The Myth of the Christmas Truce

Me - Sebastian Phillips


Regions:
Surrey, West Sussex, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, London
Notice Period:
Regular (more than one month's notice)
Type:
Head of a History department
Fee:
Expensed: I don't charge, except perhaps expenses. A nice bottle of port might be welcome though :-)
Category:
History
Updated:
16th September 2024
Tagged:
Christmas | Ww1

'How can something be a 'myth' when we KNOW it happened?'

By the 1960's, people were classing the Christmas Truce of 1914 with other stories like the angels of Mons and the crucified Canadian - today, we know that it happened. So how can this be? How does something fall out of history and become myth? Why do we stop believing something?

This talk examines what happened on Christmas day 1914. How it took place, whether it happened the way we think it did, and why people later found it hard to believe.

Views: 84 | Enquiries: 3

About Me - Sebastian Phillips

So, a bit about me -

I'm currently head of history at a private school, and frequently find that what I enjoy studying and writing about goes way beyond the needs of the classroom. GCSE and even A level is pretty limiting.

My first job after leaving university was working as a tour guide in London. I'd already got a history degree, largely based on history of crime, so it came quite naturally.

I've also led plenty of tours around Ypres and the Somme, plus giving assemblies (as one student put it - 'you do the ones that aren't boring, sir.' I'll take that. I also do 'outreach' - which is where the schools sends me to feeder schools to demonstrate that History at our establishment isn't boring.

I'm fascinated by history - especially WW1, underwater archaeology, crime and those bits of history we'd rather not talk about too loudly. Crime, Empire, the trade in enslaved peoples, etc etc. And I try to keep things topical, as far as I can.

In terms of availability - I'm happy to be flexible. If I have a projector and Internet access, and I'm available, I'm happy to give a talk.


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