Footballers Served in the First World War

The Football and the First World War Service Index is a searchable database containing the military service records of all Football League, Southern League and Scottish Football League players who served in the armed forces during World War One. It is compiled from a substantial list of primary sources that include contemporary newspaper reports, official military service records and unit war diaries, the Soldiers Died in the Great War and Officers Died in the Great War databases published by the War Office in 1921 and 1919 respectively, and the official records of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. This list is not exhaustive and many other sources have been used, all of which can be found here.

To search the index, simply enter a search term in the box above the main index and click “View Record” on the chosen individual when they are located in the search results. Once selected, the chosen service record page will display the following details: Surname, First Name(s), Place of Birth, Club(s), Service Number(s), Rank, Regiment(s) or Corps, Unit(s), Type of Casualty (If applicable), Theatre of War (If applicable), Date of Death (If applicable), Place of Death (If applicable), Place of Burial/Commemoration (If applicable), Grave/Memorial Reference (If applicable) and Supplementary Notes (Place of residence, honours and decorations, family etc). Players are listed under the regiment or corps they were serving with when they were discharged from service. Sub units are listed in descending chronological order.

As an ongoing project, the index is updated on a daily basis and will grow steadily as each individual record is taken from the archives and uploaded onto the website. Please be aware that this is a time-consuming process and the majority of records are still to be added. Although always cross-referenced before inclusion, there is also the possibility that some anomalies may arise. This may be due to inconsistencies found in the primary sources used – not least those arising from inaccurate contemporary newspaper reports and the loss of a significant percentage of the official service records during the Second World War, or simple human error. I offer my sincere apologies in advance should this be the case. If you believe any of the information currently listed within the database is incorrect, and can provide supporting evidence that corrects the error, please get in touch and I will update the records accordingly.