We proudly came together as a club once again to support The Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal, as we honoured the service and sacrifice of our Armed Forces who have and continue to come together to defend our way of life.
In a show of honour, we marked Remembrance Day at our men’s home fixture against Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday night, and will do so again at our women’s home match against Manchester United on Saturday, November 19.
Bob Wilson was pitchside at Emirates Stadium before our Carabao Cup tie to read the Ode of Remembrance and was joined by Sgt Adam Desborough from The King’s Troop RHA who performed the Last Post before kick-off.
Caz Wilson, a member of our GayGooners, currently serving in the Royal Air Force, will read the Ode of Remembrance at our women’s fixture. A minute silence will then be held upon the sounding of The Last Post.
Our men’s players wore special-edition shirts embroidered with a poppy for our matches against Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion, and will do so again this weekend against Wolves. Arsenal Women will also wear poppy shirts against Manchester United. All of these match-worn shirts will then be auctioned via Match Worn Shirts, with all proceeds going to the Royal British Legion.
Remembrance Day took place on Friday, November 11, commemorating the end of the First World War. The club remembered all those lost, including eight Arsenal players; Spencer Bassett, Albert Beney, John Flanagan, James Maxwell, Charles Randall, Robert Houston, Joseph Dines and Dick Roose.
Arsenal in the Community has also officially designated the pitch on Market Road in the local community as the first official Peace Pitch in England, twinned with the Peace Pitch in Flanders. The Peace Pitch commemorates the football match played as part of the WW1 Christmas Truce.
Having already attended a WW1 workshop at The Arsenal Hub, 60 children from Islington primary schools took part in a two-minute silence, before playing football alongside 20 young coaches from our Coach Development Programme.
Arsenal members of staff were invited to observe the two-minute silence at Emirates Stadium on Friday, including three former service personnel who did so pitchside: Karen Smart (ex-RAF), Glenn Clark (ex-1st Battalion Coldstream Guards) and Steve Douglas (ex-Royal Signals). The England Rugby League squad joined to pay their respects immediately prior to their training session in preparation for their semi-final game on Saturday.
To donate to this year’s Poppy Appeal or for more details on the match-worn shirt auctions, visit the Match Worn Shirt website.
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