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Christmas Truce Centenary for 1914...

CHRISTMAS 2014 will see the centenary of the 1914 truce. That's 18 months away but I'm aware preparations are already being made for this landmark event. I'll be shortly launching a page on this site devoted to centenary events (in the meantime, keep an eye on my blog). Feel free to email me details of your events so I can share them with everyone else. My email is alanjcleaver@gmail.com.

New Truce musical work

I'M delighted to report that a new musical work about the Christmas Truce has been composed.
The Christmas Truce is written by Paul Ayres to accompany the words of the poem by Carol Ann Duffy. The premiere takes place at the Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel, Hampstead, London on Saturday, November 9th 2013. The concert will be given by the Queldryk Ensemble, the London College of Music Chamber Choir and conducted by the composer, Paul Ayres. Tickets are £15 in aid of the Halo Trust. For tickets phone 07583 519502. Good luck to all involved.

Read some of the letters

THE main purpose of this website is to serve as an archive for many of the letters written by soldiers who experienced the truce first-hand. The letters are out of copyright and you may use the material as you wish. Start reading the letters...

MASTHEAD PICTURE courtesy of The Salient Remembrance Detachment.

 

 
 
 
 

truce cover

YOU can buy a copy of our book, Not A Shot Was Fired, which includes many of the letters discovered by our volunteers. Just click on the cover of the book above. Please note: The link takes you to the Lulu online shop - if the currency is not correct for your country, simply change the 'flag' at the top of the Lulu page.

Welcome

THE Christmas Truce continues to inspire and intrigue those who hear about the meeting of opposing troops in 1914 for an informal truce involving the singing of carols and exchange of gifts. On this site you'll find many letters written by soldiers who took part in the truce. The letters have been transcribed by our volunteers. Read this overview of the truce for an introduction to the subject.

ABOUT THIS SITE

Operation Plum Puddings aims to collate the many letters printed in UK regional papers from soldiers who took part in the Christmas Truce of 1914. These letters provide a unique first-hand account of the truce and we feel they should be collated and preserved for future generations. About 80 letters from 100 newspapers have been transcribed so far. Why not join us and play your part in this exciting and valuable project?

Editors: Alan Cleaver
and Lesley Park