Queen s Park Football Club and the Great War

Queen s Park Football Club and the Great War 1914-1918 This account aims to raise awareness and understanding in both the club and wider community of the impact of the war on the club and the 220 + members and players who enlisted for military service, at least 32 of whom died. Their story has remained virtually unknown until now. Part Two Queen s Park Counts the Cost Trench Warfare The Battle of Loos 1915 The Scottish Battle Success Turns to Failure A Football Diversion Commemoration at Loos Written by Fred Ellsworth March 1 st 2016 1

Queen s Park Counts the Cost Trench Warfare Long before the first volunteers had arrived in Belgium and France a stalemate had developed. Whilst the German armies had captured most of Belgium and areas of Northern France, their advance had been halted at the River Marne. In late Autumn of 1914 both sides began to dig in and soon the allies and Germans faced each other in lines of trenches stretching from the English Channel to neutral Switzerland. In the course of the following 3 years, through to the Spring of 1918, both sides engaged in periodic offensives against the other, aiming to end the deadlock and make a decisive breakthrough. The offensives tended to follow a predictable pattern - days of constant artillery bombardment designed to destroy defences and disrupt communications, followed by waves of infantry assault across no-man s land. 2

Over time trench systems became increasingly complex, making it all the more difficult for attackers to make the decisive breakthrough. In this aerial photograph of the trench lines near Loos, the German lines are on the right, with no-man s land separating their lines from those of the British on the top left of the photograph Technological developments also favoured the defenders. Whilst artillery shells rarely achieved the desired results in destroying enemy defences, they proved more effective in targeting and impeding soldiers advancing across the open ground of no-man s land. At first machine guns remained heavy and cumbersome. However, they were produced in ever increasing numbers and became increasingly efficient. Whilst a skilled soldier could fire 10 rounds a minute with a conventional rifle, one machine gun could fire upwards of 500 rounds a minute. Even when offensives were planned to last a matter of days, they often continued for months. Invariably the outcome was the same - a few miles gained here and there, no decisive breakthrough and previously unimaginable loss of human life. 3

The Battle of Loos 1915 The Scottish Battle Loos en Gohelle was a small industrial town in Northern France, very close in proximity to Lens. Loos lies approximately midway between Ypres, which was the centre of British and Commonwealth operations in the North, and Albert, which was the centre of British operations in the South on the Somme. The battle which began there on September 25 th 1915 is notable in Scottish history for the fact that 36 of the 72 battalions that opened the offensive were Scottish. 12 of those battalions formed the 9 th (Scottish) Division which was to launch its attack on the Hohenzollern Redoubt to the North of Loos. A further 12 battalions formed the 15 th (Scottish Division) which was be involved in the frontal assault on Loos itself. Night Time Artillery Shell Fire Loos September 1915 7 th Cameron Highlanders at Loos 25 th September 1915 by Joseph Gray (1921) 4

Battle of Loos Northern Sector Southern Sector 5

Amongst the soldiers of the 9 th (Scottish) Division were two Queen s Park players, Eddie Garvie and George Legge. They had both enlisted in the 5 th Battalion of the Cameron Highlanders, commonly known as Lochiel s Cameron Highlanders, having been formed by Lieutenant Colonel Donald W Cameron of Lochiel. George Legge 5 th Battalion Cameron Highlanders 26 th Highland Brigade of the 9 th (Scottish) Division Born in Shettleston in 1887, son of John and Amelia Legge. In 1911 he was living in Ledard Road, Battlefield, with his mother, two brothers and sister. At that time he was an electrical engineering student. By 1914 he was living at 256 Darnley Street, Pollokshields. Queen s Park member and player, making two appearances for the first XI in 1910. Eddie Garvie was described as the life and soul of the party and musician-in-chief on the club s 1914 tour to Denmark and Sweden Edwin Stanley Garvie 5 th Battalion Cameron Highlanders 26 th Highland Brigade of the 9 th (Scottish) Division Born 1892 in Calton, Glasgow, one of 9 children born to John and Mary Garvie. John was a successful wine and spirit merchant and by 1911 the family were living in a 12 roomed detached villa in Terregles Avenue, Pollokshields, before moving to Invergowar in Maxwell Park. Eddie was an accomplished musician and, in 1911, was a Foreign Merchant s Clerk. Queen s Park member and a versatile player, capable of playing in a wide range of positions. Eddie made his debut for Queen s on August 23 rd 1911 and played his final game on December 16 th 1914. He played a total of 97 games for the club, scoring 8 times. 6

