Maurice Cole (pianist) married with Doris Allen. During the Second World War, he was a member of ENSA and entertained the forces, both in London and abroad. In 1958, he went on an extensive performance tour to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and other countries. Maurice Cole recorded extensively in the 1920s and 1930s for release on 78 rpm for Vocalion, for Hyperion during the late 1940s, and for Classics Club Records during the late 1950s (later reissued by Saga Records). He was also one of the first pianists to broadcast from the Marconi House Studio in 1922 and also broadcast from Savoy Hill.
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day as a lieutenant but, in November, he was severely wounded in the Battle of New Hope Church (in Virginia), during the Mine Run Campaign. Charles eventually recovered, but his time as a soldier was finished. Longfellow first wrote the poem on Christmas Day in 1863. "Christmas Bells" was first published in February 1865, in "Our Young Folks", a juvenile magazine published by Ticknor and Fields. References to the Civil War are prevalent in some of the verses that are not commonly sung. The following are the original words of Longfellow's poem: <poem> I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their