A Fourth Christmas at War

Wednesday 26th December 1917

Very few, one suspects, thought during the now famous Christmas Truce on the Western Front during our first Christmas at war that we would still be at war four years later. In those, now very distant days the army in France and Flanders had about 150,000 men. Today it is reckoned that there are over two million, a thirteen-fold increase. The Bedfordshire Regiment had two battalions at the front then - four more have joined them since and a fifth is fighting in Palestine. Where will we be next Christmas?

Christmas 1917 Round-Up

Tuesday 25th December 1917

Having received telegrams and calls on the blower your correspondent has put together a list of what each of these seven battalions has been doing this Christmas Day:

• 1st Battalion is in Italy at a place called Camposampierro about two miles north of San Giorgio delle Pertiche. There were church services for all denominations this morning, followed by a cross-country relay race. Gifts from the Bedfords Comforts Fund  were distributed this afternoon. There were also two concert performances by the Bedford Boys - two companies attending each.
• 2nd Battalion is a Forrestor Camp near Ypres and intends celebrating Christmas tomorrow.
• 4th Battalion is in the front line tenches near Villers-Plouich on the Cambrai battlefield.
• 1st/5th Battalion are still at Yafa Hill north of Jaffa, which they took on 22nd, before the rest of the division moved north to Arsouf. Yesterday turkeys were delivered to the battalion by rail, occasioning a fair number of jokes about cooking either turkey or Turk for Christmas. On Christmas Day, the adjutant wired yesterday, there will be no work and hopefully no rain.
• 6th Battalion is at Curragh Camp near Locre in Belgium.
• 7th Battalion is having its Christmas holidays at Claude Chappe Camp at Roesbrugge-Haringe north of Poperinge. It has maintained its enviable record of never being in the trenches on Christmas Day. The adjutant told me on the blower that no parades were held. Christmas dinners were held by Companies separately from 12 noon to 4 p.m. and each man received a quart of English beer. Turkeys were obtained from Paris. There were also hams, nuts and sweets provided. Not surprisingly “dinners were generally considered a great success”. The Brigade commander General Sadleir Jackson went round the Brigade to see the Battalions at their Christmas dinners, and met with a great reception by the Bedfords. A draft of 75 other ranks arrived at 11.45 a.m. and they were greatly surprised at having Christmas dinner provided for them! They are chiefly men from 19 to 25 years of age, and largely from the Sussex area. The officers are holding a dinner in Roesbrugge-Haringe as I write this, alone in a barn outside Montreuil-sur-Mer.
• 8th Battalion is in camp at Courcelles-le-Comte  where Christmas Day was brought in by the band blowing the Long Reveille on bugles. During the morning arrangements were carried out which enabled the battalion to have a splendid Christmas dinner which was enjoyed very much by all ranks. During the afternoon a football match was played between officers and sergeants and after a very enjoyable and hard game the sergeants proved the winners by five goals to four.

Sources: X550/2/5; X550/3/wd; X550/5/3; X550/6/8; X550/7/1; X550/8/1; X550/9/1

Christmas Concert

Thursday 28th December 1916: From our Correspondent in the Field

Captain Bridcutt informs us that the 7th Battalion has had another jolly day at Béthune. They have been attending a concert in a large barn used as a recreation room this afternoon following their training this morning.

Source: X550/8/1

Christmas in Egypt

Tuesday 26th December 1916: From our Correspondent in the Field

The 1st/5th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment are in Egypt. Your correspondent received a wire today that they has a whole day’s holiday yesterday as well as sports finals. Apparently it looked very black all afternoon and a few spots of rain fell about 5.30 and by 5.50 heavy rain was falling. Rain continued to fall heavily at intervals during night. This is as close as the Sinai gets to snow at Christmas and was very surprising.

