The AFC Heritage Trust were joined by the Lord Provost, many special guests and AFC staff for the annual armistice commemoration and two minute silence at Pittodrie this morning.
This event sponsored by the Trust was inspired by the Club's AGM of 1920 where the names of 33 players and staff who served in the Great War were read out. Now every year on Armistice Day at Pittodrie Stadium we have a ceremony at the memorial in the RDS to the players and staff of Aberdeen FC who were killed in the Great War of 1914-1918 and in the Second World War.
The memorial also remembers the many Aberdeen Supporters who also made the supreme sacrifice for their country during the past hundred years.
Today’s Armistice Commemoration was the eighth such event organised by the AFC Heritage Trust. The decision to have a memorial to the Players and Staff who have died in conflict arose from the Aberdeen players wearing special “poppy” shirts in the match against Dundee United on Saturday 8th November 2008 for the 90th Anniversary of the Armistice.
Along with many other sporting organisations, this years’ service focussed the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.
The Battle of the Somme started on July 1st 1916 and lasted until November 1916. It was the battle that symbolised the horror of World War One. By the end, the British Army had suffered 420,000 casualties including nearly 60,000 on the first day alone. The French lost 200,000 men and the Germans 500,000.
RedTV | to watch footage from the service today and to watch an interview with Trust Chairman Allan McKimmie please click here (to follow)
The AFC Heritage Trust has been formed to ensure that the Club’s history and archive materials are properly preserved and to be the focus for all those interested in the heritage of Aberdeen Football Club. The Trust continues to raise funds to acquire memorabilia and to create a Museum and Learning Centre in a new stadium. Supporters can join the Trust as “Friends” by accessing the website: www.afcheritage.org
ABERDEEN FOOTBALL CLUB HERITAGE TRUST WAR MEMORIAL ROLL OF HONOUR
WORLD WAR I
Private Allan Lawrie 1915 (Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders) Private Andrew Hamilton 1915 (Gordon Highlanders) Sergeant-Major John Mackay 1916 (Royal Engineers) Company Sergeant-Major Charles Neilson 1916 (Gordon Highlanders) Gunner Alex L Halkett 1917 (Royal Field Artillery) Captain Joseph Ellis Milne DSO 1917 (Royal Medical Corps) Gunner John Munro 1917 (Royal Field Artillery) Lance Corporal Angus McLeod 1917 (Gordon Highlanders) Trimmer Frederick Watson 1917 (Royal Naval Reserve) Sergeant James Hadden Neilson 1917 (Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders) Lance Corporal Wilfred T Toman 1917 (King’s Regiment (Liverpool)) Captain Herbert Murray MC 1918 (Gordon Highlanders) Private William Lickley 1918 (Queen’s Own Rifles (Canada))
WORLD WAR II Sergeant Observer George Gardiner Scott 1942 (Royal Air Force) Flying Officer John Waran Campbell 1943 (Royal Air Force) Major Alexander Skinner Jackson 1946 (Royal Pioneer Corps)
WORLD WAR II Sergeant Observer George Gardiner Scott 1942 (Royal Air Force) Flying Officer John Waran Campbell 1943 (Royal Air Force) Major Alexander Skinner Jackson 1946 (Royal Pioneer Corps)
