For the vast majority of men not fortunate to be home on
leave for Christmas (see 23rd December) there were still attempts to
brighten the festive mood despite the difficult conditions, which included
considerable artillery exchanges on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing
Day. Parcels from home were distributed in large numbers and it was said that
“the Battalion are all making as merry as possible under the
circumstances”. CQMS Henry Briley (see 7th May 1915), wrote
that: “The gifts show us that our friends at home do not forget us at the
Front. In spite of the mud and water we managed to have a fairly enjoyable time
at Christmas”. On the evening of
Christmas Day a concert was presented in a large barn close to the billets
which had been decorated for the occasion. The entertainment commenced at 5 pm
and included twenty songs and recitations performed by the men of the
Battalion. Two of ‘Tunstill’s Men’ performed; Sgt. Billy Oldfield (see 11th
December) sang while L.Cpl. Albert Dury
(see 7th September 1914) duetted with Pte.
Dudley of ‘C’ Company; unfortunately the titles of their pieces were not
recorded. There were also football matches played and an unexpected bonus when
German shells landing in the Erquinghem Canal killed large quantities of fish
which in turn provided many men with meals of fish and chips.
Pte. William Knox (see 21st December) again wrote to his wife, Ethel (I am most grateful to Rachael Broadhead and family for allowing me access to William’s letters). As this letter was to be posted in England, courtesy of a man who would be home on leave, Pte. Know was able to identify place names, which would not have been possible in his usual, censored, letters.
“I hope these few lines will find you quite well as I am very pleased to say that it leaves me very well at present. Now Dear I can tell you more in this letter as I have got one of our men who is coming home on leave to post it for me. I wish it was me that was coming home. What do you say Lovey Dear? This is Christmas Day and I can tell you I feel more discontented than ever I have done since I came out here. I do wish that it was all over so that I could come back home to you.
You would have laughed at us yesterday. We had four large plum puddings sent to our Platoon and we cooked two of them and we boiled them for two hours and they were extra. We made some sweet sauce. I made it all by myself. I got a quart of milk, some flour and some sugar. So you see we can make a decent dinner. I am getting quite a good cook. I have got the job of cooking the puddings today and also making the sauce.
Well Dear I am at a place called Erquinghem, about six miles from the firing line, so we are away from shells. They talked about there going to be a truce but it does not look like it as the guns are sending the old Kaiser his Christmas boxes in the form of shells. We have fifteen large Batteries round here and a Battery has four large guns and they have got over a thousand shells for each gun, so they are going to give them plenty to go on with. But they are shelling Armentieres like mad, but they are nearly all duds. You can always tell how we are going on as we are always at the Armentieres line or the Bois Grenier line. That is the part of the line our Division holds but we have been to Laventie to relieve another division. You can take it from me that this war will not be over for nearly another twelve months at the rate we are going on. The trenches we are in now have been in our possession since last January, so you can tell what little progress has been made. But of course we are the foremost part of the line. It is just like a horseshoe. We can go for miles and miles of a night but we can always see the flare lights all around us. You must not take any notice of what the papers say. They do not tell you half what is happening out here. We are a lot more advanced than they make out to be. If the Germans would come out and have a good fight it would soon be over but the devils will not fight at all.
I will tell you now about a little battle on the 18th (Sunday). It had been expected that they would make an attack at Ypres, which they did do. And they knew about it for our lot cut them up altogether. I think it was the Northumberland Fusiliers that caught them. And when they make an attack at one certain point they mostly make a smaller one just a little way from there as well, just to keep our men from going to the point they are attacking. I was asleep at the time we first discovered them cutting our front line of barbed wire. So they jolly soon had us woke up and ready to go over the parapet. We went with a tremendous lot of bombs and we lay in wait for them. Of course it takes a long time to make a passage through as there as many as twenty to thirty rows of wire between our lines and theirs (commonly called no man’s land). So when they got within twenty yards of us when we let go with our bombs and you should have seen them poor devils. They showed a little bit of fight for about ten minutes but of course they could not get near us for our bombs. And when they tried to get back they found out that they were surrounded and they started yelling “Hoch, hoch”, but we gave them plenty of bayonet. My bayonet was all covered with blood and my clothes were just about the same. There was only half our Company went out to meet them, about 120 altogether. We did not wait for our officer to give us the order to go over to meet them, we were at grips when he came. And our Colonel came out to meet us about an hour later and complemented us on our good work. No doubt you will have seen it in the papers. It would be an attack on the Bois Grenier line.
I am sending you those buttons which belong to Sgt. Major Abslom. Also, some others off my old tunic. I have got another new rigout. The beads are for little Lizzie and the bit of shell is a bit off that shell that blown our dugout all up and set it on fire when I got my knee all burned. So you will have just a little idea of what it is like when a shell burst near you and a shell will send about two hundred pieces like that.
Well Dear Sweetheart I have just received your parcel; just in time for tea Xmas Day and it is a very nice parcel. I really do not know how much to thank you for it but I hope, before so very much longer, to be able to show you. I won’t half hug and kiss you. Well Dear if I have good luck and all goes well I may get my leave in about eight or ten weeks’ time as I have heard from a good source that the married men in the new draft goes on leave next to the married men in the Battalion. I had a great surprise today (Xmas). We have had another draft from the 11th and we have got Sugden and three or four more as I know. And what do you think, Sgt. Majors Rollinson and Abslom and Mayman have gone up to Earsdon and they have to come out here. It would be a shock with them. The 11th are in Derby now in private billets.
