Ledwidge relation spawns an internet hit with wwi advert

A Christmas advertisement for British supermarket giant Sainsbury’s by a great grandnephew of the Slane poet Francis Ledwidge is proving a runaway hit on the internet.
The three-minute and 20 second film, directed by Ringam Ledwidge for Sainsbury’s and the Royal British Legion, travels back a century to the trenches of World War I to tell the story of the famous 1914 Christmas truce that British and German soldiers observed in the first holiday season of that war.
It shows enemies on the Western Front, divided by a snow-covered No Man’s Land, singing 'Silent Night’ in two languages during a brief pause in the slaughter. Then, British and German soldiers slowly and nervously emerge from their trenches for handshakes and a game of football. But as the distant shelling resumes, the two sides reluctantly retreat behind their barbed wire once again.
Within 24 hours of its first showing on television, the ad had scored 1.8 million hits on YouTube and the numbers are still growing.
The director, Ringan Ledwidge, admits he was intimidated by the sensitivity of the subject as his own great granduncle, Lance Corporal Francis Ledwidge, died at the Battle of Passchendaele in July 1917, aged 29, and his paternal grandfather fought in both world wars.
“It was nerve-wracking making sure the tone was right. I wanted to do the story and those men justice and make something that transcends products and advertising,” he said.
The ad has had a resonance in Ledwidge’s home village, Slane. Rosemary Yore, chairperson of the Ledwidge Museum Committeec said that the link between Slane and the First World War was a very strong one because one of its famous sons had fought and died on the battlefield.
“I have watched the ad on YouTube and I think it’s wonderfully made. It’s amazing to think that it was made by a direct relative of Francis and although we have never met Ringam, we’re very proud of what he has done,” she said.
Mark Given, head of brand communications at Sainsbury’s, said: “This year, we wanted to reflect that theme of sharing in our Christmas campaign through the lens of one of the most extraordinary moments of sharing in modern history, when on Christmas Day 1914, British and German soldiers laid down their arms, and came together on neutral territory to share stories, mementos and even a game of football.”