McCrae's Battalion was the affectionate name given by the people of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

to the 16th (Service) Battalion of the

Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regimen ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, raised from volunteers in 1914 as part of the

New Armies The New Armies (Traditional Chinese: 新軍, Simplified Chinese: 新军; Pinyin: Xīnjūn, Manchu: ''Ice cooha''), more fully called the Newly Created Army ( ''Xinjian Lujun''Also translated as "Newly Established Army" ()), was the modernised a ...

called to the Colours by Lord Kitchener. The unit was named after its charismatic colonel, former Liberal MP for Edinburgh East,

Sir George McCrae Colonel Sir George McCrae (28 August 1860 – 27 December 1928) was a Scottish textile merchant and Liberal Party politician. In Scotland he is best remembered for the creation of McCrae's Battalion, also known as the Second Edinburgh Pals Batt ...

Background

Largely composed of professional and amateur sportsmen, "McCrae's" was the first of the so-called 'footballers'

Pals battalion The Pals battalions of World War I were specially constituted battalions of the British Army comprising men who had enlisted together in local recruiting drives, with the promise that they would be able to serve alongside their friends, neighbour ...

s to be raised during the war and was the main inspiration behind the creation of the 17th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment in 1915. 16 players from

Heart of Midlothian F.C. Heart of Midlothian Football Club, commonly known as Hearts, is a professional football club in Edinburgh, Scotland. The team competes in the Scottish Professional Football League. Hearts, the oldest and most successful football club in the S ...

("Hearts") enlisted, along with 500 supporters and ticket-holders. Hearts were leading the

Scottish League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km sout ...

at the time the battalion was raised in November 1914. In addition to the Hearts contingent, players and 150 followers of Hibernian, seven

Raith Rovers Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the Scottish Championship as a member of the Scottish Professional Football Leagu ...

players and a number of professional footballers from

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Championship. Dunfermline ...

, East Fife and St Bernard's also enlisted. Fans were encouraged to follow in their heroes' footsteps and fight alongside the men they cheered on every Saturday afternoon. Rugby players, athletes and a variety of other sportsmen also joined the battalion. The contemporary Hearts manager John McCartney authored two booklets documenting Scottish footballers in the Great War and those from Hearts who perished. The unit was named after its charismatic colonel,

, a former Liberal MP for Edinburgh East. It was the subject of a detailed historical account published in 2003 by Jack Alexander. Shortly after the publication of this book, a memorial

cairn A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...

was constructed in the village of Contalmaison on the Somme. Designed by Alexander, the McCrae's Battalion Great War Memorial cairn now attracts hundreds of visitors every year to the village. In October 2014, the battalion was inducted to the

Scottish Football Hall of Fame The Scottish Football Hall of Fame is located at the Scottish Football Museum. Nominations are made each year by fans and a committee selects the inductees. The first inductions to the Hall of Fame were in November 2004 in a ceremony at Hampden Par ...

Gallery

File:War Memorial - geograph.org.uk - 358764.jpg, Hearts war memorial at

Haymarket, Edinburgh Haymarket ( sco, Heymercat,
gd, Margadh an Fheòir ...

File:Hearts of Midlothian 1.jpg, detail of Contalmaison cairn (1) File:Hearts of Midlothian 2.jpg, detail of Contalmaison cairn (2) File:Tom Gracie.jpg, Tom Gracie, one of those who lost their lives File:Raith Rovers players in McCrae's Battalion.jpg, Raith Rovers players in McCrae's Battalion

Battalion members

Footballers

Other sportsmen

Notes

References

External links

McCrae’s Battalion Trust

Royal Scots article on the induction into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame

Hearts of courage – The legendary McCrae’s Own (Royal British Legion)Scottish Football Hall of Fame profile
{{Scottish Football Hall of Fame 1914 establishments in Scotland Heart of Midlothian F.C. Raith Rovers F.C. Falkirk F.C. Dunfermline Athletic F.C. Hibernian F.C. Royal Scots Military history of Scotland History of Edinburgh History of football in Scotland Scottish Football Hall of Fame inductees Military units and formations established in 1914 Military units and formations in Edinburgh