This letter once again shows that soldiers don't make wars, they just die in them

@FacheChanteDeux

Жыл бұрын

💯

@Wolf-ln1ml

Жыл бұрын

For the most part, yes. There are some exceptions, both individuals (soldiers who love the power, let alone actual sadists who love the suffering) as well as wars (ISIS come to mind...). But for the most part, yes, war is old men talking and young men dying. 😭

@safiremorningstar

6 ай бұрын

The first world war was the most unnecessary because the whole thing started on a idea of creating a new currency that he thought all of Europe might find useful they have one currency there's less likely to be a problem and bearing in mind that at the time they're still existed among Europe and it's nobles the idea of the emperor being basically the one king supposedly to rule them all at least it has been for so many centuries before. The Kaiser was bringing this up at a time in which countries like France were doing very well even if other countries were doing far less well than they and they didn't like the idea that the Kaiser was suggesting they should be all under his rule, this might have more to do with the fact that by the time the 20th century rolled around things had politically speaking had changed, but it also didn't help that there were plenty of countries that did not want to be a part of the equivalent of what today we call the European union... The problem was his ideas were way too ahead of his time and his now English cousins we're not interested in giving up any kind of power not even the idea of a centralized monetary system, do bear in mind that even when the EU became the European Union in the last what is it 40 years maybe less and they came up with the idea of making a central currency England and a few other countries were not for it but they didn't go to war over it, why you might ask, because first they made a European Union literally they made a council of Europe, a United Europe if you want to call it that and only after discussing and making pictures of what the currency might look like I mean this took years did it finally come to fruition only because they first did the joining together of the individual countries and only after the idea again was floated to make a common currency... And even after the currency was made it was still used alongside of the local currency of whatever country you happen to be in because each country wasn't sure whether it was to their benefit or not and this way they'd have a chance to see if it was also anybody coming from another wouldn't have to exchange they have one common currency that they could use while on vacation and this slowly slowly idea actually worked. And there's the difference between what caused the first world war, and why that same idea didn't cause a another identical one is the idea was a good one but the problem was that instead of getting all his friends together as it were all his communal allies together all the countries he was going to have join his monetary system he didn't do that he just announced it as a thing that everybody would just jump on the bandwagon with he was going and then instead of going okay you're right it's too soon it's not it's not good you know we'll just put table it let's talk about working mutually side by side to come up with ways that we can make our individual countries stronger by an alliance with each other... But instead of doing that he thought he could just roll over everybody else and that's where the thing became the Hindenburg of wars (or probably more appropriately the Titanic of wars) a disaster of mega size proportions.

@007kingifrit

5 ай бұрын

well that's true in SOME wars

"He thanked me for the permission to bury his dead." There are no words to describe the poignancy of that sentence.

@andrewreimisch5487

6 ай бұрын

much less the entire letter. 🥲

Capaldi isn't just reading this. He is feeling it right to his core.

@philippajoy4300

9 ай бұрын

It's called acting - really good acting, when the actor totally inhabits the part, a rare talent to take you away back to the moment of conception and to feel the common humanity, and weep 😢

@thehedgehogsliver

3 ай бұрын

And so am I

@sjs9698

8 күн бұрын

After every war, soldiers return & tell us 'never again' & every time we forget.

In the midst of a hideous war the madmen running my country are waging on Ukraine, I'm sitting here, listening to Peter read this brilliant story of peace and humanity, and bawling my eyes out. Hits so much harder.

@FacheChanteDeux

Жыл бұрын

It is hard to watch the Ukrainians suffer so much, but it is also hard to watch the oppressed Russians who are trapped. We have many Russians coming here, many are settling in California.They seem content to be free of Putin's insanity.

@dissonantiacognitiva7438

Жыл бұрын

But notice that the madman running your country would not be there if not for the western support to make Ukrainians cannonfoder Tools to weaken the Russian military. A war being fought by the west with Ukrainian blood

@debnremmicallie785

Жыл бұрын

Peace be with you

@AA-69

Жыл бұрын

@@FacheChanteDeux Try BIDENS INSANITY !!!!

@AA-69

Жыл бұрын

@@FacheChanteDeux sorry , Not insanity....PURE EVIL GREED

One of the most well read letters ever done. Peter has absolutely added the gravitas that this letter deserves

Let´s not forget how valuable it is what we have today. Greetings from Germany.

@corryjookit7818

2 жыл бұрын

#GeroKron Good to know there's at least Two + people who appreciate a world without greed and fighting. Me and you, and all the others that must be around somewhère. This evening I watched the 2 Cello guys playing a concert in Italy in 2017. I listened to them play Imagine by John Lennon, which was a bit spooky, as I had listened to him earlier in the day giving an interview just a few hours before his death . I love those words, "Imagine all the People living for today". The Cello guys had thousands of adoring fans smiling and singing along in such joy and it struck me that the whole audience had fulfilled the Hope's of John Lennon through music that night. It's possible, it's all possible.

