ww1 Christmas cease fire!?

Question

This is a serious question. ww1 Christmas cease fire and the football match the ensued can anyone tell me where the football came from? It's not something that you would usually find in trenches during a war and you can't nip down to the shop and buy one. If it wasn't a football what was it???

I hate to split hairs but to us English it's a Football

Answer 1

Footballs as well as other peace time artifacts were either brought from home or made out of the available materials. Remember footballs weren't the lightweight synthetic things that they are now. They were made from leather and rubber, or out of the materials that were at hand.
If you were to watch programmes like soccer am you would see that soldiers regularly take footballs with them to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Returning to the first world war, a lieutenant used a football to encourage his troops across 'no-mans land' in the opening battle of the Some.

Answer 2

It wasnt one football match remember that the trenches spanned almost all of wester Europe and had many thousands of men in them.
But it is true that football was played in at least one place .But in other places they just walked out into no mans land shook hands and lit cigars etc they were all just soldiers I suppose and none of them wanted to fight at christmas.By the way it wasnt jst a christmas cease fire in some places it started on Christmas eve and carried on until boxing day.
As to where the football came from one of the soldiers would have brought it with them if he was british he was probably a volunteer.The volunteers weren't expecting a full on war as they were told the war would be over in a few months and were expecting the British to win easily they seen it as more of a holiday and may have brought a football.

Answer 3

Think the football may have come from the German side. They started singing Christmas carols, "Silent Night", this brought the Brits up to the parapit to have a look see and before you know it everyone is out of the trenches unarmed, officers and men, exchanging addresses, looking at each other's family photos, and smoking cigarettes. Not sure what the score was. If you've got the ball and it's signed/dated etc., it must be worth a fortune. Contact the Imp War Museum today.

Answer 4

it was actually a soccer ball not an American football.
And yes soldiers during war did (and still do) have access to such sports equipment.
Mostly in the rear areas but some stuff always makes it to the front. The ball may have been something mailed from family and friends or even provided by the red cross.

Answer 5

Apparently captain Farquarson-Smyth ex FA cup winner with the Royal Engineers when interviewed after the game said that the Germans didn't play too well except for the left winger a certain Adolf Hitler.

'I can see him causing a lot of trouble next time we meet' he said before decamping for a shower and a post mach celebration of Quails Eggs and stuffed asparagus.

Answer 6

Troop commanders usually carry a deflated football in their pack, it's an easy pacifier in quiet times and rapidly helps morale. It's a British thing.

Answer 7

Silent Night, Holy Night

Answer 8

5-1 to us as well. Oh the glory days

Answer 9

it was what u and I would call a soccer ball. football is only called football in the United States and is the game we watch the pros play on Sundays. In the rest of the world football is soccer. The Xmas truce was in 1915. Only European countries were in the war at that time.......they played what they call football....what we call soccer.... obviously one of the guys on one of the sides had a soccer ball with him in the trenches.......or maybe they kicked around the head of one of the deceased soldiers....though I doubt that...

Answer 10

apparently it was a football brought by the Germans - probably brought in their supplies.


IT WAS NEVER A PENALTY!