The Leicester Daily Post and Leicester Daily Mercury

Saturday, January 1st, 1915: Leicester Man's Christmas with the Germans - An Unofficial Armistice

Private F Cooper, of the Leicestershire Regiment, writing to his parents in Leicester gives an account of an incident in the trenches at Christmas. He says: On Christmas even the distance between our trenches and the German trenches was 200 yards. The enemy had lighted up their trenches with Christmas lanterns, and both sides were singing carols. "One of our fellows" he proceeds "shouted to them, ' Why the - don't you take a tip, and chuck it' and they shouted back, ' Come over to see us'. Presently both sides were out of their trenches, shaking hands and exchanged tobacco for cigarettes and chocolate. Four of us went over and were met by six Germans, in front of their trenches. They gave us cigarettes, and buttons off their jackets as souvenirs. There was not a shot fired from 6.30pm on the 24th till midnight on the 25th. This was not an official armistice, but an understanding between the two parties concerned...On our right and left our guns were playing - with the enemy. The Germans who met us were mere schoolboys. To tell you the truth, I would have a scrap with six of the b...Their officers told them the war will be over in three weeks; in fact they wished the whole show was over."
Private Cooper adds: "These fellows are not to be trusted, and we think there is something behind this supposed friendship... The trenches are in a bad state; water up to the waist. I am in the best of health."

Tuesday, January 5th 1915: Wounded arrive in Leicester

14th January 1915: Campaigning in the mud

19th January 1915: More Bridge-road boys' letters

From a Corporal in 1st Leicester Regiment. Dear Mr Baddeley, Since my last letter we have had a good spell in the trenches - 22 days of it - rain every day almost and knee deep in mud and water. Christmas Day was quite seasonable, however, and it was quite clear and frosty. Our troops and the enemy in front - a Saxon regiment - met on friendly terms and spent part of the day burying the dead. Many of the Saxons said they were sick of the war, and longed for its end. I am sending you a parcel of curios and mementos of the war, which will interest you."
Note from transcriber, Alan Cleaver: Bridge-road boys refers to boys who went to a school in Bridge Road, Leicester. Mr Baddeley is the headmaster.

27th January 1915: A Leicester Soldier and the Truce in the Trenches

Private J Lowe of D Compay, 1st Leicestershire Regiment with the 6th Division British Expeditionary Force, writing to friends in Leicester refers to the truce observed in the trenches on both Christmas Day and New Year's Day. He says: "The Germans were quite friends with us on those two days. They left their trenches and came over to our officers and shook hands with them as they came along the railway line, but we did not allow them in our trenches...It seemed a shame to start fighting them again after their give us cigars and cigarettes." The letter was written under date January 12th, and Private Lowe mentioned they were then in billets but were expecting to return to the trenches at the end of the week. The trenches he added were "up to the knees in mud and water."

27th January 1915: A Leicester's letter.

“When I left the trenches on the night of January 2nd there was anything from two to five feet of water and mud. I was very glad to get out of them for a rest, though I was very sorry for the poor fellows who had to take our places. But the trench has got to be held if we have to stand up to our neck in water, and things must be just as hard for the Germans. If they can put up with it I am sure and English soldier can. We will never let them beat us at anything now we are on more equal terms. In the early stages of the war they out-numbered us by ten to one, but we have more troops out we are about equal. We have had a stay of 21 days in the trenches this time, rather a long time considering the weather. . . .

The following are extracts from a letter of a Leicestershire soldier at the front dated January 2nd.
"We had a rather sad occurrence on Christmas Day. Directly in front of our regiment there were one or two German regiments. On our right was a regiment of Prussian Guards and on our left a Saxon Regiment. On Christmas morning some of our fellows shouted across to them saying that if they would not fire our chaps would meet them halfway between the trenches and spend Christmas Day as friends. They consented to do so. Our chaps at once went out and when in the open the Prussians fired on them, killing two and wounding many more. The Saxons, who behaved like gentlemen, threatened the Prussians if they did the same trick again.Well during Christmas Day our fellows and the Saxons fixed up a table between the two trenches and they spent a happy time together and exchanged souvenirs and presented one another with little keepsakes. They said they would not fire on us as they considered us all English gentlemen and all the while we were opposed to one another they never bothered us at all. They said they did not want war and thought the Kaiser quite in the wrong. They were continually falling out with the Prussians. They are the people who are the cause of the war and hate the English very much indeed. I hope this war will not last long, but our chaps have behaved splendidly all through, and although they have suffered terrible hardships they have always worn a smile.”

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