pehrt Posted 9 October , 2014 Share Posted 9 October , 2014 Hi all, I search for this letter (see attached file). It is about football during the Christmas Truce in 1914. In which archive is it? Where can I find the full text of the letter and information about the soldier who wrote it? It was shown in the 1981 BBC film "Peace in No Man's Land". In the film the letter is attributed to "one soldier" only. The key sentences in the letter are: After lunch we sent a cyclist back to find a football. On his return we played them a match winning easily by 4–1. Any small piece of information is welcome. With best wishes Pehr Thermaenius Sweden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEW Posted 9 October , 2014 Share Posted 9 October , 2014 The producers of the 1981 TV wrote a book 'Christmas Truce' in 1984. The book reproduces all the diaries, letters, orders etc about the truce and the 'football event'. There is an on line version but it seems to miss the relevant page out, scroll down to page 134 - 139 TEW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pehrt Posted 9 October , 2014 Author Share Posted 9 October , 2014 Dear TEW, Thank for your quick reply. Unfortunately this letter is not in my printed book, but the online edition might be newer, so there is a chance. With best wishes Pehr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HERITAGE PLUS Posted 9 October , 2014 Share Posted 9 October , 2014 Pehr Not the letter that you are seeking but the following may be of interest: The 2nd January 1915 edition of the Glasgow News carried an item that stated, that according to a letter home, a football match was played between the lines and trenches in the sector occupied by the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders that the Scots won 4-1. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEW Posted 9 October , 2014 Share Posted 9 October , 2014 The full text of your letter can be found here page 5, and who wrote it (maybe) but not where the original is. It seems to be an extract from a personal diary of Sgt. H D Bryan and not a letter. TEW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pehrt Posted 9 October , 2014 Author Share Posted 9 October , 2014 Dear TEW, There it is! Thank you so much. Please write to me: With best wishes Pehr Thermaenius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pehrt Posted 9 October , 2014 Author Share Posted 9 October , 2014 Dear Dave, I have seen one item in Glasgow News of 2 January 1915 (I have a copy of it, but I cannot find a way to attach it). It is about the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders playing football, but there is no score. Is there also another item in the same issue of the paper? Which is your source for the 4-1 item? Do you have a copy? Please write to me. I will send you a copy of the item I have seen. Thanks for helping me Pehr Thermaenius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fattyowls Posted 9 October , 2014 Share Posted 9 October , 2014 Pehr, TEW and Dave I've just started looking for sources for the Christmas Truce football match so this thread is really helpful to me too, many thanks. I assume everyone has seen this thread about the background to the football matches? I've embedded the link just in case. Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HERITAGE PLUS Posted 9 October , 2014 Share Posted 9 October , 2014 Pehr E-mail sent. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pehrt Posted 9 October , 2014 Author Share Posted 9 October , 2014 For TEW, I find nothing on Sergeant H D Bryan. He does not seem to have been in the West Yorks regiment (like Sgt Major ES Fendley who seems to have collected these documents) because this regiment came to the front on 26 December (Brown and Seaton p 227). Could you please give me some advice: Where and how did you find Fendley's documents? Do you know how Fendley relates to Bryan or why Fendley took care of a transcript of Bryan's handwritten diary? Please write to me: pehr.thermaenius@gmail.com Thanks everybody for helping me Pehr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HERITAGE PLUS Posted 9 October , 2014 Share Posted 9 October , 2014 Pehr Given that the football match is reported in the the Glasgow News, this man, who was a Lance Corporal when he qualified for his medals is a possibility: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D1558855 Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pehrt Posted 10 October , 2014 Author Share Posted 10 October , 2014 Dave, Yes I am looking at him, Harold Douglas Bryan. The problem is that he landed on the continent on 13 august. But the 2nd battalion Scots Guards, that was in the Truce, landed in October. But there is hope: Sgt Bryan says in his diary that they had a terrible fight before Christmas, losing 45 men. A friend has told me no such fight is mentioned in the war diary of the 1st battalion Scots Guards. I have now been reading the war diary of the 2nd battalion. They had a terrible fight on 18 December, losing 180 men. So the figures do not match, but 1. "We lost 45 men" might not be the battalion but rather the sergeants company and 2. it must have been impossible for a sergeant to get a figure for the battalion losses into his diary. So there is a match, which could mean that Bryan had transferred from the 1st to the 2nd battalion. What do you think? Thanks for helping me Pehr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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