Over 50 contracted and former Celtic F.C. players fought in World War I, seven of whom died. Of those that fought, William Angus was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery in battle.
Over 50 contracted and former Celtic F.C. players fought in World War I, seven of whom died. Of those that fought, William Angus was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery in battle.
In the early 20th Century Celtic F.C. was already a successful club having won 10 Scottish League Championships and 8 Scottish Cups in their 26-year history (by 1914). Celtic won the league four times in a row during World War I. [1] During this run of league championships, Celtic went 62 matches unbeaten from 20 November 1915 until 14 April 1917, a record in British football that stood for a century. [2] [3] [4] [5] However, football was not as important due to the War effort; attendances fell, player's salaries were reduced and there was increased pressure to complete the fixture list. [6] On one occasion in 1916, during their 62 match unbeaten run, Celtic had to play two matches on the same day against Raith Rovers and Motherwell, and won both 6–0 and 3–1 respectively. [7] Recruitment drives were also held at football matches [8] [9] and on one occasion an exhibition of trench warfare was held at Celtic Park. [6]
Over 50 contracted and former Celtic players served in the war. [10] Of the 908,371 British and Commonwealth soldiers who died in the fighting, six were former Celtic players whilst one was still a contracted player at the club. [10] The fallen were Patrick Slavin, Leigh Richmond Roose, Donnie McLeod, Archie McMillan, Bob Craig, John McLaughlin and Peter Johnstone. Roose and Slavin died in the Battle of the Somme (1916), four others died in 1917 and Craig died in 1918. [10]
Roose was a Welsh goalkeeper who played a trial match for Celtic in 1910. He had 24 caps for Wales and a Doctorate in Bacteriology before he joined the 9th Royal Fusiliers in 1914. He rose to the rank of Lance Corporal and was awarded the Military Medal before his death on 7 October 1916 between the hours of 1.45pm and 9.00pm in the Battle for Montauban. His regiment was sent to attack the enemy line and it is believed that he died as a result of heavy machine gun fire and shelling when his regiment came under attack (he is recorded as missing on the Thiepval Memorial). [6] On that day it is recorded 25 died, 165 missing and 132 wounded.
Slavin was the second former player to die. He rose to the rank of Sergeant and was with the 2nd Battalion Royal Scots and died 13 November 1916, in the 2nd Battle for the village of Serre. The day he died it was reported that there was thick fog by 5 am and that the enemy's barbed wire was not cut, he is reported to have been shot dead after "going over the top", that day 23 died, 84 missing and 177 wounded. [11]
McLaughlin's records are scant which is an indication that he may never have made a first team appearance for Celtic. However, it is known that he played for Mossend Hibs and Renton. He held the rank of private and was in the 11th Battalion of the Highland Light Infantry. He was injured on 23 April 1917 when his battalion came under fire at the Battle of Calvary Farm at Monchy Le Preux which is north of Arras. He did not survive his wounds and died on 10 May 1917. [6]
Peter Johnstone was the only contracted Celtic player to give his life in the war – a pre-war club legend who had played for Celtic 223 times and won the league four times under manager Willie Maley. Peter joined the 6th Battalion of the Seaforth Highlanders. He died in May 1917, when his regiment were told to capture a chemical factory as part of the Battle of Arras. In the second day of the battle it was reported 43 died, 26 missing and 51 wounded; although he among the missing, rumours of his death spread around Glasgow and were confirmed on 6 June 1917. His name is engraved on the Arras Memorial. [12] [13] [14]
Archie McMillan was an outside left who failed to make a competitive appearance for Celtic. [15] He held the rank of Private and was in the 1st/7th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. From 21 to 23 November 1917, his regiment was involved in heavy fighting in the Battle of Cambrai. Their orders were to capture the village of Fontaine-Notre-Dame, Aisne and although they were successful he was shot dead and was among the 9 dead, 22 missing and 128 wounded. He is buried in a British war cemetery in Manancourt. [6]
Donald "Donnie" McLeod was a full back who played 155 times for Celtic between 1902 and 1908. He subsequently moved to Middlesbrough and was playing for them when he joined the army. He was a gunner in the 466th Battery of the 65th Royal Field Artillery. It is known that he died of his injuries on 6 October 1917 the cause of them is unknown. However it is most certain that he died in Belgium and was involved (or died) in the Battle of Passchendaele. McLeod is buried in Dozingham Military Cemetery, Westvleteren, Belgium, Plot 5, Row G, Grave 7. [6] [16]
Bob Craig left Celtic in 1909, having spent three seasons at the club and was the final former Celtic player to die in the war. He was a full-back and played 13 times for the club. He was a private in the 5th Battalion of the South Wales Borderers and died on 19 April 1918. He died of his wounds from 11/04/1918 when the enemy re-captured the town of Mesen in Belgium. He is buried in Boulogne Eastern Cemetery, plot 9, row A, grave 3. [6]
In 1914 William Angus was captain of Wishaw Thistle. Details of his time at Celtic remain uncertain, but he was contracted to the club for a short spell before the war, making a couple of appearances for the reserve team. He left the club at some point in season 1913/14 and returned to his primary occupation as a miner in Carluke. He was also a Territorial soldier in the local battalion of the Highland Light Infantry. In 1914 his unit was mobilized and his entire company was sent as a reinforcement draft to the 8th Royal Scots. He crossed to France later that year and in June 1915, near Givenchy, he was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery and valour in rescuing Lt James Martin who had fallen wounded a few feet from the German line. Angus was wounded 40 times in the process and lost an eye. When he came home to Scotland he was given a hero's welcome and was always a guest of honour in major football matches. He also became the president of Carluke Rovers F.C. and held that position until his death. [17]
Despite not being actively involved in the conflict, the people at home made valuable contributions to the war effort. In 1918 Celtic won the Navy and Army War Fund Shield, a friendly tournament that Celtic and a few other teams agreed to take part as a fundraising event to give money to footballers and their families who fought in the war. [18]
Alexander Edwards VC was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for valour in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Alexander Turnbull was a Scottish footballer who played as a forward for both Manchester City and Manchester United in the early 20th century.
