General Chat

I have started this thread to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1914 Christmas Truce; I hope to add to it daily with history facts, poems and verses, please feel free to get involved.

Shaun





1914 CHRISTMAS TRUCE

On 24 December 1914, something extraordinary happened amid the hellish killing fields of the Western Front. German and Allied troops, mercilessly slaughtering each other just hours earlier, laid down their arms and embraced Christmas together.

In one of the most poignant events in human history, sworn enemies dropped their weapons, clambered out of trenches and crossed the shell-blasted mud of no-man’s land to shake hands, sing carols and exchange gifts.

The Allied troops brought Bully beef, rum and cigarettes to the party. In exchange, the Germans traded sausages, coffee and cognac.

THE "Christmas truce" is a term used to describe a series of unofficial cessations of hostilities that occurred along the Western Front during Christmas 1914.

World War One had been raging for several months but German and Allied soldiers stepped out of their trenches, shook hands and agreed a truce so the dead could be buried.

The soldiers also used that truce to chat with one another and, some claim, even play a football match. Unofficial truces between opposing forces occurred at other times during World War One but never on the scale of that first Christmas truce.

Similar events have occurred in other conflicts throughout history - and continue to occur.

~~~~~~~~

http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/dec/19/christmas.lornamartin

Factors leading to the truce.

THE assassination of heir to the Austrian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo on June 29 1914 sparked a rapid sequence of events which led to the outbreak of World War One. In early August, Germany swept past Luxembourg and Belgium on their way into France and at first made rapid progress.

The Allies and Germans tried a series of outflanking movements which eventually led to a battle line – the Western Front – stretching from Lorraine in the south to the English Channel in the north. Soldiers dug trenches and erected barbed wire to hold their positions: the nightmare that was to become ‘trench warfare’ had begun.

In places the trenches were just yards apart and, as the soldiers realised that neither side was going to make any rapid victories or progress, the trenches became more fortified.

The opposing forces now had time to regroup and strengthen their lines with more men but it soon became apparent to the Generals and to the men on the front line that this was going to be a war of attrition – the only way a ‘winner’ would be decided would be when one side ran out of men or out of bullets.

As Private R Fleming of the 2nd Durham Light Infantry put it: “It is not war this. It is who can kill the most in the shortest possible time” ( The Newcastle Evening Mail January 13, 1915).


The proximity of the enemies also allowed men to shout out to their opponents or stick up signs on wooden boards. After a particularly heavy barrage of missiles or bullets, the soldiers might shout out “Missed” or “Left a bit”. (1) This black humour was to be the start of a ‘conversation’ between troops that would hasten the onset of a Christmas truce.

Another factor that assisted conditions for an unofficial truce between the men was the weather. For much of December it had been wet but on Christmas Eve the temperature dropped and a sharp frost enveloped the landscape.

A ‘white Christmas’ as depicted on all traditional Christmas cards would provide the backdrop to one of the most remarkable Christmas stories in 2,000 years.

The shouting between troops turned into something more during Christmas Eve. Germans celebrate Christmas on December 24 more than they do on the day itself (in Britain and France, December 25 is the main day of celebration). It is on the 24th that the Germans have a large meal with family and 'Father Christmas' delivers his gifts.

So on the Western Front on Christmas Eve, German soldiers began to sing carols and place Christmas trees lit with lanterns above the trenches. As a sub-altern told the Press Association (and it was then published in numerous UK newspapers): “Their trenches were a blaze of Christmas trees, and our sentries were regaled for hours with the traditional Christmas songs of the Fatherland.

Their officers even expressed annoyance the next day that some of these trees had been fired on, insisting that they were part almost of the sacred rite.”

A 'white Christmas', singing of carols, shouts of good wishes across the trenches and the erection of illuminated decorations: A truce which days earlier had seemed inconceivable was now all but inevitable.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for your link Rollo, will have a look tomorrow.

http://www.christmastruce.co.uk/index.html

The above is a very interesting site, there is a general overview of the truce, and transcriptions of letters

Hi Rose,

Your link is fantastic and it's the site that I am using to c/p posts on here.
shaun

I bought the following book nearly two years ago and I would thoroughly recommend it. It can be purchased at various outlets; I bought it through ebay.

Christmas Truce: The Western Front December 1914 (Pan Grand Strategy Series)


http://www.panmacmillan.com/book/malcolmbrown/christmastruce

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/302621.Christmas_Truce
Christmas Truce: The Western Front December 1914
by Malcolm Johnston Brown, Shirley Seaton

My nephew is reading a book from school called
The Christmas Truce: The Place Where Peace Was Found by Hilary Robinson

He has started to be an avid reader and has asked my Sister so much about it....
I think children should know more about these things and the stories need to be read and told in order to pass on the history.....A great learning curve ........

Christmas Eve - the Truce begins.

IT is easy to understand how shouting and singing between the trenches on Christmas Eve escalated into something more serious. This letter, for example, was one of hundreds sent home by the soldiers on the front and later shared by excited families with their communities through the columns of the local newspapers.

Censorship, fortunately, appears to have been in its infancy.
"As I told you before our trenches are only 30 or 40 yards away from the Germans. This led to an exciting incident the other day. Our fellows have been in the habit of shouting across to the enemy and we used to get answers from them. We were told to get into conversation with them and this is what happened.

From out trenches: "Good morning Fritz." (No answer).
"Good morning Fritz." (Still no answer).
"GOOD MORNING FRITZ."
From German trenches: "Good morning."
From our trench: "How are you?"
"All right."
"Come over here, Fritz."
"No. If I come I get shot."
"No you won't. Come on."
"No fear."
"Come and get some fags, Fritz."
"No. You come half way and I meet you."
"All right."

One of our fellows thereupon stuffed his pocket with fags and got over the trench.. The German got over his trench, and right enough they met half way and shook hands, Fitz taking the fags and giving cheese in exchange."

Letter from Private H Scrutton, Essex Regiment, published in the Norfolk Chronicle on January 1, 1915
And this from Rifleman C H Brazier, Queen's Westminsters, of Bishop's Stortford: "You will no doubt be surprised to hear that we spent our Christmas in the trenches after all and that Christmas Day was a very happy one. On Christmas Eve the Germans entrenched opposite us began calling out to us ‘Cigarettes’, ‘Pudding’, ‘A Happy Christmas’ and ‘English – means good’, so two of our fellows climbed over the parapet of the trench and went towards the German trenches.

Half-way they were met by four Germans, who said they would not shoot on Christmas Day if we did not. They gave our fellows cigars and a bottle of wine and were given a cake and cigarettes. When they came back I went out with some more of our fellows and we were met by about 30 Germans, who seemed to be very nice fellows. I got one of them to write his name and address on a postcard as a souvenir.

All through the night we sang carols to them and they sang to us and one played ‘God Save the King’ on a mouth organ" (The Hertfordshire Mercury, Saturday January 9, 1915).

