In the Spotlight: Sport and War

Our latest In the Spotlight includes a Frisbee which was almost lost over a compound wall in Afghanistan last year, alongside a leather football presented to a celebrated First World War officer almost 100 years ago.

The football belonged to Major Jack Shaw, who organised football competitions in Holzminden Prisoner of War camp during the First World War. Shaw was taken prisoner in 1917 and made several escape attempts. During one famous attempt he helped build a tunnel through which 30 prisoners fled, before the tunnel collapsed on the man in front of Shaw. Football was Shaw’s other means of escape. The ball was autographed by 450 British officers in the camp and presented to Shaw at the end of the war.

Revealing how sport remains a crucial pastime for service personnel, a Frisbee used at Forward Operating Base Ouellette in Afghanistan is on public display for the first time. This was donated to IWM as part of the War Story project, recording the experiences of British troops currently serving in Afghanistan.

IWM’s War Story project is supported by Boeing.