Wings of Steel

My Great Uncle, George Clarke Robertson - A Left Winger in the Steel Towns

Iain Paterson

• Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd
• eBook ISBN:
  9781909626874
• Year: 2014

Wings of Steel tells of Iain Paterson's quest to uncover the story of his great uncle, a soccer star before World War I with Motherwell, Sheffield Wednesday, and Scotland—once described as the best outside-left in Britain. Among the treasured mementos inherited from his late grandmother was a shoebox full of photographs of family and friends long departed—the most fascinating being those of an unknown young man in vintage soccer kit sporting a Scottish cap dated 1910. As Iain discovered, his mother's older brother was Motherwell's first international player, the man responsible for Sheffield Wednesday becoming known as the Owls—and the figure at the heart of a mysterious riot following an international match in politically sensitive 1913 Dublin. Wings of Steel aims to set the record straight on many inaccuracies attached to George's story over the years, and to discover where George finally ended his days.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Dedication
• Introduction
• 1 Hearth And Home – The Menstrie Years
• 2 1906/07 – Making His Mark At Fir Park
• 3 1907/08 – Always Dangerous
• 4 1908/09 – Deadly And Deceptive
• 5 1909/10 – Consistent And Deserving Of International Honours
• 6 Moving On
• 7 1909/10 – A New Start
• 8 1910/11 – The New Idol
• 9 Report On The Scandinavian Tour 1911
• 10 1911/12 – Best Outside-Left In Britain
• 11 1912/13 – An Owl On The Wing
• 12 The Irish International Incident And The League Title Run-In
• 13 1913/14 – Badly Damaged
• 14 1914/15 – Lacking Resolution
• 15 Wartime Football – Playing Extraordinarily Well
• 16 1919/20 – Palpable Inefficiency
• 17 1920/21 – A Final Flourish With The Fifers
• 18 1921/22 – Back In The Scottish League
• 19 Butcher, Baker Or Candlestick Maker?
• Bibliography
• Photo Credits
• Acknowledgements
• Postscript