Dedicated to the memory of all the men and women of Bridgnorth, Shropshire, who died during the two World Wars.
HOW BRIDGNORTH SOLDIERS SPENT CHRISTMAS IN THE TRENCHES. [Bridgnorth Journal, 1st January, 1916]
6258 Lance-corporal George Speake, A Co. 1st Batt. K.S.L.I. (whose home is 40 Mill Street, Bridgnorth), writes us from “somewhere in France,” under date of December 27th:-
“May I have a small space in the ‘Journal’ to let you know how we spent our Christmas in the trenches.
“Well! As far as I know, all the Bridgnorth boys enjoyed themselves as best they could under the conditions, but as we were for the trenches on Christmas night it upset a lot of our arrangements. Still, for all that, we made things ‘hum.’
“Our captain got us a very good dinner and thanks to our sergeant-major (who, by the way is Sergt.-major Frank Foxall, of High Street, Bridgnorth) everything went off all right. After dinner we paraded for the trenches, went up to the firing line in motor-cars, and got there about 9 o’clock at night. Then we thought we would give the Bosches a few rounds for spoiling our Christmas. We gave them a little rifle rapid-fire, and the artillery sent one or two shells over. As to the war itself, I can tell you very little, but I think the Germans are about beaten now.”
This memorial has mostly been compiled from official sources. It would be good to be able to expand it with more personal material - memories, stories, photos, etc. If you have any suitable material or any corrections please contact Greg. For news of updates follow @BridgnorthHeros on Twitter.