 |
|||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 
|
 |
 |
The National Football Museum To Commemorate Those Footballers Who Fell In The Great War
The World's greatest football Museum is set to honour those footballer's who lost their lives during the First World War.
Gordon Taylor, Chief Executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, unveiled The Football Association memorial plaque at the Museum today. The unveiling was accompanied by a musical performance of Abide With Me.
The solid bronze construction was originally unveiled on March 10 th 1924 and was located for many years at the FA headquarters at Lancaster Gate, London .
When the FA moved its offices, to Soho Square , the plaque was taken into the collections of The National Football Museum.
Mark Bushell, Curator at The National Football Museum said:
‘Ever since we opened our doors to the public, in 2001, it has always been our intention to display this deeply moving tribute to those who lost their lives in the Great War. But until now we have not had the funds to pay for the conservation and mounting work required.'
Thankfully those cost have now been met by King Lion Publishing Limited, enabling the Museum to display the plaque in all its glory.
The incredible story of the famous Football Battalion has now been told in gripping detail in the new book, Abide With Me, by Frances David.
The book, which will be launched after the unveiling, details how young footballers were especially targeted because they were the most fit and disciplined of the Nation's youth. The story tells how men from the town of Glossop , in Derbyshire, came to volunteer their services and ultimately sacrificed their lives for the Nation. The story is told through the memory, documents and letters of the wife of one of the fallen.
Author Frances David said:
‘There could not be a more appropriate date to unveil the memorial and launch the book Its 89 years to the day when the Glossop North End players volunteered for duty at the Victoria Hall, Glossop.'