Memorial to Linfield players who died in WW1 unveiled in France

More than a dozen Linfield players are known to have died in World War One.

The memorial, in Bertrancourt village near the frontline of the Battle of the Somme, was unveiled following a moving ceremony on Saturday.

A spokesperson for the club said: “This event is the culmination of a sporting and educational project established by the club in 2013 to mark and remember the enormous sacrifices made by Linfield players who left these shores to serve King and Country and sadly never returned.

“The club is indebted to everyone who worked so hard on this project, inside and outside of the club, to turn the vision into a reality. We trust that we have created a memorial which is a fitting and lasting tribute to the brave Linfield players who made the supreme sacrifice to give us all lasting freedom.”

A large Linfield delegation set out for the memorial unveiling on Thursday including club chairman Roy McGivern, several directors, and former players former players Alan Fraser, Lee Doherty and Colin McCurdy.

The delegation also included the club’s head of youth Glenn Ferguson, academy coach Johnny Jamison, scout Ricky McIntyre and the under 16 team’s coach Darren Devlin along with the Linfield Under 16 team.

The boys took part in a friendly match against local side USOAAS Albert, who are based in the Somme region, ahead of the memorial unveiling on Saturday.

A large group of donors to the Memorial Fund, which paid for the erection of the monument, also travelled as part of the Linfield delegation and attended the ceremony in France.

The Linfield group also visited a number of important local memorials and monuments during their four day visit to the region.

This included trips to the Ulster Memorial Tower at Theipval, the Heart of Midlothian FC Memorial, the Arras Memorial to the Missing and the Newfoundland Memorial at Beaumont Hamel.

The group also visited the village of Mesnil-Martinsart to dedicate and unveil a plaque to commemorate Rifleman George McCracken from the 13th Battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles who was killed in the area and was a brother of Dick McCracken who played in the Linfield seven trophy winning side in 1921/22.

The glass and stone monument was designed by architect and former Linfield player Lee Doherty with one Linfield academy coach Johnny Jamison and depicts a Linfield player on one side with a soldier on the other, along with a poem.