Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
English giants to bestow Armistice Day honour on Albion ace Frank
Striker with‘plenty of dash’who starred for both clubs added to Chelsea Roll of Honour
Former Albion Rovers forward Francis ‘Frank’ O’hara is to be commemorated in the Roll of Honour at English Premier League side Chelsea on Armistice Day.
O’hara, who grew up in Jackson Street in Coatbridge, was one of the first players to play for Chelsea when he joined the current Champions League holders in 1905.
He made three appearances for the English giants – including a double on his debut in a 6-1 FA Cup win against the First Grenadier Guards – before returning to Rovers a season later.
His recognition comes after research carried out by the Chelsea Graves Society, a fan organisation, which is aiming to record the final resting places of former Chelsea players and officials, dating back to the Stamford Bridge club’s 1905 conception.
Armistice day takes place on November 11 and will commemorate the 103rd anniversary of the end of World War I.
O’hara was killed on the first day of the Battle of Gallipoli on July 12, 1915 during The Great War, aged 32.
Chelsea Graves Society member Andrew Rowley admits it was difficult to find information on Rovers’ former forward, but eventually made inroads through old newspaper clippings.
“One of the players we struggled with at the beginning was Francis ‘Frank’ O’hara,” he said. “One report, as reported in the Sheffield, Dundee and London Evening Standard newspapers, has him in court for assaulting a police officer in Fulham in 1906.
“A summons was issued but he failed to appear, being subsequently arrested in Coatbridge and brought down to court in London on the 29th September 1906.
“Francis said ‘I am very sorry, but I am glad the bottle did not hit you.’ He was fined 10 shillings, or one day in prison. The police were rebuked for bringing Francis down to London and trying to claim £4.
“The judge stating ‘Well that does seem unnecessary – out of all proportion to the offence.’ This type of offence was repeated after he returned to Coatbridge.”
O’hara was described as a striker with ‘plenty of dash in addition to being extremely fast.’ He featured for Bathgate, Wigan Town, Birmingham, Pendlebury and Royal Albert before retiring around 1908.
Rowley further explains that after enlisting for military service in 1914 with his two brothers, Michael and Owen, O’hara is remembered at the Gallipoli Peninsula.
He said: “Francis lied about his age and joined the army (3rd Battalion, Highland Light Infantry) in December 1899. He was only 16 at the time but Francis told them he was 18 years and two months.
“Military documents show that he was 5ft 4 and a half with brown hair and blue eyes, weighing 104 lbs. His medical examiner deeming him to be physically equivalent to someone age 17 years, six months!
“Owen and Michael enlisted in the Highland Light Infantry. Owen was captured in France in late 1914 and was held as a prisoner of war by the Germans for the remainder of the war. He passed away in 1964. Michael was killed in action on the 6th, August 1916.
“Francis was killed in action on the first day of the Battle of Gallipoli. One of the 4,000 casualties, the Scottish Division suffered massive losses in the sixth and last attempt to capture the hill at Achi Baba.
“There is no known grave. Francis is commemorated on the Helles Memorial at the Gallipoli Peninsula (Panel 174-178).
“We linked the details together with documents showing war gratuities paid to both his mother Rose and brother Owen.”
All the research carried out has been verified by Chelsea FC Official Historian Rick Glanvill, who will have Francis added to the Roll of Honour November 11.
Francis lied about his age and joined the army in December 1899