~~~~~~~

The Songs of the Truce.

THE singing of hymns and carols between the trenches is perhaps one of the most atmospheric motifs of the Truce. Today it is the hymn Silent Night (Stille Nacht) most associated with the event but Allied soldiers rarely mention this hymn in their letters.

Indeed, Rifleman Graham Williams said in his memoirs (1): 'This was actually the first time I heard this carol, which was not then so popular in this country as it has since become'. He says O Come All Ye Faithful was the hymn which both sides started singing together.

Other songs participating soldiers mention in their letters home include:Home Sweet Home, It's A Long Way to Tipperary, The First Nowell, Old Folks at Home, Auld Lang Syne, While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks and O Tannenbaum.

~~~~~~~~~~
Hi Joy~~~ thank you for adding those links, these books are a " must have ".

Hi Mersey~~I agree with you 100% that children should get involved with the history of all wars .

~~~~~~~~~~~

Shaun

Please remember that the truce was in no way official indeed senior offices were very much against. Neither did it apply over the whole of the western front in some places the exchange of peace was very limited. There were also pockets of fierce fighting and over 80 soldiers were killed that day.

I have my grandfather's diaries and he def does not describe 25/12/1914 in the jolly jolly hockey sticks sort of way currently popular in the media.

There was no such truce 1915-18.

The Germans came close to victory during 1918 before their economy collapsed mainly due to the blockade of the Royal Navy. By 1919 Germany was in a state of utter chaos.

Hi Rollo,
Thank you for your comment,I agree with what you have posted .
You will find this link interesting.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/christmas_1914_and_world_wa.htm


Shaun

Christmas Day.

FIRST, it should be remembered that while the truce was widespread it was not total. In some parts shelling and firing continued during the day; there were deaths on Christmas Day 1914. Pat Collard, for instance, wrote to his parents at The Chestnut Horse pub at Easton, near Winchester, describing a horrendous Christmas under fire, concluding: "Perhaps you read of the conversation on Christmas Day between us and the Germans. It's all lies.

