Christmas 1915 Football Game

The Christmas 1914 Football Game occurred during a First World War Christmas truce. British and German soldiers gathered in no man's land for an impromptu game of football.
Christmas Eve
The Royal Welch Fusiliers reportedly heard the Germans of the Central Powers singing Silent Night from across No Man's Land (the empty land between the Entente and Central Powers' trenches). The Royal Welch Fusiliers then sang back Good King Wenceslas.
Christmas Day
On Christmas Day, after some shouting between both trenches, the Royal Welch Fusiliers got out of their icy trench and greeted the Germans. Bertie Felstead, a Corporal in the Fusiliers, recalled that the Germans probably were already out of their trench before the British got out. He claimed that nothing was planned and that what happened was entirely spontaneous. A football was produced from somewhere - though none could recall from where. "It was not a game as such - more of a kick-around and a free-for-all. There could have been 50 on each side for all I know. I played because I really liked football. I don’t know how long it lasted, probably half-an-hour, and no-one was keeping score."
End of Peace
The truce ended when a British major ordered the British soldiers back to their trench with a reminder that "they were there to kill the Hun not to make friends with him." The mood of Christmas friendliness was shortly broken by the firing of British artillery.
Participants
* The British Army
* The German Army
Legacy
The game was referenced in the popular British sitcom Blackadder Goes Forth. In July of 2001, the last living participant of the football game, Bertie Felstead died aged 106.

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