Post by QPR Report on Mar 26, 2009 6:31:08 GMT
Sorry. It's not really that board-relevant. But I thought it was interesting article.
Guardian/John Ashown
Which footballers have been honoured for their off-field bravery?
From VC winners to the football-dribbling East Surrey Regiment at the Somme, we chart some of the players who gave their lives in the war effort. Send your questions and answers to knowledge@guardian.co.uk
A Victoria Cross and other medals
"Have any footballers ever been honoured for their off-the-field bravery?" asks John Bennett.
We received a deluge of responses to John's question, each outlining footballers who have received awards for their heroism during the first world war:
Bernard Vann (Northampton Town and Derby County)
Vann signed as an amateur for Northampton as an 18-year-old in 1905, joining his brother Albert at the club, and made a handful of appearances before switching to Derby in 1907, again as an amateur. In 1908 he made his only three appearances for the Rams, playing against Aston Villa, Notts County and Birmingham before leaving the Football League behind to attend Cambridge University and then begin a career as a chaplain and teacher. After joining the army at the outbreak of the first world war, Vann rose swiftly up the military ranks and won the Military Cross during the Battle of Loos in 1915, a battle in which Albert was killed. His won the Victoria Cross in 1918 after the attack on Bellenglise and Lehaucourt, during which "he led his battalion with great skill across the Canal du Nord through a very thick fog and heavy fire from field and machine guns". Unfortunately Vann's VC was a posthumous one – in October of the same year he was shot through the heart by a sniper's bullet. The full heroic story is here.
Donald Simpson Bell (Crystal Palace, Newcastle United and Bradford Park Avenue)
The only other English footballer to be awarded the Victoria Cross, Bell played as an amateur for Palace and Newcastle while following a career in teaching, turning professional in 1912 with Bradford Park Avenue. In 1916 Bell found himself at the Battle of the Somme and, in July, stuffed his pockets with grenades and attacked, successfully, an enemy machine-gun post. He was killed attempting to repeat his remarkable attack five days later.
Willie Angus (Celtic)
"'No braver deed was ever done in the history of the British Army," wrote Lt Colonel Gemmill, the commanding officer who witnessed Angus's astonishing rescue of his friend James Martin. The pair had grown up in Carluke, Scotland, where Angus worked as a miner before signing for Celtic, for whom he made one first-team appearance. Unlike Bell and Vann, Angus survived to receive his Victoria Cross, awarded for braving bombs and machine-gun fire to bring the wounded Martin back from under the nose of a German trench. Angus lost an eye in the rescue. It really is a stunning tale, deserving of the full respect it is given here. Thanks to Aidan Thomas for bringing Angus to our attention.
Jimmy Speirs (Clyde, Bradford City, Leeds City)
The Scottish Speirs scored the winning goal in the 1911 Cup final and lifted the trophy as captain. "Although he would have been exempt from conscription, which did not come about until 1916, because of his young family in Glasgow, Speirs voluntarily signed up for the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders in 1915," writes Paul Cook. "Speirs had been a leader on the football pitch and soon became a leader on the war field, rising through the ranks and winning the Military Medal in 1917 for his bravery at the Second Battle of Arras. Later the same year he died at the Battle of Passchendaele."
William Tull (Northampton Town and Tottenham Hotspur)
Joe Skinner and Paul Sumner write to suggest Tull, one of the first black professional players. Sent to the Italian Front in May 1917, Tull led his men in the Battle of Piave and was commended for his "gallantry and coolness under fire". In 1918, he was transferred to France and was killed in the last Battle of the Somme. He is commemorated on the Arras Memorial in France and in 1998 the Walter Tull Memorial Garden was opened next to Sixfields Stadium. More details can be found here.
Tim Coleman (Nottingham Forest, Arsenal, Everton, Sunderland, Fulham)
Andy Wright suggests the Kettering-born Coleman, a striker with a formidable scoring record throughout his career. Subject of a forthcoming book by George Myerson – Fighting for Football: From Woolwich Arsenal to the Western Front, The Story of Football's First Rebel – Coleman, a member of the Footballers' Battalion, received the Military Medal for bravery.
David Glen (Brechin City, Dundee Utd, Millwall)
Glen was one of six Brechin footballers killed in the first world war and was awarded the Military Medal before falling at the Battle of Arras on Easter Monday 1917. His full story, and that of his comrades, can be found on the Brechin City site.
East Surrey Regiment
Last, but certainly not least, Andy Wright also commends this courageous group. "The 8th battalion of the East Surrey Regiment attacked the Prussian Guards at the Somme on 1 July 1916, dribbling ahead of them four footballs as they crossed No Man's Land and attacking Montauban ridge through heavy machine gun and mortar fire," he writes. "Casualties were heavy but the ridge was captured. The East Surreys were awarded two Distinguished Service Orders, two Distinguished Conduct Medals and eight Military Medals."
www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/mar/25/the-knowledge-football-bravery-war
Guardian/John Ashown
Which footballers have been honoured for their off-field bravery?
