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Christmas In Flanders Fields
I don’t know if I’m living longer or dying slower…
Armed with dreams of heroic victory and Lord Kitchener’s rally cry ringing in his ears, Jack Crosby proudly made his way to the front line. Once there, he quickly realised that there was no glory to be had on the blood-soaked fields of Flanders.
On the back of unrelenting German fury, December delivers a brutal Belgian winter…
Water pours in, swirling around Jack’s ankles, it meanders effortlessly through the trench, bringing with it the pungent stench of death. Body parts intermingle with rats and slushy mud, facilitating the inevitable spread of disease. Cutting a forlorn figure, Jack’s hardening heart aches for home, his beloved Rose and the idyllic life he now mourns.
But then, on Christmas Eve, dulcet German tones carried on the wings of angels float serenely through the gloriously placid night air…
Christmas in Flanders Fields is a poignant and moving depiction of the ungodly struggles encountered by decent men, too young to die. Set against the backdrop of the remarkable Christmas truce in 1914, It’s a story that encompasses love, hope, fear, bravery and the most unlikely friendships forged on the rugged plains of No-Mans-Land.
Armed with dreams of heroic victory and Lord Kitchener’s rally cry ringing in his ears, Jack Crosby proudly made his way to the front line. Once there, he quickly realised that there was no glory to be had on the blood-soaked fields of Flanders.
On the back of unrelenting German fury, December delivers a brutal Belgian winter…
Water pours in, swirling around Jack’s ankles, it meanders effortlessly through the trench, bringing with it the pungent stench of death. Body parts intermingle with rats and slushy mud, facilitating the inevitable spread of disease. Cutting a forlorn figure, Jack’s hardening heart aches for home, his beloved Rose and the idyllic life he now mourns.
But then, on Christmas Eve, dulcet German tones carried on the wings of angels float serenely through the gloriously placid night air…
Christmas in Flanders Fields is a poignant and moving depiction of the ungodly struggles encountered by decent men, too young to die. Set against the backdrop of the remarkable Christmas truce in 1914, It’s a story that encompasses love, hope, fear, bravery and the most unlikely friendships forged on the rugged plains of No-Mans-Land.
285 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 21, 2025
3 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
About the author
Chris Waddington
20 books4 followersMy name is Chris, I'm a father, grandfather, avid Liverpool fan and hopeless romantic. I believe passionately in the power of words. They can bring hope to those in distress, relief to the downtrodden and inspiration to the disillusioned. They're capable of melting the coldest of hearts. After publishing 12 children's stories I've just released my maiden novel. My one hope (besides a third Wayne's World movie) is that people enjoy reading it just as much as I did writing it.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 24, 2025
3,5🌟
This was my first ever book in the genre of historical fiction, thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this ARC. I was positively surprised by the plot, and how intriguing it was to follow the British MMC Jack as he fights against germans in the trenches, during the war in 1913. This is reality for so many humans, and it is absolutely heart wrenching to read about. Waddington truly captured the feelings in the setting of the story with his writing.
This is a story about love, brotherhood, loss and grief, hope and so much more. I connected with each and every character in their own way, and I especially appreciated Wilhelm and Jack's story. It was a real surprise, and the emotional impact? HUGE. Jack and Rose deserves all the love and happiness, truly. And Frosty, oh Frosty. What a character.
I would highly recommend reading this book, it is easy to get through but will punch you in the gut and stab you in the heart a couple times along the way. Perfect!
This was my first ever book in the genre of historical fiction, thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this ARC. I was positively surprised by the plot, and how intriguing it was to follow the British MMC Jack as he fights against germans in the trenches, during the war in 1913. This is reality for so many humans, and it is absolutely heart wrenching to read about. Waddington truly captured the feelings in the setting of the story with his writing.
This is a story about love, brotherhood, loss and grief, hope and so much more. I connected with each and every character in their own way, and I especially appreciated Wilhelm and Jack's story. It was a real surprise, and the emotional impact? HUGE. Jack and Rose deserves all the love and happiness, truly. And Frosty, oh Frosty. What a character.
I would highly recommend reading this book, it is easy to get through but will punch you in the gut and stab you in the heart a couple times along the way. Perfect!
November 1, 2025
Book Review: Christmas in Flanders Fields by Chris Waddington
Christmas in Flanders Fields is a hauntingly beautiful and deeply human novel that captures the heartbreak, horror, and fleeting hope of the First World War. Chris Waddington brings readers into the muddy, blood-soaked trenches of Flanders with writing so vivid and heartfelt that you can almost hear the distant guns and smell the damp, frozen earth.
