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The story of Private Ernest William Woods

Three pictures of Ernest William Woods. In the first picture, William is the man sitting down.
Ernest William Woods, regiment number 149219, was a gunner with the 188 siege battery RGA. William Woods didn't join up until 1917 and was posted to the British Expeditionary Force in France in July 1917 (1st reserve Brigade RGA) and to 188 SB on the 11th august 1917. He was active in the Ypres area because he had two small military maps (one around Ten Brielen and the other around Houtem). William Woods survived the war and lived to an old age. He died however well before his grandson, Richard Woods, could ask him any questions about his war service. The only thing Richard can remember was that his grandmother wouldn't let William in the house when he came home on leave until he had removed his uniform as it was invested with lice.

Picture of Ernest William Woods (William is the man sitting down)
Ernest William Woods
Photograph

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CONTRIBUTOR

Richard Woods

DATE

1917-07

LANGUAGE

eng

ITEMS

3

INSTITUTION

Europeana 1914-1918

PROGRESS

START DATE
TRANSCRIBERS
CHARACTERS
LOCATIONS
ENRICHMENTS

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METADATA

Source

UGC
Photograph

Contributor

europeana19141918:agent/d4dfdce17e2371e4d2f887867e000c09

Date

1917-07

Type

Story

Language

eng
English

Country

Europe

DataProvider

Europeana 1914-1918

Provider

Europeana 1914-1918

DatasetName

2020601_Ag_ErsterWeltkrieg_EU

Begin

1917-07

End

1917-07

Language

mul

Agent

Ernest William Woods | europeana19141918:agent/34dfb3c7a59e1d5c720854879c2476f3
Richard Woods | europeana19141918:agent/d4dfdce17e2371e4d2f887867e000c09

Created

2019-09-11T08:30:12.583Z
2020-02-25T08:29:41.360Z
2014-10-07 09:28:45 UTC
2014-10-07 09:29:01 UTC
2014-10-07 09:29:18 UTC
2014-10-07 09:29:32 UTC

Provenance

INTERNET

Record ID

/2020601/https___1914_1918_europeana_eu_contributions_17783

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Christmas Truce of 1914 - Grandad William - His Story

8 Items

On Christmas Eve of 1914, soldiers across both fronts slept in their trenches awaiting the end of the war. They were told it'd be over by Christmas. Some German soldiers decided to sing hymns, in this case the most notable is 'Silent Night' or 'Stille Nacht'. As they did so, soldiers across the allied side began to listen, and some began to sing along with them. As this progressed, it is said that one German soldier climbed from his trench unarmed. In his hand, instead of a rifle, he carried a small pine tree with candles hung around its branches. Soldiers on the opposite side were quite rightly astonished, so they (at first) aimed their weapons in defence. it was only once they realised he was unarmed that they stood to ease. Eventually, a soldier from the allied side also walked over; and in the middle of no mans land he met with the German soldier. They shook hands, and this continued. All across the front, fighting stopped. It was decided by both sides that fighting would cease over the Christmas period. Over this time, they swapped gifts, shared stories, told of their families and ambitions, and perhaps most notably played a game of football. This event was portrayed in last years Sainsbury's Christmas advert, which was met with some controversy - I personally found it quite touching and was over the moon that this event was now getting the attention it deserved. My Great Grandad William Wood was in the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Scotts Fusiliers and as far as we know, he was well involved in the truce. I never met William, and wether he would've told me his storied I'm not sure, but this I'm sure would be an exception. It turns out William was a very keen football player, and was apparently approached to play for Newcastle F.C, so I'd like to think he took the chance to play a game of football with great anticipation. The events of that Christmas day ended, the football stopped and the gifts were exchanged. The final event that both sides attended was the burying of the lost soldiers. Whilst they had the chance, the men who had been killed could be given an appropriate burial. Prayers were said, and perhaps more hymns were sung. Once this was over, both groups dispersed to their trenches, and the war once again began. Please do email me at burgessdavid8@googlemail.com if you have any questions on this subject 🙂 || I have 3 photos of My Great Granddad William, some of his medals and a letter fro m his father. - The first photograph is once of just himself. - The next is one of him and a few other soldiers in a trench, probably in La Boutillerie. He is on the far right. This photograph has been used in many documentaries and is also used on the cover of a book titled 'Rats Alley'. - Another is of his with his friend Jimmy James after both World Wars. We're unsure when it was taken, perhaps during the 50's or 60's. - One also shows him in the bottom right, wearing a brighter uniform. This could possibly be in a trench - but I'm unsure at what point this photograph was taken during the war. - The last photograph shows him with two of his sons. He's in the middle, with his son Ted on the right, and his other son Bill on the left. - I also have put up a photo of the 3 medals he received, some standard issue and others signifying more notable achievements. - There is also a photograph of a letter written by his Dad Giles, who is concerned at the lack of information he received about his son away at the front. It reads: October 16th 1914 Please sir, I would like to know if my son his at the front. Last heard of at Gibraltar. I have sent two letters and no answer and I am very uneasy about him. PVT William Wood A.Company 2nd Battalion Royal Scotts Fusiliers No 010581 This letter does show that Giles was perhaps slightly illiterate, as was very common at the time.

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