@KNYD

2 жыл бұрын

I think a lot of people have been thinking about that the past two weeks.

@hunterwilk

2 жыл бұрын

I'll drink to that, cheers mate.

@angelheadedhipster2214

2 жыл бұрын

Hello from the UK. 24/3/2022

@starktheripper7924

2 жыл бұрын

Though selfish, petty men seek to drive us apart, I remain European. Greetings from a greatly diminished England.

Thankfully John Armes survived the First World War and lived to be 72 years of age.

@scottsteele427

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the info it as much as The letter brought a tear to my eye,,,,,I like to imagine he might of travelled in Europe years later and maybe came across one of the German. Soldiers

@pipsmum100

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for that, I was desperate to know

@MrDannyDetail

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for this. I honestly thought the bitter 'punchline' at the end was going to be realising that the guy who wrote this died on boxing day when the fighting resumed, so to hear he survived is nice, even though I know that plenty of others wouldn't have done.

@prometheus6835

2 жыл бұрын

@@MrDannyDetail many did die soon after. i heard a story of a soldier who participated in the truce dying a month later while trying to save a stranded soldier.

@stevezytveld6585

Жыл бұрын

Thank you. I needed to hear that. I only just found out my paternal Grandfather survived the British Navy during The Great War. He survived, moved to Canada, married a woman from his home Island in Scotland and had five children. We will not see their like again. - Cathy (&, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown/Pimisi

The emphasis he placed on having the letter kept and copied is striking. He really wanted this information to get out, the knowledge that peace was very much possible out there, even for a short while. It's probably the reason why this account still exists today.

@Hexen_Wulf

Жыл бұрын

I'm surprised the letter made it out and that they didn't censor it or destroy it.

@johannebaker9730

Жыл бұрын

@@Hexen_Wulf I was just going to say that. Thank God it did.

@gillie-monger3394

7 ай бұрын

Captain Ames papers and photos are available in the National Archives UK.

@Whiteythereaper

4 ай бұрын

​@Hexen_Wulf from what I've studied of WW1, the British government back then seemed to respect the (European) opposition more during WW1 than later conflicts. Their behaviour towards African and West-Asian nations made up in racism for their naked respect of the white nations and negative Propaganda seemed to not be as emphasised during WW1, especially with the censoring of letters sent from the lines. I feel like they would have glorified the Honourable King's subjects as being civilised and good soldiers, showing respect to their fellow men.

I am astonished by how completely Peter Capaldi inhabited this long-dead human being. He restores a kind of life to the words, and there’s an element of interpretation to it, of course, but he’s found the most core, human elements of that time and that moment and brought them out for all of us to hear.

@user-xm3qu3mp4p

10 ай бұрын

They really messed up with making his Doctor Who into a Leftist weirdo.

@elhior23

6 ай бұрын

Weird that you are astonished. He is an actor and this is what he does for a living. I was incredibly moved by the letter and him reading it but he is an actor as are everyone they invite to read letters for the simple fact that this is what actors do.

@johnahearn525

4 ай бұрын

Well said

@Dantes74302

2 ай бұрын

He kind of 'went there' in Twice Upon Time. So he has something with this moment in time.

"War is always the same. It is young men dying in the fullness of their promise. It is trying to kill a man that you do not know enough to hate. Therefore, to know war, is to know that there is still madness in the world." President Lyndon B. Johnson - 1966

@Caseytify

2 жыл бұрын

LBJ, the guy who killed thousands of American troops so he wouldn't be the president who "lost Vietnam." {smh}

@rayjennings3637

2 жыл бұрын

@@Caseytify Very true but forgetting the speaker for one moment, the words are still something that deserve thinking about.

@ahmedelakrab

Жыл бұрын

..

@goatface6602

Жыл бұрын

Ironic

@GuineaPigEveryday

Жыл бұрын

@@rayjennings3637 yeah and also as if LBJ is the only one to blame for the war, ppl for some reason avoid giving JFK any blame cuz he's so beloved (mostly cuz he died so young, even though he was a very shit president and person). A president can still question war and its ethics even if he's playing his part in it. As if Churchill isn't allowed to criticise the manner of war and death because he's part of the war. Is there anyone more qualified to ask these questions than the person held responsible for the deaths and sending young men out there to die.

I had to sit quietly and wait when this finished. I felt unable to continue with my life for just a few minutes. Thank you Peter Capaldi. And thank you Captain Armes

I don't think I could have gotten through that letter without crying. I'm crying now.

@Julikachen

Жыл бұрын

I think he was getting a little choked up. I know I am.

