Heart of Midlothian Football Club, commonly known as Hearts, is a professional football club in Edinburgh, Scotland. The team competes in the Scottish Professional Football League. Hearts, the oldest and most successful football club in the Scottish capital, was formed in 1874, its name influenced by Walter Scott's novel The Heart of Midlothian. The club crest is based on the Heart of Midlothian mosaic on the city's Royal Mile; the team's colours are maroon and white.
Haymarket is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is in the west of the city centre and is the junction of several main roads, notably Dalry Road, Corstorphine Road, and Shandwick Place. Haymarket contains a number of pubs, cafés and restaurants.
James Low was a Scottish footballer who played as an outside right (winger).
Contalmaison is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
Percival Hall Dawson was an English footballer who played as a centre forward. He played in the Scottish Football League for Heart of Midlothian and in the English Football League for Blackburn Rovers, moving between them in 1914 for what is believed to be a record transfer fee at the time.
When World War I was declared in 1914, it had a negative effect on association football; in some countries competitions were suspended and players signed up to fight, resulting in the deaths of many players. Frederick Wall, Secretary of the Football Association, famously implied Jimmy Hogan was a traitor for spending the duration of World War I in Europe.
Colonel Sir George McCrae was a Scottish textile merchant and Liberal Party politician. In Scotland he is best remembered for the creation of McCrae's Battalion, also known as the Second Edinburgh Pals Battalion and (officially) the 16th Battalion Royal Scots.
Harry Graham was a Scottish professional footballer who played in the Scottish Football League for Raith Rovers and Heart of Midlothian, and in the Football League for Bradford City, Birmingham, Leicester City and Reading. He played as an inside forward.
Robert Preston was a Scottish professional footballer who played in the Scottish League for Heart of Midlothian and in the Football League for Plymouth Argyle and Torquay United. He played as a wing half or centre half.
McCrae's Battalion was the affectionate name given by the people of Edinburgh to the 16th (Service) Battalion of the Royal Scots in World War I, raised from volunteers in 1914 as part of the New Armies called to the Colours by Lord Kitchener. The unit was named after its charismatic colonel, former Liberal MP for Edinburgh East, Sir George McCrae.
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.
Ernest Edgar Ellis was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League for Barnsley as a right back.
Duncan Currie was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a full back in the Scottish League for Heart of Midlothian.
Henry Benzie Wattie was a Scottish professional footballer who played in the Scottish League for Heart of Midlothian as a forward.
Archibald Boyd was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper in the Scottish League for Heart of Midlothian.
Alfred Ernest Briggs was a Scottish professional footballer who played in the Scottish League for Heart of Midlothian as a wing half. He later scouted for Partick Thistle.
Patrick James Crossan was a Scottish professional football defender who played in the Scottish League for Heart of Midlothian.
William R. Wilson (1894–1956) was a Scottish professional footballer, who played as an outside left (winger), primarily with Heart of Midlothian.
Norman Findlay was an English professional football goalkeeper who played in the Football League for Coventry City.
Edward M. McGuire was a Scottish professional footballer who played in the Scottish League for Heart of Midlothian as an inside right.
