THE man behind a limited edition poem about the famous McCrae’s Battalion in the First World War is aiming to raise £600 for Poppy Scotland.

Graeme Fulton wrote the poem about the 16th (Service) Battalion of the Royal Scots, which was raised by volunteers in 1914 as part of the New Armies called to the Colours by Lord Kitchener.

McCrae’s was the first of the so-called footballers’ battalions with many Hearts players – and fans – signing up alongside those from clubs such as Hibs, Raith Rovers, Falkirk and Dunfermline.

Hearts fan Graeme said: “The McCrae’s Battalion story is incredible and how Heart of Midlothian players led the way and were first to be recruited.

“I was inspired to write the poem after reading Jack Alexander book McCrae’s Battalion, which is a must read as we cannot forget what these brave men went through in the First World War.” The 51-year-old, who lives in Ormiston, is having100 limited edition copies of Lest We Forget printed on high-resolution A5 paper.

He added: “I am signing and numbering them and selling them for a minimum donation of £5 in aid of the Poppy Scotland Appeal – they are aware of my fundraising efforts and have a copy of the poem.

“I have set a target to achieve £600 for Poppy Scotland and with the pre-orders I have had so far and increased donations, I will surpass that figure.

“I have only used social media and shown some friends my poem and have been taken aback by all the responses.

“I will be collecting all the prints this week from the printers. I do have one sample, and I have already sold 27 off the 100.

“Two of them are going to a Hearts supporters’ club in Bolton and one has been purchased to hang in the new Craigmillar Hearts Club.

“As a Hearts fan I will sell the rest quickly at a club I go to before the game.” Graeme, who works as an aftersales development manager with Hyundai, revealed some numbers in particular were already proving popular.

He added: “People are paying more for certain numbers like 51 [the scoreline in the Scottish Cup final in 2012 when Hearts beat rivals Hibs was 5-1] and one and 100.” Graeme, who has written more than 50 poems, told the Courier he had been going to games for a number of years and always knew a bit of the story surrounding the battalion.

However, it was after reading the book he decided to try to create a poem.

The Park Road resident said: “Reading the story, I’ve never read such emotion in my life.”