History Society enjoys talk on ‘The 1914 Christmas Truce’

DR John Sutton was the speaker invited on May 8 in order to entertain the Shepshed History Society, the subject being ‘The 1914 Christmas Truce.’

Dr Sutton first began his talk by explaining that many battles over time called a truce and socialised with one and another. In fact a lot of soldiers both allies and enemies were comrades in arms. It was the bureaucrats that made them hated enemies.

And so in 1914 several days before Christmas the soldiers socialised, sang carols and even when the fighting resumed they helped one another to bury their dead.

There is however no record that they actually played football as folk lore would have you believe. Numerous slides were shown and it was an intriguing insight learning about our tragic past, a talk that was most thought provoking in the hope that it will never again be repeated.

The June meeting will see Mark Temple coming on June 12 to speak about The Lost Windmills of Leics. New visitors are always welcome at the Glenmore Community Centre, 7.30pm to 9pm.