Update 10 January 2014 APPENDIX 9. Sport

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1 Update 10 January 2014 APPENDIX 9 Sport Football Sport has always been an important part of military life and the popularity of football in the United Kingdom is reflected in its popularity in the British Army. It is noteworthy that Sheffield Football Club, the oldest football club, was founded in 1857 by Nathaniel Cresswick and William Priest, both officers in the Volunteer Rifle Corps. Major Francis Marindin founded the Royal Engineers Association Football Club in 1869; it went on to win the FA Cup in He was President of the Football Association of England from 1874 to 1879 and he instigated the formation of the Army Football Association In the period before the First World War, football was the primary team sport played in the Army. It was extremely competitive; the Army Challenge Cup was first battled for in March 1889 when it was won by the 2 nd Battalion, Princess Louise s (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders). Portadown Olympic FC 1910/1911. This amateur team was undefeated in the four seasons from 1908/09 to 1911/12. Seated second from right (front row) is William Herbert Palmer, Team Captain (later Sergeant W H Palmer MM and commissioned into The Royal Irish Regiment). Others known to have served during the First World War are: Goal-keeper David Kinley (back row, third from left) Later Lieutenant D Kinley. He lost a leg in Mesopotamia serving with the 8 th (Service) Battalion, The Royal Welsh Regiment, and after the war qualified as a doctor. Centre Forward W McLeer (front row first on left) Later Private W McLeer, killed in action on 1 July 1916 serving with the 11 th (Service) Battalion, The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (Donegal and Fermanagh). Update 10-1

2 Princess Victoria s (Royal Irish Fusiliers) has always had a first-class reputation as a sporting regiment and its football team played an important part in that. In the season, the 1 st Battalion reached the final of the Army Challenge Cup but lost to the Royal Marine Light Infantry (Gosport) 2-0. Football was popular in the 9 th Royal Irish Fusiliers from the early days of its formation. It is not known when the first battalion team was formed but the first recorded match, against 11 th Royal Irish Rifles, was reported in the Lurgan Times in May The line-up for that match was: 1 Turkington Mercer Holmes Milligan Lindsay Mitchell Cochrane Bleakley (sic) Molloy Burnison McIlroy The report indicated that the game was end to end, with McIlroy and Burnison pressing to score, before a weak free kick by the 11 th Royal Irish Rifles was taken advantage of by Bleakley (sic-blakley), who opened the scoring. The half time score was 1-0. In the second half Ward, of 11 th Royal Irish Rifles, made a stinging effort after a solo run from mid-field. Soon afterwards he was brought down in the penalty box and scored from the penalty spot. The Royal Irish Fusiliers then dominated the game with two goals from Burnison and one from Malloy. The final score: 4-1. The football team in mid Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant Jack Barbour is seated on the right. Update 10-2

3 The first match in France recorded in the Battalion s war diary was against 13 th Royal Irish Rifles in January 1916, but it is known that the Battalion beat a Lancashire Fusiliers team 5-1 in December In January 1917 an inter-platoon football competition (won by 13 Platoon) was followed by an inter-company competition (won by B Company). All of this, and competitions in other events, was in preparation for the 108 th Brigade sports competition on 19 and 22 January. B Company won the overall competition but lost the football match to 12 th Royal Irish Rifles 1-2. Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant Jack Barbour appears to have been a driving force behind the 9 th Royal Irish Fusiliers football team after this, and its success became a source of real pride. Amongst its players were Sergeant Francis Homersham DCM, MM*, Private William Quail, who had played for Glenavon Football Club, and Private Harold Burnison. Burnison later went on to have a successful football career in Ireland, playing 326 games for Distillery Football Club. As captain in the season he won the Irish and Gold Cups. Football matches played by Princess Victoria s (9 th Royal Irish Fusiliers) Date Opposing Team Result 1 January th Royal Irish Rifles 1-1 Drawn 17 March th Royal Irish Rifles 2-0 Won 8 April th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers 5-1 Won 15 April th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers 5-1 Won 17 April th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers 1-0 Won 23 January th Brigade Machine Gun Company & Trench Mortar Battery 5-1 Won 29 January th Royal Irish Rifles 7-0 Won 10 February nd Royal Irish Rifles 2-0 Won 12 February th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers 8-0 Won 24 February th Royal Irish Rifles 4-5 Lost 25 February Brigade RFA (2 nd XI played) 6-0 Won 5 March th Field Ambulance 2-2 Drawn 24 March th Royal Irish 7-1 Won 28 March th Royal Irish Rifles 2-0 Won 21 April nd Royal Dublin Fusiliers 7-1 Won 25 April th Connaught Rangers 2-0 Won 5 May th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers 5-0 Won 12 May th /8 th Royal Irish Fusiliers 5-0 Won 27 June th Divisional Artillery 7-2 Won 2 July th Royal Irish Rifles 2-1 Won 15 July th Squadron RFC 3-0 Won 17 July 1917 An unknown RFC squadron 8-1 Won Update 10-3

4 16 September th Royal Irish Rifles 6-0 Won 19 September th Brigade Team 2-1 Won 26 September nd North Irish Horse draft 2-1 Won 30 September nd North Irish Horse draft 2-1 Won 3 October th Field Ambulance 1-1 Drawn 18 October th /9 th Royal Irish Rifles 0-1 Lost 22 October th Brigade Team 8-1 Won 27 January th Royal Irish Rifles (Pioneers) 5-1 Won 3 May 1918 Belgian Team 4-0 Won 27 June st Royal Irish Fusiliers Result not known 24 September st Royal Irish Fusiliers Result not known 29 November th Royal Irish Rifles 2-2 Drawn 1 December st Royal Irish Fusiliers 6-0 Won 3 December th Brigade Trench Mortar Battery 9-1 Won 5 December th Royal Irish Rifles 0-0 Drawn 15 December th Brigade Team 3-1 Won Results Summary Played 39 Won 30 Lost 2 Drawn 5 Result not known 2 Goals For 137 Goals Against 26 Update 10-4 The football team on 1 December 1918 at Mouscron. This photograph was taken before the match against the 1 st Battalion, which the 9 th won 6-0. Sergeant F S Homersham DCM, MM* is standing second from the left.

5 Tug of War This photograph was found amongst some papers belonging to the daughter of Sergeant William Neill DCM. It shows the Tug of War Team of the 9 th Royal Irish Fusiliers 36 th (Ulster) Division Champions in The presence of Lieutenant Morrow indicates that the photograph was taken some time after April Back Row from Left: Lance Corporal William Sloan (Scarva), Private William Vance (Monaghan), Private Isaac Walker (Portadown), Private James Leeman (Armagh), Private James Hall (Lurgan), Private Albert Lindsay (Portadown). Front Row from Left: Private John Allen (Markethill), Sergeant William Neill (Lurgan), Lieutenant James Boyd Kenneth Morrow (Bangor), Lance Corporal Herbert McLoughlin (Armagh), Private Albert Moore (Loughgall). Lieutenant Morrow was the Battalion Transport Officer and Sergeant Neill was the Transport Sergeant. Coupled with the presence of so many original volunteers, it makes it probable that the team was made up largely of men of the Battalion Transport. 1 Ranks and decorations are as at the end of the war: Burnison Private Harold Burnison Cochrane Corporal John Cochrane Mercer Private David Henry Mercer; wounded three times. Turkington 2Lt Alfred Turkington MM (formerly Sergeant A Turkington MM). The remainder cannot be identified positively due to the commonality of names in the Battalion. Update 10-5