Football and War Network Events

Our inaugural seminar 'Invaluable for Morale & Training: Football, the British Army, and the First World War' took place on 1 June 2017 with speakers Professor Gary Sheffield, Daniel Routt, National Football Museum on 'For Club and Country' and Clive Harris, Battle Honours Ltd on 'Charlton Athletic's War and its Legacy'.

Sport, and especially football, was seen by the British army leadership of the First World War not just as an important role in the upkeep of morale but also as an important training aid. In this lecture, Professor Gary Sheffield examines these two aspects of the history of football, showing how this working man's sport was co-opted by the military in wartime.

In November 2017 we ran our second seminar: 'Footballers of the Great War: A Cigarette Card Series - the start of something...' with speaker Tim Godden. Tim said: "There were a number of factors that led to me beginning the Footballers of the Great War series, but one of the main reasons was the desire to tell a whole range of stories related to football and the war. The medium of cigarette card design provides such a wonderful platform to tell these stories and the designer in me could not wait to begin the process. A particularly important part of the series for me is the idea of it being a piece of public history."

Read .

On 21 March 2018 speaker Taff Gillingham delivered a seminar entitled 'How football fouled the truce'.The 1914 Truce was just a quirky moment in a lengthy war, and the stories of those who downed tools and took a few hours off to meet their enemies adds little to the bigger picture of the conflict.

However, the skewing of the events of Christmas 1914, both by veterans, the media, tourism agencies and football monoliths is an important lesson in how fragile history can be and how easily it can be diverted for personal, financial or political gain.

The talk looked at how ‘duff history’ has replaced the genuine and how ignorance, bad journalism and deliberate distortion has now obscured the real events of the 1914 Truce.

Taff Gillingham is a military historian, specialising in the British Soldier, 1899-1960, and a military historical advisor for film, television and theatre productions. He is co-director of Khaki Devil and is a director of the Great War Huts heritage project. He has studied the 1914 Truce since 1999.

On 6 June 2018 our speaker Steve Hunnisett gave a brief history of Dulwich Hamlet, its foundation, ethos and how the club fared between the wars. The talk will then concentrate on the club during 1939-45, notably, the players that died. Steve will also talk about Dulwich Hamlet players who served during the war and survived, explaining how this experience affected them subsequently. Steve will finish off his presentation by giving an update as to the current situation faced by the club in relation to the campaign to save the club and its future.

Steve is now a full time Battlefield Guide, blogger and researcher, specialising in the Home Front and London at war in particular and took the plunge into self-employment some two years ago. He has been a Dulwich Hamlet fan since 1990, originally fitting in games between watching his league side, Charlton Athletic but in recent years a season ticket holder at Champion Hill. He has recently written ‘For Freedom’ which tells the story of the club’s four Second World War casualties.

Read Steve's blog post on Dulwich Hamlet.

On 12 December 2018 ‌visiting speaker Phil Annets discussed the 'seven ages of the FA Cup'. Phil is a lifelong Leeds United fan with an exuberant passion for football statistics, in particular for the FA Cup, a passion that has led to converting his hobby of collating FA Cup facts and statistic into an avid Tweeter and Blogger of all things FA Cup via the moniker @FACupFactfile and the blog facupfactfile.wordpress.com.

Phil is the author of the seminal blog article They Shall Grow Not Old, which commemorates all the football clubs that competed in the 1914-15 FA Cup competition and never appeared in it again.

On Wednesday 27 March 2019 we held a Dulwich Hamlet Seminar at Dulwich Hamlet Football Club, Edgar Kail Way, East Dulwich, SE22 8DB.

All fans with an interest in football history were invited to join an evening of talks at Dulwich Hamlet Football Club in London.

Speakers and their topics were: Jack McInroy - Hussein Hegazi; Roger Deason - Dulwich Hamlet 1914 - 1919; Steve Hunnisett - Dulwich Hamlet 1939 - 1945; Tim Godden - Footballers of the Great War - The Stories Behind The Drawings; Professor Gary Sheffield - Football, The British Army and the First World War.

On 6 August 2019 we held a seminar hosted by Charlton Athletic Museum and Football and War Network: ‘The Boys from the Village’ The History of Charlton Athletic at War

All fans with an interest in football history were invited to join us at The Valley and after at the White Swan in Charlton Village. Check out the Football and War blog for some posts about the history of football in the area.

On Friday 4 October 2019 we held our Grecians and War: Commemorating our Heritage  Seminar in partnership with Exeter City Supporters’ Trust History Group, Exeter City Football Club Museum Trust & ECFC Senior Reds. This event covered the following topics.