5 th Battalion Cameron Highlanders Fighting alongside the 9 th (Scottish) Division was the 7 th Division. This Division included Queen s Park member Ebenezer Hamilton. Ebenezer Hamilton 2 nd Battalion Gordon Highlanders 20 th Brigade of 7 th Division, fighting on the right flank of the 9 th (Scottish) Division. Queen s Park member, born 1871 in Anderston, Glasgow, son of William and Isobel Hamilton of 10 Corunna Street. He was a Post Office sorter and telegraphist before the war, living at 26 Havelock Street in Partick. Gordon Highlanders Amongst the soldiers of the 15 th (Scottish) Division was William Anderson. William Anderson 10 th Battalion Scottish Rifles (Cameronians) 46 th Brigade of 15 th (Scottish) Division Member of Queen s Park. Born in Saltcoats 1894, son of George and Maggie Anderson. Lived adjacent to Hampden Park at 131 Mount Annan Drive, Mount Florida, with his parents, two brothers and two sisters. William was a former pupil of Glasgow High School and worked for a company making whipping agents for the confectionary trade. He was a member of West of Scotland Harriers, with whom he won numerous half mile prizes. He was also a member of Queen s Park United Free Church. 7

The 1 st Division, fighting on the left flank of the 15 th (Scottish) Division, included Queen s Park member Robin Adair Ferguson. Robin Adair Ferguson 14 th Battalion London Regiment (London Scottish) 1 st Brigade of 1 st Division fighting alongside the 15 th (Scottish) Division Dair Ferguson was born 1892 in Hillhead, eldest son of Robertson and Mary Ferguson. Despite the family moving to England in his early childhood, Dair Ferguson maintained a close relationship with his maternal uncle, James Montgomery Wilson, a Glasgow printer and paper merchant, and it seems that his membership of Queen s Park originated from his many visits to Glasgow. On leaving school Dair took up cinematography as a career. In 1914, flying with the celebrated aviator, Bentfield Hucks, he became the first man to take aerial photographs during a flight across the English Channel. In July 1914 Dair was commissioned by Sir Thomas Lipton to film the challenge for the America s Cup by Lipton s yacht Shamrock IV. On August 4 th the steam yacht support vessel S.Y. Erin, with Dair on board, was forced to outrun the German light cruiser Karlsruhe on its approach to Bermuda. On returning to Britain from America he was turned down for service in the 14 th Battalion of the London Regiment the London Scottish due to his height. In October 1914, in the employment of Olympic Kine, Dair was filming war scenes in Belgium, criss-crossing the German and allied lines by car with an American correspondent. In a letter to his uncle Dair described : wounded everywhere, men without arms or legs, men without hands, and what I think worse than anything, men whose heads are nothing but bandages with just their eyes and mouths showing. It is not the actual wounds you see but what you imagine there is underneath.. the next thing that strikes one is the number of refugees. Although you count the wounded by thousands, you count the refugees by tens of thousands. It is a pitiful sight to see a whole peasant family driving or walking down the road with all the belongings they can take with them and perhaps with five or six children ranging from baby in arms to the schoolboy. These people dare not stay at home for it is known that there have been as many civilians killed as soldiers. Keeping one step ahead of the advancing German armies, Dair assisted the evacuation of a young British girl, Olga Smith, from Brugges. On October 14th, with the Germans only a matter of hours away from occupying Ostend, they managed to stowaway on a cargo ship leaving for Britain. One week later Dair s film was shown in a cinema in Leicester Square. Despite being offered a contract to go to Russia as a photographer and reporter, Dair Ferguson again volunteered for service with the London Scottish and was this time accepted in early November. 8

Success Turns to Failure Gas Warfare The battle of Loos is notable for being the first battle the first battle where gas was used by the British. At 5.50 am on the morning of September 25 th 1915 chlorine gas was released from canisters, allowing 40 minutes for it to be carried on the wind towards the German lines before the infantry attacked at 6.30 am. Unfortunately much of the gas either lingered in the shell holes of no-man s land or drifted back over the British lines. Due to the inefficiency of contemporary gas masks, many British soldiers removed them because they could not see through the fogged-up eyepieces, or could barely breathe with them on, which resulted in significant casualties. British soldiers sheltering during a gas attack A bell sounds between the explosions, gongs, and metal clappers warning everyone Gas Gas Gas These first minutes with the mask decide between life and death: is it air-tight? I remember the awful sights in the hospital : the gas patients who in day-long suffocation cough up their burnt lungs in clots. Cautiously, the mouth applied to the valve, I breathe. The gas still creeps into the ground and sinks into all hollows. Like a big soft jelly-fish it floats into our shellhole and lolls there obscenely Inside the gas mask my head booms and roars it is nigh bursting. My lungs are tight, they breathe always the same hot, used-up air, the veins on my temple are swollen. I feel I am suffocating. Erich Maria Remarque 9

