THE OLD rivalry and enmity between the amateur and professional football codes in England may have led to a battalion of footballers being raised for the British army in WWI.
This incident opens the story of this fascinating book, When the Whistle Blows - The Story of the Footballers’ Battalion in the Great War by Andrew Riddoch and John Kemp (Haynes Publishing ), which has recently been published in paperback.
At the outbreak of the war in August 1914, amateur team players volunteered to enlist, but professional football continued on. In order to show that professional players were every bit a patriotic, a battalion, known as the 17th Middlesex was raised.
The debates over footballers entering the war and amateurism v professionalism, recounted in some detail in this book, are fascinating as they sould very familiar to contemporary criticisms of the game regarding commercialisation, the level of money in football, and the examples players set to children and youth.
Based on extensive original research, Andrew Riddoch and John Kemp draw on many previously unpublished letters, personal accounts, and photographs to paint a vivid portrait of the battalion, which saw action at the Somme, Arras, and Cambrai.
Among their ranks was Fred Keenor, who led an unfancied Cardiff City side to FA Cup glory in 1927; future Wolves manager Frank Buckley; Spurs Afro-Caribbean star Walter Tull; and Joe Mercer, who led Arsenal to league title victories in 1947-48 and 1952-53, as well as to FA Cup glory in 1950 when the Gunners beat Liverpool 2-0.
The book is not just a history of an army battalion, it is also a history of modern football in England during its formative years of the late 19th and early 20th century, and of the football players and fans, who fought, died, and survived the horrors of WWI.
It is indispensable reading for football fans but also for anyone with an interest in WWI for it’s examination of the conflict from an unusual angle.
