War Memorial to fallen Rovers players at the KM

[Highland Rover]

Tried a few names this morning , found nothing . Full list of players  1910-16 would be brilliant but doubt if  the lists are available . Rovers played 38 games 1914-15 Midland League and a further 28 in 1915-16 ( Mid Combination and Wharncliffe ) . Assume it was after this that players were conscripted .
Ancestry.com has a detailed database of soldiers who died in the Great War .

Good old Wiki has some good info , such as : On 21 October 2010, the Footballers' Battalions Memorial was unveiled at Longueval, France, near Delville Wood, to commemorate those from the Footballers' Battalions who had fought and died in the Great War

There are number of stories of heroism by footballers , well worth a read

[Glyn_Wigley]

One is the lack of information on the history of the club that the club actually holds. I understood that a lot of the archive just "disappeared" in about 2002. 

In that case we'd probably have to ask about the FA archives, everybody registered with Rovers should be on record there somewhere..?

[Highland Rover]

When the whistle blows , the story of the Footballers Battalion in the Great War by Andrew Riddoch and John Kemp

Tells the story of this famous 'Pals' battalion for the first time. Battalion fought in the Battles of the Somme, Arras and Cambrai. Extensively researched and contains many previously unpublished photographs. Players in the battalion have connections to over 80 current Football League clubs. Clubs range from Premiership clubs, such as Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool, to lower league clubs like Northampton Town, Plymouth Argyle and Grimsby Town. Contains a roll of 3,500 men known to have served with the Footballers' Battalion and A-Z biographical sketches of significant players

[les@donr]

I too think Tony BLuff would be a good starting point. If anyone knows his email details please PM me, and I'll happily drop Tony a line. He might be able to give us some starting points from which we find further details.

[silent majority]

We discussed this and other ideas in our meeting last week. For those who did complete the survey you will have seen the questions on drfc being responsible for cataloging our heritage and making this available to the community.

The club have taken this on board and will respond here when we have something a little more definite to offer. The bid for funding has been submitted and the project and its details will be announced sometime during the summer.

Thanks for the input.

[Highland Rover]

just a quick final point.........Bryan Tebbutt who left Rovers mid way through a game in 1914-15 to join the Footballers Battalion , subsequently ended up in the Royal Defence Corps ( basically the WW1 version of the Home Guard ) which consisted of men who had been injured or were considered not fit enough for front line duties

[les@donr]

I've checked Wikipedia for Rovers players who might have played for Rovers and then fought in WW1. I found out about the Football Battalion which fought in the major battles 1915 onwards.

 Does anyone have the following book and able to find out if it gives any details of Rovers players who were fallen soldiers during WW1 and WW2? Bluff, Tony (2011). Donny:Doncaster Rovers F.C. The Complete History (1879−2010). Yore Publications. ISBN 978 0 9569848 3 8.

[Highland Rover]

There's nothing in Tony's book that I could see apart from the mention of 2 players joining the Footballers Battalion .

I've also looked at another Rovers record , ' The story of Doncaster Rovers 1879-1949 ' by J C Morris and the only real mention of WW1 is as follows : Immediately after the war was over local entusiasts began to take steps for the resuscitation of the Club but it was not easy . Hundreds of grand sportsmen had perished in the 1914-18 struggle and the Rovers were as hard hit as most .

[Muttley]

Sounds like a worthy, but impossible, task.

Why not put a general plaque in the memorial garden dedicated to the Rovers players who have given their lives defending this country etc and lay a poppy wreath every Armistice Day and also have a book of remembrance in the planned museum/trophy room listing any names that are discovered?

[les@donr]

Muttley, a good idea. I read on Spartacus Education website  that something like 3,000 of the 5,000 professional footballers in 1914, ended up fighting in the Football Battalion. There must have been a few Rovers players amongst them. I've yet started looking at WW2 players/soldiers.

On Wikipedia there is a list of Rovers players, but for 1913-1020, none are listed. Apparently footballers in this period had one year rolling contracts, most were cancelled in 1915.

