Landsturm Posted 19 December , 2007 Share Posted 19 December , 2007 lose, loose, choose, goose, fuze, use, noose? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digger5410 Posted 19 December , 2007 Share Posted 19 December , 2007 Some very good stuff here this month - well done to all contributors. Can't seem to get going on this one - diificulty rhyming anything with truce.......................... Don't know how you're using "truce" but maybe these may help a bit: use? loose? goose? Rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Johnson Posted 19 December , 2007 Share Posted 19 December , 2007 The Company Atheist Gorblimey, wot th' deuce Fritzie wants a Christmas truce Peace on earth goodwill to men Until the morrow - we'll start again. Some say it's real; some say it's fake I say it's a chance we'll take Enjoy it now and don't ask why Just for today no bullets fly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digger5410 Posted 19 December , 2007 Share Posted 19 December , 2007 That works rather well well done Rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrel Posted 19 December , 2007 Share Posted 19 December , 2007 Nice one Michael - well that stirred up a few rhymes and got me thinking for which many thanks to all. My contribution will be along shortly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrel Posted 19 December , 2007 Share Posted 19 December , 2007 In the unit next to mine, a little farther up the line, We'd heard about a sort of Christmas truce. They'd met up in no man's land and shook the enemy's hand, Exchanging gifts and fags; it weren't no ruse! Apparently it was quiet and they'd stopped the daily fight To share a bite to eat and raise a toast. Some photos had been took and they'd even had a book On the outcome of the football match we'd lost. But on our front no such luck and still we had to duck, For their sniper at been at it since the dawn. We'd lost two of our young lads, who will never see their dads Or their mothers, what a present on Christmas morn! So, when my turn for sentry came, I was certain of my aim When that Gerry bobbed above his parapets. "Merry Christmas", he shouts plain, but he had to take the blame And as I squeezed the trigger, I whispered, "And you Fritz". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunboat Posted 19 December , 2007 Share Posted 19 December , 2007 Christmas Truce The orders had been passed down from the warm hands of the brass hats “no fraternisation with the enemy at Christmas” It had happened in 1914 and one or two places unofficially in 1915 but it had been made clear this year that the celebration of the birth of our lord was insufficient reason to stop killing each other for even one day. Which is why I was sat on my own, shivering in a listening post twenty yards or so from Fritz. Johnny Harris, had been with me but had just crawled back to our lines to report that aside from laughter and jollity there was little else happening in Fritz's line to report on, it was we thought safe to assume that they didn’t intend to launch an attack any day soon. He was meant come back with orders, or to send out our relief but he had been gone for an age and I despaired that I would be left here alone all night, that night of all nights. After he had gone the cold seemed to be that little bit more colder and I couldn’t stop myself shivering. I cannot ever remember feeling so cold before or since. It was so cold that at first it felt like my fingers and toes were on fire, then as if someone was stabbing a knife into my flesh and then I could feel nothing. I couldn’t stamp my feet because although Fritz seemed in good spirits I didn’t want to push my luck and alert him to my presence so he could attempt to warm me up with a bomb. I even had to concentrate on stopping my teeth chattering because in that still night it sounded for all intents and purposes like a machine gun. What made it worse was twenty yards or so in front of me, Fritz was sat around a warm brazier reading letters from their wives and sweethearts. I heard a noise, in a moment all thoughts of the cold had been forgotten. I prayed it was Johnny returning but the sound was coming from in front of me. I knew it wouldn’t be a rat, any self respecting rat would be somewhere warm feeding…I grabbed at my rifle trying to squeeze life into my fingers as gripped the woodwork glad that I had fixed the bayonet earlier before my fingers had knumbed. A pair of boots came over the lip of the shell hole and my instinct was try and crawl and hide into the sidewalls. Before I could react a burly figure had landed in front of me in a half crouch,his hands outstretched showing he was unarmed. He knew how scared I must be, because his first sound was a comforting hush, a father comforting a child awakened by a bad dream. He took a glove off and held his hand out to me and I took it “ Heinrich” he said nodding with a smile then his face creased into concern “your hands they are very cold…he pushed aside his thick colourful scarf, undid the buttons of his great coat and taking both my hands in his thrust them inside his coat and under his armpits. I recoiled but he held my wrists tightly and smiled again. “Its good, I warm your hands, you not get frost bite like this….where I come from we used to the cold…we know how to warm ourselves without getting frost bite” he laughed but I couldn’t laugh with back, I was so relieved by the warmth coming back to my fingers that I could have collapsed and cried. After a moment or two he let my hands go but before the shock of the cold air met them he had given me his gloves to put on. “They are good gloves”…I protested but he just nodded and insisted I take them. I said I would give them back in a moment at which he just shrugged. They were good gloves as well, some kind of leather lined with fur and I would be lying if I didn’t say that it was wonderful to feel them against my skin, to feel their warmth. “Your name is….” I told him my name, Robert and he said it a few times perfecting the pronunciation. I told him he spoke good English and he said that he had spent a year in England with his uncle who