The 24th and 25th December 1914, saw the extraordinary spectacle of an unofficial truce between our troops and the Saxons who were opposite. Everything had been normal up to evening ‘Stand down’ and the Company Commander was having his supper in the Headquarters dug-out, when the Company Sergeant-Major put his head in and said ‘What am I to do, Sir? The Germans are sitting on their parapets, lighting candles and singing hymns!’ The Company Commander at once went out and mounting on the fire step saw small lights all along the German trenches and heard many voices uplifted in song.

He decided to consult with the Officer Commanding ‘A’ Company, who was the Senior Officer in the front line, and accordingly started to make his way down the trench towards ‘A’ Company Headquarters. On his way he surprised one of his men in the act of climbing out of the trench and discovered that there was a German soldier in ‘No man’s land,’ who wanted to speak to a British soldier, so ordering his own man back, he slipped out himself to investigate.

The German turned out to be a private soldier who had been a waiter at Brighton, and was anxious to exchange cigars for bully beef. The Company Commander asked to be taken to an Officer, and was conducted to the German front line, where he found a group of German Officers standing by the wall of a ruined farmhouse. Christmas greetings were exchanged and finally the suggestion was made that Christmas Day might be observed as a day of rest and that the Infantry should not fire on each other, though of course, neither side could answer for their Artillery.

It was then agreed that all Infantry fire should cease forthwith and that the informal truce should continue until 12pm on Christmas night.

The German spokesman then asked for permission to bury the dead, with whose frozen corpses ‘No man’s land’ was strewn. Burial parties then went out from both sides, leaving their trenches at 10am on Christmas Day, each side to bury the dead in their own half of ‘No man’s land.’