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.[1]
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Between 1915 and 1919 competitive football was suspended in England. Many footballers signed up to fight in the war and as a result many teams were depleted, and fielded guest players instead. The Football League and FA Cup were suspended and in their place regional league competitions were set up; appearances in these tournaments do not count in players' official records.
Even though the Swiss Football League was not suspended, some 5,800 footballers – out of a total of 8,500 – signed up to fight.[2] However, most of the pitches were destroyed – 420,000 square feet (39,000 m2) out of a total of 920,000 square feet (85,000 m2) had been turned into potato fields.[2]
After the outbreak of war in 1914, the Swiss national side did not compete again until 1920.[2]
The "Christmas truce" is a term used to describe several brief unofficial cessations of hostilities that occurred on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day between German and British or French troops in World War I, particularly that between British and German troops stationed along the Western Front during Christmas 1914. During the truce, a game of football was played between the British and German soldiers.[3]
On 6 February 1914, author Arthur Conan Doyle made a direct appeal for footballers to volunteer for service.[4] Many players heeded the calls, and a special Football Battalion was formed, as part of the Middlesex Regiment.[5] The regiment was led by Frank Buckley, who later estimated that over 500 of the battalion's original 600 men had died.[5] There were over 5,000 men playing professional football in Great Britain 1914, and of those, 2,000 joined the military services.[4] Many football players, both amateur and professional, lost their lives. Scottish side Celtic was badly affected, and lost seven players. Another Scottish side, Brechin City, lost six players.[6]
Although not an official battalion, the Edinburgh City Pals was populated with players and fans from Hearts, Hibernian, Falkirk and Raith Rovers, and managed to raise 1300 men in six days.[7][8]
A number of British soldiers received medals for bravery during World War I, including Bernard Vann (MC and VC), Donald Simpson Bell (VC), William Angus (VC), Jimmy Speirs (MM), Tim Coleman (MM) and David Glen (MM).[9] Others to receive decoration include Leigh Richmond Roose (MM) and Philip F. Fullard MC and AFC).[7] Other players who were not awarded medals have also been honoured, such as Walter Tull, who is honoured on both the Arras Memorial and at Northampton Town's Sixfields Stadium.[9]
Teams lost a number of players during the conflict. English team Bradford City, for example, lost nine players - first-team players Bob Torrance, Jimmy Speirs, Evelyn Lintott, James Conlin, James Comrie, Gerald Kirk, and reserve players George Draycott, Ernest Goodwin, and Harry Potter.[10] William Baker, a member of the Plymouth Argyle team that won the Southern League in 1913, was killed in Serre during the Battle of the Somme.[11][12]
On 21 October 2010, the Footballers' Battalions Memorial was unveiled at Longueval, France, near Delville Wood, to commemorate those from the Footballers' Batallions who had fought and died in the Great War.[13] [14]