Source: X550/6/8

Christmas Day in the Brickstacks

Monday 25th December 1916: From our Correspondent in the Field

Today is the third Christmas of this war. During the course of the day’s festivities your correspondent has heard from four of our battalions. The 1st Battalion adjutant rang me on the “blower” this evening telling me: “Christmas Day in The Brickstacks! Conditions have by no means improved, in spite of constant work when possible. The Christmas bombardment continued. Some parts of the trenches were blown in by Minnies(1). Otherwise no damage has been taken. Arrangements have been made for reliefs of the men in the Saps as far as possible as well as the Lewis gunners. Major Moyse, lucky man, has proceeded on leave, Captain Halford assuming the duties of Second-in-Command”.

The 2nd Battalion is in billets at Humbercamps. The adjutant told me that they had a good Christmas Dinner and gifts were received for the Battalion from "The Women of Bedfordshire Comfort Fund", Colonel H W U Coates DSO and "The Liverpool City Battalions Comfort Fund”. Christmas puddings were received from “The Daily Telegraph and Daily News Christmas Pudding Fund”. During the afternoon the Officers played the Sergeants at football, the sergeants winning 2-1.

The 7th Battalion is at Domvast, behind the lines north-east of Abbeville. Christmas Day has been spent, according to Captain Bridcutt: “in real Christmas form. Presents of pudding, fruit, nuts, cigarettes etc. have been received from Sir Frederick Price, and Lady Price (parents of Lieutenant-Colonel G D Price, the battalion’s former commanding officer), Colonel and Mrs.Hudson and Mrs.Heneker, wife of the late Brigadier, 54th Brigade. The men were supplied with a good Christmas dinner, a quart of beer per man and so on, which was followed by entertainment. The officers dined together in one billet. Each Company had their dinner separately. A most enjoyable day was spent by every one in the battalion. The Commanding Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel G P Mills visited each mess and the health of all was toasted”.

There was a voluntary communion service for the 8th Battalion, which is at Béthune. The battalion had a splendid Christmas dinner owing to the kindness of the Bedford Comfort Fund.

Sources: X550/2/5; X550/3/wd; X550/8/1; X550/9/1

(1) Minenwerfers – short-ranged German mortars, evidently replying to the Christmas Bombardment.

Officer’s Life in a German Prison Camp

Sunday 23rd January 1916: Captain Wagstaff of the 1st Bedfordshire Regiment, who is a prisoner in Germany, has written to his relatives in Leighton Buzzard: “Our Christmas here was so different to last year, when we had no parcels and precious little of anything else. A friend sent me two little Christmas trees and we had them on Christmas Eve for all the British; there were toys for them, tops and whistles, and we had such fun. We began with hot punch as we were allowed special “wine” for the day and that was the best way to drink it. Then the tree was all lit up with candles, and then we made a snapdragon with raisins, and we finished with bobbing for apples in a tub of water, Colonel and everyone. It helped us so much. Then we sat round the tree and talked about you all and wondered what you were doing. We had our big meal on Christmas evening, a selection of all the best things anyone had in their parcels; we secured a white tablecloth and some serviettes for the occasion and the centre was occupied by a large jam pot (concealed), full of artificial carnations on a table centre. It took four people an hour before we found out how to fold the serviettes. It was too amusing to see them at it. The table really looked human again, until the crash came, when the old cutlery came out, black handled three-pronged forks and knives to match, a large and small lead spoon each and a soup plate and one other. But we overlooked that and I can’t thank you enough for the good things we had. We managed to get a ten pound turkey through the canteen, cooked in the kitchen by the “chef” of the biggest hotel in Bordeaux: the chestnut stuffing we made ourselves in the room from a recipe in Pears’ Encyclopaedia, rather changed, the rest of the meal was all from parcels. Each of us had a menu with our regimental colours on it. I don’t know how we should have got through the day without this to think of and arrange”.

