CHRISTMAS in the TRENCHES

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 101, 15 December 1939, Page 5 (Supplement)

CHRISTMAS in the TRENCHES

From time to time much is made in the press of the fact that a number of British soldiers, shared a meal with the Germans in "No-man's Land" on Christmas Day, 1914 ; hut it is not often mentioned that the ceremony was repeated in 1915. 1 was at the time in command of a company in the 9th Welsh Regiment (writes a correspondent of the Manchester Guardian), and we were occupying some waterlogged breastworks in front of Vieillc ChapellcChristmas Day dawned grey and bleary, but we managed to get a little fire going and to brew some tea. One man put his mess-tin of the scalding beverage on the parapet to cool, when a "Jerry" popped hi? head up in their trenches some 30 yards away and asked for a drink of tea. A corporal, fearful of nothing promptly scrambled over the top, and "Jerry" met him in the open.

Tea Avas swapped for a cigar, and other Germans came out to be met by a number of Welshmen. Then* must have been at least a score oi combatants scattered over the thirty yards of "No-man's Land" sharing tea and cigars. An elegant German officer came out, to be met by a dishevelled Welsh subaltern, and conversation became general. Finally, when fraternisation reached the stage of swapping tunic buttons, the German officer blew a whistle, and each side withdrew to\its own trenches. There was no rifie lire for the rest of that day, and in the evening these mutual enemies treated each other lo n selection of Christmas carols. The Welshmen always said after wards that it was the raucous singing of the Germans that night that re-started the war next morning.