Students Play Own Christmas Truce

Students are staging their own Christmas Truce between schools to raise money for veterans and mark the 100th anniversary of one of the most recognised moments of the First World War.

During Christmas 1914, soldiers from both sides laid down their weapons and met in No Man's Land to share greetings, mementoes and a game of football during an impromptu ceasefire.

The match became one of the most famous moments of the war, and now a group from Ayrshire College are staging their own version to raise money for charity and educate local school pupils about the historic event.

Football Remembers, to be held from 1pm at Kilmarnock's Rugby Park on December 10, will involve more than 100 pupils from Irvine Royal Academy and Greenwood Academy taking part in a series of short matches.

Students from the college will also take on staff from the schools, with the teams wearing old-style football strips in tribute to the original truce match.

Hollybush House in Ayrshire, a respite home for veterans and carers, will benefit from money raised at the event through sponsorship and ticket sales.

Organised by sports coaching student Chris Haldane, the initiative has gained support from Kilmarnock FC and the Scottish Football Association (SFA).

He said: The idea is two rival schools coming together, we'll tell them a bit about rivalries back then and they'll play a series of games, so it's all centred around them.

Football is a great way of capturing the attention of young people and if we can use that to educate them and raise money, then that's great.

Kilmarnock have given us the ground for free and the SFA are covering the cost of a suite and catering, which we appreciate.''

It was announced earlier this week that the military will also mark the occasion with a match between players from the British Army and the German Bundeswehr.

It will be staged at Aldershot Town's stadium in Hampshire on December 17 following a week of remembrance aimed at engaging football fans and players at every level about what took place over Christmas 100 years ago on the battlefields of Belgium.

Mr Haldane said he was looking for inspiration for a fundraising event when the 1914 truce match caught his attention.

The common theme (for fundraising) is to put on a fun run or something but there have been a few things recently about the Christmas Truce, TV adverts and bits on the news and events in England, and we thought it was perfect and something that was different and could be a unique way of getting the schools together.

There have been a lot of commemoration events this year but there are kids who don't really know much about this extraordinary event, so we thought it was worth highlighting.

The schools have been really keen and helped with fundraising through sponsorship for the pupils taking part.

People coming along to watch will make a donation to get in and we have some legions and veterans involved as well so hopefully we'll have a good crowd."

Research released by the British Council this year found the Christmas Truce was one of the most recognised moments of the First World War, with more than two-thirds of UK adults aware of it.

Memories of the truce have recently been revived in Sainsbury's Christmas television advert in which a moment of friendship is shared between a British soldier and a German.