The sniping went on just the same; in fact, our captain was wounded, so don't believe what you see in the papers." (Hampshire Chronicle, January 1915).

But despite Pat Collard's experience, there were indeed many truces along the Western Front that Christmas. Some had been arranged on Christmas Eve, others on the day itself. While some arrangements appear to have been quite formal, including a ruling as to when the truce would end, others appear to have been quite informal.

For instance Rifleman J. Reading, writing to his wife, Mrs. Reading, of Germain Street, (Chesham) said: "During the early part of the morning the Germans started singing and shouting, all in good English. They shouted out: "Are you the Rifle Brigade; have you a spare bottle; if so we will come half way and you come the other half."

At 4 a.m part of their Band played some Christmas carols and "God save the King", and "Home Sweet Home." You could guess our feelings. Later on in the day they came towards us, and our chaps went out to meet them. Of course neither of us had any rifles. I shook hands with some of them, and they gave us cigarettes and cigars. We did not fire that day, and everything was so quiet that it seemed like a dream.

We took advantage of the quiet day and brought our dead in." Bucks Examiner, January 8, 1915.

This letter from Private Cunningham, of the 5th Scottish Rifles, to his friend Mr James D Gray, in Carluke, Scotland, also reveals in more detail how such truces came about: "On Christmas Eve the firing practically ceased.

I think both sides understood we were going to have a day off. Through the night we sang carols to one another, the German lines were only a hundred yars away, so we heard each other quite plainly. This went on all night. When dawn arrived we started putting our head above the parapet and waved to each other.

On our left was a brewery occupied by the Germans and to our surprise we saw a German come out and hold his hand up, behind him were two rolling a barrel of beer. They came halfway across and signed to us to come for it.

Three of us went out, shook hands with them, wished them a merry Christmas, and rolled the barrel to our own trenches amid the cheers of both British and Germans! After that it was understood that peace was declared for a day.

We both got out of our trenches and met in the middle of the field, wished each other seasons greetings. The Germans said: "A merry Grismas!". Some of them were quite good at English. We had a most interesting day. The Germans got permission for our officers to bury some of their dead which were lying near our lines. " (The Scotsman, January 5, 1915).

While it's impossible to talk of a 'typical' Christmas truce experienced by soldiers along the Western Front this letter, which appeared in The Exeter Express and Echo of January 7, 1915, describes a series of events similar to that reported by many other soldiers:

"In a letter to his brother at Barnstaple, Private H A Amy of the 2nd Devons at the front, also refers to the Christmas truce. 'On Christmas Eve,' he says, 'their officers told them not to shoot unless the Germans did, and not a shot was fired. The Germans were singing and shouting, 'a merry Chrstmas to you'.

As the day broke the enemy would be seen to bob up and down, and as the British did not fire they plucked up courage enough to get out of the trenches. Soon their parapets were lined and our chaps went out and met them and exchanged gift, cigarettes etc. Officers also fraternised.

The Germans told them that the English had lost thirty warships and they had only lost two. It only showed that the Germans were being buoyed up with false hopes, and that when they learned the truth no doubt they would get a shock."

While this was typical there are also reports of very untypical truces with some soldiers going far behind enemy lines or staying with the enemy for some considerable time.

This account by Rifleman C H Brazier, Queen’s Westminsters of Bishops Stortford which appeared in the Hertfordshire Mercury of January 9, 1915, for example, conjures up a comic picture of the Christmas Truce hardly typical of the usual image depicting cautious soldiers nervously shaking hands in No Man's Land:
"The trenches in this position are so close that they are called ‘The Death Trap’, as hundreds have been killed there.

A hundred yards or so in the rear of our trenches there were houses that had been shelled. These were explored with some of the regulars and we found old bicycles, top-hats, straw hats, umbrellas etc. We dressed ourselves up in these and went over to the Germans. It seemed so comical to see fellows walking about in top-hats and with umbrellas up. Some rode the bicycles backwards. We had some fine sport and made the Germans laugh."

And what are we to make of this remark by Lance-Corportal A Lockett, of the 1st North Staffs Regiment: "One of our fellows went across to the German trenches dressed in women's clothes" (Staffordshire Sentinel, January 13th 1915).