September 25 th - Success at High Cost In the northern sector the 9 th Scottish Division had the daunting task of attacking the Hohenzollern Redoubt and Dump, considered to be the strongest points in the German front line defences. It is testimony to the initial success of the offensive that, despite a delay caused by the slow clearance of the gas, the 9 th Division quickly overran the Hohenzollern Redoubt. In the advance from the Hohenzollern Redoubt towards Auchy lez la Bassee the 5 th Battalion Cameron Highlanders suffered most of their casualties. It is likely that Private George Legge was killed, and Lance Corporal Eddie Garvie wounded, between 7.00 am and 9.00 am. The battalion diary records the sequence of events. 07.00 First two lines reported to have passed first German trench i.e. LITTLE WILLIE. D Coy were then sent forward to occupy German main line trench FOSSE TRENCH. 07.10 Batt HQ advanced. It was found that the whole line of advance was enfiladed by heavy machine gun and rifle fire from MAD.PT. This fire had caused us very heavy losses, practically having wiped out the first two lines. 07.40 The remains of D (Company) and the other lines pushed forward and reached the SW corner of the CORONS (trench). It was found that on our arrival at the forward end of the Corons that the 7th SEAFORTH had already gained their objective (FOSSE 8). They had not been subjected to the same enfilade fire from the left 09.00 By this time the only officers of the batt remaining were the CO and Adj and there were about 80 NCOs. These with the 8th Black Watch combined and formed a mixed force of some 300 odd men who held part of the forward end of the CORONS. (See 26 th Brigade including 5 CAM H on the Northern Sector map Page 5, for locations mentioned in the diary) The final toll for the 5 th Battalion Cameron Highlanders, as enumerated on May 10 th 1915, was 9 officers killed and 9 wounded; 72 other ranks killed and 416 wounded; missing, mostly assumed dead, 156 a total of 662 battalion casualties. 10

In the southern sector, the gas clouds hung back and delayed the advance of the 15 th Scottish Division. As the men emerged into the clear, German machine-guns swept across the advancing line. Despite all this, the 15 th Division made such rapid progress that most of Loos itself was taken by 8.00 am on the morning of the September 25 th. In battle pipers played to encourage their comrades forward, or to steady them during bombardment. On September 25 th 1915 the 7 th King's Own Scottish Borderers were ordered to advance, in full gas helmet and goggles, against the German position. Their piper, Daniel Laidlaw, disregarded his gas helmet and urged the battalion forward to capture the German positions. Although Piper Laidlaw was seriously wounded in the advance he still continued to play the regimental march, All the Blue Bonnets are over the Border, and was later awarded the Victoria Cross. The 10 th Battalion Scottish Rifles were part of the same brigade as the 7 th Battalion King s own Scottish Borderers and Queen s Park member, Lieutenant William Anderson, may well have witnessed Piper Laidlaw s endeavours. (See 46 th Brigade on Southern Sector map Page 5) William Anderson had been a member of the Glasgow Officer Training Corps. He enlisted at the outbreak of the war and embarked for France in July 1915. Recently promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, William Anderson began the day in command of a platoon of less than 50 men. However, when the Captain in command of his Company was killed early on September 25 th he found himself in command of anything up to 200 men. Young and inexperienced at the age of 21 he died, like many Cameronian officers that day, while leading his men. Cameronians moving up the line to attack 11