[wilts rover]

Here's one for you Les who served in the War and is not on that list:

William 'Mickey' Bennett, played for Rovers in the 1880's. Joined Army Service Corps (ASC) as a volunteer in 1914/1915, aged 53, but was invalided out after 144 days. Unfortunately he died in September 1919, after the official ratification of the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919, generally taken as the official end of the war, so is probably not eligible by that criteria.

[Dagenham Rover]

I like the bit about one of them being a darling  of the Blunts at Bramwell Lane   suppose it sounds a bit better than Bumhole Lane or does it   

[les@donr]

Wilts, thanks for your clip. He might be able to be included as his death was related to injuries sustained during the Great War. I heard of several men who died after the war but their death was war related. I don't know the criteria of who's in and who's out. I hope it could include those who died after the war, as they still served the country and died as a result of their service.

Note to Moderators: could we have a poppy icon that we can add to topics such as this one?

[Metalmicky]

Not sure if this has already been mentioned, but why don't you ask the DFP is they are interested in putting out a piece requesting info from the Doncaster public on former Players who died whilst in action.  There are a lot of folk (many older) who do not have access to the internet etc. The DFP may also have access to more data from their own records.......... just a thought. 

[Highland Rover]

I now have a copy of the Footballers Battalion book , over 3000 names in it but unfortunately it doesn't list the clubs that they might have played for apart from a few exceptions

[wilts rover]

A few more names who didn't quite make it - and one who will

Alonzo Drake - died aged 32 in February 1919 (before the official end of the war), played 36 games for Rovers in 1902-3 but didn't serve in the military - he was rejected (twice) apparently when he tried to enlist

Jack Lambert, centre-forward, played 44 games for Rovers in 1925-26 before being transfered to Arsenal for £2000 1926. Died in a car crash aged 38, December 1940.

Sam Mayberry - goalkeeper, played for Rovers in 1940 and 1941. He had just moved to Scunthorpe United where he was working at the steelworks when dropped down dead aged 25 also in 1940.

Attached is the clipping for Wilf Shaw, one of the two players known to have died on war service.

[les@donr]

Highland, that's frustrating, but there must be some Rovers players in there. I have a Sheffield Library members card, I could check with the Local Studies Dept. to see if there is any info. They are usually very helpful, but there might not be many staff around due to the Govts savage cuts.

Metalmickey, good idea, as I'm no longer based in the area, it might be a project for someone more locally based. If people do come forward, it would be nice for the VSC and the club to make contact with the relatives of soldiers who died in either WW1 or WW2, and perhaps feature them in a match day program.

[les@donr]

Wilts, cheers for your research you are coming up with some gems. I think that as more names become known, our case for a War Memorial becomes stronger.

[Dagenham Rover]

Has anybody come across this wiki page yet it may be of help

Hang on somats gone wrong I'll try to find it again

I can't get the link on wiki to work so search on wiki for this      List of Doncaster Rovers F.C. players (1879–1918)

that works don't know why I can't get it to link though

[les@donr]

DR, I've been on Wiki, it lists the Rovers players but no mention of what happened to any of them, and there is a gap between 1913 to 1920.

[les@donr]

I've just emailed both the Local Studies library in Central library Sheffield, and the Local Archives also in Sheffield. Hopefully I'll get some useful feedback. Is there anyone out there who is a member of and can contact Doncaster library, as they might have some names and details that we are seeking? Thanks.

[Muttley]

If any of you are on Facebook it would be worth joining the Doncaster Genealogy group https://www.facebook.com/groups/529676883725421/ and posting a question on there.

There's a guy called Rob Burns who is a Rovers fan (not sure if he's on here) and is very clued up on where to find info.

[Highland Rover]

There is one other that has cropped up , Major William Booth ( Major was his christian name )  who had played a few Midland League games for Rovers and after receiving a battlefield commission died on the first day of the Somme offensive in July 1916 whilst serving with the West Yorkshire Regt . Booth was just 29 .

