Nigel McCrery’s 'The Extinguished Flame: Olympians Killed in The Great War' offers a fascinating and timely tribute to the athletes who represented their countries at the Olympic Games and later lost their lives during the First World War. On the one hand it’s like having a copy of the Guinness Book of Records 1920 as it records sporting achievements of the first decades of the modern Olympic Games full of fascinating trivia which makes for easy sharing while watching the current Games, while on the other it is a tribute to those men, of all sides, who served and died.
McCrery, a former policeman, known for his background in historical research and TV crime drama (he conceived of and writes Silent Witness), brings a unique narrative voice to the subject. He has written ten books for Pen & Sword.
The book profiles over 100 athletes from various countries who competed in the Olympics before the outbreak of the Great War. Each athlete's story is told with care, detailing their sporting achievements, personal backgrounds, and the circumstances of their wartime service and death. McCrery does what any sleuth researching a soldier of the First World War needs to achieve, placing their life in context, where they were born and raised, their family background, sporting story and military service. What is more, McCrery has to do this for multiple countries using resources in a swathe of foreign languages.
McCrery is keen to uncover the personal histories of these athletes. He dives deep into archives, military records, and personal letters to piece together their stories, offering a rich historical context.
The book is more than a collection of biographies; it is a heartfelt commemoration. The juxtaposition of these athletes' Olympic aspirations with their wartime experiences evokes a profound sense of loss and remembrance especially if you read the book now while watching the 2024 Paris Olympics. Many of the stories are of men who won medals in the 1900 Paris Olympics, of particular note those events held in the River Seine, such as the 60m underwater swimming event!
The inclusion of athletes from various nations provides a broad perspective on the impact of the First World War. This diversity underscores the universal nature of the conflict, as well as the global and ubiquitous nature of sport.
The book is complemented by photographs and illustrations, which help to bring the stories to life and provide a visual connection to the past.
Given the format—individual profiles of numerous athletes and their war service - the book can feel repetitive at times. On the other hand, readers familiar with anthologies of ‘soldiers who died in the First World War’ will be reassured that census returns, regimental histories, newspaper archives and the like are referenced and that stories are consistently told.
Not a military historian the book would have benefitted from editorial assistance in this regard as for some errors will niggle; for most people it’s simply a gem of sporting and WW1 factoids.
'The Extinguished Flame' is a valuable read for history enthusiasts, sports fans, and anyone interested in the personal stories behind the First World War.
Review by Jonathan Vernon
Stories and profiles of Olympians and athletes can be found across The Western Front Association website.
Cecil Patrick Healy: the only Australian Olympic Gold Medalist to die in war
Olympian and Composer : Frederick Septimus Kelly