A Poignant story at this time of the year remembering the 139th Sherwood Foresters amongst many other regiments that fought in Ypres. FROM THE BOOK BY ANTHONY RICHARDS.
A CHRISTMAS TRUCE
A book I recommend highly you read. This story was added by memories shared by families, ancestors and shared reminiscences.
1914 YPRES SALIENT
The dark sky was lit up by shells and explosions.
The Rat-infested trenches filled with Injured comrades screaming !! begging to be helped.
The nonstop cracking of rifle fire and rat a tat of machine guns.
Suddenly they started slowing down in the distance. at first along the length of the trenches, then from those barely 50 yards away.
Till ceasing all together! silence finally reaching us.
The deafening screaming, bombing, and showering earth from mortars and grenades hitting us gradually went quiet.
A terrifying eerie, eerier ghostly silence descended.
Was this the start of a big push?
More agony?
Would there be the whistle?
A German voice suddenly shouted breaking the silence, “MERRY CHRISTMAS ENGLISHMEN” no shooting tonight!
Lights started appearing! stuck up on rifles! Bayonets! sticks, from their trenches. Not to be outdone, we did the same.
Lights spread! till out of site, until the trenches for miles looked like a river of lights amongst the bodies of fallen comrades even horses! amongst the water and mud filled craters.
These Australian Rifleman Private Leslie Walkington recollections. from the front on late Christmas Eve 1914.
A group of German soldiers had just laid down their arms, then others from both sides followed, “STILLE NATCH” HEILAGE NATCH!
Suddenly German Soldiers were heard singing Christmas Carols, STILLE NATCH. HEILAGE NATCH, we didn’t need a translation as we just felt thank God hopefully at least a silent night tonight.
Soldiers lit lanterns!
Took photos! showed theirs of their loved ones! exchanged food! and
Souvenirs! for just a brief time we were all just soldiers with Parents, Families, Loved Ones, we needed to get Back-to-back home, away from this godforsaken hell hole, full of death and rats.
Suddenly a reminder. IT’S CHRISTMAS. as we thought of and wished those not with us “Happy Christmas” through tears. Though back home,
British, Australians, Irish, Scottish, and more troops accents in nearby trenches responded by singing of their own.
The words were calming. though hard to make sense of “SILENT NIGHT,” “HOLY NIGHT,” “ALL IS CALM,” “ALL IS BRIGHT.”
The next day! Soldiers from both sides nervously left their trenches and met in no man’s land.
They were the same as us!
Muddied!
Bedraggled, tired, drained, some faces I gasped looked younger than me!
Bloodied, some bandaged like ours.
Men from both sides started playing improvised football, using Bully beef cans, and using their helmets as goalposts. In some parts, the truce lasted just a few hours, others lasted till New Years Day.
Both sides took the lull in fighting as a chance to bury their dead comrades. Eventually men moved back to their positions. The fighting resumed to deafening even louder noise until our bleeding ear drums just heard muffled sounds.
Today the Christmas truce is seen has a poignant symbol in the midst of the battle that many people regard as an unnecessary futile war.
Rifleman Lesley Walkington was killed in Calais just four months later.
To some just the reality of war, to others improbable. Did it happen? we can only hope, the men both sides-realised the futility of war.
Bertie Felstead died in August 2002 aged 106 believed to be the last survivor of the Christmas Truce. Though later its emerged that Scottish Soldier Alfred Anderson preseaded him dying aged 109.
From a story by Anthony Richards, added to by Philip Staton from recollections passed down to families from the few old soldiers reluctantly prepared to talk about and relive their War.
The true story of the Christmas truce?