Hearts attacked for war memorial snub

HEARTS have come under attack for failing to agree to send a representative to an event which commemorates the role of its players in the First World War.

Ever since a commemorative stone was created to the Edinburgh-based "McCrae's Own" battalion in the French village of Contalmaison in 2004, the club has sent official representatives to an annual July 1 service.

Vladimir Romanov even wrote a poem which was delivered by one of his representatives to France when the stone was unveiled in November 2004. The former Hearts chairman George Foulkes and ex-Hearts skipper Alan Anderson attended the unveiling ceremony in the town.

But this year, the Tynecastle club has failed to confirm whether it will be sending anyone, with less than a week until the official coach party leaves from Edinburgh.

Hearts led the way in sending players to join the Edinburgh-based 16th battalion of the Royal Scots to fight at the Battle of the Somme during the First World War, and were followed by teams including Hibs and Falkirk.

The British Legion of Scotland says the club's absence would be a "major setback" for the ceremony, while supporters say the event is important to all Hearts fans.

Jack Alexander, who heads the McCrae's Battalion Trust, which created the stone and organises the annual service, said: "At the moment I just don't have a clue if Hearts will be there. We can build a memorial but we can't force them to come to it. It's there, we want them there and they're invited.

"It's more likely to be ignorance and incompetence than some sort of deliberate snub. They have lots of other things on at the moment - they're busy increasing ticket prices and who knows how many players they are trying to sign."

In recent years, Hearts' former skipper Mr Anderson has attended as the official representative but this year a family event clashes with the ceremony.

Mr Alexander hinted that the problems may lie with the club's owner, Mr Romanov.

He said: "He sent a poem once. It's a minimal part to play and it was laid by his assistant. They are running a football club and they don't need to provide personnel to attend memorial services - that's how they will see it.

"They have no connection with the greater family of former Hearts players. These people don't have a connection to Edinburgh, never mind Hearts."

Neil Griffiths, a spokesman for the Royal British Legion Scotland, said: "They were the only team in Britain to join up en masse, so it would be a major setback if there wasn't a representative from Hearts. They, perhaps unfairly since there were 64 teams involved, are the main ingredient in this service of remembrance.

"With the service itself being upgraded by the French, we would have anticipated that the Hearts representation would have been correspondingly upgraded."

Derek Watson, chairman of the Hearts Supporters' Trust, said: "A lot of fans raised the money to get the monument built. I hope Hearts will get somebody to go."

No-one from Hearts was able to comment.