When the firing stopped, The Christmas Truce: The Story of Karl and Arthur.

It’s Christmas Eve  1915 and in small village in Alsace,  Germany,  Karl looks at the photo’s placed above the open hearth,  and sees a photo of 4 young friends smiling as they go off to War,  Karl looks at the photo and sees himself, and his 3 boyhood friends,  Bernhard,  Dieter and Konrad and he remembers they are no longer there,  they lay dead and discarded in an open grave on a forgotten battlefield,  he looks at the next photo and sees his wife Lilli and their two young children,  Johann and Agatha he looks at the last photo of him and his English friend Arthur and remembers their friendship formed on a makeshift football field in the middle of a mud filled battlefield as the soldiers of grey and khaki put aside their differences and shared cigarettes and chocolates and forged a peace in a time of war.

Silent Night in German,  "Stille Nacht"

Lilli passes him his guitar and he starts to sing Silent Night , Holy Night and then he tells his wife and children  the story of how a year ago,  that the soldiers of khaki and grey laid aside their arms of war,  and made peace instead of war and has the fighting stopped along the trenches then the Generals and Politicians came to their senses and  had realised their follies and decided to end their terrible war and finally the sounds of peace could be heard once more across many lands and the soldiers of khaki and grey came home to their families.

 He then picks up his guitar once more and teaches his wife and children,  the carol his English Friend,  Arthur  had taught him,  While Shepherds watched their Flocks,and as he sings he hears the sound of thunder, and has he sighs,  a hand touches his shoulder, he says “ Lilli”  and hears a sound of laughter.

 He hears the orders of the officers and sergeants as they tell him and the others to get ready and advance because it’s time to attack the English Enemy, they tell them the artillery have dislodged the tommies and they are  now defeated,  as he rises up, and walks across the forgotten football field,  and wonders to himself  when he will join his fallen friends, and thinks he sees his English Friend, Arthur, he is sure that this friend has died or is injured in the tommies’ trenches, he hears the sound of rifle fire, and feels an immense terrible pain and sees his jacket of grey suddenly changes colour to red, and he falls and lays  like a discarded and broken toy of the god of war,  and has he dies,  his last word is “Lilli”

Arthur looks across the crater filled and shattered former football field, and sees the advancing men of grey and he turns to his boyhood friends, Albert, George and Harry and he sees that they lay dead and dying on the wet and muddy ground,  and has the hun artillery finished their seemingly unending barrage they fell where they stood,  he steps up to the firing step and makes his stand , he steadies himself and takes aim and has he fires and sees the soldiers of grey as they fall one by one,  and inspired by his courage His brothers in arms,  fellow men of khaki fire into the thinning ranks of grey, and when the firing stopped Arthur looks out to the blood soaked former football field and wonders if his German Friend, Karl is among the fallen, he knows he has had revenged his boyhood friend’s too soon deaths, and that the enemy advance has been halted for at least for another day.

The Victoria Cross,   "The Cross of Bronze with a Crimson Ribbon, from  this story. "

It’s Christmas Eve, 1964, and in quiet village in Devon, England, Arthur sits in front of an open fire, and he readies himself and his wife Lilly asks him if he is ready,  he sees some old photos that hold so many memories ,  of four young boyhood friends, who are smiling as they go off to war, Arthur, Albert, George and Harry,  he looks at the next photo and sees his wife Lilly and their children John and Agatha and he looks at the next photo of a soldier of grey and a soldier of khaki, shaking hands and smiling as they share  chocolates and cigarettes after a special game of football,  Lilly passes  him an unopened box and asked him if he is wearing his medals , he opens the box and stares at those medals,  so many memories and so much pain, his hand shakes as he sees a cross of bronze with a crimson ribbon, Lilly steads his hand with her hand,  and she tells them their grandson is ready to take him to tell the story of the Christmas Truce to their friends at Church  and has he leaves that night,  he hears Silent Night,  Holy Night playing on the radio,  as they drive to Church, he asks his grandson to stop as they pass by the war memorial,  and he gets out of the car,  he stands for a moment and silently salutes his fallen friends,  as he sees their names,  Albert , George and Harry he remembers their smiling faces as they went off to war and last but not least he remembers his fallen German friend Karl.

Arthur feeling his advanced years, is helped by grandson Carl, and has he enters the Church he has lead for so many years, they congregation start to sing While Shepherds watched their Flocks by Night,  when the singing stops,  he stands and tells his friends,  The story of the Christmas Truce, and he continues to tell the story of Arthur and Lilly and their family, he looks at the cross of bronze with the crimson ribbon pinned on his chest by his wonderful wife Lilly, and tells the story of his Beloved Saviour who came as a baby and paid the price and who died a terrible, agonizing death to set  man  free and forgiven from the power of Sin.

While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks

The Pipes of Peace, Paul McCartney

Military Voices 1914 The Carol of Christmas