Over 175 cyclists are set to jump in the saddle for a charity ride in memory of six players cut down a century ago in the Great War.
The 282-mile Pedal for Pounds 9 ride has been called The Last Goal Post and will take in cemeteries in Belgium and France in which former players are remembered.
Riders will meet at PPG Canalside on Leeds Road on Tuesday where they will be registered and picked up by Stotts coaches and then a ferry from Hull to Zeebrugge.
Those taking part include Town’s commercial director Sean Jarvis – who has admitted he’s not done any training – chairman Dean Hoyle and his wife Janet, a trustee of the Town Foundation.
Day one – Wednesday May 9 – will see riders visiting two cemeteries and one memorial, at Thiepval, to remember three players, Edward John Didymus, Leigh Roose and Charles Edward Randall.
The following day they will ride from Albert to Ypres and call at two sites in memory of players Sidney James and Larrett Roebuck, the first footballer killed in the First World War.
Day three, Friday, is Ypres to Zeebrugge. The final memorial stop is for Ernest George Kenworthy.
Day four is Hull to Huddersfield.
And on Sunday May 13 the riders will perform a lap of honour at the John Smith’s Stadium for the final game of the season against Arsenal.
The Pedal for Pounds ride will raise money for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and the charities Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, Hollybank Trust and the Town Foundation.
Here are the details of the Town players who are being remembered 100 years after the end of the First World War:
* Edward John Didymus, who played for Town in 1908 and 1909, was killed while serving in France on April 12 1918, the day before his 33rd birthday. After his playing days he had been a tram driver and served with the 8th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment.
* Leigh Richmond Roose was a Welsh international goalkeeper who played for Town in 1910-11. He was killed, aged 38, during the Battle of The Somme in October 1916. He earned a Military Medal for using his goalkeeping skills to fend off a flame-thrower attack by hurling grenades at the enemy.
* Charles Edward Randall served in the Coldstream Guards and was killed on the Somme on September 27 1916.
* Sidney James, who served with the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, was killed in action in April 1917. He had played in 12 League and two FA Cup ties for Town before the war.
* Larrett Roebuck, a miner’s son from South Yorkshire, signed for Town on March 1 1913. On October 18 1914 he became the first player from the English Football to be killed in the war. He was 25.
* Ernest George Kenworthy, who joined Town in 1909, was killed in action on November 10, 1917, aged 29, in a shell explosion.
If you want to sponsor the cyclists visit www.justgiving.com/keepitupcampaign or text KIUC98 £5 (or any other amount) to 70070
