Robert Messer (18 July 1887 – 16 October 1918) was a Scottish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for Leicester Fosse as an outside right. He was described as "a fine wing player who is very fast and centres well."

Personal life

As of 1901, Messer was working as a printer's apprentice. He served as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in the King's Own Scottish Borderers during the

First World War 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 ...

and was killed in action near

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...

during the Battle of Courtrai on 16 October 1918. Messer is commemorated on the

Tyne Cot Memorial Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery and Memorial to the Missing is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial ground for the dead of the First World War in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front. It is the largest cemetery for Commo ...

. In 2011, Messer's

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were struck in si ...

and Victory Medal were purchased by Leicester City; they are now exhibited in King Power Stadium's reception area.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Messer, Robert Scottish men's footballers 1918 deaths British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I King's Own Scottish Borderers soldiers Scottish Football League players King's Park F.C. players Footballers from Edinburgh Men's association football outside forwards Bo'ness F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players English Football League players Broxburn United F.C. players East Fife F.C. players 1887 births Military personnel from Edinburgh