Source: Bedfordshire Standard 11th February 1916

Another Unhappy Christmas

Tuesday 28th December 1915: Lance Corporal H Steele tells us: “Christmas night in the trenches. I, being a Bedfordshire man, would like to ask a favour through The Times and Independent. We have been in the trenches four days up to our ankles in mud and water, in places much deeper. Just to tell you our Christmas dinner. We sat in the trenches very close to the Huns and ate eight small tins of bully beef and one loaf of bread between nineteen British fighting soldiers. I just wonder what Fritz had for his dinner. Of course we were being fired at and shelled at the same time – that was our pepper and salt. Some of our men are worse off than that so we are very fortunate. We have the same dinner for Boxing Day and the weather is our Champagne and this is the second Christmas some of us have had in the trenches. I will be glad when I see my good old native village of Wootton; the lads of Wootton are doing their bit. I myself have been right through the lot. Unfortunately I have but four pals left that were called up when I was – August 4th, 1914. We will stick to it until we reach a glorious and victorious end for the sake of Noble and Glorious King, Queen and country. I must say that the 1st Beds have also done some of the finest work out here, and many a Bedfordshire lad has given his life for dear old England”.

Source: Bedfordshire Times 7th January 1915

Unhappy Christmas

Monday 27th December 1915: A private in the 7th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, spoke to us today: “As you know if you have studied the career of this Regiment [sic – Battalion] it is one of the smartest regiments in the Bedfordshires or, I might say, in Lord Kitchener’s Army. We are in a division second to none – the 18th(1) – yet when the Battalion leaves England on active service it appears to have passed out of memory of Bedfordshire people. Take for instance this Christmas. Other regiments of this Division have had some good times for Christmas, but the 7th Bedfords have not been allowed to enter a canteen. In fact they do not own such a place. Why is it? Don’t we deserve it? Surely we have done our bit and hope to do it again. I am a Bedfordshire man myself and I have one of your papers sent out weekly. I think the people at home ought to wake up and realise the position we are in at present. Surely we deserve a little comfort”(2)

Source: Bedfordshire Times 7th January 1916

(1) 18th (Eastern) Division quickly came to be seen as an élite formation, particularly after its performance in the Battle of the Somme.

(2) The Battalion war diary for Christmas day simply says: “Football Tournament. 4.30pm Christmas Dinner”.

Rain at Christmas

Sunday 26th December 1915: We have heard how two of the battalions of the Bedfordshire Regiment spent their Christmas. The 1st/5th Battalion, in camp at Sidi Bishr, a suburb of Alexandria, are closest to the place of the Nativity. Their Church Parade was cancelled owing to rain. It may surprise us to hear of rain in Egypt but we understand that around two inches falls in Alexandria in December, it is the regions further south where rain is practically unknown – in Luxor, for example, where the famous Valley of the Kings lies they experience less than one tenth of an inch in the average year! The Yellow Devils, however, rain or no rain, enjoyed their Christmas dinners to which every man was invited, even if on detachment away from the camp.

The 2nd Battalion, in billets at Ribeaucourt, west of Doullens in the Somme country, enjoyed a football match in the afternoon in which the officers beat the sergeants 9 goals to 1! Nowhere have we heard of incidents of fraternisation with the enemy such as occurred last Christmas. Perhaps the Germans’ use of such horrific weapons as liquid fire and poisoned gas have put them beyond the usages of civilization. Perhaps too much blood has flowed on both sides and, no doubt, the top brass will have been keen to prevent any repeat.

Sources: X550/3/wd; X550/6/8

Christmas Greetings from the King

Saturday 25th December 1915: This Christmas Day His Majesty the King has sent the following message to his armed forces wherever they may be: “Another Christmas finds all the resources of the Empire still engaged in War and I desire to convey on my own behalf and on behalf of the Queen a heartfelt Christmas greeting and our good wishes for the New Year to all who on Sea and Land are upholding the honour of the British name. In the officers and men of my Navy, on whom the security of the Empire depends, I repose in, common with all my subjects, a trust that is absolute. On the Officers and men of my Armies whether now in France, in the East or in other fields, I rely with an equal faith, confident that their devotion, their valour and their self-sacrifice will, under God's guidance lead to Victory and an honourable Peace. There are many of their comrades now, alas, in hospital and to these brave men, also I desire with the Queen, to express our deep gratitude and our current prayers for their recovery”.

“Officers and men of the Navy and Army another year is drawing to a close, as it began, in toil, bloodshed and suffering but I rejoice to know that the goal to which you are striving draws nearer to sight.May God Bless You and all your Undertakings".

