AS the world came to terms with war, football went into hibernation.

Wanderers had finished fourth, eighth and sixth in the previous three campaigns before 1914/15 but were suffering from a serious bout of inconsistency as they juggled league football with a run to the FA Cup semi-finals.

It was a season in which they registered their biggest-ever away win, a 7-1 thumping of Aston Villa, but also their worst-ever defeat, a 7-0 humbling at the hands of Sheffield Wednesday.

Beaten 2-1 by Sheffield United they never made it to the so-called ‘Forgotten Final.’ The Blades went on to Old Trafford to beat Chelsea 3-0 in the last major footballing event before organised football was suspended by the government of the time.

“There will, it is safe to say, never again be a Cup final played so long as the country is engaged in such a world war as that which is now in progress,” predicted the Sheffield Telegraph.

Many players suddenly became soldiers. Of more than 5,000 registered players at the outbreak of war, 2,000 were eventually enlisted. Footballers’ athleticism made them a precious commodity and though some did not see battle and supplemented their careers with jobs in the mining industry and the like, many were fast-tracked on to the front line and would never return home. The game limped on in a semi-permanent sense. Regional leagues played out with depleted teams and crowds. Players, and particularly renowned goal-scorers, would guest for several clubs and some were known to have turned out for two clubs in one day.

Author and football historian, Jeff Williamson, whose book ‘Lost Football Heroes of the First World War’ depicts those players from British and Irish league who lost their life during battle, explains why it is a period of history which particularly fascinates him.

“I wrote a book called the Wonderful Wanderers and based on that research I became tremendously interested in the First World War and all the players who fought and were killed in it,” he told The Bolton News.

“It has become a passion of mine and because of the amount of research I did on them, there is not a day goes by now, that I do not think of those brave lads in the book who gave the ultimate sacrifice. It makes it even more personal that I have sourced images of many of them. “The book outlines the build-up to the conflict, before going into the clubs and players themselves and at the end gives its conclusion. The war had a large impact on the country as a whole with over a million allied deaths and two million wounded. It was not before the 1920 season that football recovered due to this and the financial difficulties of the country at the time.

“There had been football during the war but nothing of great significance in England. Women’s football gained great popularity due to the shortages of male footballers being available. Most were either assisting the war effort or fighting overseas. “ Wanderers commemorated the two players who died during battle – William Wallace and Harold Greenhalgh - at their recent Championship home game against Swansea City. But Williamson’s book also reveals others with Bolton connections lost their lives including Jabez Cartwright, Fred Costello, Arthur Greenhalgh (no relation) and Herbert Lewis Bithell. Phil Smith, bother of the great Joe Smith, was also among the casualties.

Williamson, a lifelong Wanderers fan, believes the team which competed before the war under the stewardship of Walter Settle contained names that would have been recognised continent-wide.

They would be guided through the regional leagues by manager-secretary Tom Mather until his duties with the Royal Navy led to senior player Ted Vizard taking charge in 1919 for the remaining few months of fixtures.

The club would reform and rebuild after the war under Charles Foweraker, the former secretary who would go on to be the longest-serving manager in the club’s history.

“He is arguably the most successful,” says Williamson. “The club were in the process of rebuilding before the war and finished a lowly 17th in the league.

“There were future players coming to the fore before the war who would be household names not only in Bolton, but throughout Europe.

“Joe Smith, James Seddon, Ted Vizard, Bill Jennings, Billy Butler and Walter Rowley to name the main ones who were all part of the great 1920s sides.

“A number of these saw action including James Seddon, who got trench foot. This affected him after the war, but he still had a great career.”

The book is available on Amazon and signed copies can also be ordered directly from the author on jeffreywilliamson@btinternet.com