Strong wind & showery morning, plenty of gunning. Heavy showers towards night. We spend a fairly happy Xmas in the dug out, plenty to eat, Adjt. gives us a box of cigars, very strong. Nothing of importance happened except that the Padre brought us a drop of whisky at night.

Unofficial truce kept up & our fellows intermingled still with the Germans. No rifle shots fired but our Artillery fired a few rounds on the Germans 3^rd & 4^th lines & Germans retaliated with few rounds on D Coys [company’s] trenches. 2 wounded.

Diary entries from December 23-25 1914

Christmas Day. Not one shot was fired. English & German soldiers intermingled & exchanged Souvenirs. Germans very eager to exchange almost anything for our “Bully Beef” & Jam. Majority of them knew French fluently. Continue reading →

Quiet day. Relieved 2^nd R DUB FUS [Royal Dublin Fusiliers] in the trenches in the evening.

Germans shout over to us & ask us to play them at football, & also not to fire & they would do likewise. At 2 a.m. (25^th) A German Band went along the trenches playing “Home, sweet Home” & God Save the King which sounded grand and made everyone think of Home. Continue reading →