William Patrick Maley was an Irish-born Scottish international football player and manager. He was the first manager of Celtic Football Club, and one of the most successful managers in Scottish football history. During his managerial tenure, Maley led Celtic to thirty major trophies in forty-three consecutive years as manager. He is attributed to have coined the famous Celtic motto 'It is not his creed nor his nationality which counts, it's the man himself.'
James McMenamin, was a Scottish footballer who most notably played for Celtic from 1902 to 1920 and later served as assistant manager in the 1930s. He has been described by the club as "a true Celtic legend".
Cricket in World War I was severely curtailed in all nations where first-class cricket was then played except India. In England, South Africa and the West Indies, first-class cricket was entirely abandoned for the whole of the war, whilst in Australia and New Zealand regular competitions were played for the 1914–15 season but first-class matches were afterwards abandoned. In South Africa, first-class cricket did not recommence until a series of matches against the Australian Imperial Forces cricket team in late 1919, and provincial cricket was not played until a one-off match between Transvaal and Natal in April 1920.
Joseph Dodds was a Scottish footballer who played club football for Celtic, Cowdenbeath and Queen of the South. Dodds was unbeaten in his three full international caps for Scotland, and was regarded as a quick and dependable left back.
Derwas Goring Charles "Dave" Cumming was an Australian rules footballer and soldier who was killed in the First World War.
Alfred Williamson was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Football Club and Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
The 10th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force was a unit of the First World War Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), specifically in the 1st Canadian Division from 1914 to 1919. The battalion participated in every major Canadian battle of the First World War, and set a record for the most decorations earned by a Canadian unit in a single battle at Hill 70. The unit was known to its contemporaries simply as The Fighting Tenth.
Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 1919 was the first cricket season after a four-year break from first class cricket during World War I. The English club Derbyshire had been playing for forty-eight years. It was their twenty first season in the County Championship and they won three matches in the County Championship to come ninth.
The 1967 Intercontinental Cup was a football tie held over three legs in 1967 between the winners of the 1966–67 European Cup, Celtic, and Racing Club, winners of the 1967 Copa Libertadores.
Conrad Powell Johnstone, known as CP Johnstone or Con Johnstone, was an English businessman and amateur sportsman who played first-class cricket between 1919 and 1948. After serving in the First World War he spent much his working life in India and is regarded as one of the key players in the development of cricket in Madras. He served in the First World War, played first-class cricket in both England and India and was also a noted golfer as well as the President of Kent County Cricket Club in later life.
The 17th (Service) Battalion, Middlesex Regiment was an infantry battalion of the Middlesex Regiment, part of the British Army, which was formed as a Pals battalion during the Great War. The core of the battalion was a group of professional footballers, which was the reason for its most commonly used name, The Football Battalion. The 23rd (Service) Battalion, Middlesex Regiment was formed in June 1915 and became known as the 2nd Football Battalion. The battalions fought in the Battle of the Somme in 1916 among others. Soldiers who fought in the 17th and 23rd Battalions included Second Lieutenant Walter Tull, who was possibly the first black infantry officer in the British Army.
The 25th Battalion, CEF was a unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the Great War. It was the second infantry battalion of ten to be raised in Nova Scotia during the war. The 25th served in Belgium and France as part of the 5th Canadian Brigade, 2nd Canadian Division from 16 September 1915 until the end of the war. Regimental headquarters were established at the Halifax Armouries, with recruitment offices in Sydney, Amherst, New Glasgow, Truro and Yarmouth. Of the 1000 Nova Scotians that started with the battalion, after the first year of fighting, 100 were left in the battalion, while 900 men were killed, taken prisoner, missing or injured.
William Maxwell was an Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Peter Johnstone was a Scottish footballer who played for Celtic.
Between August and November 1914, sixteen Heart of Midlothian Football Club players enlisted to fight in World War I. In doing so, they became the first British team to sign up en masse. The majority joined the 16th (Service) Battalion of the Royal Scots, otherwise known as McCrae's Battalion. On the first day of the Battle of the Somme in 1916, the British Army lost nearly 20,000 men, including three of Hearts footballers who had signed up. The war ended up claiming the lives of seven of the Hearts players who had enlisted, with several others returning so severely wounded they were unable to play football again.
Patrick Slavin was a Scottish professional footballer who played in the Scottish League for Motherwell and Celtic as an outside right.
William Ribchester was a Scottish footballer who played as an outside right.
The 1917–18 season was Chelsea Football Club's twelfth year in existence. Due to the ongoing First World War, the Football League and the FA Cup were suspended so the club instead participated in the London Combination, an unofficial regional league mainly comprising teams from London. Results and statistics from these matches are not considered official. Chelsea won the London Combination for the second time in three years as well as the War Fund Cup.