We have just had an order that we are to be on picket in Erquinghem tonight from 6.30 until 12.30 as there was some disturbance on Christmas Eve. Remember me to Lizzie and Kiddie. Hope they are both quite well. Hope you have all enjoyed yourself this Xmas. I shall have to come to a close now as the chap is nearly ready for coming. So will now close with fondest love and kisses”.
Heavy rain came on yet again in the evening and continued
through the night.Pte. William Knox (see 21st December) again wrote to his wife, Ethel (I am most grateful to Rachael Broadhead and family for allowing me access to William’s letters). As this letter was to be posted in England, courtesy of a man who would be home on leave, Pte. Know was able to identify place names, which would not have been possible in his usual, censored, letters.
“I hope these few lines will find you quite well as I am very pleased to say that it leaves me very well at present. Now Dear I can tell you more in this letter as I have got one of our men who is coming home on leave to post it for me. I wish it was me that was coming home. What do you say Lovey Dear? This is Christmas Day and I can tell you I feel more discontented than ever I have done since I came out here. I do wish that it was all over so that I could come back home to you.
You would have laughed at us yesterday. We had four large plum puddings sent to our Platoon and we cooked two of them and we boiled them for two hours and they were extra. We made some sweet sauce. I made it all by myself. I got a quart of milk, some flour and some sugar. So you see we can make a decent dinner. I am getting quite a good cook. I have got the job of cooking the puddings today and also making the sauce.
Well Dear I am at a place called Erquinghem, about six miles from the firing line, so we are away from shells. They talked about there going to be a truce but it does not look like it as the guns are sending the old Kaiser his Christmas boxes in the form of shells. We have fifteen large Batteries round here and a Battery has four large guns and they have got over a thousand shells for each gun, so they are going to give them plenty to go on with. But they are shelling Armentieres like mad, but they are nearly all duds. You can always tell how we are going on as we are always at the Armentieres line or the Bois Grenier line. That is the part of the line our Division holds but we have been to Laventie to relieve another division. You can take it from me that this war will not be over for nearly another twelve months at the rate we are going on. The trenches we are in now have been in our possession since last January, so you can tell what little progress has been made. But of course we are the foremost part of the line. It is just like a horseshoe. We can go for miles and miles of a night but we can always see the flare lights all around us. You must not take any notice of what the papers say. They do not tell you half what is happening out here. We are a lot more advanced than they make out to be. If the Germans would come out and have a good fight it would soon be over but the devils will not fight at all.
I will tell you now about a little battle on the 18th (Sunday). It had been expected that they would make an attack at Ypres, which they did do. And they knew about it for our lot cut them up altogether. I think it was the Northumberland Fusiliers that caught them. And when they make an attack at one certain point they mostly make a smaller one just a little way from there as well, just to keep our men from going to the point they are attacking. I was asleep at the time we first discovered them cutting our front line of barbed wire. So they jolly soon had us woke up and ready to go over the parapet. We went with a tremendous lot of bombs and we lay in wait for them. Of course it takes a long time to make a passage through as there as many as twenty to thirty rows of wire between our lines and theirs (commonly called no man’s land). So when they got within twenty yards of us when we let go with our bombs and you should have seen them poor devils. They showed a little bit of fight for about ten minutes but of course they could not get near us for our bombs. And when they tried to get back they found out that they were surrounded and they started yelling “Hoch, hoch”, but we gave them plenty of bayonet. My bayonet was all covered with blood and my clothes were just about the same. There was only half our Company went out to meet them, about 120 altogether. We did not wait for our officer to give us the order to go over to meet them, we were at grips when he came. And our Colonel came out to meet us about an hour later and complemented us on our good work. No doubt you will have seen it in the papers. It would be an attack on the Bois Grenier line.
I am sending you those buttons which belong to Sgt. Major Abslom. Also, some others off my old tunic. I have got another new rigout. The beads are for little Lizzie and the bit of shell is a bit off that shell that blown our dugout all up and set it on fire when I got my knee all burned. So you will have just a little idea of what it is like when a shell burst near you and a shell will send about two hundred pieces like that.
Well Dear Sweetheart I have just received your parcel; just in time for tea Xmas Day and it is a very nice parcel. I really do not know how much to thank you for it but I hope, before so very much longer, to be able to show you. I won’t half hug and kiss you. Well Dear if I have good luck and all goes well I may get my leave in about eight or ten weeks’ time as I have heard from a good source that the married men in the new draft goes on leave next to the married men in the Battalion. I had a great surprise today (Xmas). We have had another draft from the 11th and we have got Sugden and three or four more as I know. And what do you think, Sgt. Majors Rollinson and Abslom and Mayman have gone up to Earsdon and they have to come out here. It would be a shock with them. The 11th are in Derby now in private billets.
We have just had an order that we are to be on picket in Erquinghem tonight from 6.30 until 12.30 as there was some disturbance on Christmas Eve. Remember me to Lizzie and Kiddie. Hope they are both quite well. Hope you have all enjoyed yourself this Xmas. I shall have to come to a close now as the chap is nearly ready for coming. So will now close with fondest love and kisses”.
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