The story follows Jack Crosby, a young soldier who, like many of his generation, marched off to war with dreams of glory and patriotism. Those dreams quickly dissolve in the brutal reality of trench warfare—mud, rot, disease, and the unbearable weight of loss. Jack’s longing for home and his beloved Rose forms the emotional core of the novel, grounding the chaos of war in a tender, aching humanity.
But it’s the events of Christmas Eve, 1914 that elevate this story from tragic to transcendent. When carols begin to drift across No Man’s Land and soldiers from both sides tentatively emerge from their trenches, Waddington transforms history’s most miraculous moment of peace into a scene of breathtaking grace. The Christmas truce, rendered here with quiet reverence, becomes not just a pause in battle but a testament to the endurance of the human spirit.
Waddington’s prose is lyrical yet unflinching, balancing realism with poetry. He neither romanticizes war nor drowns it in despair; instead, he reveals the full spectrum of emotion—fear, exhaustion, courage, compassion, and the fragile hope that even in hell, humanity can flicker like candlelight in the dark.
Christmas in Flanders Fields is a hauntingly beautiful and deeply human novel that captures the heartbreak, horror, and fleeting hope of the First World War. Chris Waddington brings readers into the muddy, blood-soaked trenches of Flanders with writing so vivid and heartfelt that you can almost hear the distant guns and smell the damp, frozen earth.
The story follows Jack Crosby, a young soldier who, like many of his generation, marched off to war with dreams of glory and patriotism. Those dreams quickly dissolve in the brutal reality of trench warfare—mud, rot, disease, and the unbearable weight of loss. Jack’s longing for home and his beloved Rose forms the emotional core of the novel, grounding the chaos of war in a tender, aching humanity.
But it’s the events of Christmas Eve, 1914 that elevate this story from tragic to transcendent. When carols begin to drift across No Man’s Land and soldiers from both sides tentatively emerge from their trenches, Waddington transforms history’s most miraculous moment of peace into a scene of breathtaking grace. The Christmas truce, rendered here with quiet reverence, becomes not just a pause in battle but a testament to the endurance of the human spirit.
Waddington’s prose is lyrical yet unflinching, balancing realism with poetry. He neither romanticizes war nor drowns it in despair; instead, he reveals the full spectrum of emotion—fear, exhaustion, courage, compassion, and the fragile hope that even in hell, humanity can flicker like candlelight in the dark.
December 28, 2025
Christmas in Flanders Fields by Chris Waddington is told through the reflective voice of British soldier Jack Crosby, immersing the reader in the muddy trenches of World War I, where brutality has become routine and hope feels like an act of rebellion. From its opening pages, the book establishes an unflinching realism where rats, corpses, fear, and exhaustion are rendered with lyrical restraint rather than sensationalism.
At its emotional core is the historical Christmas Truce of 1914, a fleeting moment when enemy soldiers laid down their weapons to sing, bury the dead, exchange gifts, and briefly remember their shared humanity. Author Waddington captures this event with remarkable tenderness. The scenes of candlelit trees rising from German trenches, carols drifting across no-man’s-land, and men shaking hands with those they had tried to kill only hours earlier are written with a sense of awe and disbelief that feels earned. The friendship between Jack and German soldier Wilhelm Becker becomes a powerful symbol of the fragile, fleeting nature of peace.
Equally affecting are Jack’s memories of home, particularly his love for Rose, whose letters and small gifts sustain him through despair. These quieter passages ground the novel emotionally, reminding us what war steals and what soldiers fight to preserve. The prose is evocative and reflective, often reading like a lament for lost innocence and squandered potential.
On the whole, Christmas in Flanders Fields by Chris Waddington is a poignant, immersive, and deeply emotional and moving tribute to a moment when compassion briefly triumphed over conflict. It is historical fiction at its most heartfelt. It is sobering, beautiful, and unforgettable.
At its emotional core is the historical Christmas Truce of 1914, a fleeting moment when enemy soldiers laid down their weapons to sing, bury the dead, exchange gifts, and briefly remember their shared humanity. Author Waddington captures this event with remarkable tenderness. The scenes of candlelit trees rising from German trenches, carols drifting across no-man’s-land, and men shaking hands with those they had tried to kill only hours earlier are written with a sense of awe and disbelief that feels earned. The friendship between Jack and German soldier Wilhelm Becker becomes a powerful symbol of the fragile, fleeting nature of peace.
Equally affecting are Jack’s memories of home, particularly his love for Rose, whose letters and small gifts sustain him through despair. These quieter passages ground the novel emotionally, reminding us what war steals and what soldiers fight to preserve. The prose is evocative and reflective, often reading like a lament for lost innocence and squandered potential.
