Lest we forget West Ham players and supporters

11 am today marks the 100th year anniversary of Armistice Day. The moment we remember those fallen in World War One and also in other conflicts.  Seven former West Ham players are included in that roll of honour and today we remember them below.

Former West Ham players killed in WW1

Frank Costello
William Kennedy
Frank Cannon
William Kirby
Syd Hammond
Arthur Stallard
William Jones

Please remember the one thousand plus West Ham Pals killed in the first world war.

One of the reasons why the First World War was so traumatic an event to British society was that so many of the new infantry Battalions formed to fight in the trenches were the so-called “Pals Battalions”. Where men could serve with local friends, neighbours or workers.

The West Ham Pals were officially called the 13th Battalion of the Essex Regiment. Unofficially they were West Ham football team supporters who joined in mass with their mates and whose battle cry (and bayonet charge) was “Up the Irons”.

The Battalion fought in some of the worse battles in the Somme, Vimy Ridge and Cambrai during the War and suffered many causalities with many killed, wounded or missing. The impact of all these deaths and casualties in battle on the local community was therefore immense. About one-quarter of the original battalion volunteers were killed and nearly half were returned to the UK with severe injuries

Formed at Brentwood in September 1915 they undertook their training in Cambridge and after a few men were initially sent as replacements to those men who had been killed in December 1915, the unit became the 14th (Reserve) Battalion of the Essex Regiment under the command of the Mayor’s son, Captain Leo Dyer.