Sir Douglas Haig has sent the following reply on behalf of the British Expeditionary Force in France and Belgium: “The Army in France under my Command desires to be allowed to express its warmest thanks to Your Majesty and to Her Majesty the Queen for the gracious message received. On behalf of the troops I respectively beg Your Majesties to accept the most heartfelt good wishes of all ranks for Xmas and the New Year and an expression of their firm and lasting determination to prove themselves worthy of the great trust which Your Majesty reposes in us”.

The 2nd Bedfords are now part of 30th Division. Many of the units from Manchester and Merseyside were raised with the assistance of the Earl of Derby(1) and the division bears his crest as its divisional identification symbol. It is thus only natural that the divisional commander Major General Fry should have sent him a telegram wishing him season’s best, to which he replied thus: “Many thanks for Kind telegram. Very heartily reciprocate. Good Wishes. Trust 30th Division will find Xmas at Home next year. I wish all ranks A Happy New Year".

Source: X550/3/wd

(1) Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby would be Secretary of State for War from, December 1916 to April 1918 and Ambassador to France from April 1918 to 1920. In October 1915 as Director General of Recruiting he introduced the Derby Scheme in order to stave off conscription but it did not raise the necessary number of men and conscription was introduced in March 1916.

Christmas is Coming

Friday 24th December 1915: As the second Christmas of this war approaches there seems to be no letting up in the killing. We have heard this morning from the adjutant of the 7th Battalion who are still near Fricourt on the Somme.

During yesterday afternoon Battalion snipers shot two men, this making five men shot at the same point in the last few days. One can only conclude that whatever work is being carried on there appears to be important. At 2.15pm the fired three of a new type of ball bomb from the West Gun to which enemy replied with rifle grenades.

The Bedfordshire Yeomanry intend having a very good Christmas. A member of Number 4 Troop told us the programme for a concert they are preparing for tomorrow night: “Under Royal Patronage, No 4 Troop, Saturday December 25th, 1915, for one night only. Starring Engagement of Sporty’s Orchestra and Concert Company under the able baton of Sporty himself. President, Sergeant Sale, Hinxworth; Vice-President Boko White. Artistes: Spirella Joe, the Canary from Highover; Chater (alias Tubby) the Mouth Organ Fiend; Ingums, the Man of Words, not Deeds; Bombagee, who will rattle his bones; Thameo, the Violin Comb Merchant; Marrashell, the Shoeing Smith, who will play the ‘cello comb; Gunpowder, Eccentric Comedian; Jerra, if not on guard, will sing songs of his own composing; the Woburn Trooper in sensational descriptions of Advance Guards and last, but not least, Jinky Jenks, the Man of Snores, who will pay £50 to any person if he or she can excel him in the noble art”.

“Owing to leave we are unable to star Robin, the bird with the voice of a gramophone”.

“Price of Admission: first two beds 5/-; near Beds 2/6, standing 6d. Seats may be booked and plan of room seen at the Stotfold Pork Butcher’s. Doors open 7.30; commence at 8. During the performance Bulmer will have a “luke” round”.

“Notice - The Management reserve the right of admission. No seats guaranteed, only by booking. Commissioned Officers are requested to come in dress uniform. Persons misbehaving themselves will be instantly expelled. Come in thousands! Nothing to suggest vulgarity!”(1)

Source: X550/8/1

(1) Much of the humour, of course is very dated and relies on references to in-jokes. The report has been edited as it contains some casual racism, something else which dates the piece.

3rd Bedfords' Christmas

Ampthill Park Camp [Z1306/1/34/2]

Sunday 27th December 1914: Christmas with the 3rd Bedfords was a memorable occasion. After breakfast every man received a present from Lady Ampthill(1) suitably inscribed. The diet for the day was on a liberal Christmas scale and after tea the Duke of Bedford's new recreation hut was opened(2). The hut has been built to replace the Duke's recreation tents. It is 115 feet long and 35 feet wide; corrugated iron outside, match-boarding inside and fitted up with every regard for comfort. At the bar refreshments can be purchased from 6.30am to 8.30pm. In connexion with the Post Office there is a Savings Bank, with five per cent interest on all money deposited for over a month. Since the end of November, when the bank was started, £160 has been deposited. The opening ceremony was conducted by Lord Ampthill and an excellent concert followed.

