A Pause For Thought.......... Warning: this article is as much about history as it is about football. Remembrance Sunday is a time which mustn't be forgotten. By the time the First World War concluded, 885,138 British servicemen had lost their lives fighting. It is massively important that we never let their sacrifices slip from memory. Football should be a massive part of this. Millions of people watch, week in and week out and, as such, football has a responsibility to help remember those who have passed. This article pays tribute to just a small number of those who fought in the war, from the footballing community, who should also not be forgotten. Obviously it is difficult to track everyone who signed up from the footballing community. From the Chelsea side of the time, I could only find specific mention of one name: Vivian Woodward. Woodward joined Chelsea in 1909 and remained on Chelsea's books technically until 1915, though he signed up at the very start of the war. Unfortunately Woodward, who was also a very talented footballer on the National stage, with two Olympic Gold medals to his name, was hit in the leg by a hand grenade, ending his footballing career. Another England star of the time, Frank Buckley, who had played as a centre half for both Manchester sides, also signed up and was in the same battalion as Woodward. Frank had been a regular soldier previously and was given the rank of Major in the new 'Footballers Battalion'. Their battalion was involved in the Somme, where Thomas Brewer and Evelyn Lintott, at the time QPR players, were both killed. Buckley was hit with shrapnel, puncturing his lungs. Naturally, he was then taken from the front where he remarkably survived and returned in 1917 to the front. He was yet another who could not return to his previous life after the war. Newcastle United were also represented, with George Pyke fighting in the same battalion. He did survive and returned to his previous life after the war. The last individual I will mention was Walter Tull, a player who represented Rangers, Spurs and Northampton. He was again a member of the footballers battalion and was also there at the Somme. He suffered from Trench Fever, however, and had to be sent to recover. After his recovery, he became the first black combat officer in the British Army. In 1918, however, Tull was shot whilst leading his men across No Mans Land and despite the best efforts of those around him to drag him to safety, he died on the battlefield. And no article writing about football and the first world war could possibly forget the bravery of the members of the then Clapton, now Leyton, Orient team who joined up as a group of 41. 3 of the team were killed at the Somme - including Richard McFadden, who even before the war, had proven his bravery twice already - once saving a drowning boy, once rescuing a man from a burning building. And it should be mentioned that the Footballers battalion was made up of 600 men. 122 were footballers. The rest made up of fans who wanted to fight alongside their heroes and they of course deserve mention also. So there it is; a brief summary of football's contribution to the First World War. There are obviously going to be people I've missed and for that I apologise but finding information on the subject isn't easy. I would hope that none of us need convincing that Remembrance Day is important but I felt that it would be right to show the link between the war and our beautiful game. Lest we forget... http://www.chelsea.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=511177
Classless because I pointed out the article on Goal.com was plagiarised. As I said it was a good read once but not twice. How big do you look now Mr so called moderator
Say's socialist Cym the avid Socialist Worker' reader, you probably remember it when it was called 'The Industrial Worker'
The very same Comrade The Daily Mail that subsidised Mosley and the Blackshirts political efforts, and contributed to his expense account, funding trips overseas to meet people such as Adolf Hitler et all in 1938. Or 1937...possibly '36...but you get the drift