The battalion diary for the 10 th Battalion Scottish Rifles chillingly records the sequence of events that led to William Anderson s death. Lots are drawn and C Company to take the lead. Word arrives that all Second in Command are to remain behind. Between our first line and German first line our troops suffered heavily from shrapnel and MG gun rifle fire..very few Germans in front line trench. Very little bayonet work done. Germans retire in haste into Loos. The advance towards Hill 70 (about 1 km East of Tower Bridge) was under very heavy shrapnel fire and rifle fire, the latter coming from Loos. On reaching slopes of Hill 70 troops were exposed to heavy fire from MGs firing from the region of of Puits 14 bis. (coal pit head). Troops advance up Hill 70 taking natural cover behind natural terraces. Heavy rifle and MG fire from both sides lasting 2.5 hours. About 12.30 hours our men began to give way, the number of wounded being very great. Wounded streamed down the hill in direction of Loos, the line weakening gradually. The whole line retreated 50 yards or thereabouts where it again made a stand. Meanwhile reinforcements from the 45 th Brigade came up. About 14.30 hours the original line was regained. The troops dug themselves in still further where they remained until dusk Front line fell back on support line about 21.00 hours. During the earlier part of the night we were greatly hampered by snipers in trees and a (artillery) battery endeavouring to enfilade us. William Anderson s Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Usher, wrote to his parents, saying : Your son was a splendid young officer; brave and a good leader of men, beloved by all his brother officers, and I always found him an efficient and most reliable subaltern. Corporal Robin Adair Ferguson arrived in Belgium in March 1915. As part of 1 st Divison the London Scottish were fighting on the left flank of the 15 th (Scottish) Division at Loos. 1 st Brigade on the left of the Division attacked towards a small copse known as La Haie and the Bois Carré, whilst 2 nd Brigade on the right of the Division attacked towards Lone Tree, the stump of a cherry tree that had so far survived the artillery. It was situated slightly forward of the German trench and was used by them as a machine gun emplacement. With 2 nd Brigade failing to make much progress in the first wave of attack on the morning of September 25 th unlike 1 st Brigade to their left and 15 th Division to their right Major General Holland ordered forward the London Scottish and the 9 th Battalion King s (Liverpool) Regiment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Green. The London Scottish Battalion 12

The first casualties amongst Green s Force were sustained shortly after 8.00 am as they made their way forward to the front line trenches recently vacated by 2 nd Brigade. According to Private Mabbs being in reserve, we advanced from behind our front line, but I am sorry to say many of our boys went down before we reached our objective. By the time the London Scottish advanced North of Lone Tree later that morning the Germans had reorganised. Those London Scots who actually reached the German front line found it impossible to penetrate the barbed wire and were forced to dig in using whatever cover there was to be had. [ Amongst the many London Scottish soldiers killed that morning was 23 year old Corporal Robin Adair Ferguson. According to his obituary in The Times he became leading bomb-thrower of his platoon and in that capacity led the attack on a German trench on September 25. He had just reached the parapet when he fell, shot through the heart. Dair Ferguson s mother had the gold sovereigns received as back pay melted down and made into locket rings for his 3 siblings. Each locket held a photograph of Dair. Dair s younger brother, Ian Ross Ferguson, had also enlisted in the London Scottish and had been badly wounded in December 1914. Later in the war he returned to active service as a Captain with the Tank Corps and was awarded the Military Cross. Dair Ferguson, with brother Ian on his left 13

September 26 th - Momentum Lost One other Queen s Park member lost his life on this first day of the battle. Private Ebenezer Hamilton of D Company, 2 nd Battalion Gordon Highlanders, was in the 3 rd line of 5 that attacked The Quarries defensive position to the South East of the Hohenzollern Redoubt. The battalion diary described the men advancing into their own gas. Private Hamilton was reported missing at the end of the day. All 5 lines advanced to the assault in quick time, simultaneously. All ranks were wearing the old pattern smoke helmet, and advanced enveloped in our own gas the old smoke helmet is of little value, for if saved from the gas, one is compelled to breathe expired air. though the front German trench was reached in about 10 minutes the Batt lost heavily from hostile shell fire in crossing the 550 yds that separated the two front lines. The British troops were unable to maintain the momentum gained from the first day s advance. 3 reserve divisions were kept too far to the rear of the British lines and their progress forward was impeded by communication trenches full of wounded men, and roads packed with traffic coming in the opposite direction. By the time the reserve divisions arrived in the front lines the Germans had successfully reinforced their defences. The opportunity to achieve a decisive breakthrough had in effect been lost by nightfall on September 27 th. 14