@aftersexhighfives

9 ай бұрын

Read it to yourself in private two or three times before performing to keep the tears at bay. You've already cried them. But the weight won't leave your voice. ❤

@THE-X-Force

8 ай бұрын

That serves to prove that you are indeed human ☮

I couldn't think of anyone better reading this letter than Peter Capaldi. I can't help but conjuring up his last adventure as the Doctor in "Twice Upon A Time" where this well known incident, The Christmas Truce, is an essential part of the story. As though he jumped out of his TARDIS one last time right after that to come to the present and bring this letter to life. "Never be cruel ... hate is always foolish, and love is always wise ... be kind!"

@michaeldeane9029

2 жыл бұрын

That particular episode was repeated here in Australia last week (Dec 2021). Definately read with feeling...

@PageNo70

2 жыл бұрын

Same

@patriciacarline6975

Жыл бұрын

Exactly my feeling!

@stephjovi

Жыл бұрын

Exactly. I wonder if he recorded this before or after filming or even reading the script for twice upon a time

@anamorphosys85

Жыл бұрын

@@stephjovi I assume before because this was recorded in March 2016 and "Twice Upon A Time" was first broadcast in December 2017, so he probably got the script not after he read the letter.

I was sitting in my hotel, waiting for the shuttle to the airport, and now I’m wiping the tears from my face. What a beautiful, heartfelt performance, how true! And how foolish we human beings are, to have learned nothing from war, the most stupid of human endeavors!

All wars are civil wars, because all men are brothers. --- François Fénelon

@jonnylumberjack6223

3 жыл бұрын

that's a lovely quote, one I haven't heard before. thanks for sharing.

@benbunyip

3 жыл бұрын

Perfect!👍🏻

@contact_v148

3 жыл бұрын

This is quite beautiful aye

@JS-ob4oh

3 жыл бұрын

High sounding pretty empty words considering Europe during his days was busy warring with each other at the drop of a hat and spreading imperialism and colonialism all over the world pillaging, plundering, murdering along the way.

@userunknownx

3 жыл бұрын

Many drops of water make the sea, and many people make the sea of humanity.

KZread should be ashamed putting adverts during this.

When he said "the War will start again", I burst into tears. When do we learn? When can we just simply stop?

@Caseytify

2 жыл бұрын

It's very simple. When someone robs you, attacks your family, rapes your children; don't fight back. Then it's all very peaceful...

@Arianddu

2 жыл бұрын

@@Caseytify Not a single war has been started that way. Not one.

@SignificantNumberOfBeavers

Жыл бұрын

That's why I actually hate this story. These men had no ill will to each other. They were going to go back to trying to kill each other the next day because their countries told them to.

@TolstoyPlastic

Жыл бұрын

Sadly, it's not up to the men forced to fight it...

@spozbucket

Жыл бұрын

This is all I could think too. It's heartbreaking how so many people have died in war, totally unessecarily.

My grandfather, a veteran of WWI, often talked about The Christmas Truce. I still run across people who don't believe it happened. It didn't happen along the whole line. It didn't change the course of the war. And yet, there, in the middle of the horror of that war, there was a small miracle, a small bit of grace, a small reason to truly have faith in humanity.

Immensely impressive reading by Capaldi, very natural but engaging. Masterclass in conveying enormity without hamming it up.

@tb-cg6vd

3 жыл бұрын

(They could have given it to Bill Shatner.....)

@thehangmansdaughter1120

3 жыл бұрын

I have always enjoyed watching Capaldi weave his web. He has a way of speaking to you that makes you believe you are listening to a real person, not an actor pretending to be a person. He doesn't need to lay it on thick, but lets it fall from his lips in an almost casual and sometimes off-hand way, just as anyone in our everyday lives would. I believe that's the mark of a good actor, not just an ability to speak the lines, but to inhabit a character enough that he's no longer just a character.

@helenl3193

3 жыл бұрын

Reminded me of the saying about jazz - it's not just about the notes you play but also the ones you _don't_ He's a master at pausing in the right places, and the suggestion of words potentially felt but left unsaid (/unwritten in this instance)

This. This is the sign of not just a good actor but someone who can immerse themselves. He was reading his own letter. He was telling his own story. You are there with him. Peter makes you a part of what was happening; what Cpt Armes was trying to describe to his wife. I think it also says a lot about the relationship Cpt Armes has with his wife that he can go so in depth with what was occurring. Maybe many husbands simply said “All is good. Can’t wait to be home again.” These deep relationships between husband and wife, child and parent, are what give us a better insight to the hardships and struggles of conflict.

This is the famous Christmas Truce of 1914. Captain Armes was a member of the1st Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment. This happened in the Rue du Bois sector, near Armentieres.

