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Shop nowThe True Story of the Christmas Truce
British and German Eyewitness Accounts from World War I
Narrator
Simon Vance
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Length
6 hours 24 minutes
Language
English
"One of them shouted 'A Merry Christmas English. We're not shooting tonight.' . . . [then] they stuck up a light. Not to be outdone, so did we. Then up went another. So, we shoved up another. Soon the lines looked like an illuminated fete." Rifleman Leslie Walkington
On Christmas Eve 1914, a group of German soldiers laid down their arms, lit lanterns, and started to sing Christmas carols. The British troops in nearby trenches responded by singing songs of their own. The next day, men from both sides met in No Man's Land. They shook hands, took photos and exchanged food and souvenirs. Some even played improvised football games, kicking around empty bully-beef cans and using helmets for goalposts. Both sides also saw the lull in fighting as a chance to bury the bodies of their comrades.
In some parts of the front, the truce lasted a few hours. In others, it continued to the New Year. But everywhere, sooner or later, the fighting resumed. Today, the Christmas Truce is seen as a poignant symbol of hope in a war that many people regard as unnecessary and futile. But what was the real story of those remarkable few days?
Anthony Richards has worked at the Imperial War Museum for more twenty years where is responsible for the document and sound archives. A qualified archivist he has contributed to many publications and media projects based on personal written testimony of the two world wars, including articles for the Telegraph newspaper, the Royal Mail stamp yearbook, and the ITV series The Great War: The People's Story. He is also the author of The Somme: A Visual History, In Their Own Words, and Documents That Changed History.
Simon Vance, a former BBC Radio presenter and newsreader, is a full-time actor who has appeared on both stage and television. He has recorded over eight hundred audiobooks and has earned fifty-seven Earphones Awards from AudioFile magazine, including one for his narration of Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini. A multiple Audie finalist, Simon has won Audie Awards for The King's Speech by Mark Logue and Peter Conradi, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Market Forces by Richard K. Morgan, and The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff. Winner of the 2008 Booklist Voice of Choice Award, Simon has also been named an AudioFile Golden Voice as well as an AudioFile Best Voice of 2009.