• Commemorating the Exeter City War Dead, with Martin Weiler
• Footballers of the Great War: The Stories Behind the Drawings, with Tim Godden
• Impact of the two World Wars on Exeter City Football Club, with Aidan Hamilton
• Exeter City Football Club Museum: The Journey from Cupboards to a Stadium-wide Museum, with Professor Gabriella Giannachi (University of Exeter)

On 12 November 2019 our seminar in partnership with Solihull Moors FC, Solihull Moors Supporters Association, and the Royal British Legion was entitled 'Who’s for the Game? Moor Green FC and the First World War'. It was held at the The Jerroms Vice Presidents Suite, SportNation.bet Stadium, Damson Parkway, Solihull. The programme was as follows:

• Welcome and Introduction: Darryl Eales and Gary Armstrong
• Playing the Game to the End: The Story of the Men of Moor Green FC who died in the First World War, Douglas Smith
• The History of the Royal British Legion, Ken Russell
• The Football of the Battle of Loos, Tony Robinson

On 30 November 2021, our seminar in partnership with Wealdstone FC was entitled – ‘Wealdstone Football Club and Two World Wars’. It was held at the football club which is situated at Grosvenor Vale, Ruislip, Middlesex. The programme was as follows:

• Welcome and Introduction: Alex Alexandrou

• Wealdstone FC and Two World Wars: Roger Slater

• Finding My Uncle: Mark Hyde

• The Football of Loos: Tony Robinson

On 23 March 2022, our seminar in partnership with the Tower of London was entitled – ‘Football and the First World War’. It was held at the Tower of London in The Keys. The programme was as follows:

• Blitz Walk: Clive Harris and Steve Hunnisett

• Welcome: Matt Pryme

• Introduction: Alex Alexandrou

• The Greater Game: Football and Its Relevance in the 1914-18 War: Clive Harris

• The London Irish Rifles and The Football of Loos: Tony Robinson

On 12 April 2022, our seminar in partnership with Wealdstone FC was entitled – ‘Football and War London Seminar’. It was held at the football club which is situated at Grosvenor Vale, Ruislip, Middlesex. The programme was as follows:

• Welcome and Introduction: Alex Alexandrou

• FA Cup 150: Wartime FA Cup Facts and Statistics: Phil Annets

• Harold (Spud) Taylor’s Cup Final: Roger Slater

• Lost Football Heroes of the First World War: Jeff Williamson

• Chelsea FC Graves Project: Nathan Whitehouse

On 5 July 2022, our seminar in partnership with Maidenhead United FC was entitled – ‘Maidenhead United and World War One’. It was held at the football club which is situated in York Road, Maidenhead. The programme was as follows:

• Welcome: Neil Maskell

• Introduction: Alex Alexandrou

• Maidenhead Football in the Great War: Steve Jinman

• Chelsea Graves Society: Nathan Whitehouse

• Women’s Football and Football Makes History: Chris Rowe

On 11 October 2022, our seminar in partnership with Maidenhead United FC was entitled – ‘Football in World War One’. It was held at the football club which is situated in York Road, Maidenhead. The programme was as follows:

• Welcome: Neil Maskell

• Introduction: Alex Alexandrou

• Football in World War One: Richard Marks

• Maidenhead Norfolkians FC and World War One: Matthew Shaw

• The London Irish Rifles and The Football of Loos: Tony Robinson

On 8 February 2023, our seminar in partnership with Exeter City FC was entitled – ‘A Tale of Two Balls’. It was held at the football club which is situated St James Park, Exeter. The programme was as follows:

• Welcome: Paul Farley

• The Football and War Network and The Army FA History Project: Alex Alexandrou

• A Tale of Two Balls – The Exeter City FC Tour to Argentina and Brazil in 1914: Martin Weiler

• The London Irish Rifles and The Football of Loos: Tony Robinson

On 12 April 2023, our seminar in partnership with Maidenhead United FC was entitled – ‘Women’s Football’. It was held at the football club which is situated in York Road, Maidenhead. The programme was as follows:

• Welcome: Neil Maskell

• The Army FA History Project an Army Women’s Football: Alex Alexandrou

• The History of Women’s Football: Steve Bolton

• Maidenhead United Women FC Question and Answer: Neil Maskell, Imogen Fisher and Amy Saunders

On 30 May 2023, our seminar in partnership with Dulwich Hamlet FC was entitled – ‘The History of Football and Politics’. It was held at the football club which is situated at Champion Hill Stadium, Edgar Kail Way, London.
. The programme was as follows:

•    Welcome and Introduction: Alex Alexandrou

•    They Also Served - Dulwich Hamlet and the Civil Defence Services, 1939-1945: Steve Hunnisett

•    Football and Politics – A Century of Progressive Football: Chris Lee