@bernarddeniger3809

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you.

@englishsteve1465

3 жыл бұрын

I was unaware of the location. There's a song which I presume is from the period titled "Madamoiselle from Armentieres" which my grandfather used to sing (badly) to himself.

@annehunter9732

3 жыл бұрын

@@englishsteve1465 My dad (served in WW2) used to sing that - rather rude words if I recall correctly!

@Helen-kq5ts

2 жыл бұрын

@@englishsteve1465 I learnt this song at junior school (NOT the rude version! 😬) 🎶Mademoiselle from Armentieres, parlez-vous?🎶 I'll be humming it all day now 🌞 Beautiful read by Peter Capaldi.

@englishsteve1465

2 жыл бұрын

@@annehunter9732 lol yeah, I expect there's two versions of it, one being "written" by the troops in the field.

My Grandfather was in WW1 and he talked to my Dad about this happening, as it happened in a number of places on the front lines, he said they sang Xmas songs and shared food and cigarettes and showed photos of their loved ones. My grandfather sent his medals back to to the AIF Australian imperial force, he volunteered because they didn’t know what they were getting into, him and his brother both survived by saving each other a couple of times.

@MikeDisbury

11 ай бұрын

My grandfather was on the Somme for nearly 3 years. He never talked about WW1. When my mother passed away, I found his medals, still in the original box, the ribbons never put onto the medals. I can’t begin to imagine what he went through.

"I wonder who'll start shooting." God that line just breaks my heart.

I can remember my Grandmother telling me with tears in her eyes about her two brothers . Who after returning from the First world war both emigrated . Her eldest brother William said he could no longer live in England after seeing what he saw and knowing why he was there . He left for Australia she never saw him again nor her other brother Tom who went to Canada . Thanks Nan

One german soldier thought "wouldn't it be great if", and managed to get everyone around him to join that thought. Just one single guy. Creating or starting something truely legendary.

@judeirwin2222

2 жыл бұрын

truly

@KatherineTOwen

Жыл бұрын

"Pope Benedict XV, on 7 December 1914, had begged for an official truce between the warring governments.[5] He asked "that the guns may fall silent at least upon the night the angels sang", which was refused by both sides.[6][7]" Wikipedia. Happily, the people overode the decision of the governments

@user-zh4vo1kw1z

Жыл бұрын

@@KatherineTOwen being in the thick of it tends to change one's perspective. Not surprisingly, this war is infamous for that simple fact.

Heard this story before but never heard it read. Peter Capaldi delivered it so poignantly. He is incredible actor… incredible story

This is why I respect Peter for his craft. He really became John Armes, being overwhelmed, emotional and telling it as if he was there. That moment when he shows no remorse as he says they will go back to killing each other because the war goes on is just chilling but so real. He perfectly shows the duality of people fighting in wars. 🙌

@TheNinthDoctor

8 ай бұрын

Yeah, no remorse - but resignation. Heavy, heavy resignation. (That's how I interpreted it, anyway.)

As a German, I noticed the way he said "Volkslied" and it's quite adorable. Such a great delivery of a letter from a truly heartwarming moment in history. Then again, Peter can literally read anything and I will sit here, listening. But this was really astonishing! Thanks for sharing

@msms7434

2 жыл бұрын

I bet he practiced that word 50 times beforehand as well, volksleed, volksleed, volksleed. Then a tiny bit of adrenalin and nerves and the reflex kicks in...volklide...doh

@ScoundrelDaysSon

2 жыл бұрын

@@msms7434 Still happens to me despite my German GF's best intentions. I'll be happily 'ee'-ing along and then eventually I'll read something aloud and my brain & mouth will cruelly betray me spouting 'ei', or vice versa, before you know it. It's such a simple mistake yet it still catches me out. It's really quite annoying.

@ernestvanophuizen461

Жыл бұрын

Such a poignant mispronunciation in this context: turning a "folk song" into the "people's sorrow/regret"

@KatherineTOwen

Жыл бұрын

it's the first account I've read where someone English tried to speak German. So that was nice to hear. It's always the Germans managing to speak English which is rather embarrassing. We haven't improved on languages now!

@philmckenna5709

Жыл бұрын

@Katherine T Owen And you haven't improved on your accent recognition. Capaldi is clearly Scottish, not English. Which is an embarrassment for you, seeing as you're lecturing.

It's not like he's reading someone else's letter, it's like he's giving a verbal report of something he personally experienced...

@ferrous719

2 жыл бұрын

Such a fantastic actor to be able to do it

@stevezytveld6585

Жыл бұрын

The words of Cornel Armes have a distance of a semi-formal report. This man was an officer. He was proficient at summarizing the horrors of the day in a matter-of-fact perfunctory way. He's telling his wife the story in a way that will help him to somehow keep an emotional distance when the bullets start to fly at midnight. The emotional cue points that the performance picks up on... goosebumps. - Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown/Pimisi

The "moment of sanity" must have been totally surreal surrounded in time and space with the madness of war.

