Welcome to today's FA Cup game and this Remembrance Day programme.
You will have been told or will have read that when obtaining this programme for the reduced price of £1, all sale proceeds would be donated to the 'Poppy Appeal'. We hope all the programmes will be sold today and I would like to thank the programme printers - 'Printability' for providing the programmes free of charge.
The shirts were again provided free by Nike/Just Sport and we will auction them next week on the Club website, with all proceeds being donated.
In the last programme notes a few football statistics were given and, of course, after each game you yourselves look at the league tables etc to review the Club's own statistics.
As tomorrow is Remembrance Sunday and in four days it will be 11 November, here are a few more important statistics from World War I for your own remembrance thoughts:
62,000 men from Britain and the Empire of all faiths died on the first day of the Battle of the Somme (01.07.1916) - approximately 20 times the amount of people you see as you look around this ground.
620,000 killed in total from Britain and the Empire in the five months battle. Seven miles of German occupied territory was taken. It was lost again in early 1918, then re-taken.
In the battle of Passchendale in 1917, 70,000 allies were killed - with the objectives of the battle not being met.
In World War I, Britain and the Empire lost nearly 900,000 men (with an additional 1.7m wounded), France lost 1.4m and Germany lost 2.0m.
Then 20 years after 1918, World War II started with the consequences you are all aware of.
Although current losses of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are 'only' in the hundreds, you should also not forget their deaths. They are just doing their job, like you do, only they have made the ultimate sacrifice and will never be able to enjoy watching a game of football like you can today.
In times of war and conflicts our troops need everyone's full support, just like you need encouragement and support when you are doing you own job - whatever that job may be.
So enjoy today's game in your free time and use a few more minutes of it tomorrow to attend a war memorial service at 11am (or just watch it on the TV), encourage your children to also take part and "…..Remember Them".
