2018 Battlefield Tour post 24
2018 France/Belgium Trip Post No. 24.
From the Lestrem massacre site, we headed up to Flanders in Belgium.
Our last visit of day three was to the Christmas Truce site at Saint Yvon, just north of Ploegsteert in Belgium. Again the troops had trouble with pronunciation and nicknamed the town 'Plugstreet'.
The 'Christmas Truce' was a series of widespread but unofficial ceasefires along the Western Front around Christmas 1914.
In the week leading up to the 25th December the artillery in the region fell silent., the Germans placed candles on their trenches and on Christmas trees, then continued the celebration by singing Christmas carols. The British responded by singing carols of their own. The two sides continued by shouting Christmas greetings to each other. Soon thereafter, there were excursions across No Man's Land, where small gifts were exchanged, such as food, tobacco and alcohol, and souvenirs such as buttons and hats.
The truce also allowed a breathing spell where POW's were swapped and bodies could be brought back behind their lines by burial parties. Joint religious services were held.
Football matches were arranged in No Mans Land, a German soldier wrote home to his mother telling her that they had beaten the 'Tommies' 3-2 at football (on penalties no doubt).
In many sectors, the truce lasted through Christmas night, continuing until New Year's Day in others.
The attitude of the troops at the time was 'live and let live' but the fraternisation with the enemy was frowned upon and after Christmas 1914 the High Commands on both sides prevented any further truces.
The site is dominated by the football aspect of the truce. EUFA have sponsored a memorial consisting of a cannon mounted with a football.
Behind it is a reconstructed trench and bunker.
Two hundred yards further up the track in front of No Mans Land is a memorial Cross, erected in 1999 by the Khaki Chums to commemorate 85 years since the truce.
Nearby is the CWGC Ploegsteert Wood Cemetery which contains 163 burials, 116 from the UK, 28 Canadians, 18 New Zealanders and one Australian.....RIP
