Battle of the Somme: 110th Anniversary

Scott Arthur Excerpts

Thursday 12th November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dr Scott Arthur (Edinburgh South West) (Lab)]

I thank the hon. Member for South West Devon (Rebecca Smith), both for securing this debate and for the way in which she introduced it.

In Edinburgh South West, we have the Heart of Midlothian memorial clock, something that defines Haymarket. If Members do not know, Heart of Midlothian is perhaps Scotland’s finest football team—or even the UK’s. [Laughter.] Sorry, I should not have laughed there. Every year, former Hearts players gather at the memorial clock alongside club staff, fans from across the city and local Gorgie residents to remember the incredible sacrifice that Hearts players and fans made on the frontline.

For those who are not familiar with the story, Hearts players led by example when Sir George McCrae, a popular Edinburgh figure and former MP—he was in this place between 1899 and 1909—announced that he would raise a battalion to fight in the war, the 16th (Service) Battalion of the Royal Scots. In November 1914, Hearts comfortably led the first division, having started the 1914-15 season with eight straight victories, including a thumping defeat of the reigning champions Celtic—even in a time-limited debate, I had to mention that. That streak coincided with the beginning of world war one and a debate about whether or not football should be taking place at all. Sixteen Hearts players signed up, along with players from Hibernian, Raith Rovers, Falkirk, Dunfermline Athletic, East Fife and St Bernard’s. McCrae’s was the first of the so-called footballers’ pals battalions to be raised during the war. Some 500 Hearts supporters and ticket holders enlisted, alongside 150 from Hibs, rugby players, cricketers, swimmers, hockey players, golfers and even a bodybuilder.

Then came the Somme. None could have expected that McCrae’s battalion would suffer 229 dead or missing on the first day, with a further 347 wounded. That was a small part of the tens of thousands who were killed or wounded on that first day, but the toll on Hearts and the wider Edinburgh community was immense. Many bodies were never recovered, including the remains of Harry Wattie, a Hearts striker and arguably the best inside forward in Scotland at the time.

[John Cooper]

The hon. Member is making a very eloquent speech about the sacrifice of Scottish football. Did he share my disappointment at the weekend when the two-minute silence at Celtic was interrupted after only 13 seconds?

[Dr Arthur]

I thank the hon. Member for that intervention. I heard that news from someone in this place who had also heard about it—somebody who does not live in Scotland—and I was absolutely ashamed to hear it.

The 16th Royal Scots made great inroads into the German line, more than any other British battalion, but that was little comfort to the families who lost their sons. The losses of McCrae’s battalion were a small but significant component of the 1 million casualties in the 141 days of that battle. When Hearts unveiled the memorial clock at Haymarket in 1922, a crowd of 65,000 people gathered to honour that remarkable sacrifice. They were told that the nation owed a debt of gratitude to Hearts that could never be repaid. At the weekend, I was proud to attend a service at the memorial clock alongside hundreds of other people. Many of them were Hearts supporters—Jambos—but many of them were people who just live locally and wanted to take part in an act of remembrance.

I was proud to be at that remembrance service, but I was even more proud to see pupils from Tynecastle high school, Balerno high school and George Watson’s college take part in it. A few days before, I attended another remembrance service at Firrhill high school in Edinburgh South West, which was entirely led by the young people there, apart from a small introduction by the headmaster. What is special about that school is that it is directly across the road from Redford infantry barracks. The young people who led the service read out the names of people who had died on that day, 6 November, during the first world war. All the names were of people who were 17, 18 or 19 years old, some of them perhaps even younger than the pupils who were reading out the names, and most of them just a few months or years older.

Taking part in that service and being so close to the barracks was a real reminder of the impact of war. We talk about conflict, perhaps within 1,000 days, but I would hate for any of those young people to have to take part in a war. It was a reminder to me that in this place, we should always focus on peace, not war.