a footballing battalion

[bradley]

greetings to all,im new on the block but hav been fascinated in the great war for a couple of years now..............the reason im posting is that ,im wondering if any of you people out there have read or even heard of a unique book by the name of McCRAES BATTALION,by JACK ALEXANDER, published in 2003,it is the story of a call to arms in the great war of footballers and supporters of association football(primarily the famous HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN F.C) amongst other noble fellows in Scotland,led by a charismatic local politician,sir George McCrae,it was a response to the governments scathing attacks on professional sportsmens involvement in the first 6 months of the war at the time ...a city battalion of Edinburgh,they were blooded at th Somme and served with the utmost distinction until armistice.the book is written in fantastic detail and is an emotional rollercoaster of epic proportions......all credit to Jack Alexander in creating this masterpiece.the research must have taken years. please check out www.mainstreampublishing.com .................erm,i trust the cheque is in the post jack :

[Derek Robertson]

Bradley,

The book has had fleeting mention before on the Forum though IMHO has never had the recognition it deserves.

Jack Alexander joined the Forum a while back but has never made his presence felt which is a shame.

[dycer]

Bradley,

Welcome to the Forum

I take it you are a Hearts Fan?

Many of us, who had relatives who served in the Royal Scots in the War, have Jack's Book on our shelves.

I was in Aberdeen last week and saw plenty of copies in Ottakar's Bookshop which was an improvement to the last time I visited as I finally managed to track my copy down in a little Bookshop in Inverurie.I assume the Book is still selling well and Jack will soon be able to buy us all a pint

I am sure Jack said he is researching the later years of the Battalion so hopefully some time in the future there will be a companion Book for us all to enjoy.

George