The Football Battalions is the heartbreaking story of how professional footballers went to war. Christopher Evans explains, ‘In 1914 Britain is slowly becoming football obsessed: players are turning into household names, attendance is increasing and George V attends the FA Cup final in May and then the war breaks out. ‘

Once the war began, footballers were put under immense pressure to sign up by the newspapers of the day and many public figures. Many individuals and institutions denounced players and supporters as cowards and shirkers. There are strong similarities with certain sections of the media of today and how it can quickly shape public opinion.

The resulting formation of the Football Battalions was therefore partly a result of the footballers’ desire to help the war effort but also due to the fever whipped up by newspapers and others.

A Recruitment Poster

Drawing on archival material, Evans recounts the wartime stories of the leading footballers of the day. Well known footballers such as Vivian Woodward, an Olympic gold medallist and football’s first superstar; Frank Buckley, who would emerge from the war a hero and would go on to redefine the role of a football manager; and Walter Tull, Tottenham and Northampton hero, who faced racism both on the football field and on the battlefield before becoming the first Black man to win a commission and command a unit in the British Army.

The build up to the footballers going to war is a little pedestrian but the high stakes narrative picks up when they reach France.

Private George Hill wrote of his experiences in France in 1916, when he lost his friend Joseph Adams and saw Captain Vivian Woodward wounded.

“I saw them all carried out of the trench. I was out of the trench when the Germans exploded two mines and commenced rapid firing on the trench. It was an awful situation when those two mines blew up, sandbags and dirt flying about. You must look after yourself or you will get buried. We were 80 yards from the German lines.”

Evans summarises, ‘Face down in the mud, sand and water, England’s most famous footballer, Vivian Woodward, lay motionless. The shrapnel from the grenade had torn through his skin, burying itself deep into the sinew of his lower legs, and he bled profusely. Alongside him lay the body of Joseph Adams. Very soon the dreaded news would arrive at his home in Clay Cross.’

On the first day of the Battle of the Somme 19,240 men lost their lives and in total 485,000 British and French soldiers were killed. The soldiers were incredibly brave during the Great War, but such horrendous slaughter of young men is hard to comprehend. It was a tragic waste of life.

Evans’ book provides a poignant reminder of the sacrifices that footballers made during the First World War. It is a worthy tribute to the footballers who fought, were wounded or lost their lives.

The Football Battalions – The Elite Players Who Fought in the Great War by Christopher Evans. Published by Bloomsbury. Price £20.

This review first appeared in the January/February 2026 edition of Late Tackle magazine.