@benbunyip

3 жыл бұрын

If the powers that be called the whole thing off from there, that would’ve be been perfect. Why can’t we manage to do this.

@marccas10

3 жыл бұрын

@@benbunyip Well, you probably live in a country that if your ancestors had not fought to preserve themselves then you may live in a very different country or maybe not exist at all? The egg is well and truly scrambled my friend and you can't unscramble an egg.

I was not ready for this. I need to go out and do my groceries but Peter Capaldi has me blubbing. What an extraordinary account of such tragic event.

This event actually inspires the last episode of Doctor Who in Capaldi era. Amazing

This reminded me of a story I read about a German & American soldier who wound up in a ditch together while trying to avoid being killed by an American fighter aircraft that was strafing troops some weeks after the Normandy landings during the liberation of France. They shared photos of their families back home etcetera. It didn't give much detail beyond that, so I don't know how it played out. I believe this was in a book titled "Eisenhower & His Men" by author Stephen Ambrose. It's just so strange how war can bring out the best & worst of human behavior.

And THIS is how history should be taught. I would have remembered this in a way rote memorization could never have accomplished.

It’s immensely saddening that such a truce during wartime was possible yet it could not continue…makes one consider why such a disregard for humanity had to continue afterwards There was an extraordinary opportunity wasted then

@felixhenson9926

6 ай бұрын

There was nothing those soldiers could have done short of convincing the entire military to go on strike and this was a world war, that would have been a death sentence for their country.

I can remember the hushed reverence of sitting down with my grandparents in front of a black and white TV on a dark November evening to watch the Festival of Remembrance. I never met my grandfathers older brother but in reverse order he finished up pursuing his specialism as a signaller with the Royal Engineers, he was pulled out of a Rifles Battalion before the majority of its men were killed on the First day of the Somme, the sap in which he was operating a wireless near Ypres in 1915 was hit by a shell. Having apparently been with his battalion at the 2nd Battle of Ypres, my Great uncle may have experienced gas. Along with his battalion, it seems that he must have witnessed the Christmas Truce. Shortly before my Grandfather died, he said “Here, you’d better have this” and he gave me his brothers Christmas greeting from the trenches in 1915, improvised and duplicated out of a page from an army signallers notepad. Between the two of us, my grandfather and I have kept that humble scrap of paper for 108 years. Peace to us all and goodwill among men this Christmas 2023.

Oh my name is Francis Tolliver, in Liverpool I dwell. Each Christmas come since world war one, I've learned its lessons well. That the ones who call the shots won't be among the dead and lame and on each end of the rifle we're the same. Christmas in the Trenches John McCutcheon

What a wonderfull reading... 1914 was the last chance for something like this. By Xmas 1915 both armies are suffered a year of hell: too many dead friends and pain at the hands of the other side.

@MrFelblood

Жыл бұрын

Plus, the brass was aware of the possibility by then, and made sure to shell the living crap out of the opposing trenches on Christmas Eve, to counteract any thoughts of good cheer or brotherly love. No matter how noble and pure one's objectives, war is an ignoble and filthy means.

@jlvfr

Жыл бұрын

@@MrFelblood all true.

imagine if men like Captain Armes were in charge of war efforts and not their commander's thousands of miles away.

I think you'll find he was a WW1 soldier. The letter is incredibly touching, though.

@cannedmusic

3 жыл бұрын

it does seem like that one commercial

@Brycanthe

3 жыл бұрын

It was more that the letter is dated December 1914. That seems a little early for WW2.

@XantiaD

2 жыл бұрын

Perhaps that's why the video is titled "Peter Capaldi reads a letter from WW1 Captain Reginald John Armes to his wife".

@Brycanthe

2 жыл бұрын

@@XantiaD perhaps they edited the title after I commented more than a year ago? Lots of things are possible.

How mad can the world be that people treating each other humanely on Christmas Day can be an extraordinary event.

Such a beautiful (and sad) letter and a wonderful performance by Peter Capaldi

This one got me teary eyed, what amazing delivery. What a moment of sanity in the insane throws of war.

@banjopete

Жыл бұрын

Throes.?

This could very well be one of the greatest moments in human history!

It’s so insane that they could stop fighting like that & then go back to killing each other

@seth1455

3 жыл бұрын

war is insane

@neilcollins5930

3 жыл бұрын

If they didn’t continue , they themselves would have been courts martial and executed ....

@EterPuralis

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, this is why commanding armies from a distance is so absurd.

