The Second World War interrupted and cut short the lives of millions of people around the world. The shockwaves of the conflict impacted on all parts of life and football was no exception, with hundreds of professionals being called up to fight and some making the ultimate sacrifice.
This series of articles looks at how the war affected the lives of footballers from all sides of the conflict:
Leeds United have experienced dizzying heights and extreme lows in the past 50 years. They have had 17 managers, seen hundreds of players pass through the doors, with some enjoying legendary status, and have won just about every domestic honour going in English football.
But during the rollercoaster that has been the last half century, one thing has remained a constant.
George Lascelles, the seventh Earl of Harewood, cousin of Her Majesty the Queen, royal, businessman and a key cultural figure for the arts served as president of the club from 1961 until his passing on Monday (11th July), aged 88.
The Earl was born in London, in 1923, but considered himself a Yorkshireman and was fearlessly proud of his home county. He lived at Harewood House, in West Yorkshire and was credited with restoring the stately home to its former glory during his 64-year tenure.
The young Earl saw his first Leeds United game at the age of just nine and quickly became an ardent fan. His footballing knowledge was legendary and he was able to talk about any age of the beautiful game and remember a host of statistics.
When the Second World War broke out in 1939, Harewood quickly enlisted in his father’s old regiment, the Grenadier Guards, where he rose through the ranks to become a captain.
In 1942, while checking a road for mines in Italy, his unit was ambushed and the Earl was shot in the chest. The bullet missed his heart by a matter of millimetres and exited through the hip bone. He spent the night lying in a puddle on the side of the road before being captured by the Germans.
Harewood was interned as a prisoner of war, first at a camp in Spangenberg, and then in the Germans’ most infamous POW camp, Colditz Castle.
Here the young Earl, as a nephew of King George VI, was held by the Germans with other prominent prisoners, including Michael Alexander, who claimed he was the son of General Alexander to avoid death, and Giles Romilly, nephew of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
These prisoners were kept separate to the rest of the population in Colditz and earned themselves the label of ‘the Prominente’.
As the war drew to a close and the Germans’ defeat became inevitable, the Earl and the rest of ‘the Prominente’ were moved around Bavaria. Henrich Himmler, Head of the SS, planned to use them as bargaining chips with the Allies.
Adolf Hitler however decreed that they should be killed and signed their death warrants personally.
However a rogue SS General, knowing the war was lost, told the Earl and the other prisoners he would ignore the order in return for them putting in a good word when he surrendered.
After the war, at the age of 24, Harewood succeeded his father as Earl of Harewood and inherited one of the largest estates in the country. He threw himself into work and held various roles in the arts and became President of the English Football Association in 1963, a post he held until 1972, and was in charge during England’s finest hour when they won the World Cup in 1966.
But football fans, players and managers will best remember him for his dedication to Leeds United.
The Earl enjoyed a reputation as being a thoroughly modern royal, generations ahead of his time, and would speak to anyone, from dignitaries to the fans in the stand. He will be remembered fondly by all who knew him.