Source: Bedfordshire Times 8th January 1915

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(1) The commanding officer's wife

(2) The duke was Lord Ampthill's cousin.

1st/5th Bedfords' Christmas and War Returns to Wulvergem

Saint Edmundsbury Cathedral

Saturday 26th December 1914: the 1st/5th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, is currently stationed at Bury Saint Edmunds [Suffolk]. It is stationed at the ice rink in the town, a spacious building which admirably served the purpose of a dining hall. A special church parade was held in the morning when the Battalion paraded with the bans and marched to the Saint James' Cathedral Church[1] where a special military service was held. With the one exception of this parade the men were given leave for the entire day, and at one o'clock Christmas dinner was served. The menu consisted of roast turkey, sausages, potatoes, greens, plum-pudding etc. The usual Christmas desert was also provided, as well as beer and mineral waters. The welfare of the men was well attended to by the mayor (Alderman Owen A Clark), the mayoress and the Brigadier-General C de Winton, Colonel F N Butler and a large company of officers[2]. The Mayor congratulated the men on their good behaviour during their stay in Bury Saint Edmunds.

All the arrangements were carried out under the direction of the Quartermaster (Lieutenant Kiddle). Gifts of cigarettes and tobacco were distributed, a large number of those being given by the inhabitants of the town. The band, under the able conductorship of Bandmaster Goodyer, gave a selection of patriotic airs. The afternoon was spent in general jollification and in the evening the Battalion spent an enjoyable time at the Royal Colisseum where a special concert was given, the arrangements having been made by the management and the Quartermaster. The day, which is sure to be remembered with pleasure for years to come by all now serving in the Battalion, closed with the singing of the National Anthem and cheers for the Mayor of Bury Saint Edmunds. There will also be special celebrations on New Years Day.

The adjutant of the 1st Battalion tells us that some of the Germans in the front line opposite his unit seem to be under the impression that the suspension of hostilities and the fraternisation, undertaken by some British and German units yesterday, might still be in force. Some of them came forward into no man's land, apparently "with a view to friendly intercourse. A few shots were fired in their direction as a hint to withdraw". later in the day the Germans shelled the trenches and the ruined village of Wulvergem behind, several rifles were damaged and one man wounded.

Source: Bedfordshire Times 1st January 1915

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[1] The former parish church, upgraded to a cathedral in that year.

[2] It is the custom in the British Army for the officers to serve the other ranks on Christmas Day when not in the face of the enemy.

The Christmas Truce

H de Buriatte [X550/1/81]

Friday 25th December 1914: The commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion has been speaking with our news desk, telling us something which, to our minds, is not only strange and noteworthy but quite wonderful in the light it throws on our human condition. The battalion is in front line trenches near Fleurbaix and last night, about eight o’clock, the Germans were heard singing in their trenches celebrating the fact that it was Christmas Eve.

There were numerous lights on their parapets apparently suspended from Christmas trees. A voice shouted from their trenches in English and could be heard quite distinctly: "I want to arrange to bury the dead. Will someone come out and meet me?" A number of dead bodies, naturally, litter no man’s land between the two front lines at any one time, sometimes more, sometimes fewer, depending on whether there has been an attack, or whether a raid or patrol has been intercepted or whether man have been killed in the dangerous nightly task of checking the barbed wire in front of their own trenches.

In the event the commanding officer despatched Second Lieutenant H. de Buriatte with three men under a flag of truce. In the middle of no man’s land they met with five Germans, the leader of whom spoke excellent English but was not an officer. He said he had lived in Brighton and in Canada. This German said they wished to bury about twenty four of their dead but would not do so at night as they were afraid that their artillery might open fire as they were jumpy about activity in no man’s land under cover of darkness. They could not stop their artillery doing this and it would not be fair to our men! As a result it was decided that no arrangement was made at the time.

