Saturday’s Championship game between Heart of Midlothian and Raith Rovers at Tynecastle will mark the sacrifice made by McCrae’s Battalion, which included seven players from Raith and 11 from Hearts.
To coincide with the centenary of the Great War starting, the Kirkcaldy club launched an away strip in the colours of the Royal Scots Regiment and, instead of having a sponsors’ logo, ‘RemembeR’ is displayed.
Chief Executive Eric Drysdale said: “The original concept of the strip came from a Hearts-supporting friend of mine, Peter Symons-Wearne. I took it to our board and things grew from there.
“I knew the story of McCrae’s Battalion but I started researching the colours. I wanted to know about the tartan that would have been involved and I did that by speaking to the Royal Scots Regiment, who are the successors of McCrae’s Battalion.
“The plans started to get drawn up about a year ago and we went back and forward a few times as the strip evolved. There were touches added such as using gold for the Raith badge, instead of the usual red, as well as gold on the Puma signs.
“We are also trying to connect people with the story by having a booklet attached to the strip when it is bought so the history can be looked at.
“It was not just a Raith Rovers and Puma production as we spoke to Hearts about our plans as they as a club are also strongly linked to the story. We spoke to the McCrae’s Battalion Trust and when we launched it we were able to call on the former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and a relative of one of the players who died in the First World War.
“It is not by accident that this game is taking place so close to Armistice Day. Anton Fagan at the SPFL helped make it happen, which is terrific as it is a really special occasion. There will be other events at the game that we are delighted and proud to be involved with.”
Rovers had to pass a one-off Scottish FA test to ensure that there was no clash with their McCrae’s strip after they noticed that Hibernian were not allowed to wear a green strip in the Edinburgh derby back in August.
Drysdale explained: “I am delighted to say than rather than just say yes there is a problem, John Fleming and match official Crawford Allan wanted to see if it was possible for the strips to be worn.
“A special exercise was organised at Tynecastle where members of staff wore the strips of both clubs and game scenarios were played out to see if Crawford felt there would be a colour clash.
“Thankfully he was happy with the how the test went and has given the go-ahead for us to wear the jerseys. We are delighted with that decision as it is only fitting that these strips are worn on what will be a very moving day for both clubs.”
There are, however, a couple of conditions which both clubs were happy to accommodate as Drysdale explained: “Hearts will wear white shorts and socks and we have agreed to bring our white kit along with us. If it is a slate grey day with heavy rain our shirts will start to look darker - if the referee reckons that a clash is now occurring he will ask us to change.”
Craig Stewart
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