@PolGara0139

3 жыл бұрын

Some officers threatened to shoot their men if they didn’t fire their guns

@neilcollins5930

3 жыл бұрын

@@PolGara0139 or they in turn would have been shot ...,

This is absolutely incredible. Imagine what Miracles will happen when more men choose to act from a state of Love and Kindness instead of fear and hate. God bless each of these men and their families and God bless us all. 💖🙏💖

Stunning performance - should be part of any and all history curriculums where WWI is the focus.

@johnmadoc-jones3856

2 жыл бұрын

My father fought in the Somme and Paschendaele. When I was a child I asked him what he thought of the German soldiers,expecting him to say they were brutes,and to my surprise he replied "They were just like us".

What a brilliant narrator 👏. Peter Capaldi brought this episode to life.

As a dad, the exchange of the family pictures wrecked me. The very thought of handing over a picture of my family I just got in the middle of that insanity could only occur in the presence of kindness and trust that would be impossible if not for a moment like that.

Hard to believe a letter from that time was written word for word, so believable that it was said with feeling and delivered so expertly by a true professional actor. I never liked any Dr Who, though I caught pieces of that work, but know of Mr Capaldi's other work and this surely is one of his best.

Oit of all of the Letter Live Readings, THIS is the best one read. Mr Capaldi made this letter TRULY come alive. I was mesmer. No one could have read this letter like he did. My heart hurts for those soldiers who befriended and were enemies at the same time. War can be meaningful both positively and negatively. Simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming.

The insanity of that war. Such a waste. Men who were and would be, and will always be our friends, dying seemingly for nothing.

@Caseytify

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, the Germans marching through Belgium and halfway into France were really our friends. It was all a big misunderstanding.

@informedchoice2249

2 жыл бұрын

@@Caseytify You should watch some interview footage.

I tired so hard not to cry. There’s something so human in wanting to reach out and be friendly. Peter Capaldi is so good, he sounds like he’s about to cry at any moment, you can feel the emotions.

Although this was the most famous truce, there were other local truces. In Gallipoli, the Turks and Australians agreed to a truce to bury the dead.

I could listen to this man read literally anything and I would be absolutely enthralled. What a magnificent storyteller.

People think that people relating normally is extraordinary, but it is the warring that is extraordinary.

It is borderline criminal that this has so few views. Why hasn't this featured on everyone's recommended videos list?

@englishsteve1465

3 жыл бұрын

Agreed 100%

@cyborg7116

3 жыл бұрын

It should be criminal that KZread thinks it's appropriate to interrupt this with not 1, but 3 sets of adverts. Apparently everyone should have a Quooker tap.

There are few things in this world more incredible than this letter and the story behind it. One of those things that are more incredible is Peter Capaldi reading this letter.

And this is why Peter Capaldi is one of our greatest actors - Wonderful poise, delivery and reverence in his delivery 👌

Sometimes remarkable things will be remembered for eternity. This letter and that time will be kept carefully.

I have often wondered, if all the soldiers in the trenches, on both sides, had said "we will not do this", could that war have ended then. Sadly, we'll never know. Beautiful words, beautifully read by a master wordsmith.

@Hexen_Wulf

Жыл бұрын

That's why war isn't a democracy. If it was, it would never be fought.

@floradiamonds

Жыл бұрын

@@Hexen_Wulf I am aware of this, hence my comment. It's a collusion.

@lingeriedeparis7274

Жыл бұрын

They would have been ordered to be shot by the men in the rear

@floradiamonds

Жыл бұрын

@@lingeriedeparis7274 You think?

@rkah6187

Жыл бұрын

​@@floradiamonds There is a book called "The Thin Yellow Line" by William Moore about the hundreds of British soldiers who were shot by their own comrades for cowardice and desertion during the first World War. Shell-shocked and confused men, ordered to be executed by superiors who did not understand how much warfare has suddenly changed and just how traumatising the mass-destruction the Great War has wrought for these poor men. It's a heartbreaking read.

And this happened right on my doorstep here in Ploegsteert (Plugstreet). Them boys, regardless of them being British or German, they get my respect.

@annalieff-saxby568

11 ай бұрын

Violets, April 1915 Violets from Plug Street Wood, Sweet, I send you oversea. (It is strange they should be blue, Blue, when his soaked blood was red; For they grew around his head. It is strange they should be blue.) Violets from Plug Street Wood - Think what they have meant to me! Life and Hope and Love and You. (And you did not see them grow Where his mangled body lay, Hiding horror from the day. Sweetest it was better so.) Violets from oversea, To your dear, far, forgetting land; These I send in memory, Knowing You will understand. Roland Leighton, 1895-1915

Always remember that it's never the soldiers that want war.

