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    © Imperial War Museums 2026

    Memorial

    Christmas Truce (Football Remembers)

    Mark Newton 19.09.2017

    Source: Copyright Mark Newton 19.09.2017

    1/3

    Current Location

    Memorial is in the Poppy Zone, at the far end of the site near Watersmeet and next to the Christmas Truce Shelter., National Memorial Arboretum, Croxall Road, Alrewas, Lichfield, Staffordshire, DE13 7AR, England

    OS Grid Reference

    SK 1906314976

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    Names listed on this memorial

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    © WMR-72473

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    Type of Memorial
    Composite
    WMR Reference Number
    72473
    Description
    A bronze sculpture depicting a handshake between a British soldier and a German soldier encased within an open-meshed steel football. The British soldier's hand is depicted with the cuff button of the Royal Warwickshire regiment; the German soldier also wears a regimental button. The sculpture is mounted on a pyramid-shaped stone plinth of two sections with a steel slab on its truncated top. There is an inscription carved into the stone on the front of the plinth. The memorial is at the centre of a circle of stone paving edged with a brick border. On the grass alongside the memorial is a rectangular tablet of polished black granite mounted on a base of black granite and stone. The tablet has an inscription in white lettering which describes the dedication of the memorial.
    Inscription
    [Plinth]: Christmas Truce/ 1914/ Football Remembers [Tablet]: This memorial was dedicated by/ HRH The DUke of Cambridge KG KT/ President of The Football Association/ on/ 12th December 2014
    War
    First World War (1914-1918)
    Maker(s)
    • Spencer Turner, Designer

    • Georgie Welch

    Sponsor Type
    corporate
    Sponsored By
    Funded by the Premier League, the Football Association and the Football League in partnership with the British Council as part of a commemorative project, "Football Remembers" targeted at schools and football clubs in the UK. The design of the memorial was selected as a result of a public competition for schoolchildren initiated by HRH The Duke of Cambridge. The winner was Spencer Turner, aged 10, of Newcastle.

    Ceremonies

    Unveiled

    12 December 2014

    HRH The Duke of Cambridge KG, KT, President of the Football Association, Mr Greg Dyke Chairman of the Football Association, Mr Roy Hodgson, Manager of England football team, Mr Theo Walcott, Spencer Turner

    Dedicated

    12 December 1914

    HRH The Duke of Cambridge KG, KT, President of the Football Association, Mr Greg Dyke Chairman of the Football Association, Mr Roy Hodgson, Manager of England football team, Mr Theo Walcott, Spencer Turner

    Components

    Sculpture

    Made from: Bronze


    Condition: Good


    Plinth

    Made from: Stone


    Condition: Good


    Tablet

    Made from: Granite


    Condition: Good


    Paving

    Made from: Stone


    Condition: Good


    • This England Magazine Winter 2015, page 22
    • http://www.thefa.com/news/2014/dec/12/hrh-duke-of-cambridge-unveils-spencer-ww1-memorial
    • http://www.bbc.co.uk/schoolreport/30479086
    • https://schoolsonline.britishcouncil.org/classroom-resources/football-remembers/competition