As one of Britain's major port cities, Liverpool, like London, was repeatedly bombed by Germany during World War II, resulting in countless civilian deaths.
During the Dunkirk evacuation, every barge, tugboat, cargo ship, passenger liner, fishing boat, motorboat, and even private yacht in Britain was mobilized. Their owners all understood that if they did not bring the adult men back from the continent, Britain would have to be defended by a group of Boy Scouts.
Liverpool, with its thriving shipping industry, was naturally among those called upon, though London was mainly responsible for housing the evacuated soldiers, and several stadiums were requisitioned as a result.
In addition, a group of players from Bolton Wanderers were tasked with covering the retreat of the main force.
The British said that football was a life-or-death game for hard men. These men, who had once fought on the pitch, entered real battlefields because of the war. Many saw their careers end there, and some even died under artillery fire.
On April 8, 1939, before Bolton Wanderers faced Sunderland at their home ground, Macron Stadium, Harry Gosling, Bolton Wanderers' captain, gave a speech to the 23,000 spectators present.
"Our country is facing a crisis, but as long as we remain calm, we can weather it together. We can no longer think only of saving ourselves. Everyone must shoulder their own responsibility."
Just one month before he said those words, German forces under Hitler's command had already invaded Czechoslovakia.
He was not merely talking. He was one of the seventeen men assigned to cover the retreat during the Dunkirk evacuation. He destroyed four German tanks by himself and escaped unharmed, later receiving the rank of lieutenant.
When the fighting was not too intense, he remained the Wanderers' captain. But as the war grew increasingly dire, football