Stalwart to honour club's fallen on Sunday

Lifelong supporter George Watts will lay a wreath at the Grays War Memorial on Sunday to commemorate the Ryman League club's former players who died during World War One.

More than 900 men from the Thurrock area were killed during the conflict and as the nation comes together to remember the fallen, the Grays Athletic stalwart will lay a wreath at the High Street memorial.

"We ask our supporters to make their way to the ceremony on Remembrance Sunday to support George and the club and commemorate not only our former players but the near 900 Thurrock men who lost their lives during the first World War," said a statement on the club's website.

Grays Athletic captain Kenny Beaney laid a wreath on the pitch to honour former Blues players who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country before the Ryman Premier club's FA Cup match against Bromley at Mill Field in October, pictured.

The Ryman League's 72 clubs are expected to mark Remembrance Sunday this weekend with similar ceremonies taking place before fixtures at many clubs. In December, Isthmian League clubs are to commemorate the centenary of one of the most iconic moments of the First World War - the 1914 Christmas Truce.

As part of a week of remembrance activity taking place throughout the game for 'Football Remembers Week' from 5-14 December, clubs will help to create a unique photographic record of football one hundred years later by having mixed squad photos taken before kick-off on Saturday 6 December for posting on new commemorative website www.footballremembers.com.

A joint collaboration between The Football Association, the Premier League, the Football League and the British Council, the aim is to engage football fans and players at every level about what took place on Christmas Day on the battlefields in Belgium when soldiers from both sides put down their weapons and crossed into ‘no man’s land’ to share in an impromptu ceasefire.

Matches from the Premier League, Football League and throughout the national league systems are taking part. All photos uploaded to social media using #footballremembers will be automatically uploaded to the website which will act as a moment of record of football in 2014, a century on from the First World War, and will be preserved for future generations.

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