Games to remember
The Armistice centenary will be marked by events including two football matches in Nottingham. JEREMY LEWIS previews the Games of Remembrance
ARMY veteran Freddie Cosgrove symbolises Nottingham’s warm welcome to the soldiers of Britain and Germany as they prepare to do battle on the football field. The former Sherwood Forester and his wife Bridie were first in the queue as tickets went on sale for the National Games of Remembrance - two matches between the British Army and German Bundeswehr to commemorate the soldiers of both nations who lost their lives in the First World War.
“It’s a brilliant idea,” says Freddie, 79, a passionate Nottingham Forest fan from West Bridgford. “It makes me really proud as a Notts man that the city is hosting these matches.”
To be held on Thursday, November 8 - just three days before the centenary of the Armistice that brought the Great War to an end - the two armies’ women’s teams will play each other at Notts County stadium Meadow Lane before the men square up at Forest’s City Ground.
The occasion will evoke thoughts of the first football clashes between British and German soldiers - the informal kickabouts that occurred over Christmas 1914 during unofficial local truces in some sectors of the Western Front.
They were rare instances of fraternity between combatants in a four-year bloodbath that saw the combat deaths of ten million military personnel including 1.1 million British and Empire troops and 2 million German servicemen.
The significance is not lost on Freddie, whose three years of Army service took him with the Sherwood Foresters’ 1st Battalion to Malaya, where British troops helped resist communist insurgents.
“After all the history it’s a fantastic thing for British and German soldiers to be shaking hands on the playing field,” he said.
The Games of Remembrance have attracted the support of the football community and the wider public, both acknowledging the sacrifices made by club players and supporters as military recruiters sought more manpower.
Sir Bobby Charlton said: “I’ve played the game and worked with so many footballers over the years, but none could make me prouder than the men and women footballers who served the Great War effort 100 years ago.
“I’m honoured to support the Games of Remembrance. Look behind the photos, be surprised what you find out; and join the Games on 8 November.”
“The role of the football community in that war is a true inspiration,” says former Tottenham Hotspur star and English FA Ambassador Gary Mabbutt.
“I encourage everyone from grass roots to the top of the Premiership to find out about it, get involved in the Games, make a tribute and feel proud for the role that the football community played in giving us all the lives that we have.”
The Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire , Sir John Peace, added: “It’s an honour to welcome the British Army and the Bundeswehr to Nottinghamshire.
“The Games of Remembrance are an opportunity for all communities across Nottinghamshire and the region to come together to pay their respects, learn more about World War One and watch two highly competitive matches.”
As Sir John suggests, the day will offer a lot more than football. Look out for fan zones, music, entertainment and exhibitions about the growth of a sport loved by the squaddies on both sides of no man’s land.
It’s a sport loved by latterday
squaddies like Freddie, a Londoner who grew up in Nottingham and enlisted in 1956.
“I was 17-and-a-half and I went into the recruitment centre in Trinity Square and they sent me to the Sherwood Foresters at Normanton Barracks,” he recalls. “I loved it. I wish I’d signed for 21 years, not three.
“The emergency in Malaya was ending by the time I was out there. The jungle conditions were tough. As young soldiers we’d never experienced it before and we had to camouflage ourselves amongst the bushes and the trees.
“We worked with the Malay guides who patrolled with us. Without them, the job of stopping the guerrillas would have been a lot harder.”
Freddie was a regular on parade at the Cenotaph in Whitehall every Remembrance Sunday, alongside old Forester comrades. Eye problems mean he now marks the occasion locally, at the annual ceremony on Victoria Embankment.
Off duty, Freddie was a goalkeeper but once out of the Army and working as a lorry driver his attention turned to supporting a club that became the best in the land.
He and Bridie, 66, have long been season ticket holders at the City Ground and recall the Reds’ glory years under Brian Clough and Peter Taylor.
Of the squad that twice conquered Europe, favourite players include John Robertson, Kenny Burns and Peter Shilton.
That now seems a long time ago. The Cosgroves’ prediction for their team’s 2018-19 Championship finish? Midtable.
But they are hoping for better than middling when the soldiers of England take on their German counterparts next month. “Three-one would be nice,” he says.
■ A family ticket (one adult and two children) for the women’s afternoon game at Meadow Lane on November 8 (kick-off 12 noon) will cost £5.
For that day’s evening match at the City Ground (7pm) entry for two adults and two children will be £10.
There is a £2.50 concession price to both matches for uniformed services personnel, under-16s, students and senior citizens.
Tickets for both matches will be available through the Nottingham Forest and Notts County websites and ticket offices.
For more information visit www.gamesofremembrance.com