H L Hawes & Son Ltd – Remembrance Honour to The West Ham Pals A Memorial Plaque donated by Funeral Directors - H L Hawes & Son Ltd of Barkingside and Peter Musgrave of Leytonstone - to dedicate the sacrifices made by the Men of the 13th Battalion

H L Hawes & Son Ltd - Remembrance Honour to 'The West Ham Pals'

A Memorial Plaque donated by Funeral Directors - H L Hawes & Son Ltd of Barkingside and Peter Musgrave of Leytonstone - to dedicate the sacrifices made by the Men of the 13th Battalion (West Ham) Essex Regiment ('The Hammers') was unveiled by Sir Trevor Brooking on Remembrance Sunday, at the West Ham United Football Ground, West Stand main entrance.

Formed by West Ham FC Supporters, the 13th Battalion was created by the Mayor of the Borough on 27th December 1914. Volunteers from all over East London - ordinary men aged between 21 and 40, answered the call of their nation - leaving behind their families, jobs and their favourite football club, West Ham United, to fight for their Country alongside hundreds of thousands in the First World War.

To mark the tremendous efforts of those men in keeping the nation safe, descendants from the 13th Battalion, members of the Royal Anglian Regiment, the Royal British Legion and modern-day supporters of West Ham United, joined the club's CEO Scott Duxbury, Sir Trevor Brooking, Tony Gale, and Tony Cottee (a former prolific goalscorer for the club), Elliott Taylor (organiser of the event) and Funeral Director Richard Hampton of H L Hawes & Son Ltd.

The original 13th Essex King's Colours were paraded and the Last Post played by the last line of the Essex Regiment: Men of C (Essex) Company, 1st Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment with 2nd Newham Scouts as Honour Guard.

At 11am, two-minutes of silence was held before the match against Everton that afternoon, with the players wearing shirts featuring embroidered poppies.

Tony Cottee, Richard Hampton & Elliott Taylor