The Christmas Truce

Subject: Review: The Christmas Truce
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 12 Dec 14 - 11:17 AM

There has been a lot on the UK news today and yesterday about the Christmas Truce in 1914, when hostilities temporarily stopped for a game of football: this seems to have been verified as actually happening, although more likely about this date than on Christmas Eve itself. I am reminded of Mike Harding's song which he wrote some years back: there is a re-mastered version out with 50%of profits going to The Royal British Legion and Help for Heroes.
The lyrics are in the DT: the newest video is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqaCSnyRMO8

Subject: RE: Review: The Christmas Truce
From: Keith A of Hertford
Date: 12 Dec 14 - 11:22 AM

It certainly happened, and in more than one place on the line.
Episode 3 of The Great War has someone who experienced a truce talking of it.
I will play it again to see if he says exactly when.

(The series is being reshown. That episode might be still available.)

Subject: RE: The Christmas Truce
From: Keith A of Hertford
Date: 12 Dec 14 - 11:55 AM

He is quite clear it was Christmas Day.
He said that no man's land was all grey and khaki as far as the eye could see.
Perhaps in some places earlier fraternisations occurred.

Subject: RE: The Christmas Truce
From: GUEST
Date: 12 Dec 14 - 11:55 AM

How about a Christmas truce from the bunch of prats that have been 'discussing' the war on the thread 'Oh what a lovely war'

Subject: RE: The Christmas Truce
From: Keith A of Hertford
Date: 12 Dec 14 - 12:04 PM

Sorry, it was episode 5 and went out on Sunday 30 Nov last.

Subject: RE: The Christmas Truce
From: GUEST,HiLo
Date: 12 Dec 14 - 12:09 PM

Yes, a truce from that lot would very good..not only on that thread but on several others.

Subject: RE: The Christmas Truce
From: Greg F.
Date: 12 Dec 14 - 12:18 PM

Oh, NO! This horse has been beaten to death at LEAST a half a dozen times; Keith is already on it like stink on - - well, you know.

PLEASE don't give these clowns yet ANOTHER place to pollute & make prats of themselves.

Subject: RE: The Christmas Truce
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 12 Dec 14 - 01:58 PM

They are well-entrenched now.

Leave them there to fight it out.

Subject: RE: The Christmas Truce
From: GUEST,Guest
Date: 12 Dec 14 - 02:15 PM

In my experience, Americans tend to think first of John McCutcheon's "Christmas in the Trenches," which is moving overall but gives away the author's outsider nationality in the phrase "flare-lit soccer [rather than 'football'/'footie'] game."

Subject: RE: The Christmas Truce
From: Keith A of Hertford
Date: 12 Dec 14 - 02:18 PM

It is a good song, but has a number of inaccuracies that jar on British listeners.

Subject: RE: The Christmas Truce
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 12 Dec 14 - 02:24 PM

I have been avoiding the "other" thread, and I can cope with the odd inaccuracy or anachronism. Truce?

Subject: RE: The Christmas Truce
From: GUEST,Peter Laban
Date: 12 Dec 14 - 02:32 PM

Speaking of songs, need I mention Cormac McConnell's Christmas 1915, sung by Tommy Fleming?

Subject: RE: The Christmas Truce
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 12 Dec 14 - 05:45 PM

English public schools and universities played an important role in the codification of football in the mid-nineteenth century.

At around the same time, Oxford University slang attached the suffix -er to many shortened nouns, leading to the popular names of both soccer and rugger. World Soccer, the English football magazine, was founded in 1960.

So it's very likely that several of the players in the football match would have known the game as soccer. Whether John McCutcheon was aware of this, I cannot say.

Subject: RE: The Christmas Truce
From: GUEST,Peter Laban
Date: 13 Dec 14 - 03:30 AM

Why do we still romanticise the 1914 truce?