Blue Peter
Christmas Truce
The Series Producer wanted to film two separate pieces. One was to show the two male Blue Peter presenters living the life of Great War soldiers with The Khaki Chums which was shown during the run up to Remembrance Sunday in November 2002. The other was an item on The Christmas Truce (shown 23 December 2002).
Historical Advice:
Art Director and Historical Adviser: Taff Gillingham
Taff acted as both Historical Adviser and also as Art Director. Using the same trench in North Yorkshire that he constructed for a previous Christmas Truce project we faithfully recreated a British front line trench in the winter of 1915/16. The weather was appalling - the liquid mud was thigh-deep - which only added to the overall impact. The final piece was very powerful and educational for Blue Peter's young audience.
Interviewee:
Taff was interviewed by the presenters about the life of soldiers of The Great War and the conditions they lived in.
Costume and Props:
Khaki Devil provided the uniform, equipment and weaponry for men of both sides. This included ten Imperial German uniforms for the Christmas Truce reconstruction. The other troops featured were all members of The Khaki Chums. We also supplied all the trench stores.