Booth and Alonzo Drake formed a formidable  bowling attack for Yorkshire particularly in 1914 and Booth went on a MCC tour to South Africa .

[Mr1Croft]

Not sure if this has already been mentioned but in case any of you have missed it, plans were submitted last march by Victoria Cross to build a WW1 museum in Doncaster. Surely they will have some useful information if they planned something like this?

http://www.thestar.co.uk/what-s-on/out-about/going-out/world-war-one-museum-and-trench-plan-for-doncaster-1-4525386

[Muttley]

The VC Trust have got a Visitor's Centre on Nether Hall Road

Victoria Cross Trust
97 Netherhall Road
Doncaster
DN1 2QA
South Yorkshire

Email: info@victoriacrosstrust.org
Tel: 01302 342652

[Bristol Red Rover]

DR, I've been on Wiki, it lists the Rovers players but no mention of what happened to any of them, and there is a gap between 1913 to 1920.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List of Doncaster Rovers F.C. players (1879–1918)

I've been gradually building up that list but don't recall any WW1 deaths coming up. If you click on the ones with links, some of them have death dates. The club played into 1916, towards the end increasingly using soldiers who were stationed locally.

[robchester]

I'm doing the Big Dig In for the VC Trust at the end of June so can have a word then if that helps.

[Bristol Red Rover]

Francis "Frank" Pepper died in 1914 aged 38 - could be worth checking though is listed as dying in Rotherham. Not sure if deaths for war dead would be registered in their hometown or not?

[les@donr]

Thanks to one and all, who are digging around for our forgotten Rovers players and gallant soldiers in WW1 and WW2. I got a reply from Sheffield Archives, there is someone on the case as we speak, and will get back to me with anything that is found.

Has anyone been in touch with either the Doncaster Library or the local British Legion if they have anything that might help us?

[les@donr]

Just got the reply below from the Sheffield Local Studies library.

Dear Leslie,
many thanks for your enquiry.
I'm not sure we can help at this present time, but you might like to follow up the links provided as they might be able to suggest a way forward. (Links can be found at the end of this message)
 
We have local newspapers on microfiche, but without an exact date it might be difficult to find what you are looking for, We also have copies of the sports paper "The Green'un" which might be useful. Again these are on microfilm. To view you would need to book a film reader/printer, please ring 0114 2734753 if you want to use this service.
 
If the players were local, I would check the records of the "King's Own Light Infantry" first, as well as the "York's and Lancs.". Both regiments recruited locally.
 
Do you have any names that might aid your search? "Ancestry" has British Army records. These include medal records, service records and pension records. In Sheffield we have a service that allows free access to the site, your local library may have a similar service. You could also try the "Commonwealth War Graves" site, but again you need a name to search the database.
Sorry I can't help further,
Regards
Lynn Humphries
Local Studies Assistant
 
Sheffield Local Studies Library
Central Library
Surrey Street
Sheffield S1 1XZ
Tel +44 (0)114 273 4753
Fax +44 (0)114 273 5009

E-mail localstudies.library@sheffield.gov.uk

Website www.sheffield.gov.uk/libraries/archives-and-local-studies

Opening Hours: -
Monday and Tuesday Closed,
Wednesday 09.30 - 20.00
Thursday, Friday & Saturday 09.30 - 17.30
Picture Sheffield website http://www.picturesheffield.com/frontend.php
*********************************************************************
 
http://www.nationalfootballmuseum.com/contact-us/main-contacts/
 
http://www.doncaster.gov.uk/sections/leisureandculture/museumsandgalleries/doncastermuseumandartgallery/King_s_Own_Yorkshire_Light_Infantry_Museum.aspx
 
http://www.cwgc.org/
 
http://www.rotherham.gov.uk/info/200070/museums_and_galleries/153/york_and_lancaster_regimental_museum


I can check websites, but given I'm living in Canada I am unable to go to the Library to look at microfsche.