Football fans remember North East soldiers killed in the Battle of the Somme

The lives of three North East soldiers killed in the Battle of the Somme have been remembered this weekend by more than two hundred football fans from London.

William Jonas and Richard McFadden, who were both from Blyth, and George Scott, from Sunderland, all played for Clapton Orient – now known as Leyton Orient.

When the London club signed up to the war effort en-masse - becoming the first football club in England to do so - all three men soon found themselves on the front line.

For the past ten years Leyton Orient supporters have made a bi-annual pilgrimage to the players’ graves and memorials to hold services ofremembrance and lay wreaths in tribute.

This year, on the centenary of the battle, more than 250 fans made the tripacross. They included members of the players’ families.

The group visited the graves of Richard McFadden and George Scott – and the imposing Thiepval Memorial – which holds the names of soldiers whose bodies have never been found including that of William Jonas.

Trip organiser Steve Jenkins said:

All three players were part of what was known as the Footballers Battalion –which included players from clubs all over England, including many from theNorth East.

Leyton Orient supporters say they will continue to come to the battlefields and remember their former players for years to come.