Published: Wednesday, 28th June, 2006 10:03
Death on the football field
By Border Telegraph Newsroom
Print Article
A HERO from the Borders will be amongst the footballers remembered in a television documentary tomorrow night (Thursday).
Big Bob Mercer was one of the Hearts team who went off to fight in the First World War.
Although the 30-year-old gunner was among the lucky few to come back from Europe in 1919 – he died eight years later.
The BBC programme called Supreme Sacrifice, tells the story of Sir George McCrae, a former MP for Edinburgh, who was given permission to raise a battalion to fight in the First World War.
After placing an advert in the local newspaper, Heart of Midlothian’s entire squad became the first to enlist in November 1914 – giving up their chance to win the league.
And dropping from weekly wages of £4 to only eight shillings.
Many of them were to sacrifice a lot more than money or titles in the years to come.
After news spread about the Hearts players joining up, more than 1,000 supporters and players from other clubs followed them into the 16th Battalion of the Royal Scots.
A spokesman for the BBC told the Border Telegraph: “The film determines why these men joined up and follows their moving journey from the playing fields of Scottish League football to the war fields of the Somme.”
Most of McCrae’s Battalion died on July 1, 1916 – the opening day of the Battle of the Somme. They were among more than 20,000 soldiers who gave their lives in the blackest day of British military history.
The spokesman added: “This is an inspiring true story about the bravest sportsmen Scotland has ever known.”
The Mercer family moved to the Borders from their native Stirlingshire to secure jobs in the textiles mills.
A young Robert Mercer began his senior playing career briefly in Galashiels before joining Selkirk in his late teens to play for two seasons. He went on to play for Leith before eventually moving to Tynecastle in 1909.
The towering centre-half was capped twice – in 1912 against Wales and the following season against Ireland.
Robert Mercer was captain of the Hearts team in 1914 – but a knee ligament injury prevented him from signing up to McCrae’s Batallion.
He joined the Royal Garrison Artillery in 1917, and fought on the same battlefields where many of his former team-mates had died.
Supreme Sacrifice writer, Jack Alexander, told the Border Telegraph: “Robert missed out on McCrae’s Battalion because of his knee injury. He would later fight on the same battlefields and the programme does include his part in the story.
“Robert was very much the man behind Hearts and would have become a legend if it hadn’t been for the war.
“He wasn’t a fit man when he came back.”
Although he returned from the First World War – the gassing he suffered on the Somme affected his health.
Doctors at Tynecastle diagnosed the defender as having a weak heart and club bosses refused to allow him to play.
Dunfermline did give him a game for two seasons before he decided to hang up his boots at the age of 33.
But he did pull them back on for one final – and fatal – game.
Graham Bateman, historian at Selkirk Football Club, told the Border Telegraph: “Bob Mercer collapsed and died on Selkirk’s old ground at Ettrick Park.
“He wanted play for Hearts in a friendly against his home team, but only lasted 10 minutes.
“The whole town was in shock when it happened. I can vaguely remember my mother telling me the story – she was terribly upset.”
Bob Mercer was 37-years-old when he died on April 23, 1926.
Craig Douglas, chairman of the Selkirk Football Club, added: “It is only fitting that Bob Mercer and his Hearts team-mates are remembered on the 90th anniversary of the Somme.”
Supreme Sacrifice, which is narrated by Ken Stott, is screened on BBC 2 tomorrow at 9 p.m.
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