"Christmas 1914 - a Silent Night." The Christmas Truce Charity Single. HD

This song was recorded for the poppy appeal on the centenary of the start of the First World War. The CD is available from the Stourport-on-Severn branch of the Royal British Legion for a donation of £2.95. It is now also available on E-bay (Music CDs). Please support the Royal British Legion. The Christmas Truce....... “Christmas 1914 – A Silent Night” is not a Christmas song. It is a song ABOUT Christmas, a very special Christmas, and so can be sung or played any time of year. When Britain declared war on Germany on 4th. August 1914, there were thousands of volunteers. Many believed the war would be over by Christmas. How wrong they were. Yet, something strange, almost magical, happened late on Christmas Eve and into Christmas Day, 1914. The guns fell silent. The Germans lit lanterns and shouted:- “Merry Christmas, Tommy.” The British replied:- “Merry Christmas, Fritz.” A German started singing “Silent Night” in German, its original language. Other Germans joined in the singing. The British then sang “Good King Wenceslas.” The Germans climbed out of their trenches, and then the British. The two opposing sides met in No Man’s Land. They exchanged gifts, photographs, cigarettes, food and wine. They even played football. The Germans won 3-2, apparently. So, no change there, then? They also took the opportunity to bury their dead. As Christmas Day faded away, the British and Germans returned to their trenches. The next morning, the killing started again. The Christmas Truce happened again in 1915, but on a much smaller scale. The British “Top Brass” got wind of what happened and put a stop to it. “We don’t fraternize with the ‘Hun” was the apparent quote. The song “Christmas 1914 – A Silent Night” is a soldier’s story of his time in the trenches during the Christmas Truce.