owned a barber shop in “Tott-en-ham” I smiled at his pronunciation, he raised an eyebrow. “I say it wrong….it not Tott- en-ham?” I told him he said it just fine and he smiled again and leaned against the wall of the shell crater. He told me he had wanted to stay in England with his uncle bring his family over but had to return to Germany when his father had been taken ill…and whilst he was back home the war had started…only he called it “the stupid war” which had surprised me. I asked him why he had come here, was he taking me prisoner…. He tutted, muttered an apology and took a haversack from around his neck. He took the contents out, a small clay jug, a loaf of bread and a large sausage laying them out on a chequered napkin. He broke the bread roughly in half and handed me a piece and then did the same with the sausage. The bread was still warm and smelt delicious, I sniffed nervously at the sausage which made Heinrich laugh, he nodded with encouragement taking a huge bite out of his sausage and munching it with gusto. I took a bite and was pleasantly surprised at the hot peppery taste, it was so juicy that I had to take a bite of bread to and dry my mouth. It was delicious and Heinrich sensing my enjoyment nodded enthusiastically saying “sehr gut ja!” and he was right it was very, very good. He took the lid off the clay jar and took a long swig from the contents and passed it over “Schnapps” he said “ I took a pull from the bottle and nearly choked as the alcohol burned at my stomach he laughed “This is strong schnapps we should not have this…they do not allow it even at Christmas” he laughed again. I found myself laughing with him, it seemed that the German Army was just as capable as British Army of pettiness. He took a packet of cigarettes from his pocket and offered me one. I shook my head vigorously offered him one from my packet it was all I could offer him in return for his kindness and said so. He nodded understanding what I meant and took a cigarette “players"he said “I like players…I smoked them in England” “Take them” I said and gave him the packet which he took with a wide-eyed look of gratitude which both was both surprising and touching given the generosity he had shown me so far. He lit two cigarettes and gave one back to me. “Very good” he said blowing the smoke through his teeth. After a moment of silence as we enjoyed the cigarette he asked if I was married. I told him I had a sweetheart, Rose, and showed him her picture under the light of a match. He said she was very pretty and showed me a picture of his wife and three plump, pretty daughters aged from five to ten years old. He pointed to each of them in order telling me their names as he did so. I told him he was lucky to have such a beautiful family and he agreed kissing the photograph before putting it back inside his tunic pocket. “My wife and children send me this for Christmas” he said tugging at the scarf around his neck, “They each make the different colours” he saw I hadn’t quite understood what he was saying so he pointed to each horizontal band on the scarf, “Elsa, Gretel, Hilde and my little Bertha they each make a different colour… to remind me” His head bowed at this and he sniffed, I too felt a huge lump in my throat, I didn’t know what to say or do so patted him on the shoulder. “I must go now!” he said gathering up his things and I felt a sudden pang of loss “tell your officers that we will not be shooting tomorrow…so not to shoot at us” he said. I told him that we had received orders not to hold any kind of truce for Christmas at which he shrugged and said “well we will not shoot back” I gave him back his gloves and shook his hand warmly “good bye Heinrich…thank you for your kindness” He smiled back “I hope to go back to Tott-en-ham when this war is over…London is a great city…perhaps we will see each other again…I hope so” I agreed. He was about to climb out the shellhole when he stopped abruptly and turned back he unravelled the scarf from around his neck and held it toward me. “It is a tradition to exchange gifts please you take this” I shook my head…. “No Heinrich it is too much…your wife and children made that for you to remember them….” “They send me many scarves…They must think I will forget them” he gave a hollow laugh “I do not forget them so easily” I told him that his friendship was a gift enough and before he could say anything I pointed to each hoop on the scarf and recited the appropriate name “Else, Gretel, Hilde and Bertha” He nodded...deeply moved, he was a strong powerful man but I thought he was going to weep “Danke!” he said and disappeared over the top. I sat back down, deflated, cursing my solitude as much as cursed the cold until I spotted that he had left me some of the bread and sausage. I laughed so that I wouldn’t cry. After a few moments a voice cried out “ Happy Christmas Robert!” followed by a chorus of other voices shouting Happy Christmas to me. So I shouted back “Happy Christmas Heinrich…Happy Christmas Fritz” They didn’t shoot at us the next day. We obeyed our orders firing a few shots harmlessly above their trenches, they didn’t fire back. Shortly after we were sent down the line for a rest. It was three weeks before I came back to the firing line. There had been a raid the night before and working parties had cleared the trenches of the bodies, they had been laid in a pile down the supply trench waiting to be moved. As I worked my way past I noticed a flash of colour among the field grey and stopped abruptly. It was coloured scarf, I counted the hoops praying the names I was remembering didn’t correspond with each band of colour….they did…my knees buckled. I couldn’t see the face, I didn’t want to see his face…I didn’t want to know that it was Heinrich I wanted to believe that had offered his scarf to another friend as he has offered it to me and his friend had taken it after all Heinrich had many so scarves! