{"id":169146,"date":"2023-11-10T17:02:21","date_gmt":"2023-11-10T17:02:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/?p=169146"},"modified":"2024-06-08T11:24:01","modified_gmt":"2024-06-08T10:24:01","slug":"football-under-enemy-fire-how-a-ball-dribbled-through-no-mans-land-ended-up-in-camberwell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/area\/camberwell\/football-under-enemy-fire-how-a-ball-dribbled-through-no-mans-land-ended-up-in-camberwell\/","title":{"rendered":"Football under enemy fire: How a ball dribbled through no man&#8217;s land ended up in Camberwell"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4 class=\"p1\">A football that was dribbled through no man\u2019s land by British soldiers now resides in Camberwell, over 100 years after brave infantrymen tried to score a goal in enemy trenches. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p class=\"p1\">After lying forgotten in a dusty box for years, the Loos Football from World War One was restored in March 2011 and has been on display at the Regimental Museum at Camberwell\u2019s Connaught House ever since. The <i>News<\/i> took a look back at its incredible story.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">It starts on Saturday, September 25, 1915; when the British advance into France, known as The Great Push, began.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-tcf=\"waiting-for-consent\" data-id=\"69959\" data-bid=\"1\" data-placement=\"448384\" data-no-track=\"impressions\">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<\/script>\n<figure id=\"attachment_169171\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-169171\" style=\"width: 791px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-169171\" src=\"http:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Loos-Football-373x280.jpg\" alt=\"The Loo's Football\" width=\"791\" height=\"594\" srcset=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Loos-Football-373x280.jpg 373w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Loos-Football-747x560.jpg 747w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Loos-Football-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Loos-Football-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Loos-Football-scaled.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Loos-Football-195x146.jpg 195w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Loos-Football-1320x990.jpg 1320w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Loos-Football-750x563.jpg 750w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Loos-Football-1140x855.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 791px) 100vw, 791px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-169171\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Loo&#8217;s Football<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"p1\">As the first light of dawn struggled to break through the mist that hung over the war-torn fields of northern France, hundreds of thousands of British men huddled in the cold, damp trenches of Loos. Quietly, they waited in the drizzling rain for \u2018zero hour\u2019 and the call to fix bayonets and go over the top.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Among the troops that day were some familiar names. Four men would be awarded the Victoria Cross for their brave actions, though only two would survive the Battle of Loos.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-tcf=\"waiting-for-consent\" data-id=\"68153\" data-bid=\"1\" data-placement=\"448385\" data-no-track=\"impressions\">PGRpdiBpZD0ic291dGgtNjU3MzYzMjgiIGNsYXNzPSJzb3V0aC1jb250ZW50IHNvdXRoLWVudGl0eS1wbGFjZW1lbnQiIHN0eWxlPSJtYXJnaW4tbGVmdDogYXV0bzttYXJnaW4tcmlnaHQ6IGF1dG87dGV4dC1hbGlnbjogY2VudGVyOyI+PCEtLSAgLzE1NDcyNTA3MCwyMjY5NDE5Njk2OS9zb3V0aHdhcmtuZXdzL3NvdXRod2Fya25ld3MgLS0+DQo8ZGl2IGlkPSJkaXYtZ3B0LWFkLTJ4MSI+DQo8c2NyaXB0Pg0KZ29vZ2xldGFnLmNtZC5wdXNoKGZ1bmN0aW9uKCkgeyBnb29nbGV0YWcuZGlzcGxheSgnZGl2LWdwdC1hZC0yeDEnKTsgfSk7DQo8L3NjcmlwdD4NCjwvZGl2PiAgICAgICAgICA8L2Rpdj4=<\/script>\n<p class=\"p1\">A young war poet named Robert Graves would later recount the battle in his book Goodbye to All That.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Also sitting in the gloom of the trenches, swathed in bandoliers and laden with knapsacks, were a lesser-known band of brothers: the boys of the London Irish Rifles football team, whose headquarters stand today in Connaught House.