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

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

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 line infantry, of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of England ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, raised from volunteers in 1914 as part of the New Armies called to the Colours by Lord Kitchener. The unit was named after its charismatic colonel, former Liberal MP for Edinburgh East, Sir George McCrae.

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 enlisted together in local recruiting drives, with the promise that they would be able to serve alongside their friends, neighbours an ...

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 , the top division of Scottish football. Hearts, the oldest football club in the Scottish capital, wa ...

("Hearts") enlisted, along with 500 supporters and ticket-holders. Hearts were leading the Scottish League 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 players and a number of professional footballers from

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a 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 resident population of 32,422 at the ...

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently compete in the after winning the 2022–23 Scottish League One title. Dunfermline play at ...

, 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, Sir George McCrae, 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 human-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 (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...

was constructed in the village of Contalmaison on the

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France * Somme, Queensland, Australia * Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), ...

. 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 P ...

Gallery

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

Haymarket, Edinburgh Haymarket (,
) is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland. ...

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