5th February 2008: Thanks to the internet community I have identified the song Sailor Beware (see Feb 3 entry) as Asleep in the Deep - which included the line, "Sailor take care, Sailor beware".

4th February 2008: I have put together an article giving an overview of the truce to satisfy many general and media inquiries. It also strikes me that a version of this may satisfy the needs of Wikipedia or other similar websites.

3rd February 2008: I have just returned from the city archives at Stoke on Trent where I was trying to trace the identity of the 'Private Heath Letter'. You can read more on the separate Heath blog. I also transcribed a few more letters from The Staffordshire Sentinel including one which included the line: "One of our fellows went across to the German trenches dressed in women's clothes."! One has to ask why a private on the Western Front just happened to have a set of women's clothes with him! The letters also revealed a couple more songs sung during the truce. One was called Sailor Beware is proving elusive - if anyone knows about this song drop me a line. I think it was a German opera song although the letter says it was sung in its English translation.

5 JANUARY 2008: I don't have many more details, but it seems there was a reconstruction of the famous truce and football match staged during Christmas 2007. Some fine photos were sent to me by Philippe Courrier and he said it took place in December at Ploegsteert but apart from that I have no more details. Can anyone send me any more information? Email: info@christmastruce.co.uk

4 JANUARY 2008: There is much dispute and discussion about whether a football match actually took place between the Germans and Allies during the truce - and if so what was the score. I thought I would collate all the evidence in one article - if you can add any more, let me know.

ALL IS CALM: Exciting news! Erick Lichte, artistic director of the Cantus singers of Minneapolis, email me about a project they are involved with. The world premiere of All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 by Peter Rothstein. Not surprisingly all tickets are sold out by don't worry, you can listen online at Minnesota Public Radio. Go to www.minnesotapublicradio.org.  Click on the listen button at the Classical section at the top of the page. The world premiere will be heard around the world on Friday, December 21 at 10:30am (GMT -6)  There will also be a rebroadcast Christmas morning. This sounds a fantastic project with narration taken from soldiers' journals and 26 songs by the Cantus singers.

JOHN MCCUTCHEON BOOK: Not sure how I missed this but there's a delightful children's book, Christmas in the Trenches by John McCutcheon (illustrated by Henri Sorenson) now available. John is of course the well-known folk singer who also wrote a song about the 1914 truce.

AMERICAN CONNECTION: An American has emailed expressing a wish to take part in Operation Plum Puddings - but not sure how to go about it as she's in America! It can be hard enough finding and transcribing these letters in England so I'm not sure how to suggest she continues. Anyone else any ideas? Obviously any American reports of the truce would be useful and I've also pointed her in the direction of the similar truces that almost broke out during the American civil war.

CINCINNATI PLAYWRIGHT : The Christmas Truce took part along the France/Belgium war front but it continues to reverberate around the world. A week or so ago I had an email from a student in Hawaii doing a school project on the Truce. And this week I learn about Cincinnati playwright Phil Paradise launching his play, Soldier's Christmas about the truce. You'll find more details on Cinnati.com. Good luck Phil!

COOPE, BOYES & SIMPSON: Lesley and I have just returned from Bridlington where we saw the folk trio Coope, Boyes and Simpson in concert. This trio have produced a CD in the past based upon the Christmas Truce and are known for singing acapella songs connected with the war and Christmas. Folk singing is not everyone's cup of tea but to hear this trio sing acapella is fantastic. Catch them if they come near you! Now we have a lengthy list of songs sung by soldiers during the truce perhaps they will produce Christmas Truce II.

FAMILY LINKS: Jon-Paul Carr, Chairman of Irchester Parish Historical Society, sent me a fascintaing email. He writes: " My Great- Grandfather, William Coles (1885-1977) of Wellingborough, Northamptonshire was a reservist with 2nd Battalion, The Leicestershire Regiment and was called up for service during the First World War. He was somewhere (I haven't done the research as yet) in France when the Christmas Truce occured on Christmas Day. I have at home a copy of a letter which he wrote to his wife which appears in the local Wellingborough News which I shall email to you in due course if you are interested. Likewise I also have a report of this Christmas Truce from a National Newpaper which recorded his memories during the 1960s. I believe this tape recording was then deposited with the Imperial War Museum.
I also have the Wellingborough News for 1914-1915 and will certainly have a look for any letters home for the Christmas of 1914 for you. Finally I read with interest the newspaper article from Northamptonshire Daily Echo for Pte. J.W. Moulton. His parents lived a few doors away from my Grandfather at 38 Farndish Road, Irchester. He was the son of William Moulton who served in the Zulu War. John was one of three brothers and three sisters. One brother, called Frank was killed in the war in 1917. Another sister died quite young. Also another sister I believe she was called Clara married a Thomas Jones of Liverpool. This Thomas Jones served on the Titanic and survived the disaster. He saved the Countess of Rothes and was presented with an inscribed pocket watch which sold a few years ago for £40,000. I hope these tibits interest you." They certainly do!

