David Lloyd George, 1916. Image courtesy The Illustrated War News, 13 December 1916.
- Sergeant Vernon of the 12th Light Horse Regiment informs Mr Holland of Anson Street that his grandson, William, “lived and fought like a true soldier, and died a hero”
- David Lloyd George is appointed British Secretary of State for War in place of the late Lord Kitchener, who drowned when his vessel was mined on 5 June
- King George V congratulates Sir Douglas Haig on the recent performance of the British Expeditionary Force on the Somme:
Please convey to the army under your command my sincere congratulations on the results achieved in the recent fighting. I am proud of my troops. None could have fought more bravely.
- 500 Indian infantrymen under the command of General Jan Christiaan Smuts capture the coastal town of Tanga in German East Africa
- William Dalton Lycett of the 4th Field Ambulance at Fort Rompu, near Armentieres in northern France. records in his diary:
Awakened 12 midnight, enemy letting gas loose again, had to sit with our gas helmets on till 12.40 a.m. Gas did not reach us. Up at 6.30 a.m., on parade 7 a.m., roll call and orders, on duty 8 a.m. Dull wet day again. Good news of British and French offensive further south.
