WWI Christmas Truce memorial

Prince William and football stars including Theo Walcott and Eden Hazard are lending their support for a campaign to mark the historic WWI Christmas truce football match.

On Christmas Day in 1914 German and British troops played impromptu football matches along the Western Front in no man’s land in Flanders, putting enmity aside for the festive period.

The iconic moment is to be remembered this year as part of the commemorative events. 

Football Remembers will see every team in the Premier League and Football League, along with 24 England national sides, marking the centenary of the Great War.

Football clubs and over 30,000 schools across the UK are also being asked to take part in a number of events between now and December.

Prince William will be part of a project to design a permanent memorial to the football played during the truce.

The winning design, which will be chosen by Prince William and Walcott, will be built at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. It will be formally unveiled in December.

The Duke of Cambridge said: “It promises to be a powerful way to engage and educate young people about such an important moment in our history.

“We all grew up with the story of soldiers from both sides putting down their arms on Christmas Day, and it remains wholly relevant today as a message of hope over adversity, even in the bleakest of times.”

Just a few weeks ago research conducted by the British Council found that the Christmas truce is one of the most recognised moments of the First World War.

The study concluded that over two-thirds of adults in the UK adults are aware of the historic event.