PROPER PROPAGANDA: Atiya Kalim is a third year student at Durham University and Atiya's dissertation will compare and contrast the use of propaganda on soldiers before and after the Christmas Truce of 1914 to try to establish what impact this historic event had on propaganda. If you know of any research that will help Atiya email: a.m.a.kalim@durham.ac.uk.

AN AMERICAN CHRISTMAS: Caroline Kennedy has included a report on the Christmas Truce in her new book, A Family Christmas. She has used a report from The Times - what a pity she did't check our website and see some of the more remarkable first hand accounts such as The Heath letter!

CALLING CHORAL SOCIETIES: If you're looking for an unusual Christmas concert then why not stage one based on the Christmas truce. Our researches have enabled us to list the songs definitely sung during the truce and I've drawn up a suggested concert interspersed with extracts from the letters. Do let us know if you are going to stage such a concert and we'll advertise it free on this site.

A CHRISTMAS GIFT: Looking for that perfect gift to slip inside your Christmas cards this year? Then download and print-off the remarkable Private Heath letter. You'll recall that volunteer Marian Robson found this astonishing letter in the archives of The North Mail. We have set it up on a PDF so you can download it, print it off and include it in your Christmas cards this year. Print the odd pages first then turn them over and print the even pages. Then trim and fold into a booklet.

SITE UPDATED WITH NEWCASTLE LETTERS: The good work of volunteer Marian Robson means that there are many letters from the North-East newspapers now going online. They are in the Newcastle section and include much vital information. There's even a reference to playing football with the Germans ("The Scotsmen started the bagpipes and we had a rare old jollification, which included football in which the Germans took part").

NEW MUSICAL WORK: Word has reached us via the internet of a new musical work based on the Christmas Truce. All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 was written by Peter Rothstein and its world premiere takes place on December 21 at the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis, USA. But we don't know much more than that so if anyone knows any more about the composer or the work do let us know! The internet simply adds: "The Western Front, Christmas Eve, 1914. Out of the violence comes a silence, then a song.
A young German soldier steps into No Man’s Land singing Stille Nacht. Thus begins an extraordinary night of camaraderie, of music, of peace. Based on a remarkable true story, featuring the highly-acclaimed vocal ensemble Cantus ". Whatever the story behind the work, we wish all involved the very best.

TRUCE INSPIRE'S CHILDREN'S NOVEL: Canadian author Geoff Butler has been inspired by the 1914 truce to write a modern children's story. How A Snowflake Helps Put An End To War tells how a grandmother crochets a snowflake which she brings to life with a kiss. Sounds delightful! More details at Novanewsnow.com

ENEMIES CALL TRUCE TO WATCH CRICKET: We're often asked if such an event as the Christmas Truce could ever happen again - well it just has! Tamil Tigers and Sri Lankan government forces called a truce so they could watch Sri Lanka in the World Cup cricket. And the good news for them was that Sri Lanka won to go through to the final. Sadly, fighting started again after the match finished but it showed that even today a common love of sport can bring peace. And no doubt there will be another truce for the final on April 28.

EXCURSION TO SCOTLAND: Lesley and I have combined a holiday in Edinburgh with a chance to transcribe Scottish letters. The National Library of Scotland was not the most user-friendly archive we've ever visited but we managed to source many more letters from Scottish papers. They will appear on the site shortly.

THE MOST AMAZING LETTER YET? Volunteers have transcribed dozens of letters but Private Heath's account is remarkable. It was found and transcribed by Marian Robson. The letter describes the truce from start to finish and is beautifully written. Sadly we know nothing else about Private Heath. I've asked any publisher using this letter to give due credit to Marian who has worked tirelessly on this project for many weeks, transcribing by hand dozens of letters. Her diligent work has certainly paid off with the finding of this letter. We now want to find out more about Private Heath and have started a 'Saving Private Heath' project - see separate blog.

NEW ACCOUNTS TRANSCRIBED: Our thanks to Gordon Platoon History Society for the latest contributions. They have covered the January 1915 newspapers found in the Colchester archive; The Essex County Standard, The Essex Chronicle and The Essex County Telegraph. The transcriptions will appear on this site soon.

To contact Alan or Lesley, send an email to info@christmastruce.co.uk.