Although I have watched this quite a few times before, it’s rendered even more poignant in light of recent events in the Ukraine. I fear that we are sliding into global conflict again. This message of hope, this moment of utter humanity amongst carnage and the almost stunned disbelief of the writer who witnessed it and the realisation that the enemy were people no different than himself is a message that’s every bit as important now as when it was written over 100 years ago….

@shawnblackhawk6718

2 жыл бұрын

Agreed! I’ve shared this on ALL my social media platforms, in hopes it can ease the burden of fear, we all currently share.

@michellebyrom6551

Жыл бұрын

@@shawnblackhawk6718 doing the same.

Well read sir! You have done honour to the author. I hope you have spread the message of the futility of war - or this; don't hurt other people - to just one more person. The tragedy is this: politicians will always trade lives.

@lenakingsleigh

2 жыл бұрын

Oh, he has, even in a long monologue about war as The Doctor in Doctor Who.

Wow. Just Wow. Words cannot express what I am feeling after this reading.

This really puts his last Christmas Special as The Doctor in a great perspective.

Well done KZread inserting hideous ads twice into this particular video. Heartless.

@donnabeesley9624

2 жыл бұрын

They have no soul..

@beth12svist

2 жыл бұрын

Well, I'm pretty sure it's done automatically by a computer because no one indicated this video should be exempt. So they pretty much literally have no heart...

I could see it all in my mind, and through my tears.

I used to have a dvd which told this story! It was a beautiful fictionalized version, and there were 3 army camps (German, English, Scottish). At the end they gave us some true facts about the event. I think what was most astonishing was the fact that this happened in multiple locations!

@Wolf-ln1ml

Жыл бұрын

Was that the 2005 movie ("Joyeux Noel") or something else? :)

@ixchelssong

Жыл бұрын

@@Wolf-ln1ml Yes that's the one! I loved that movie.

@Genesh12

Жыл бұрын

Perhaps it was this movie about the event: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Midnight_Clear

@ixchelssong

Жыл бұрын

@@Genesh12 No, it was Joyeux Noel. BUT thanks... Now I have to watch this other movie! 😁

The incidents of humanity continued as each side would warn the other of incoming artillery barrages, and firing their weapons in the air instead of at each other. High command found out what was going on and had to relocate several units to get them to start fighting again. More people died as a result of war in the 20th century than any other century in recorded history.

You can really feel everything he's done as The Doctor in this beautiful reading, the monologues about the absurdity and futility of war, the idea that even in peace there is tension, a weariness of knowing what will come, and yet the basic decency humanity strives towards, to end war and suffering, even if only for a day.

@jasonotto9126

Жыл бұрын

It's why he's my favourite incarnation of The Doctor even though his episodes were either hit or miss. Really hit or miss

@firehorsewoman414

Жыл бұрын

@@jasonotto9126 Tenant was great eye candy (for me) but Capaldi will be forever my favorite doctor. He was magnificent in The Devil’s Hour.

@jasonotto9126

Жыл бұрын

@FireHorseWoman I'll have to check that out thanks!

Peter really does care quite deeply about piece. It's there in his best Dr. Who monologues as well. What a tremendous force for good.

He is One of the Best actors. Ever. Full. Stop.

I just love the sound of his voice.

@englishsteve1465

3 жыл бұрын

He has what is known as a "Morningside burr". Morningside being a rather upper middle class area of Edinburgh, Scotland.

@wickedpissa25

3 жыл бұрын

@@englishsteve1465 I actually first got interested in him from some youtube clip video of some British show he was on where he constantly swore like a drunken sailor. Hilarious stuff. I've never even seen an episode of the show. I just love the clip video of him constantly swearing. He turns profanity into an art form.

@englishsteve1465

3 жыл бұрын

@@wickedpissa25 Yeah that would be "in the thick of it" or else the spin off film from that series "in the loop" - you didn't wanna be whoever it was he was ragin' at, right ? lol - he was Dr Who aswell but that aint my thing so I never saw it.

@beth12svist

2 жыл бұрын

You should watch Local Hero. That was his first film, and what actually turned him on to acting - he says he had no clue what he was doing and he's already brilliant in it. :-)

@wickedpissa25

2 жыл бұрын

@@beth12svist I'll look for it. Thank you!

This story still brings tears to these old eyes😢😢

Hundreds of people in this hall, listening to Capaldi speak. And not a sound is to be heard.

Correct the title, please. It was WW1 and a very well known incident from WW1 at that.

@davidfinch7407

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, Capaldi says right in the beginning it was 1914. I don't know why people don't know their history.

@RobertKonigsberg

3 жыл бұрын

​@@davidfinch7407 why do you think it's ignorance and not an accident?

@davidfinch7407

3 жыл бұрын

@@RobertKonigsberg Historical ignorance is so common it's very likely. But a simple typo is always possible.