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marina Posted 19 December , 2007 Share Posted 19 December , 2007 That was very moving to read. Marina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susanhemmings Posted 19 December , 2007 Share Posted 19 December , 2007 Michael, love the ditty. Squirrel - always a twist at the end. well done and gunboat, another smashing effort. well done all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susanhemmings Posted 21 December , 2007 Share Posted 21 December , 2007 The night was cold, the sky was clear – and snow lay on the ground In no-man’s-land friend greeted foe, there was no other sound (When) The soldiers in the trenches that held the Christmas Truce Made hostilities stop - as guns stood silent, what a wonderful excuse For a kick-about…….someone said. Then Joe was greeting Heinrich and Wilhelm hugging Fred “Ve Vish you Merry Christmas Tommy”, “you share a tot of Schnapps?” “Ve tink you just as sick of dis var – the same as most of us schaps”?. “We wish you a Merry Christmas too”, Smithy said to Fritz “We hoped it would all be over by now, we’re all fed up -“here take dis” Fritz replied and handed him a parcel all crumpled and half torn “Please to tink of me when you open it, perhaps tomorrow morn”? Smithy took the offered parcel with sadness and with sorrow….. “Thank you Fritz, I’ll keep it then, and open it tomorrow”. They looked around at all their chums, each one of them befriended The snowflakes started falling , the kick-about now ended……. And friend and foe reluctantly parted – it was a sorrowful sight In no-mans-land there was no sound, it was silent as the night Then all of a sudden someone heard, the faintest sound of singing It cheered them all, as each joined in, it was almost like Christmas Bells ringing…………………. Out across No-man’s-land. Where only a few hours ago they had shook each others hand The night dragged on and morning came and Smithy, suddenly alert Recalled the gift, humbly given to him – still stuffed inside his shirt Remembered the words that Fritz had said, and pulled the parcel loose Thought of his family, thought of the foe, thought of the Christmas Truce. His frozen fingers opened it, and tears came to his eyes Inside the parcel, Fritz had placed a fag and two mince pies “Merry Christmas Fritz” Smithy whispered as he peered across the land “I won’t forget your kindness, Fritz, or the friendship of your hand” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrel Posted 21 December , 2007 Share Posted 21 December , 2007 Brilliant Susan, absolutely brilliant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest soren1916 Posted 22 December , 2007 Share Posted 22 December , 2007 Hi Guys, I still can't post threads for some reason, so I thought I'd flag this programme up here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/pip/kzgyg/ 'Art in the trenches' Boxing Day R4 11am Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzie Posted 22 December , 2007 Share Posted 22 December , 2007 This art topic has come along way from the first, and with it, the contributions. Well done evryone. Kim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanCurragh Posted 22 December , 2007 Author Share Posted 22 December , 2007 Soren - if you wanted something posted, please let me know - be happy to do it for you. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susanhemmings Posted 22 December , 2007 Share Posted 22 December , 2007 I just stumbled across "Merry Christmas" at 3pm this afternoon (BBC2)... (Drama of The Christmas Truce )- I swear one of the chaps had an american accent but maybe he was a war photographer.... I only saw the last 20 minutes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landsturm Posted 23 December , 2007 Share Posted 23 December , 2007 BTW, just to be ready... any objections if I choose the title for January? Oh, and Merry Christmas to all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marina Posted 23 December , 2007 Share Posted 23 December , 2007 I just stumbled across "Merry Christmas" .... I only saw the last 20 minutes... Be thankful for small mercies, Susan! Marina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digger5410 Posted 23 December , 2007 Share Posted 23 December , 2007 Merry Christmas everyone what wonderful reading this MGWAT has produced. Thanks to everyone for their contributions and a hearty well done. Rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susanhemmings Posted 25 December , 2007 Share Posted 25 December , 2007 Marina, HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL (now its the end of Christmas day!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanCurragh Posted 28 December , 2007 Author Share Posted 28 December , 2007 Thanks everyone for your wonderful contributions - a few more days to go then I'll have a go at setting the poll in the first week of the New Year.... Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Johnson Posted 28 December , 2007 Share Posted 28 December , 2007 I wonder what's happened to Katie? Maybe no internet access where she is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest soren1916 Posted 30 December , 2007 Share Posted 30 December , 2007 Cheers MagicRat I'm very hungover today having been on the Leffe.... but will have a go..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest soren1916 Posted 30 December , 2007 Share Posted 30 December , 2007 http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/passchendael...786032465002754 sorry for the quality this month.... 'yea tho I walk..... My head feels like there's an unemployed Uzbekistani hotelier living in it..... hence my drawing difficulty at present... so apologies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susanhemmings Posted 31 December , 2007 Share Posted 31 December , 2007 Apologies? - It's lovely Soren. Susan. I wonder what has happened to Katie as well. Hope she is ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay dubaya Posted 5 January , 2008 Share Posted 5 January , 2008 Sorry folks don't quite know what happened to my pre christmas post......but what an addiction the MGWAT has become and such great talent out there. I now have a new ear and wish you one and all the very best of the coming year......just waiting for Landsturm's choice for this month cheers, Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now