Sports Great Britain played during World War One?

Question

I am doing a newspaper for a school project on Great Britain during World War one. I need a section called entertainment but, i don't know what sports Great Britain played during that time period. Does anyone know what sports they played, if not, does anyone know what they did for entertainment. Specific answers please. Will select a best answer.

Answer 1

It really depended on what class you were in.

In terms of sports the Upper and Middle classes would certainly be Cricket players. Other sports would include Rugby, Tennis, Polo (Upper class/Landed Gentry only), Eton Fives (I think it's called Handball in the US) and Golf.
Their entertainment would include the theatre (very popular), opera, fox hunting and grouse shooting (again mainly Upper class/Landed Gentry and shooting grouse in late summer only), Gentlemen's Clubs (not the modern sort, but where men could have a meal, indulge in alcohol, smoke cigars and play cards/gamble without interruption from wives- a popular one was "Whites" in London), Ladies musical recitals (the female equivalent of Gent's Clubs but without the smoking and gambling - more of a tea party with gossip). Watching horse racing was also popular especially the Grand National and Royal Ascot.

Working Classes would not have had a great deal of time for sports but when they did it would mainly have been Football (Soccer if you're from the US) or possibly Rugby (especially in Wales).
Their entertainment would mainly have revolved around the local pub or on occasion the vaudeville theatre.

There are many more that are specific to certain areas but I hope this helps in some way as i've barely scratched the surface. Good luck with your project.

Answer 2

Football, Cricket, Tennis, Golf, Rugby - much the same as today, in fact. Except football was very much the workingman's game and had not reached the status of a national religion as it has today. It may be that sport had to be curtailed during the war, however, as most young men were at the front. There was no radio or television so people made their own entertainment - they actually read books, played cards, etc. The main popular entertainment outside the home was still the Music Hall.

Answer 3

The soldiers at the front played Football, (Soccer)

At first they used a sandbag stuffed with cloth.There is evidence to suggest this is what was used during the Christmas truce of 1914.

as a result of this every platoon in the British Army was issued with a leather Football. Some where used on the First of July at the Battle of the Somme, the whistle used to "kick off" so to speak.

Golf was very popular amongst the officers. Siegfried Sassoon composed some of his best poetry on a golf course at Edinburgh.

British Empire skill at cricket were evident in the granade throwing skills of British Trench raiders. Not many soldiers from other nations could throw a grenade quite so accurately as the British.

Behind the lines there was horse racing. "Pig sticking" I should add no animals were/are involved in this. populer amongst cavalry regiments.

Pig sticking, the art of picking up with the tip of your lance a tent peg.