A programme for the 1915 F.A. Cup Final ('Khaki Cup Final') Chelsea v Sheffield United played at Old Trafford 24th April At the outbreak of World War

A programme for the 1915 F.A. Cup Final ('Khaki Cup Final') Chelsea v Sheffield United played at Old Trafford 24th April At the outbreak of World War I sports competitions such as within cricket and rugby were suspended. Yet on the 1st September 1914 the Football League decided to play on with the 1914-15 season. This caused considerable controversy and there were many high profile and vociferous critics of the sport from every walk of life including the brewer Frederick Charrington, the Bishop of Chelmsford, Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Punch Magazine. The 1914-15 F.A. Cup Final, played at Manchester United's ground at Old Trafford, and won by Sheffield United who beat Chelsea 3-0, acquired the sobriquet of ''The Khaki Cup Final'', owing to the large number of uniformed soldiers in attendance. In addition the Manchester Guardian reported ''a number of wounded soldiers, one missing an arm, watched the match from the lower stand.'' A collection was made at half-time for the British Red Cross. Fully competitive football was abandoned before the following 1915-16 season, with a number of regional substitute competitions inaugurated. The tide of criticism against football begun to turn when the players of the Scottish side Heart of Midlothian enlisted, en-masse into the British Army. The core of the 17th Service Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment was a group of professional footballers, hence the commonly used name of the 'Football Battalion.' They fought at the Battle of the Somme amongst others and hold the distinction of having the first black infantry officer in the entire history of the British Army, namely Second Lt. Walter Tull who before the War played as inside-forward for Clapton, Tottenham Hotspur and Northampton Town. He was killed in an action in France on 25th March 1918. A number of decorations were issued to the soldiers of the Football Battalion, notably the Cardiff City and Wales international Lyndon Sandoe who was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal with bar and the Military Medal. In the duration of the hostilities the Football Battalion lost over 1,000 men including 462 in one battle, Arras in 1917. Perhaps the most prominent footballer to have lost his life in the First World War was the Blackburn Rovers and England international Edwin Latheron.