The Hatters paid their tributes at Rothesay Road
Yesterday afternoon, Luton Town Football Club took part in an Act of Remembrance along with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission at Luton General Cemetery.
The cemetery on Rothesay Road contains 102 war graves from Luton victims of World War 1 and World War 2, and it was a chance for the club to honour those people from our community who lost their lives in these conflicts.
This includes Ernest Dodd, Frank Gilder, Arthur Wileman, Charles Clark, Charles Ladd, James Gillespie and Joe Coen, who were registered Town players at the time they were killed in action across the two wars.
After the CWGC’s representative Dan Hill introduced the event and senior operations manager Kevan Platt spoke on behalf of the club, Town defender Stephen O’Donnell laid a wreath at the Cross of Sacrifice before a minute’s silence was held and a Royal British Legion bugler played The Last Post.
O’Donnell was joined at the ceremony by team-mates Cameron McGeehan and Josh McQuoid, while chief recruitment officer Mick Harford, vice-chairman David Wilkinson and director Simon Gibb were also in attendance, along with other club executives.
Saturday’s game against Accrington Stanley is our Remembrance Day fixture, and we are delighted that 50 current and ex-servicemen and women are able to join us at Kenilworth Road for the game.
The EFL have provided all clubs with a wreath for the captain to carry out onto the pitch to lay on the centre spot before a minute’s silence and the playing of The Last Post commences prior to kick-off.
The Town players will wear poppies on their shirts, which will be auctioned in the days following the game (keep an eye on the club website and social media channels for details) and the RBL – for whom our match-worn shirt auctions have raised nearly £10,000 in the last two seasons – are conducting a collection around the ground.
A limited edition matchball will also be used across all games in Sky Bet League One and Two this weekend, and the league sponsors are auctioning them later this month.