Rob Boag’s latest offering concerns a local footballer who fought in the two world wars.
He said: “Doug Bruce, a fellow-Artisan from another lifetime, emailed me an article published in a Scottish newspaper about a rare medal The Albert Medal.
“It was awarded to a Dundee lad named James Collins. It went on auction in April and sold for 22,000.
“This is a marvellous story about a Lochee lad, born in Marshall Street in 1895 a corner-kick away from Tipperary.
“While serving with the Royal Army Medical Corps during World War One in France, he stood on an exploding Mills Bomb (a grenade) that is the Buckingham Palace description of James Collins heroism and saved the lives of many soldiers. “I have to ask… why wasn’t James Collins awarded the Victoria Cross for this act of valour while serving in the military?
“I got in touch with a contact in Wales, where James spent most of his adult life, to uncover more about this Dundee hero.
“In 1919, he was the first professional player to be signed by Swansea Town after WW1. He was called Jimmy by the Swans fans and the Welsh club list him as playing for Lochee Harp before enlisting in WW1, and not St Joseph’s FC as reported in the newspaper article.
“James enjoyed an illustrious football career with the Swans, not only leading Swansea to an FA Cup semi-final against Bolton at White Hart Lane final score Bolton 3 Swansea 0 but he was also selected to play for the Welsh League side on three occasions.
“The 1930 season was the last one for James with the Swans. In 1933, James took off for South Africa and became a football coach to schools and colleges in the Johannesburg area. He returned to Wales in 1936 and became a coach for the Chester youth team.
“During WW2, James enlisted again and, after that war, he spent time with the army in Palestine, eventually returning to Chester in 1949 to resume his role as a coach for the reserve team.
“James returned to Lochee in the city of his birth in 1963 and died later that year. James Collins is, without doubt, one of Dundee’s sons and deserves to be chronicled in BwB’s time capsule.”
This article originally appeared on the Evening Telegraph website. For more information, read about our new combined website.