<\/p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-tcf=\"waiting-for-consent\" data-id=\"71156\" data-bid=\"1\" data-placement=\"448386\" data-no-track=\"impressions\">PGRpdiBpZD0ic291dGgtODYxMzcyOTU4IiBjbGFzcz0ic291dGgtaW4tYXJ0aWNsZS1tcHU5IHNvdXRoLWVudGl0eS1wbGFjZW1lbnQiPjwhLS0gIC8xNTQ3MjUwNzAsMjI2OTQxOTY5Njkvc291dGh3YXJrbmV3cy9zb3V0aHdhcmtuZXdzIC0tPg0KPGRpdiBpZD0iZGl2LWdwdC1hZC1tcHU5Ij4NCjxzY3JpcHQ+DQpnb29nbGV0YWcuY21kLnB1c2goZnVuY3Rpb24oKSB7IGdvb2dsZXRhZy5kaXNwbGF5KCdkaXYtZ3B0LWFkLW1wdTknKTsgfSk7DQo8L3NjcmlwdD4NCjwvZGl2PiAgICAgPC9kaXY+<\/script>\n<figure id=\"attachment_169150\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-169150\" style=\"width: 840px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-169150\" src=\"http:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/the-ball-when-it-22returned22-to-the-Regiment-in-the-early-1920s-367x280.jpg\" alt=\"The ball when it returned to the Regiment in the early 1920s\" width=\"840\" height=\"641\" srcset=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/the-ball-when-it-22returned22-to-the-Regiment-in-the-early-1920s-367x280.jpg 367w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/the-ball-when-it-22returned22-to-the-Regiment-in-the-early-1920s-192x146.jpg 192w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/the-ball-when-it-22returned22-to-the-Regiment-in-the-early-1920s.jpg 719w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-169150\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The ball when it returned to the Regiment in the early 1920s<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"p1\">Led by their captain, Private Frank Edwards, the boys were hatching a plan to undertake a feat never seen before &#8211; to score a goal in the German trenches.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Perhaps knowing their likely fate out on the killing fields of no man\u2019s land, the team\u2019s first scheme had been to boot their entire stock of six footballs over from the safety of the trenches the night before, but they were thwarted by an over-zealous subaltern, who punctured one football with a bullet from his revolver and ordered that the others be deflated.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The Irishmen were not so easily defeated, however, and as captain of the team, Edwards felt the reputation of his team was at stake. He intended to make sure at least one football would score a goal in enemy lines.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Under cover of his comrades and with an hour to go, he surreptitiously produced from under his tunic one of the deflated footballs, and began to blow it up.<\/p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-tcf=\"waiting-for-consent\" data-id=\"71157\" data-bid=\"1\" data-placement=\"448387\" data-no-track=\"impressions\">PGRpdiBpZD0ic291dGgtMTkzOTM5NTYzMSIgY2xhc3M9InNvdXRoLWluLWFydGljbGUtbXB1LTEwIHNvdXRoLWVudGl0eS1wbGFjZW1lbnQiPjwhLS0gIC8xNTQ3MjUwNzAsMjI2OTQxOTY5Njkvc291dGh3YXJrbmV3cy9zb3V0aHdhcmtuZXdzIC0tPg0KPGRpdiBpZD0iZGl2LWdwdC1hZC1tcHUxMCI+DQo8c2NyaXB0Pg0KZ29vZ2xldGFnLmNtZC5wdXNoKGZ1bmN0aW9uKCkgeyBnb29nbGV0YWcuZGlzcGxheSgnZGl2LWdwdC1hZC1tcHUxMCcpOyB9KTsNCjwvc2NyaXB0Pg0KPC9kaXY+ICAgICA8L2Rpdj4=<\/script>\n<p class=\"p1\">At 5.50am, the Engineers turned on the gas and smoke projectors. Forty minutes later the order was given to fix bayonets; ladders and hurdles were placed on the fire steps and at last the whistles blew, giving the signal to attack.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"YPj2svftgWE\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"0KyvhCVZKZ\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/history\/in-depth-history\/world-war-one-images-of-bermondsey-family-and-child-in-fathers-uniform-unearthed\/\">World War One images of Bermondsey family and child dressed up in her father&#8217;s uniform unearthed<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;World War One images of Bermondsey family and child dressed up in her father&#8217;s uniform unearthed&#8221; &#8212; Southwark News\" src=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/history\/in-depth-history\/world-war-one-images-of-bermondsey-family-and-child-in-fathers-uniform-unearthed\/embed\/#?secret=O9MzfgUsPq#?secret=0KyvhCVZKZ\" data-secret=\"0KyvhCVZKZ\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The heavily laden Irishmen scrambled up the ladders and over the top, with Private Edwards clinging tightly to the ball. Together they tumbled into a sickly green mist, tainted with chlorine gas that the British were testing for the first time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">They were a strange sight with their gas helmets rolled up on their heads like turbans. Almost immediately the German machine guns began to take their toll but, at first, the men of the football team pressed on.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">They charged towards the enemy gunfire with a united battle cry. Frank Edwards kicked the ball to Micky Mileham, who dribbled it on and passed to Bill Taylor, who kicked ahead to Jimmy Dalby.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">But before the football was finally kicked into the German first line, team captain Edwards was down, wounded in the thigh. Micky dropped beside him to tie a tourniquet that saved his friend\u2019s life.