Linfield FC unveils World War One memorial in France

The memorial in Bertrancourt pays tribute to Linfield's dead from World War One

Linfield Football Club has unveiled a memorial in France to remember its former players who died in World War One.

The monument has been built in the village of Bertrancourt, which is close to the frontline of the Battle of the Somme.

It was funded with £100 donations from more than 130 supporters.

At least 15 players associated with the club are known to have died in the war.

Linfield's chairman, Roy McGivern, said there would be no names on the memorial as "the research never really ends".

Made of granite and glass, the memorial was designed by Linfield Academy coach Johnny Jamison, with assistance from former player and architect Lee Doherty.

It depicts a Linfield player from the era on one side, and a World War One soldier on the other.

The memorial includes a poem as its centrepiece, with a football and boots cast in stone.

It also features the club's Latin motto - Audaces Fortuna Juvat - which means fortune favours the brave.

"It is quite a spectacle," Mr McGivern said

'Pilgrimage site'

The village, which is several miles from the Ulster Memorial Tower, does not have a "distinct Linfield connection", he continued.

However, it does have links to football battalions from the war and is close to sites used by the 36th (Ulster) Division.

The land for the monument was gifted to the Belfast club at no cost, with the village pledging to look after its upkeep.

Rifleman James Walker (far left) was pictured with Linfield's 1915-1916 team at Windsor Park

"There's a small café in the village and a bar and a village hall and the people there are really excited about the project and they probably see there's a tourism element for them," Mr McGivern said.

"There's a lot of people from this part of the world who visit the Somme region, they go on various pilgrimages around the battlefield and around various memorials so that Linfield memorial will now be part of that pilgrimage."

'The delight and pride of all ranks'

Linfield has also discussed a future expansion of the project to include a trail that would take visitors to graves and other monuments with connections to the club.

An example is the grave of Rifleman James Walker, who was killed in action on 6 May 1916, and is buried close to Bertrancourt.

The 24-year-old had won a County Antrim Shield medal with Linfield before the war.

A letter sent by the Royal Irish Rifles to the soldier's parents was published in the Belfast News Letter.

"During two hours bombardment your son stuck to his post under a storm of high explosive shells, until finally a flying fragment struck him," a lieutenant wrote.

The monument had been kept under wraps by the village until the official unveiling

Rifleman Walker suffered a "tremendous" loss of blood, he added, and died on his way to a military hospital.

"He was a sportsman and particularly a good footballer. His brilliant play was the delight and pride of all ranks.

"Frequently he saved his company from defeat at football, and undoubtedly on the morning of the 6th May he assisted materially in keeping the flag flying."

The names of four Linfield players also feature on the prominent Thiepval and Menin Gate memorials, both of which pay tribute to soldiers who have no known graves.

'Everybody is involved'

Celine Jasiak, the deputy mayor of Bertrancourt, said the village, which is home to about 200 people, was "very excited and very happy" to unveil the memorial.

"It's very important for us because it's for the soldiers during the first world war," she told BBC News NI.

"It's a long time we wait for this inauguration, so everybody is involved."

Bertrancourt's deputy mayor, Celine Jasiak, met Linfield chairman Roy McGivern (left) with her husband and son in August

Ms Jasiak said the community had offered to make cakes and put up flags for the event, while special glasses and coins had been made to sell as souvenirs.

"I think it's not for people just who have an interest in the first world war, it's for people too who like sport and it's good for younger people," she said.

"It's a very beautiful memorial, so if you pass in front of the memorial you need to stop and have an interest."

Ms Jasiak attended Linfield's Charity Shield match against Crusaders at Windsor Park in August as a guest of the club along with her husband Victor and son Oscar.

"It was very important for us and my family to see what club is it and where it was in Ireland," she added.

'Fulsome tribute'

Mr McGivern said the club wanted to educate its youth players about those who had gone before.

The ceremony to unveil the memorial followed a Linfield academy match in nearby Albert, while club officials also marked the addition of Rifleman George McCracken's name to a memorial in Mensil-Martinsart.

He died days after an enemy shell attack which was survived by his brother, Rifleman Richard McCracken, who had played inside right for Linfield.

"It's such an emotional place for people from this part of the world, whether you have relatives who were killed or who served there or not, it has such a connection to this place, north and south," Mr McGivern said.

"We wanted to do something to pay fulsome tribute to what these men did and the sacrifice they made for all of us and I think we've done that."