@roses9339

2 жыл бұрын

I'm not sure where the mistake has been made. The reader said 1914 and the title attached to this vid states WW1. Cheers Rosemary Perth Western Australia (71 yrs)

@burpitola

2 жыл бұрын

@@roses9339 Hello Rosemary, the confusion comes from the fact that this video was originally posted with a title stating that it was from WW2. It has since been changed, but the comments asking for the change remain. It was likely just a typo on the video poster's part. I hope things are good in Perth.

I love Peter, and he did a beautiful job reading this. When he played the Doctor on Dr. Who, one of the episodes was about this very thing. It was one of my favorite episodes.

Wonderfully read by the fabulous Peter Capaldi! ❤️

The human spirit never ceases to amaze and shock, how beautiful.

I've read the letter, and about the letter, many times. Capaldi's rendition is superb.

Thank you KZread algorithm for delivering this and it's channel to me. This channel supplies beautiful content that I do not mind spending almost hours getting lost in. Cheers!!

What a brilliant actor Peter Capaldi is. He absolutely commanded that stage and added so much humanity to the letter. We could almost believe it was him writing and living that experience. I was reminded of "Twice Upon a Time" and held the picture of the Christmas battlefield scene in my head as I listened.

My Grandfather, from Liverpool, was killed on the Somme, July 1916, he left a widow and 3 young children, they lived in abject poverty for many years, war is awful.

@lesliejabine1783

3 жыл бұрын

I'm so sorry. Thousands upon thousands of promising young men died in that war. My grandfather survived. I feel he did so by sheer chance. But he was hit by mustard gas, and of 7 young men in his bunker, he and 2 others survived. He died relatively young and I never got the chance to meet him. But I have his letters home, and they are precious to me.

@jimwalker5412

3 жыл бұрын

@@lesliejabine1783 The sad thing is, that war and the 2nd WW still effects people down through the generations, take care, Jim

@q.e.d.9112

3 жыл бұрын

My grandfather died in September 1918. My mother never knew him. RIP, Harold Bingham.

@jimwalker5412

3 жыл бұрын

@@q.e.d.9112 They were good men, one and all, may they all rest in peace.

@brasschick4214

2 жыл бұрын

I’m really sorry to hear that. My grandfather was from Hamburg and fought in the Somme. On the opposite side. He lived but his lungs were affected by mustard gas so he battled ill health after the war. My parents separately emigrated from Germany to Australia after WW 2. It has allowed me to see it from both perspectives and know their are no winners- especially for those on the front lines.

I've always heard of this day, but to hear it in the words of someone whom was there leaves me speechless. Peter Capaldi was certainly the right person to read this one.

There's a beautiful song I used to hear my favorite local Irish musicians (Gerry Timlin and Tom Kane) play from that time. It was called: "Christmas in the Trenches"

@colleeneldracher5658

Жыл бұрын

Celtic Thunder also did one called "Christmas 1914"

Capaldi and the Doctor are one person at this point. You see his disdain for war. Sad to loose that peace .😢

This reading never fails to bring tears to my eyes, Peter delivers it so amazingly. 😢

Heartbreaking and lovely. Perfect delivery. I don't know how anyone can hear this without tearing up.

Cant even imagine what this officer went through and saw. Capaldi did a splendid job telling me. God Bless those brave soldiers!

That was crazy. I had the sound down at the beginning and put it up so it could hear it so for me the sound started a few seconds in. I though Capaldi was just talking to the crowd I didn't realize he was acting.

IDK if it is appropriate or not, but how novel Peter Capaldi was chosen to read this letter on the 1914 Christmas Armistice in WW1. His swan song episode of Doctor Who, broadcast Christmas Day 2017, takes place during this event.

A glimmer of hope amongst such tragedy. We really are a messed up species.

I'm sobbing at my computer desk listening to this. I listened to Matt Berry's, and that was lovely of course, very funny and off-beat, but this one is the one that has sold me on Letters Live.

I saw the spot but listening the letter is much better

Even in war, Peace, Humanity, Respect, Dignity, Kindness, and even Friendship are possible. If Human's can achieve this during one of the most horrible times in our history. Imagine what we can do together with world peace.

I wish I could deliver a script like that. I will never be able to, but it was nice to witness somebody who could.

What an enthralling, moving reading. I doubt a better reader than Peter Capaldi could have been found. And what a letter. A first hand description of the Christmas Truce of 1914, not knowing nearly four more years of slaughter were to come. I was particularly pleased to find that the writer survived what became known as The Great War for Civilisation. As I write this I think of my own Grandfather who also fought & survived that war from virtually the beginning as he was a Territorial Army infantryman before. #lest We Forget #NEVER Forget

Bravo! So well performed & so humane!