The Retford Times

29th January 1915: Fraternising at Xmas In The Trenches: The following is from a young Worksop lad, Wilfred Haywood, who joined the army as a drummer boy and has returned from France and is in hospital at Sherbourne, Dorset: I will tell you some of my experiences with the Germans. Our trenches were only seventy yards apart. They used to shout out to us: "Good old Tommy Atkins. Who is going to win the cup this year? Is Pompey?" We used to shout over "Yes, Aliman" That is what the French call them. Some of the Germans used to get up trees and shoot at us. They call them snipers. One day I saw one up a tree. He had just shot one of our chaps so I crawled up behind this tree and shot at him. He came down that tree just like a bundle or rags so I lit up a fag and walked off. I killed him all right so he won't shoot none of us any more. On Christmas Day we had peace for seven hours. We went half-way and they came half-way, and they gave cigars and two bottles of whisky, and they told us they were fed up and they would be in London on New Year's Day. We had our photos taken with the Germans and some came over and surrendered. We have lost a lot of men and it was awful to see your own chaps shot down dead. I could talk for hours of the sights I have seen and it would make you cry - little children and their mothers shot down dead.
Submitted by Robert Ilett.

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