The Christmas of the 1915 was the second Christmas that the Battalion had experienced since it formation in the Fall of 1914. Since that Christmas in London, Ontario the Battalion had moved from Canada to England in April, 1915 where it trained and the embarked to France and thence, to Belgium for its baptism of fire.
The Christmas Truce of 1914 appears to be on the mind of the Battalion diarist as he indicates that, “…no liberties were taken by either side.” Liberties may be a highly appropriate word and used in this context means that the soldiers did not act in any way outside the proscribed policy. This implies that there were conversations, casual or formal, which outlined an expected behaviour in contrast to the experiences from the last Christmas.
The 2oth Battalion was in the line and its War Diary indicates the same experience, “The day was very quiet along the line…” Though the Battalion noted that there was an attendance for a funeral for the three 20th Battalion men killed on the 24th. This entry expands on this Battalion’s Christmas experience:
“Rainy and mild.
Had the sad duty of burying 3 of our best men.
The whole line has been very quiet all day & neither side has exposed themselves and there has been not attempt to fraternize. There was a shot every 10 or 15 minutes, but no one was hit.
The kindness of our friends at home has helped to make our Xmas as merry as possible. Had a very pleasant dinner and evening after.”
The 18th Battalion summarized its Christmas Day in the line near Vierstraat as:
“Battn as yesterday – Everything very quiet tonight and all day. Very little firing but no liberties where taken by either side.”
The “Christmas Truce” at least along the Canadian occupied lines was not to be repeated. The War Diaries from the members of the 4th Brigade, 2nd Canadian Division gives us a small window into the thoughts and experiences of the Canadian soldiers far from home.
A Canadian Love Story in WWI Silk Embroidered Postcards
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History of the 18th Battalion CEF, "The Fighting Eighteenth" 
I’m interested in the photos of the individual 18th battalion companies you posted Oct. 20, 2014. they are all in London -the first at Wolseley and rest at western Fair grounds. I’m interested in obtaining a higher res copy of C company. We are working on a travelling display dealing with Ellis Sifton and the men from Elgin at Vimy Ridge.
You have an excellent site – I’ve used it for research many times.
Many thanks, Mike
Curator, Elgin County Museum
mbaker@elgin-county.on.ca
Mike,
I will see what I can do for you. I have to admit that I need to do a better job cataloging the images and the sources that I find them.
Eric