Professional Footballers on the Western Front by David Bull
David will draw upon his recent book, Saints In The Great War as well as other studies to highlight individual stories of footballers, before, during and after the conflict.
The book focuses on Southampton as the embarkation port for the Western Front and other theatres of war. Under football's war-time rules, players were free to guest for clubs where they were stationed or employed: Southampton FC fielded 134 guests, far outnumbering its contracted players.
David and his colleagues have intricately researched the lives, footballing and military, of everyone who played either as a professional or a wartime guest, at Southampton FC, weaving these stories together to provide a fascinating interconnection between the players, the club and their wartime experiences and activities. His talk will focus on two chapters in the book: The 1914 Stars and The Somme. Copies of the book will be on sale at a special price of £20.
This meeting will be held in Cobham. Members of The Western Front Association and non-members are equally welcome. We ask for a modest £5 donation on the door. This includes tea, coffee and biscuits at the break. It also includes free tickets for the book raffle. People joining us at Cobham can use our cashless card system and use their credit card/phone with the reader that will be available at the signing-in desk. To help make things easier and safer, we are asking those coming to Cobham to bring their own mug for coffee or tea.
Doors open at Cobham at 7:15pm and the meeting starts at 7:45pm. David’s talk will start shortly after 7:45pm and the Q&A session will follow-on immediately. This will allow David to leave in time to catch his train back to Bristol.
The picture shows the Southampton FC squad for 1914-1915. Many of these players served in the First World War.