From VC winners to the football-dribbling East Surrey Regiment at the Somme, we chart some of the players who gave their lives in the war effort. Send your questions and answers to knowledge@guardian.co.uk
A Victoria Cross and other medals
"Have any footballers ever been honoured for their off-the-field bravery?" asks John Bennett.
We received a deluge of responses to John's question, each outlining footballers who have received awards for their heroism during the first world war:
Bernard Vann (Northampton Town and Derby County)
Vann signed as an amateur for Northampton as an 18-year-old in 1905, joining his brother Albert at the club, and made a handful of appearances before switching to Derby in 1907, again as an amateur. In 1908 he made his only three appearances for the Rams, playing against Aston Villa, Notts County and Birmingham before leaving the Football League behind to attend Cambridge University and then begin a career as a chaplain and teacher. After joining the army at the outbreak of the first world war, Vann rose swiftly up the military ranks and won the Military Cross during the Battle of Loos in 1915, a battle in which Albert was killed. His won the Victoria Cross in 1918 after the attack on Bellenglise and Lehaucourt, during which "he led his battalion with great skill across the Canal du Nord through a very thick fog and heavy fire from field and machine guns". Unfortunately Vann's VC was a posthumous one – in October of the same year he was shot through the heart by a sniper's bullet. The full heroic story is here.
Donald Simpson Bell (Crystal Palace, Newcastle United and Bradford Park Avenue)
The only other English footballer to be awarded the Victoria Cross, Bell played as an amateur for Palace and Newcastle while following a career in teaching, turning professional in 1912 with Bradford Park Avenue. In 1916 Bell found himself at the Battle of the Somme and, in July, stuffed his pockets with grenades and attacked, successfully, an enemy machine-gun post. He was killed attempting to repeat his remarkable attack five days later.
Willie Angus (Celtic)
"'No braver deed was ever done in the history of the British Army," wrote Lt Colonel Gemmill, the commanding officer who witnessed Angus's astonishing rescue of his friend James Martin. The pair had grown up in Carluke, Scotland, where Angus worked as a miner before signing for Celtic, for whom he made one first-team appearance. Unlike Bell and Vann, Angus survived to receive his Victoria Cross, awarded for braving bombs and machine-gun fire to bring the wounded Martin back from under the nose of a German trench. Angus lost an eye in the rescue. It really is a stunning tale, deserving of the full respect it is given here. Thanks to Aidan Thomas for bringing Angus to our attention.
Jimmy Speirs (Clyde, Bradford City, Leeds City)
The Scottish Speirs scored the winning goal in the 1911 Cup final and lifted the trophy as captain. "Although he would have been exempt from conscription, which did not come about until 1916, because of his young family in Glasgow, Speirs voluntarily signed up for the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders in 1915," writes Paul Cook. "Speirs had been a leader on the football pitch and soon became a leader on the war field, rising through the ranks and winning the Military Medal in 1917 for his bravery at the Second Battle of Arras. Later the same year he died at the Battle of Passchendaele."
William Tull (Northampton Town and Tottenham Hotspur)
Joe Skinner and Paul Sumner write to suggest Tull, one of the first black professional players. Sent to the Italian Front in May 1917, Tull led his men in the Battle of Piave and was commended for his "gallantry and coolness under fire". In 1918, he was transferred to France and was killed in the last Battle of the Somme. He is commemorated on the Arras Memorial in France and in 1998 the Walter Tull Memorial Garden was opened next to Sixfields Stadium. More details can be found here.
Tim Coleman (Nottingham Forest, Arsenal, Everton, Sunderland, Fulham)
Andy Wright suggests the Kettering-born Coleman, a striker with a formidable scoring record throughout his career. Subject of a forthcoming book by George Myerson – Fighting for Football: From Woolwich Arsenal to the Western Front, The Story of Football's First Rebel – Coleman, a member of the Footballers' Battalion, received the Military Medal for bravery.
David Glen (Brechin City, Dundee Utd, Millwall)
Glen was one of six Brechin footballers killed in the first world war and was awarded the Military Medal before falling at the Battle of Arras on Easter Monday 1917. His full story, and that of his comrades, can be found on the Brechin City site.
East Surrey Regiment
Last, but certainly not least, Andy Wright also commends this courageous group. "The 8th battalion of the East Surrey Regiment attacked the Prussian Guards at the Somme on 1 July 1916, dribbling ahead of them four footballs as they crossed No Man's Land and attacking Montauban ridge through heavy machine gun and mortar fire," he writes. "Casualties were heavy but the ridge was captured. The East Surreys were awarded two Distinguished Service Orders, two Distinguished Conduct Medals and eight Military Medals."
www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/mar/25/the-knowledge-football-bravery-war