Shaun
Watched this earlier. Hope you can see it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/search?q=christmas%20truce

http://www.theguardian.com/world/audio/2014/dec/04/audio-general-congreve-ww1-letter
Staffordshire poet laureate Gary Longden reads General Congreve's letter, written to his wife on Christmas Day 1914


http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/04/letter-british-general-1914-christmas-day-truce-walter-congreve
Letter from British general describes 1914 Christmas Day truce

This is how, in a hitherto unpublished letter, General Walter Congreve VC described to his wife the 1914 Christmas Day truce in the trenches.

He described how soldiers shared cigars and cigarettes, and sang songs together in no man’s land, and how they organised a football match before returning to “shooting each other”.

In his letter, donated to Staffordshire’s archives by his family, Congreve told his wife how a British captain “smoked a cigar with the best shot in the German army”, who was just 18. He added that he knew the position the young marksman had been shooting from earlier. He said he hoped British soldiers would “down him tomorrow”.

The general told his wife he did not want to come out and join the truce as he feared the Germans would not be able to resist a shot at him because of his high rank.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-one/11271839/The-real-story-behind-the-1914-Christmas-truce.html
A previously unpublished letter written by a General on the day gives an insight into the truce
In a letter to his wife, written on Christmas Day, General Walter Congreve VC explains the extraordinary circumstances around the Christmas Truce of 1914.
Congreve, who led the Rifles Brigade, was positioned at British Headquarters near Neuve Chapelle in Northern France. In his letter, he recalls how it was the Germans who had called for a day’s truce, which was agreed to when one of his men bravely came out of the trenches to agree to it.

The Truce Fails.

ON some parts of the Western Front there was no truce. At others the truce 'failed'. This letter suggests there was more chance of a truce where Saxons made up the German line than if Prussians were in the enemy trenches:
"The following are extracts from a letter of a Leicestershire soldier at the front dated January 2nd: 'We had a rather sad occurrence on Christmas Day.

Directly in front of our regiment there were one or two German regiments. On our right was a regiment of Prussian Guards and on our left a Saxon Regiment. On Christmas morning some of our fellows shouted across to them saying that if they would not fire our chaps would meet them halfway between the trenches and spend Christmas Day as friends.

They consented to do so. Our chaps at once went out and when in the open the Prussians fired on them, killing two and wounding many more. The Saxons, who behaved like gentlemen, threatened the Prussians if they did the same trick again.Well during Christmas Day our fellows and the Saxons fixed up a table between the two trenches and they spent a happy time together and exchanged souvenirs and presented one another with little keepsakes.

They said they would not fire on us as they considered us all English gentlemen and all the while we were opposed to one another they never bothered us at all. They said they did not want war and thought the Kaiser quite in the wrong. They were continually falling out with the Prussians.

They are the people who are the cause of the war and hate the English very much indeed. I hope this war will not last long, but our chaps have behaved splendidly all through, and although they have suffered terrible hardships they have always worn a smile'." (Leicester Mercury, January 27, 1915)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Football Match.

DID the Germans and the Allies indulge in a football match in No Man's Land during the Christmas Truce? And if so where did it take place? There is evidence that such a match took place but it is not overwhelming. Many letters written by soldiers at the time refer to playing football but the letters are ambiguous. For example:
A very interesting letter has been sent by Mr J A Farrell, a Bolton Post Office employee.

The letter is sent to the Post Office and reads: '...In the afternoon there was a football match played beyond the trenches, right in full view of the enemy'..." (Bolton Chronicle 2nd January 1915).
Does Mr Farrell mean the match was played simply between allied soldiers or did the Germans also take part? Other letters say that the opposing sides wanted to arrange a football match but it fell through for lack of a ball or because of intervention by superiors.

For instance:
"Walter Cooke, son of Mr H Cooke of Church Lawford has written home to thank his friends for the plum pudding and good things they sent him for Christmas. He says: 'They wanted to play at football but that fell through. They kept their word, and did not fire a shot all Christmas Day and Boxing Day'." (Rugby Advertiser, January 16th 1915).

The oft-quoted letter, cited as evidence for such a match (and a score of 3-2 to the Germans), comes from The Times on January 1st, 1915 in which an anonymous major states: "The ...Regiment actually had a football match with the Saxons, who beat them 3-2." But this is also ambiguous: is the major quoting hearsay or did he actually witness the match himself? Seaton and Brown (1) also point out that a German reference to a match also had a score of 3-2 and go on to say: "The fact two scores of 3-2 occur in the accounts of Christmas Day football must be assigned either to a curious coincidence or to mistaken memory.