On the whole, Christmas in Flanders Fields by Chris Waddington is a poignant, immersive, and deeply emotional and moving tribute to a moment when compassion briefly triumphed over conflict. It is historical fiction at its most heartfelt. It is sobering, beautiful, and unforgettable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 2, 2025
This was a difficult book to assign a rating to.
The setting is a WW1 battlefield, nicknamed “Flanders Field”. The fighting of French, American, British troops against the Germans has been fierce, chaotic, and merciless. On Christmas Eve of 1914, a miracle occurred, which is still immortalized in poetry and prose over one hundred years later. The fighting on both sides ceased; carols were sung, meals were shared, and friendships were made, in the most harrowing and unlikely of circumstances imaginable. Unfortunately, after this brief period of calm and peace, the conflict inevitably began again…
Told through the technique known as “interior monologue”, this work of historical fiction puts the reader squarely into the mind of young Jack Crosby as he experiences the abject horrors on the battlefield. But in a respite from the descriptions of battle, the marvelous and legendary Christmas Truce of 1914 is beautifully described as well, a time when young men on both sides laid down their arms and put aside their differences for a time of enjoyment together.
*I received a digital copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are strictly my own.*
The setting is a WW1 battlefield, nicknamed “Flanders Field”. The fighting of French, American, British troops against the Germans has been fierce, chaotic, and merciless. On Christmas Eve of 1914, a miracle occurred, which is still immortalized in poetry and prose over one hundred years later. The fighting on both sides ceased; carols were sung, meals were shared, and friendships were made, in the most harrowing and unlikely of circumstances imaginable. Unfortunately, after this brief period of calm and peace, the conflict inevitably began again…
Told through the technique known as “interior monologue”, this work of historical fiction puts the reader squarely into the mind of young Jack Crosby as he experiences the abject horrors on the battlefield. But in a respite from the descriptions of battle, the marvelous and legendary Christmas Truce of 1914 is beautifully described as well, a time when young men on both sides laid down their arms and put aside their differences for a time of enjoyment together.
*I received a digital copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are strictly my own.*
December 8, 2025
Set against the backdrop of the Christmas truce in 1914, this is a story that encompasses love, hope, fear, bravery and the most unlikely friendships forged on the rugged plains of No-Mans-Land.
It reminds us of the futility of war as thousands of young men scarcely out of boyhood gladly marched off to the western front, proud to be doing their duty. They found themselves in the horror of trenches filled with water, rats and dead bodies, and constantly under bombardment from shelling.
Among the soldiers is Jack Crosby, whose courtship of Rose is sweetly told in the language of the time.
The Christmas Day Truce never fails to disappoint, and here it is beautifully told. The perfect book for the festive period.
It reminds us of the futility of war as thousands of young men scarcely out of boyhood gladly marched off to the western front, proud to be doing their duty. They found themselves in the horror of trenches filled with water, rats and dead bodies, and constantly under bombardment from shelling.
Among the soldiers is Jack Crosby, whose courtship of Rose is sweetly told in the language of the time.
The Christmas Day Truce never fails to disappoint, and here it is beautifully told. The perfect book for the festive period.
January 14, 2026
Definitely have a box of tissues handy for this utterly heartbreaking story.
We follow Jack Crosby as he enters into the war upon Flanders field against the Germans in WW1, reading the story from a soldiers viewpoint and not the war itself.
Fighting the war from the frontline brings many fears to the soldiers from fighting their own demons from the pressures of those above them sitting in safety and the truly terrifying reality of becoming either the one to kill or be killed themselves - having to decide in a split second.
This is my first novel of this kind and although tragic, it was very respectfully written
We follow Jack Crosby as he enters into the war upon Flanders field against the Germans in WW1, reading the story from a soldiers viewpoint and not the war itself.
Fighting the war from the frontline brings many fears to the soldiers from fighting their own demons from the pressures of those above them sitting in safety and the truly terrifying reality of becoming either the one to kill or be killed themselves - having to decide in a split second.
This is my first novel of this kind and although tragic, it was very respectfully written
December 28, 2025
A bittersweet portrait of a literal Christmas miracle: the 1914 Armistice. Memorable characters and incisive observations about the horrors of war and the human cost. Well worth a read. (Proviso: My copy was lousy with spelling errors. The most I've ever seen in a published book, sadly. Kept taking me out of the narrative. Pedantic historian's note: The main Jack was waxing nostalgic about Christmas. He mentions Rudolf the Red-Nose Reindeer in 1914. Rudolph wasn't introduced until Gene Autry's song until 1939.)
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews