.