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Moray man's role in war truce match


By Sarah Rollo

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James Kilpatrick will be among those gathering on No Man's Land to create the famous football match.
James Kilpatrick will be among those gathering on No Man's Land to create the famous football match.

This December 25th is a day that Fochabers man James Kilpatrick will never forget.

On the centenary of the 1914 Christmas Day Truce, the 62-year-old will walk out on to what was No Man’s Land to recreate the football game which has become an enduring symbol of the power of peace.

The unofficial ceasefire saw guns fall silent along stretches of the Western Front, as men put war aside and emerged from the trenches to share Christmas Day.

A century on, representatives from Germany, Belgium, France, the UK and America will come together in tribute to the men who showed such unerring faith in humanity.

Mr Kilpatrick, whose grandfather (also James) later fought on the Western Front, said it was sure to be an unforgettable day.

"It is making me shiver just thinking about it. It will be haunting and emotional, I think, but also a great honour to be there to commemorate the truce at the same place, on the same day, at the same time, 100 years on," he said.

The retained fireman was expected to arrive in Belgium on Christmas Eve for a ceremony at The Menin Gate Memorial, which is dedicated to the British and Commonwealth soldiers killed in the Ypres Salient whose graves are unknown. To this day, local firemen sound the ‘Last Post’ every night.

"I don’t think anyone can come out of there with a dry eye," Mr Kilpatrick said.

As Christmas Eve comes to a close, the 180-strong group will gather at Messines Ridge, a small German salient in late 1914, before joining a torchlit procession to Prowse Point, which was the German frontline at the time.

There, Mr Kilpatrick – a member of the Western Front Association – and others taking part in the football game will join together to sing carols.

"On Christmas Day, we are all taking gifts with us, the same as they did in the trenches, and we will pass them around before the match itself," he said.

Among items in his pocket will be a cigarette tin which belonged to one of the soldiers fighting on the front line during Christmas, 1914.

"The tin itself was actually at the Christmas Day truce so I’m going to take it back with me and fill it with cigarettes, paper, small things that I can share. I’ll hand out some miniatures bottles of whisky too.

"My grandfather fought all around this area so it will be particularly poignant to be there," he said.


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