At the outbreak of the First World War, football continued to be played, much to the anger of those whose sons, brothers, fathers and husbands were fighting for their lives on the field of battle.
One man is credited with stirring the sports fraternity into action, Geordie McCrae. He swore he would not tell the young men to go to war but invite them to join him on the battlefield.
On 4 August 1914, Britain declared war on Germany. Eleven days later a full house at Tynecastle cheered Heart of Midlothian to victory over Celtic, the defending champions beaten by the young pretenders of the Scottish game. Tom Gracie and Henry Wattie scored and James Boyd kept out everything Celtic could throw at the Hearts goal. Less than two years later all three were dead, as was their team-mate James Speedie. By then five more of the men in maroon had been wounded in action. Two were gassed, injuries that would condemn them to premature graves.
Of the 11 Hearts men who played that August afternoon, two survived the First World War unscathed. They formed part of C Company, 16th Royal Scots, ‘McCrae’s Battalion’, and alongside butchers, bakers, gamekeepers, miners, librarians and the rest, the footballers from Hearts went to war. There were players from 75 professional and amateur clubs in McCrae’s, from Kinneil Ramblers and Ladybank Violet to those from the upper echelons of the Scottish game, Dunfermline, Raith Rovers, Hibernian and above all the men from Tynecastle. This was the first football battalion.
Hearts’ significant contribution to the Great War is already well documented but less is known about the contributions their local rivals Hibs made.
The team’s stadium, Easter Road was made available to the military authorities for the training of new recruits, as was Hibs ground at Piershill. At the start of the war Hibs had only a small squad of around 15 players but it is said that within a short period of time at least seven Easter Road players were either in the armed forces or in a war related occupation.
It should be noted that other sportsmen were playing their part too including Scottish Cricket and Rugby Teams.
Artist’s Response
My work for the WW100 exhibition was a great opportunity to experiment with unfamiliar subject matter and printmaking techniques.
I really wanted to participate in the project as I am from Edinburgh and my story involving the local football teams going off to war is very close to my family of huge football fans! I wanted to take a minimal approach to the final outcome. The textures and pattern are inspired by distressed textiles of football during the time; leather, metal, cotton.
Charlotte Henderson
Edinburgh College Of Art
www.charlottesh.com
Instagram: charlottehenderson
Charlotte is a 4th year illustration student studying at the Edinburgh College of Art. Her working process is often digital based and designed for the area of children’s products. She focuses on shape, colour and composition in a very design-conscious approach.
