Football Battalion

17th (Service) Battalion, Middlesex Regiment
Recruitment poster featuring the Football Battalion
Active	12 December 1914
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Type	Battalion
Role	Infantry
Size	600 troops
Nickname(s)	"The Football Battalion" "1st Football"

The 17th (Service) Battalion, Middlesex Regiment was an infantry battalion of the Middlesex Regiment, part of the British Army, which was formed as a Pals battalion during the Great War. The core of the battalion was a group of professional footballers, which was the reason for its most commonly used name, The Football Battalion (also the footballers' or players' battalion). The 23rd (Service) Battalion, Middlesex Regiment was formed in June 1915 and became known as the 2nd Football Battalion.^[1] The battalions fought in the Battle of the Somme in 1916 among others. Soldiers who fought in the 17th and 23rd Battalions included Second Lieutenant Walter Tull, who was possibly the first black infantry officer in the British Army.