Remembrance

It seems to me that at this time of year when we are all wearing poppies and observing the one minute silence that we should specially remember members of Clydesdale Harriers who lost their lives fighting for their country in both wars.

In the 1914-1918 war over 200 members of Clydesdale out of a club membership of about 800 died. In the 'Evening Times' of 15th August 1915 70 Clydesdale Harriers who had 'answered the call' were listed and that was only a fraction of those who went to fight in Flanders, at the Somme, etc. The entire Committee with two exceptions were killed, one died on the way home after the fighting was over. The present club vest was designed in 1911 by Ralph Erskine who died during the war. The story that I have, which is unconfirmed in writing, is that he as a platoon commander led his men into an apparently empty farmhouse which was in reality a German machine gun nest. What a way to die for anyone - Ralph's family were all Harriers and his brother Thomas Barrie Erskine, club secretary at the start of the war, also died before 1918; Ralph himself was a world amateur lightweight boxing champion, a title he won in New York.

One of the first casualties in the second world war was Jim Little from Dalmuir who was a sergeant in the RAF. Incidentally, the club established a Wartime Fund to assist the families of members who were serving soldiers. His family was one of the first recipients of support which was donated to the families at the rate of 7/6d (37 pence but a fair bit of money at the time to add to a family budget). Willie Howie's share went to his mother even after he became a prisoner of war having been captured in North Africa. The big surprise to me was that Johnny Morgan, official club starter when I joined the club in 1957, had been in the Chindits. A British Army unit fighting in Burma and often engaged in hand to hand fighting in the jungles against the Japanese.

So when you think of the fallen, remember that Clydesdale Harriers have taken part, and often died in, some of the most dreadful aspects of warfare on behalf of Great Britain