THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE

 by Elliot Ball and Matt Wykes

On Christmas Day of this year it will mark the 100th anniversary of the Christmas Truce of 1914. On that finger-numbing night, after thousands of lives had been snatched away causing shattered hearts back home – all because of war, soldiers of both sides united together to demonstrate the definition of humanity and the power of football. We at ForzaFootie have decided to team together, and create a piece dedicated to those fighting for our country 100 years ago. However, as it’s currently Christmas time, and being a football themed page, in particular, we have decided to focus this article on the Truce, where many people claim, British and German soldiers climbed out of the trenches, socialised, and played a good old game of footie!

Small scale ceasefires were scattered across the Western Front where men of both German and British troops walked out to no man’s land to share gifts and enjoy a joyful game of football. Roughly around 100,000 British and German troops were involved in the truce. Captain Robert Hamilton was the first British soldier to walk unarmed out from the ‘safety’ of the trenches to discuss a ceasefire.

Captain Hamilton’s original diary, dated December 25, 1914, titled ‘A DAY UNIQUE IN THE WORLD’S HISTORY’ records:

“I met this officer and we arranged a local armistice for 48 hours – as far as I can gather this effort of our extended itself throughout the whole time, as far as we could hear.”

“A merry, merry Christmas and a most extraordinary one but I doubled the sentries after midnight.”

On Boxing Day he writes: “The truce continues; we talk with the Germans at half way – our guns opened fire on the German trenches, but not a rifle shot was fired all day.”

“I am told the general and staff are furious – but powerless to stop it.”

Captain Hamilton continues: “Xmas Day – I went out and found a Saxon officer of the 134th Saxon Corps, who was fully armed.”

“I pointed to his revolver and pouch. He smiled and said, seeing I was unarmed, “Alright now”.”

“We shook hands and said what we could in double Dutch, arranged a local armistice for 48 hours and returned to our trenches. This was the signal for our respective soldiers to come out.”

“As far as I can make out, this effort of ours extended itself on either side for some considerable distance.”

“The soldiers on both sides met in their hundreds and exchanged greetings and gifts. We buried many Germans and they did the same to ours.”

Bruce Bairnsfather, who served throughout the war, wrote:

“I wouldn’t have missed that unique and weird Christmas Day for anything. I spotted a German officer, some sort of lieutenant I should think, and being a bit of a collector, I intimated to him that I had taken a fancy to some of his buttons. I brought out my wire clippers and, with a few deft snips, removed a couple of his buttons and put them in my pocket. I then gave him two of mine in exchange. The last I saw was one of my machine gunners, who was a bit of an amateur hairdresser in civil life, cutting the unnaturally long hair of a docile Boche, who was patiently kneeling on the ground whilst the automatic clippers crept up the back of his neck.”

The following are examples of letters, describing first hand experiences of the Christmas Truce:

General Walter Congreve

Christmas Day 1914:

In a letter to his wife, General Congreve provides us with a first person viewpoint about the Christmas Truce.

General Congreve was born in 1862 in Chatham, Kent, and he died in 1927, surviving the war. He won the Victoria Cross during the Second Boer War and his son Billy also won the honour, making them the only instance of a father and son in the same regiment to be awarded the British Army’s highest military honour.

After a brief introduction into the letter, including his description of the weather, Gen Congreve reports the happenings on the front line on Christmas Day:

“This a.m. a German shouted out that they wanted a day’s truce & would one come out if he did; so very cautiously one of our men lifted himself above the parapet & saw a German doing the same.”

So, odd activities from the start – but events later described in the General’s letter fulfil our supposition about acts of kindness and gift-giving between the two armies:

“Both got out then more & finally all day long in that particular place they have been walking about together all day giving each other cigars & singing songs. Officers as well as men were out & the German Colonel himself was talking to one of our Captains.”

Gen Congreve describes the approach of one of the British soldiers, who heard the Germans beginning to wax lyrical about the “best shot in the German army”:

“They say he’s killed more of our men than any other 12 together but I know now where he shoots from & I hope we down him tomorrow”

Amusing really, Abraham Lincoln once said: “Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”

But, did the men have a game of footie? Well the letter goes on to say:

“1st R.B. playing football with the Germans opposite them”

So, yes, they did!

However, this letter, along with many others, does not go in detail into the football.

Nevertheless, The Imperial War Museum says the letter is “a particularly interesting addition” to accounts and depictions of the truce.

