It’s Christmas! I’m so excited! Mum and Dad took us to buy a tree – it was massive. It needed three of the people at the shop to tie it to the roof of the car and when we got it home we all had to help carry it into the house. Dad said I was really helpful, I’ve had a growth spurt recently and I’m now 5ft 6” tall, so he let me hold one side on my own. It was really heavy! Once we’d got it in, Mum and Jenny started to get the baubles out – there were tree pines everywhere! I had to hoover it up straightaway; it was driving me mad! Jenny laughs at me for being ‘OCD’ as she calls it, but at least I can put a piece of tinsel on straight.
Anyway, after we’d put all the decorations up, my phone started doing that weird, vibrating thing – I rushed upstairs and closed my bedroom door. A 3D screen filled the space above my phone and a message from Kaz rolled across the top:
“Happy Christmas, Danny! We’d like to give you a special present to celebrate …”
“… You can choose to go back in time to anywhere you like and experience Christmas in that time…”
“… It takes more energy to send you somewhere you haven’t visited, so you won’t be able to stay as long as usual. So where do you want to go?”
I stood staring at the screen; its blue glow filled my bedroom. I couldn’t think of anywhere I really wanted to go back. I don’t remember any famous things happening on Christmas day from history class.
“Sorry to rush you,” the screen continued to scroll text from Kaz, “but we need to know soon so we can prepare.”
And then I remembered: we’d been learning about the First World War in History and how the soldiers played football on Christmas day. I love football and it would be great to know what it was really like back then. I quickly googled when it was and typed back to Kaz:
“Can I go back to WW1 in 1914 please, when they played football?”
“Please clarify: WW1? When who played football?” Kaz typed back.
“World War 1, The First World War, The Great War,” I typed, “You know?”
The screen went blank and I waited for ages for his reply. I was sure he was going to say no, that it was too dangerous. And then…
“Ok.”
And then the screen disappeared.
A week later and it was Christmas Eve, I couldn’t sleep, I was so excited about the presents under tree and whether SHARP really would let me go back to the First World War.
I woke early. It was still dark and I could hear the distinct vibration of my phone from my desk. I jumped up and pressed the extra black button SHARP had installed.
“Happy Christmas! We have checked for safety and you may travel to…
… France, 25th December, 1914. You will be a soldier, known to your comrades as Will. Our research tells us that although legal age for the British Army was 18, many lied and joined at a younger age. Based on your physique – you could pass as a 16-year old private using his older brother’s name to join the army. Despite war zone conditions, current activity is minimal. If you are in danger at any point, press the black button and dial in 15798 immediately to be extracted: YOUR SAFETY IS PARAMOUNT! If you want to go, dial as usual and press the green button to continue.”
A whirring sound came from the distance, closer and closer until…nothing. The next thing I knew I was sat in wet mud. It was dark and freezing cold. I could hear voices in the distance. I stood quickly and searched for the clothes SHARP had left me. There was a heavy woollen uniform, thick socks and big boots. Everything was damp. My fingers began to throb with the cold as I fumbled with the buttons on the jacket. Around the corner I heard a mouth organ and men singing carols. I followed the muddy walls until I saw flames and soldiers huddled together. I suddenly realised I was actually in one of those trenches our teacher showed us pictures of. The slimy, muddy walls were metres high and above them I could see barbed wire and tufts of grass. Under foot it was like one big puddle – my feet were already soaked through.
One soldier beckoned me over and I splashed along the trench, cracking iced-over frozen puddles, trying not to look desperate to get to the warmth of the fire. The men held their hands over the fire waiting for the man playing the mouth organ to play an introduction, they all sang at the top of their lungs, “Once in Royal David City…”
Halfway through the chorus the guy next to me signalled for us to stop. Some men leapt for their guns, looking anxious and afraid, but he laughed and said, “No, listen.”
We all stood quietly and over the expanse of land came a familiar song. The Germans were singing back: “Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht…” They were singing silent night. We all clambered up the muddy banks of the trench to see what they were doing. Some who were more afraid shouted at us saying it was a trap and they’d shoot us. Then, out of nowhere, a ball was thrown into no man’s land. Some of the soldiers jumped for cover, but then men from down the line began to walk out, unarmed into the field. Next, men from the German side started to climb over their trench. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! Each man held his hands in the air to show he had no weapons. Soon there were at least 50 soldiers in no man’s lands. A German soldier ran and kicked the ball towards us. It landed near me. Instinctively I ran over and started to dribble, soon people I’d seen in my trench were running alongside signalling for me to pass the ball. I kicked the ball and watched as German and English soldiers ran around after the ball until I couldn’t tell who was who.
English and German soldiers playing football - Christmas truce and cease fire 1914
I was so busy watching the ball being passed around that I didn’t notice someone come up behind me. I was suddenly confronted with a tall German soldier. He didn’t look much older than me. And then I looked down and he was holding a knife to my chest. I froze for a second and then started to panic, I fumbled for my phone – if I could just press the black button I’d be ok. But before I could get it out of my pocket he lunged forward…
With one swipe he cut through the stitching on my coat and took off a button. He held it between his thumb and finger and grinned at me. Then he took the knife to his own jacket and presented me with one of his buttons. “Frohe Weihnachten,” he said.
Soon English soldiers were running out from the trenches with tobacco tins and little cakes called Princess Mary cakes. The Germans exchanged these with cigars and liquorice sticks and belt buckles. Some soldiers shook hands tried to talk. I’d only had one term of German lessons, but the best I could remember was, “Wie geht’s?” which means ‘how are you?’
It didn’t take long for the officers to hear what was happening and on both sides the soldiers were ordered back to their trenches. As soon as I returned, my phone began to vibrate. I stumbled along the trench until I reached a corner where no one could see me, dialled 15798 and pressed the black button. The songs of the Germans and the response of the English carols faded as the whirring sound came closer and closer until…nothing.
Back in my room I sat on the floor, shivering from the cold of the First World War battlefields. I still had the German soldier’s button clenched tightly in my fist. I had never been so grateful for my bed, my pyjamas and the whoosh of the central heating. Five minutes later Jenny rushed through the door. “Happy Christmas!” she whispered. “It’s 6AM, let’s go wake Mum and Dad – isn’t this the most amazing day ever?”
Time Travel is Possible! 