A Football Diversion To coincide with the main offensive at Loos in September 1915 it was decided to launch a diversionary attack at Bois Grenier, 15.5 miles (25 km) to the North of Loos. Some men of the 1 st Battalion Royal Irish Rifles, led by Sergeant Frank Edwards, decided to launch their offensive by dribbling 6 footballs out into no-man s land, but the night before the offensive their commanding officer rumbled them - and shot five of the balls, rendering them useless. The remaining ball did go over the top with Sergeant Frank Edwards and his men. Edwards himself was shot and wounded, and after bouncing into German trenches, the ball was later found wedged in barbed wire and taken back to headquarters. London Irish Rifles at Bois Grenier by Elizabeth Thompson, Lady Butler (1916) A century later the restored ball was valued at 15,000 on the BBC Antiques Roadshow. 15

Commemoration at Loos The Battle of Loos continued through till October 16 th 1915. In the Northern sector the Germans counter attacked and retook much of the land lost in the first days of the battle. In the southern sector most of the British gains were consolidated, including the retention of Loos itself, but the 15 th Division was unable to dislodge the Germans from Hill 70 to the East of Loos. By the end of the Battle some small consolation remained in the British front line having been pushed forward as far as Chalk Pit Wood a 2 mile advance at its furthest point. Following the battle Sir John French was replaced by Douglas Haig as Commander in Chief of the British forces. On the day before the battle ended Lance Corporal Eddie Garvie died, aged 23, in a German prison hospital at Julich, close to the Dutch border, from wounds sustained during the battle. He is buried in Cologne Southern Cemetery. His younger brother, Ernest Garvie MC, died in 1918 from a shot to the head by a fellow officer whilst resting on his bed. According to the fellow officer he picked up the rifle outside the dugout door and in some inexplicable manner it went off. Great regret will be felt all over Scotland by the news of the death of Lance Corporal E. S. Garvie, Stock Exchange Co., 5 th Battalion (Lochiel s) Camerons, who died in Germany from wounds received in France. Best all-round player Queen s Park has known for many years. Usually left-back but could adapt himself to any place in defence or attack. Scrupulously fair and wonderfully clever in all he attempted, source of delight to the Hampden following and the envy of several clubs which had vainly attempted to induce him to sign a professional form. Would almost certainly have been capped this season. Southern Press November 5 th 1915 In the course of the battle there had been more than 60,000 British casualties, of which more than 20,000 were killed. Almost half the total casualties were Scottish. The 15 th Division suffered 6,896 and the 9 th Division 6,058 numbers greater than for any other Division during the entire battle. Of the 12 Battalions that sustained more than 500 casualties, 8 were Scottish. The Battle of Loos was a comparatively short battle and after it was over the front lines in this sector changed very little throughout the rest of the war. One consequence of this was that few opportunities arose to recover or bury many of the dead until after the war ended. In that period of time the unburied remains were subject to natural decomposition. 16

A further obstacle to later identification was that the majority of British soldiers in 1915 were still only issued with one identity disc. During the battle this single identity disc was removed from many fallen soldiers on the battlefield in order to identify the names of casualties. Only 53% of British and Commonwealth soldiers killed in the war are buried in named graves. A further 17% are buried in un-named graves and the bodies of the remaining 30 % have never been recovered. In the Loos sector of the Western Front the figures are very different. There are around 6,000 named burials spread across 8 cemeteries. However, the 139 panels of the Loos Memorial to those known only to God contain the names of 20,615 men, of which 14,126 died between September 25 th and October 16 th 1915. One third are the names of Scottish soldiers The View from St Mary s Advanced Dressing Station Cemetery across the battlefields towards the distinctive twin crassiers of Loos Dud Corner Cemetery and Memorial in Winter so named because of the number of unexploded munitions found after the war 17

Queen s Park Football Club and the Loos Memorial Lieutenant William Anderson 10th Battalion Scottish Rifles (Cameronians) Died September 25th 1915 Aged 21 Panel 57 59 Private Ebenezer Hamilton 2nd Battalion Gordon Highlanders Died September 25th 1915 Aged 45 Panel 115 119 Private George Legge 5th Battalion Cameron Highlanders Died September 25th 1915 Aged 29 Panel 119 124 Corporal Robin Adair Ferguson 1st / 14th Battalion London Regiment (London Scottish) Died September 25th 1915 Aged 23 Panel 132 Some of the panels of the Loos Memorial which surround the named graves in Dud Corner Cemetery and contain the names of soldiers who died and have no known grave The recently inaugurated Ring of Remembrance at Arras lists, without rank or nationality, the names of almost 600,000 soldiers of all countries that died during the war in France and includes the name of Ebenezer Hamilton 18