Evening Mail, Newcastle 31st December 1914:

An article in this newspaper, published just after Christmas in 1914, supplies many pieces of information through a letter sent back home. The letter verifies the uncertainty many have about football being played at Christmas time.

“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”

“We fraternised, exchanging food, cigarettes and souvenirs. The Germans gave us some of their sausages, and we gave them some of our stuff.”

Following these extracts from the letter, it is obvious there was a cease fire, and men from both sides endured an opportunity to socialise with their enemy. There was also evidence for the typical tradition of gift-giving, with the exchange of food and cigarettes.

We are later informed that the two sides had a kick-about:

“We had a rare old jollification, which included football in which the Germans took part.”

The letter ends as we discover the consequences after the truce:

“Next day we got an order that all communication and friendly intercourse with the enemy must cease but we did not fire at all that day, and the Germans did not fire at us.”

Sounds like good sportsmanship in the end but who knows who won the football? Probably the Germans, on penalties…of course!

Alternatively; something that is seldom noticed, is a German viewpoint on the truce:

In an article protesting the controversial Sainsbury’s advertisement, German writer Sebastian Borger of ‘Berliner Zeitung’ proves an alternative viewpoint of the Christmas Truce, from the Germans.

We see that the sides used the truce to bring back the dead bodies from no man’s land, which developed into more:

“I find that a lot of the necessarily bloody work that soldiers do is often being trivialised. The constant talk of “heroes” and “sacrifices” is alien to me. It cheapens the concept.”

“Initially they were fulfilling a grim task – to bury their comrades whose bodies had been lying in no man’s land, some for weeks or months. But then the gesture of respect for each other’s dead developed into something more. For a day or two, in some places even well into the New Year, the men in uniform sang carols, met between the trenches, exchanged gifts and even played football. One source actually reports a match result – it was 3-2 to Germany, apparently.”

He also discusses pieces from American author and historian, Stanley Weintraub, who wrote the reason and possibility that the two sides engaged in a kick-about. Weintraub illustrates the working class view of the world with “football as its religion”, an explanation as to why the two sides united.

A ‘lasting memorial’ 

A lasting memorial has been unveiled by Prince William, held at The National Memorial Arboretum. The unveiling bought together the Football Association and the Arboretum Appeal, for which William is a patron. The memorial in question depicts a German and a British soldiers’ hands shaking after a truce was declared. The hand shake was a “message of hope and humanity”, stated the Prince. The ‘Football Remembers’ memorial was designed by a schoolboy after a UK-wide competition. Ten year old Spencer Turner, from Farne Primary in Newcastle was introduced to Prince William at the ceremony. The prince and England forward Theo Walcott selected his design following a competition involving more than 30,000 schools. Speaking at the ceremony, Prince William said he was “delighted” to unveil the “lasting monument” to the Christmas Truce.

He continued: “Football had the power to bring people together and break down barriers. It is vital that 100 years on we keep the Christmas truce story alive. For future generations this memorial will help ensure that not just football, but also a nation, remembers”.

Reality of the First World War:

It is important to remember in areas where no ceasefire was declared it was war as usual, and many lives were taken.

In fact, over the years 1914-18, over 13 million soldiers were killed. Above 950,000 of these were British.

Our hearts go out to those whose lives were taken by the catastrophe of war.

We remember, especially, an inspiration and fellow fan of literature Wilfred Owen. Owen tragically died on November 4, 1918 at the Sambre–Oise Canal. His poetry has focussed minds on the cataclysmic events of the First World War.

Image courtesy of The National Children’s Football Alliance:

http://www.childrensfootballalliance.com/wp-content/themes/d5-socialia/images/slides/(10).jpg

This guest blog was written by Elliot Ball and Matt Wykes from the Forzafootie Team, you can read more of their work by heading to their Website http://forzafootie.webs.com/ 

Thanks for joining me, love Mackenzie xx

Please take the time to post a comment below, thanks mg xx

Acknowledgements: Thank you to the Forzafootie Team for letting me share this inspirational blog with my readers. To my great Grandfather Richard Glanville, I share this in your memory. 

For some of Mackenzie’s own blogs try Be courageous, or got the mummy guilts, or for a blog of mg’s that was used as a guest blog for a popular American Website try Taking off the Mask. Or for a Christmas feel try The truth about Santa.

For a funny blog also featured on a shopping website in the UK try A girls gotta love a sale! Also check out mg’s great photography page, or be inspired to challenge yourself with mg’s challenge page!