The two matches referred to could not have been same one; in that the units concerned were separated not only by geographical distance but also by the river Lys."
However in 1983 a former Territorial of 6/Cheshires, Ernie Williams, claimed in a TV interview that he had taken part himself in the famous match: "The ball appeared from somewhere, I don't know where, but it came from their side - it wasn't from our side that the ball came.

They made up some goals and one fellow went in goal and then it was just a general kickabout. I should think there were about a couple of hundred taking part. I had a go at the ball. I was pretty good then, at 19. Everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves. There was no sort of ill-will between us. There was no referee, and no score, no tally at all. It was simply a melee - nothing like the soccer you see on television.

The boots we wore were a meance - those great big boots we had on - and in those days the balls were made of leather and they soon got very soggy."
Williams was at Wulverghem (just north of Ploegsteert, Belgim) where he says No Man's Land was not as broken up by shell fire as it was elsewhere.

His account is supported by a fellow member of the 6th Cheshires. Company-Sergeant Major Frank Naden of the 6th Cheshire Territorials was interviewed by the Evening Mail, Newcastle while in Stockport for a week's leave. He told the paper:
"On Christmas Day one of the Germans came out of the trenches and held his hands up.

Our fellows immediately got out of theirs, and we met in the middle, and for the rest of the day we fraternised, exchanging food, cigarettes and souvenirs. The Germans gave us some of their sausages, and we gave them some of our stuff. The Scotsmen started the bagpipes and we had a rare old jollification, which included football in which the Germans took part.

The Germans expressed themselves as being tired of the war and wished it was over. They greatly admired our equipment and wanted to exchange jack knives and other articles. Next day we got an order that all communication and friendly intercourse with the enemey must cease but we did not fire at all that day, and the Germans did not fire at us." (Evening Mail, Newcastle, December 31st, 1914)
So the evidence in favour of a match suggests at least one such game took place at Wulverghem and no score was kept.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi Von and Joy,

Thank you for your links.


Forgot to add this link> http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/remembrance/ww1-centenary


Shaun

The End of the Truce.

IF initiating a truce in the middle of wartorn France seemed impossible then ending it was to prove even harder. On some parts of the Western Front the time limit and rules of a truce seem to have been clearly defined.

For example:
Sergt W. Blundell, of the 1st Beds Regiment said: "They asked us not to fire that day and said they would not; and no firing was done until next day and then we were fighting for all we were worth." (The Bedfordshire Times and Independent of January 8, 1915)
And more poignantly, Lance-Corpl, Henderson, of the Royal Engineers:

"The alarm went about midnight, and we stood up till daybreak, when we found that our pals of the previous two days had tried to rush our position, but they got cut up as usual, and I believe the next morning the ground where we had been so chummy, and where Germans had wished us a merry Christmas, was now covered with their dead." (The Hampshire Chronicle of January 30, 1915).

But in other places the soldiers seemed reluctant to begin shooting at the very people they had been sharing jokes with just a few hours earlier.

Company-Sergeant Major Frank Naden of the 6th Cheshire Territorials: "Next day we got an order that all communication and friendly intercourse with the enemey must cease but we did not fire at all that day, and the Germans did not fire at us." (Evening Mail (Newcastle) January 31, 1914).

And the Manchester Guardian's Paris Correspondent wrote on January 6, 1915: "The sequel was more interesting than the event itself. The French and German soldiers who had thus fraternised subsequently refused to fire on one another and had to be removed from the trenches and replaced by other men."

It's easy to understand that either side would want to record the first kill after the truce and there are reports of Germans warning Allied soldiers to 'keep their heads down' because a visiting senior officer meant they would have to start firing again.