Second Lieutenant de Buriatte struck up a conversation with the German, who gave him a postcard with the following information. The addressee was in the 12th Company, 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 26th Infantry Brigade, VII Army Corps. The men also had the number 15 on their shoulder straps. The red band round their Caps was covered with grey cloth. This is astounding as such information is usually just the sort of thing that one side seeks to hide from another!

At ten o’clock this morning a German officer and two men, all of whom were unarmed, came out of their trenches with a white flag and were met by Captain H. C. Jackson and asked to be permitted to bury their dead. The Bedfords said they would not fire till 11.30 to give them time to go about their mournful task and this was done. The commanding officer of 2nd Battalion explained: “My men had already buried some of the dead last night. It was noticed that the German trenches were strongly held, there being a large number of men sitting on the parapet during the time the bodies were being buried. The men were a young lot from 19-25 years, well turned out and clean. I had given strict orders that none of my men were to go towards the enemy's lines without definite orders and that no one except those on duty were to be looking over the parapet. No Germans were allowed to come near our trenches. The German wire was closely inspected”.

During this time of unofficial truce, one of the 2nd Battalion’s Company Sergeant Majors was speaking to a German when an elderly officer passed. This German said they were very comfortable in a nice village behind but did not give the name! He seemed surprised that our troops were not an elderly Reserve class. The general impression was that the Germans had had enough and were anxious for the War to come to an end. Such events as this, we understand, have taken place all over those sectors of the front line held by or men, but not in those areas held by the French. The Germans’ behaviour seems extraordinary but the C. O. of the 2nd Battalion explains that a large percentage of the 15th Infantry Regiment seem to originate from Saxony. Apparently it is well known that the Saxons do not make very efficient or aggressive soldiers, in contrast to the swaggering Prussians or the murderous men from Württemburg. This reminds us that Germany was a group of different states – Bavaria, Westphalia, Prussia, Saxony, Württemburg and so on until formed together in a single nation state as recently as 1871.

The colonel of the 1st Battalion reports the receipt of Christmas cards from Their Majesties the King and Queen, which were distributed to all ranks of the Battalion as were brass tins containing chocolate or tobacco and other comforts – a present from Her Royal Highness Princess Mary. For them too it has been a quiet day, the Germans semaphoring over that they were not going to fire. No mention is made of any fraternisation with the enemy and so, presumably, there has been none.

We understand that fraternisation, such as that between 2nd Battalion and the German 15th Regiment has caused dismay in the upper echelons of the British Expeditionary Force. No doubt the top brass will feel it is something calculated to diminish the men’s martial spirit. In some cases, we believe, British units have engaged their enemies opposite in impromptu games of football in no man’s land!

No doubt there are two views to be taken of this. One view is that it is indeed to be deplored - a war for the very existence of civilization is under way. The Germans are the men who have committed acts of barbarism on civilians in both Belgium and France – mass murder, rape, looting and arson. Our men will need to be tough indeed to deal defeat to such a foe. The other view is that the men on both sides are just that – men, with all their faults and virtues – some, on both sides, will be very bad characters indeed, others will be full of decency, most will be somewhere in between, veering from one to the other at different times. Christmas marks the birth of our Saviour who died for all our sins, so a cessation of killing at such a time is a thing to be treasured – showing that there is still some spirit of peace abroad in the world. We invite readers to decide their own view for themselves.

Sources: X550/2/5; X550/3/wd

Christmas at Ampthill Training Camp

Ampthill Camp [Z1306/1/32/4]

Thursday 24th December 1914: At the Duke of Bedford's training depot at Ampthill Park the camp breaks up for the Christmas holidays today, and passes are given to the recruits until midnight on Monday. It is stated that recruits are coming in fast, and the sleeping room is so heavily taxed that some of the married men from the villages in the district go to their own homes to sleep. Khaki for all the men in the camp has arrived and will be served out during the week.

Source: Luton News 31st December 1914