The Christmas Truce
A documentary made by Vikram Jayanti and VixPix Ltd for the American History Channel, the programme tells the story of the 1914 Truce when both sides met in No Man's Land and swapped gifts and in some places played makeshift games of football. The programme was shown on the History Channel on Christmas Day, 2002 and a re-edited version was shown on Channel 5 on Christmas Day, 2003 and again just before Christmas 2004.
Historical Advice:
Art Director & Historical Adviser: Taff Gillingham
Taff was employed as both Historical Adviser and also as Art Director responsible for the construction of an authentic 1914 style trench in Yorkshire. He designed the trench, German front line and No Man's Land especially for the project with all the features required in the script. The completed 'set' was extremely realistic.
Interviewee:
Taff was interviewed on the programme about the Truce and the circumstances which led up to it and the reasons for it coming to an end.
Costume and Props:
Khaki Devil provided the complete uniform, equipment and weaponry for the men of both sides. This included making ten Imperial German uniforms from scratch. The men of Christmas 1914, on both sides, looked completely different to the men who served later in the war whose uniforms and equipment altered considerably and the production company were delighted with the realism of the completed work. We also supplied all the trench stores.