But while the truce may have extended or been repeated until New Year's Eve, it's clear that most soldiers were reporting 'business as usual' by early January. There is no such widespread repetition in 1915 or the following years.

~~~~~~~~~
shaun

The Legacy.

THE enduring legacy of the truce has been positive and it's looked upon today as a wonderful example of humanity during an dreadfully dark hour of man's history.

It has inspired many songs, paintings, literature, films and other art works - too numerous to list. But it's greatest legacy must surely be the message of Hope.

As a Highland Regiment officer said in The Times in 1915:
"It is a great hope for future peace when two great nations hating each other as foes have seldom hated, one side vowing eternal hate and vengeance and setting their venom to music, should on Christmas day and for all that the word implies, lay down their arms, exchange smokes and wish each other happiness."


MORE OF THE SONGS

HERE are some of the songs and carols sung by troops taking part in the Christmas Truce of 1914, either prior to the actual truce itself or during the event. The first six are those sung by Major Buchanan-Dunlop and his men at the start of the Truce:
• Come Let Us All Sweet Carols Sing (Champneys)
• Good Christian Men Rejoice (traditional)
• The Manger Throne (Steggell)
• Sleep Holy Babe (Dykes)
• See Amid The Winter Snow (Goss)
• Good King Wenceslas (Helmore's Collection)
• Minuit, Chretiens, c'est l'heure solenelle
• Stille Nacht/Silent Night
• Adeste fideles/O Come All Ye Faithful
• Les anges dans nos campagnes
• Schumann's The Two Grenadiers
• Die Wacht am Rhein
• Christians Awake
• My Little Grey Home in the West
• God Save The King
• O Tannenbaum
• We are Fred Karno's Army sung to tune of The Church's One Foundation
• It's a Long Way To Tipperary
• Home Sweet Home
• The First Nowell
• O du Frohliche
• The Austrian anthem
• Auld Lang Syne
• Deutschland Uber Alles
• Rule Britannia
• Get Out And Get Under
• Let's All Go Down The Strand
• Old Folks at Home
• Onward Christian Soldiers
• While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night
• Who Were You With Last night
• The Boys of Bonnie Scotland, where the heather and the bluebells grow (My bonnie, bonnie Jean?)
• Handel's Largo
• Heil dir im Siegerkranz
• Dies ist der Tag, den Gott germach
• Thora
• Asleep in the Deep (although the writer actually calls in Sailor Beware - a line in the chorus).


shaun

TRUCE ARTWORK.

A CERAMIC Christmas cake sculpture to honour the memory of the Christmas truce is on display at the Birkenhead Rathbone Gallery's Time For Reflection exhibition, along with a poem, "The Game". Artist and writer, Jean Maskell said, “The Christmas truce was a remarkable event and reminds us of the strength of the human spirit to keep compassion and hope alive, whatever the circumstances.


As a Ceramic artist, I chose to make a cake from clay, because mud and clay caused the soldiers so much difficulty and discomfort. It was as if Nature and the very Earth was in turmoil under their feet.

A Christmas cake would have been an important reminder of home for the troops, particularly as it was their first Christmas away from their families. The cake, detailed with photographs of British and German soldiers, represents the trenches, which is now their new home. Like the Christmas truce, the cake turns something negative into something positive. "


The Time For Reflection Exhibition is open until 24th January 2015 at the Rathbone Studio (Tuesday to Saturday: 2.00pm to 5.00pm) at 28 Argyle Street, Birkenhead, Merseyside. CH41 6AE.


GERMAN IDENTIFIED?

Researcher Caroline Gurney has written to say she may have identified one of the German soldiers who took part in the truce. She came across this account in the Chester Chronicle, Saturday January 9, 1915:
"Later on the mist cleared away, and we could see several Germans moving about on the top of their trenches.

Then the strangest thing of all happened. As if by some mutual agreement, both sides clambered out of the trenches, and met in the middle of the field. We exchanged cigarettes etc, and had a general conversation.

One of them, came up to an officer and said in broken English: "Good morning sir; I live at Alexander-road, Hornsey, and I would see Woolwich Arsenal play Tottenham tomorrow." In the afternoon the same scene happened again. In the census for 1911, she found Germans George Maar, Margaret Maar and daughter Ethel Rose Marr living at Alexander Road.

MISTLETOE FESTIVAL.

The Christmas Truce is being marked by the 2014 Mistletoe Festival on Saturday 6th December in Tenbury Wells, North West Worcestershire. "The Christmas Truce" runs at 3pm & 4pm, at the TSB car park, Teme Street, Tenbury Wells, North West Worcestershire. Led by Artistic Director David McKenna, the performance looks at the journey to fight from both sides of the war, and the effect on the families left behind.

With a cast that includes Dancefest performance groups Fusion and Elevate, Tenbury High Ormiston Academy, and performers from the local area, this sensitive, yet energetic performance aims to tell the stories of ordinary people during the Great War.

This event is free but ticketed as there are limited audience spaces.

You can book your ticket at Tenbury Mistletoe Shop, Café 27, Teme Street, Tenbury Wells on the day.


SNOOPY'S CHRISTMAS SILENT.

Night is the song that symbolises the truce in Europe (although it was little known in Britain in 1914) but I hear form Gavin Marriott in Christchurch, New Zealand that Snoopy's Christmas is equally significant in that country.

In 2014 Gavin, a New Zealand member of The International Military Music Society and The Passchendaele Society,came up with an idea of commemorating the centenary of the historical origins of this song.

It was promoted to play or sing 'Snoopy's Christmas' before Christmas dinner in people's homes in honour of an event which could have changed the world.

A reading has been suggested for people in conjunction with the playing of this song. As an alternative he suggested people could sing 'Silent Night' ... "This song reminds us before our Christmas feast, that a century ago today, soldiers, as depicted in this song, lay down their arms in Flanders Belgium for a truce, in the spirit of the Christmas we now all enjoy today.

If allowed to continue, this truce could have meant 100,000 New Zealanders not going to war and there may not be 18,000 of those not returning. This song reminds us of the sacrifice of those that did go, so we can enjoy this song, this day a century on and our Christmas feast.” What a lovley idea.

