Manchester Evening News

January 8th, 1915: Christmas Day in the Trenches - Newspaper exchanged with the Germans

Private F Morton, a former signalman at Broadfield Station, Heywood, who is now in the 2nd Lancashire Fusiliers, with the British Expeditionary Force, in a letter to Heywood, tells how they spent Christmas Day in the trenches.
"The Germans opposite to us" he writes "were granted permission to leave their trenches to bury their dead which had been lying there a week or two. As soon as we got notice of this you could see our heads slowly rising above the tops of the trenches to see what was going to happen. Of course the same thing was going on 'across the way' as soon as we saw one another the greeting commenced. Eventually one of our men went across and met a German Sergeant Major half way, giving him a copy of an English paper with the account of Scarborough etc for which he received a German paper. The German wished him a 'merry Christmas' in English and asked how he was faring in the trenches. We had no dead to bury on our side I am thankful to say. We finished our day quite friendly with the Germans in fact, standing on top of the trenches shouting to each other till nearly dark. Of course we had the novelty of being able to do this without being fired at and I may say that up to coming out of the trenches last night we reckoned ourselves pretty safe as the Germans did not seem so eager to shoot at us but still we were always on the alert."

Friday, January 8th, 1915: The truce extending. British and Germans sat on edge of Trenches.

Gorton Openshaw and Bradford Reporter, January 2, 1915

NB There was slight damage and poor reproductive quality affecting this column. Christmas Entente. Remarkable Letters from Stalybridge Territorials. Not a Shot Fired. British and Germans Shaking Hands and Chatting. Sang Songs for One Another

Two very remarkable letters have been received in Stalybridge from Territorials describing an almost incredible incident on Christmas Day at the front. Though the efforts for an official armistice failed some of the Britishers were responsible for an unofficial armistice. The scene is graphically described by Private J Higham A Company, 6th Battalion Cheshire Regiment in a letter he has sent to his sister and brother Miss Nellie and Mr Robert Higham of 27 St Paul's-street, Stalybridge. It is dated December 26th and reads as follows:

Just a few lines to let you know how we are faring out here. The weather is very cold and I am still in good health and spirits. We had to go to the trenches on Wednesday night last for 48 hours and we had a most exciting experience which I will relate to you. On the Thursday the Germans didn't part shell us and we expected getting blown away for the shells were bursting all around us. It was a beautiful night on Christmas Eve. It was very moonlight but bitter cold. On Christmas Day it was very quiet. The Germans never fired a shot and we were walking about the trenches. In the afternoon about 3pm ------- --------- (two words struck out by censor) who were on our right started shouting and whistling to the Germans whose trenches were only 400 yards away to come down. Of course we were watching these events with great interest and after about 10 minutes two Germans ventured out and ----- ----- (two words struck out by censor) went to meet them. When they met they shook hands and other Germans (unreadable word) and so we went up to them. I was a bit timid at first but me and a lad called Sterling went up and I'll bet we shook hands with sixteen Germans. They gave us cigars and cigarettes and toffee* and they told us they did not want to fight but they had to. Some could speak English as well as us and some had worked in Manchester. All the Cheshires and Germans were now together by this time and we sang Tipperary for them and they sang a song in German for us. We were with them about an hour and everybody (unreadable word) bursting laughing at this incident and the officers could not make head or tail of it. They then went back to their trenches and we went to ours and there was not a single shot fired that day. They told us that there was a three days conference in Berlin trying to (unreadable word) peace. I can tell you I have had a grand Christmas Day and I'll bet there has not been an incident like it during the great war. We have had a present from the King and Queen and I enclose Princess Mary's photo and a cigarette a German gave me for a souvenir. I hope you have had a great Christmas Day. Things are still the same out here. We have had a nice (unreadable word) of plum pudding and plenty of cigarettes and clothing. I think that is all this time. I am just going for dinner. (A little more text follows but not about the truce.)

Stockport Advertiser: 1st January 1915

How the 6thCheshires spent Christmas Day. A jollification with the Germans. Exchange of food, cigarettes, souvenirs. And a game of football. Interesting story by Sergent-Major Frank Naden

THE most interesting part of Sergeant Naden's story related to the doings on Christmas Eve and Christmas Night. On Christmas Eve as each fireball went up from the German line our men shouted 'Hurrah' and 'Let's Have Another'. They also sang Christians Awake and Christmas hymns. On Christmas Day one of the Germans came out of the trenches and held his hands up. Our fellows immediately got out of their trenches and the Germans got out of their's, and we met in the middle, and for the rest of the day we fraternised, exchange food, cigarettes and souvenirs. The Germans gave us some of their sausages, and we gave them some of our stuff. The Scotsmen started the bagpipes, and we had a rare old jollification, which included football, in which the Germans took part. The Germans expressed themselves as being tired of the war and wished it was over. They greatly admired our equipment and wanted to exchange jack-knives and other articles. Next day we got an order that all communication and friendly intercourse with the enemy must cease, but we did not fire at all that day, and the Germans did not fire at us."

NB: See also the Dublin section

Mr G Blease of 23 Petrograad Road, Stockport, forwards the following extract from a letter from his son, Sig G L Blease who is serving with the 6th Btn Cheshire Regt: On Wednesday, December 23rd we went to the trenches. We had a very wary time with shells and Jack Johnsons. It started to freeze on Christmas Eve and was jolly cold. On Christmas Day when dawn broke it was very foggy so we were able to have a short run on top of the trenches to get us warm. Anyhow the fog lifted and our men as well as the Germans were expected to fire but none fired. Then the Germans started to wave umbrellas and rifles, we answering. They sang and we sang. Then getting bolder, we advanced twards their trenches, they leaving theirs, both parties unarmed. When we met we found they were fairly old fellows. We exchnaged greetings, they gave us sausages, cigars, cigs, sweets and parkin. We all mixed up together and men played mouth organs and tin whistles and danced, and my word the Germans can't just sing. Some of them exchanged addresses and souvenirs were freely exchanged. The time came when we had to part. Shaking hands and shouting, they and we went back to the trenches. No firing was done on Christmas Day making it a peaceful day.

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