soccerhistory.co.uk is the site for those who want to know more about the history of British football. Learn about the great players, club histories and famous matches that are part of our football heritage. Help us make It a repository of stories and images which have been preserved by generations of football fans and are in danger of being lost. This website is a work in progress - help us make it the voice of football supporters across the country.
Football and the First World War
On 3 August 1914, the British Empire declared war on Germany. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle captured the feeling of the time when he declared: ‘If the cricketer had a straight eye let him look along the barrel of a rifle. If a footballer had strength of limb let them serve and march in the field of battle.’
A Volunteer Army
The formation of a volunteer army in 1914 was greatly assisted by the decision to General Henry Rawlinson suggestion that men would be more willing to join up if they could serve with people they already knew. These regiments became known as ‘Pals Battalions’.
The Leeds Pals
The 15th (service) Battalion (1st Leeds) The Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment) was known as "The Leeds Pals". Amongst its ranks were sportsmen such as Yorkshire County Cricket Club players, athletes and footballers.
Evelyn Lintott
Prominent among the later was Evelyn Lintott, a teacher who became a professional footballer, appearing for Plymouth Argyle, Queens Park Rangers, Bradford City and Leeds City. He was the first professional footballer to gain a commission. He was killed in action on 1 July 1916, the first day of the Somme offensive.
The Footballers Battalion
The 17th Battalion of the Duke of Cambridge's Own Middlesex Regiment was known as the "Footballers' Battalion". Its numbers included no less than forty players and staff from Clapton Orient (now Leyton Orient) the first English Football League club to enlist together.
Walter Tull
Walter Tull, one of the first black professional footballers, was another outstanding footballer who abandoned his career and joined the 1st Football Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment. On 25th March, 1918, he was ordered to lead his men on an attack on the German trenches at Favreuil. Soon after leaving the trenches, Tull was killed - his body was never found.
Hearts FC
At the beginning of the 1914 football season, Hearts was Scotland's most successful team, winning eight games in succession. In response to an appeal to the Hearts players every member of the team joined a new battalion being promoted in Edinburgh by Lieutenant-Colonel Sir George McCrae. By the end of the war seven members of the Hearts team had been killed in action.