~~~~~~~~
shaun

This might be of interest from my local paper

http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2014/12/05/watch-pairs-song-inspired-by-christmas-truce-of-1914/

2014 centenary events

CHRISTMAS 2014 marks the centenary of the Truce and many events are taking place around the world. It will be impossible to list all of them but here are some and there's a contact email at the end to let us know of any more:

SCOTLAND: The Band of The Royal Regiment of Scotland will perform their Christmas Carol Concert on Thursday 18th December at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh at 7pm. They will be commemorating the Christmas Truce and proceeds will go to the ABF "The Soldier's Charity".

SCOTLAND: The Salvation Army in Kinlochleven will be holding a Christmas Day Truce Carol Service on Sunday 7th December at our new premises, Unit 1A Kinlochleven Business Park, PH50 4SE at 6.30pm. This event is open to anyone to attend.

ENGLAND: STOCKPORT. To mark the centenary of the Christmas Truce 1914, East Cheshire Quakers and Stockport for Peace have organised International Carols for Peace at Stockport Art Gallery and War Memorial on Sunday 7th December 2014, 3.30 – 4.30pm. All are welcome. Internationally known carols will be sung in English, German and French; together with readings of soldiers’ accounts of the truce, (more will be on display), nor is the women’s call for peace forgotten, people from Stockport were involved with these. The Stockport-Heilbronn Friendship Group will demonstrate its relevance today.

ENGLAND: WINTERTON. The community of Winterton, north Lincolnshire are marking the centenary of the truce (and their new community pavilion) with a commemorative football match on December 20th. There will also be a chance to explore the replica trench created by Stuart Maw and Ryan. And there will also be a display about the Truce itself. Event co-ordinator Clare Cox said: "I have felt totally inspired by the Sainsburys Christmas Advert on the TV, I think out of all the major Christmas adverts they have got it just right this year."

ENGLAND: Windsor and Maidenhead. On December 6th the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is working alongside Maidenhead United Football Club to hold a Christmas Truce event. The game of the day - Ebbsfleet United Vs Maidenhead United - will be dedicate to the truce. There will be a minute’s silence before the game - primary schoolchildren are holding poppies on the centre circle -and in the middle there will be a choir singing ‘Silent Night’ and a reading of a letter to someone in Windsor from the Western Front recounting the Truce. Afterwards there will be a 15-minutes-a-side game in WWI uniform with vintage ball. 2 Minutes silence preparation commences at 2:45pm, Kick-off at 3pm, memorial game at 5:15pm.

ENGLAND: Barrow AFC, Cumbria At half-time at Barrow AFC’s home game on December 20th, The Truce Community Choir will lead the crowd singing songs of WW1 and Christmas carols.

ENGLAND: Theatre in the Quarter, Cheshire. Silent Night. Throughout November, at various venues. See www.theatreinthequarter.co.uk

ENGLAND: Richmond upon Thames, Surrey. The Christmas Truce: A Concert for Peace. The performance will take place in the Riverside Room, The Old Town Hall, Richmond upon Thames at 7:30pm on Friday, 12th December. See website.

ENGLAND: Orlando Chamber Choir directed by Will Dawes sings a mixture of early and contemporary Christmas music, including carols and readings from the 1914 Christmas Truce. There will be audience carols and an interval raffle with wine, mince pies and more, all at St James's Church, Sussex Gardens (W2 3UD) on Thursday, December 11. You can choose your ticket price according to your means and mood! Just turn up, 7.45pm. The programme includes many songs mentioned by soldiers in their letters. Visit website.

