The Christmas Truce of 1914

How do you portray a moment of peace during the First World War when it’s not always clear what actually happened?

In our Christmas Special, Angus, Chris and Jessica speak to historian Mark Connelly (University of Kent) about the Christmas Truce of 1914. Along the way we discuss Paul McCartney, the difficulty of playing football in No Man’s Land, British soldiers as 9-to-5 workers, and a Christmas Truce with the coronavirus.

References

The Great War: Episode 5 – “This Business May Last a Long Time” (BBC, 1964)

Peace in No Man’s Land (BBC, 1981)

Paul McCartney – Pipes of Peace (Song, 1983)

Malcolm Brown & Shirley Brown – Christmas Truce: The Western Front December 1914 (Book, 1984)

Joyeux Noël (Film, 2005)

Terri Blom Crocker The Christmas Truce: myth, memory, and the First World War (University of Kentucky Press, 2015).

Other episodes

Walking Tours

December 1, 2024 No Comments

How do you walk people through First World War landscapes? This month we welcome back Prof Mark Connelly to discuss his new

Teaching the First World War

November 1, 2024 No Comments

How do you teach the FIrst World War?

Public History with Greg Jenner

October 1, 2024 No Comments

Can you turn the First World War into sketch comedy?

Professor of Modern British History at Leeds University. My research interests lie at the intersection of the histories of gender, particularly masculinity, medicine and warfare.

Read More >>

A historian focusing on the First World War and popular representations of warfare. I received my PhD from the University of Sussex in 2013. My thesis examined relations between British and French soldiers during the First World War.

Read More>>

Is a Visiting Research Fellow at Leeds University. My current research focuses on manpower and authority in Britain, starting with the First World War and running through until the end of the Second World War.