Raith Represented At Unveiling of New Hearts Memorial Plaque
Last Friday, Raith Rovers were represented by the club chairman Turnbull Hutton and Marshall Bowman at the unveiling of a new memorial plaque at Heart of Midlothian’s Tynecastle Park to honour those players who signed up voluntarily in late November/early December 1914 to join the 16th Royal Scots a ‘Pals Battalion’ formed by Sir George McCrae. This soon became known as the Sportsmen’s Battalion as players from Raith, Falkirk, Hibs and Dunfermline also very soon joined the original 13 Hearts players along with supporters and shareholders of the Gorgie club and members of a variety of other sports’ clubs. There were seven original volunteers from Raith Rovers, the next largest contingent to the Hearts volunteers. The plaque is situated at the very spot where the last ever team photo of the Hearts players was taken and it was unveiled by the Scottish Transport Minister and Minister for War Veterans, Keith Brown along with the Lord Provost of Edinburgh Donald Wilson, Hearts skipper Danny Wilson and a former soldier who was badly wounded in Afghanistan. Representatives from Falkirk and Hibs also attended along with invited members of McCrae’s Battalion Trust.
The bronze plaque is situated on the rear wall of the Main Stand near the official entrance.