ENGLAND: The Rhyme of No Man's Land, a free concert at St James Church, Accrington on Saturday, November 29. To book tickets or for more information visit the MPA website.

ENGLAND: Wigton, Cumbria. The Christmas Truce by Judith Bingham performed by Wigton Choral Society on Saturday, December 13 at 7:30 pm St Mary's Church, Wigton.See wigtonchoral.org.uk

ENGLAND: Accrington, Lancashire. The Rhyme of No Man’s Land – a free concert remembering the 1914 Christmas Truce in songs and words . As part of Mid Pennine Art’s Truce project and in partnership with Up for Arts, there will be a special evening at St James’ Church, Accrington on Saturday 29 November 2014. community choir has been formed, led by choir leader Janet Swan. As well as the Truce choir, students from Spring Hill Primary will perform a song especially written for the event by musician Steve Brown.To book tickets or for more information visit the MPA website: www.midpenninearts.org.uk/truce or contact Mid Pennine Arts on 01282 421986.

ENGLAND: The Christmas Truce by Phil Porter. A play at The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. Runs from November 29 to January 31, 2015.

NORTHERN IRELAND: Strand Arts Centre, Holywood Road, Belfast, County Antrim. A Charity screening of Joyeux Noel, a film depicting the Christmas Truce. Tuesday, December 9 at 7.30pm (doors open 7pm). See website for details.

CANADA: King Township Historical Society Christmas Truce concert. Friday, December 5th at 7:30 pm at Marylake Shrine in King City, Ontario, just north of Toronto. It is a Catholic monastery with a modern chapel attached and great acoustics.

ENGLAND: Teddington Choral Society, Christmas Truce concert. Saturday 13th December 2014 at 7:30 pm St James's Church, Hampton Hill TW12 1DQ. See www.teddingtonchoral.co.uk/next-concert/

ENGLAND: The Epiphoni Consort, who will be performing a programme of music and readings on the theme of the Christmas Truce of 1914 at Christ Church Chelsea on Saturday 20 December 2014.

ENGLAND: MERTON ABBEY OPERA, will be performing a concert dedicated to the Christmas Truce on Saturday, December 6. We will be singing some of the music the troops shared in No Mans Land, as well as some more modern pieces dedicated to that theme. They are based in Merton, near Wimbledon. The nearest tube station is Colliers Wood on the Northern Line. The concert will start at 7.30 pm. Tickets will be available on the door.

ENGLAND: The Children's Trust Christmas concert in the Cadogan Hall, London on Tuesday, December 9th. See www.thechildrenstrust.org.uk/ and then to to the Events Calendar.

ENGLAND: Carols in the Trenches at Staffordshire Regiment Museum on Saturday, December 13. See staffordshireregimentmuseum.com/events.html

ENGLAND: Children's football match at Maidstone Utd ground in Kent. See National Football Alliance website for more details. www.childrensfootballalliance.com/football-and-peace/

More Events 20 14

FLANDERS: The Flanders Tourist Board details a number of Truce Centenary events on its website including concerts. On December 22 folk singers Coope, Boyes and Simpson will join others for a concert at Ypres Cathedral with a reading of The Best Christmas Present in the World by Michael Morpurgo. You will also find events listed at www.flandersfields.be/en/events

UNITED STATES: Santa Clara, California. The Santa Clara Chorale is holding a Christmas Truce concert on December 12 and 14, 2014. See their website for details.

UNITED STATES: Pipes of Christmas in New York City on December 20 and 21. See website for more details

UNITED STATES: On December 5 2014, a play will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Christmas Truce of 1914. “In Fields Where They Lay”, written by Ricardo Perez Gonzalez and directed by Brad Raimondo, the play pays tribute to that remarkable event. The play's extensive use of letters, diaries and newspaper accounts marks the 100th anniversary of the Truce by bringing this stirring and unsettling, hopeful and tragic story to life in the words of the men who lived it. In Fields Where They Lay runs from December 5-27th at The New Ohio, 154 Christopher St., New York City.

WESTERN FRONT TOURS: A number of organisations arrange tours of the Western Front and have some special tours for the Truce centenary. Among them is Mercat Tours International; Dr Thomson's Tours; Anglia Tours; Guided Battlefield Tours.

To contact Alan or Lesley, send an email to [email protected].


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Rose,
that link is beautiful , thank you for sharing.

You might be interested in the events I have added above.

Shaun