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"HqYJ\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"2DO2AJ8seV\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/area\/camberwell\/the-wwi-hut-that-camberwell-built\/\">The WWI hut that Camberwell built<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;The WWI hut that Camberwell built&#8221; &#8212; Southwark News\" src=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/area\/camberwell\/the-wwi-hut-that-camberwell-built\/embed\/#?secret=ugOAwtubEL#?secret=2DO2AJ8seV\" data-secret=\"2DO2AJ8seV\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Meanwhile, his comrades had stormed their way through the first line of trenches crammed with enemy infantry, many of whom fell to the grenades and bayonets of the Irishmen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">But the Irishmen also paid a heavy price for winning the first line. 20,000 men that fell that day, and still lie in unmarked graves. The football was found punctured on enemy barbed wire.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The next day, Divisional Commander Major General Barter told the surviving men of the London Irish regiment: \u201cNot only am I proud to have the honour of being in command of such a regiment as yours, lads, but the whole Empire will be proud whenever in after years the story of the Battle of Loos comes to be written.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cFor I can tell you that it was the London Irish who helped to save a whole British Army Corps. You have done one of the greatest acts of the war.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Remembering the Battle of Loos in his poem, The Dead Fox Hunter, Robert Graves wrote: \u2018We found the little captain at the head;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">His men lay well aligned.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">We touched his hand&#8212; stone cold&#8212; and he was dead,<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">And they, all dead behind,<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Had never reached their goal, but they died well;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">They charged in line, and in the same line fell.\u2019<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>There will be a Remembrance Service at Connaught House on Flodden Road at 10am on Sunday, November 12.<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span class=\"3DK1k6dXfEN2VlS5pPoI7wCjiAmZRreaFHyn4U\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"D6JYfdLmLN\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/area\/bermondsey\/where-to-attend-remembrance-day-services-in-southwark\/\">Where to attend Remembrance Day services in Southwark<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;Where to attend Remembrance Day services in Southwark&#8221; &#8212; Southwark News\" src=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/area\/bermondsey\/where-to-attend-remembrance-day-services-in-southwark\/embed\/#?secret=NVooUqTUGv#?secret=D6JYfdLmLN\" data-secret=\"D6JYfdLmLN\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A football that was dribbled through no man\u2019s land by British soldiers now resides in Camberwell, over 100 years after brave infantrymen tried to score a goal in enemy trenches. \u00a0 After lying forgotten in a dusty box for years, the Loos Football from World War One was restored in March 2011 and has been [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18769,"featured_media":169168,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"subtitle":"Infantrymen were determined to score a goal in the German trenches","format":"standard","video":"","gallery":"","source_name":"","source_url":"","via_name":"","via_url":"","override_template":"0","override":[{"template":"1","single_blog_custom":"","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"1","show_view_counter":"1","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"0","show_inline_post_related":"1"}],"override_image_size":"0","image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post":"0","trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post":"0","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","sponsored_post_name":"","sponsored_post_url":"","sponsored_post_logo_enable":"0","sponsored_post_logo":"","sponsored_post_desc":"","disable_ad":"0"},"jnews_primary_category":{"id":"","hide":""},"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"override_view_counter":"0","view_counter_number":"0","override_share_counter":"0","share_counter_number":"0","override_like_counter":"0","like_counter_number":"0","override_dislike_counter":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,13539,13603,13602],"tags":[964],"class_list":["post-169146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-camberwell","category-featured","category-in-depth-history","category-news","tag-world-war-one"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18769"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169146\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}