Jock Jarvie was a professional footballer for Luton Town FC in the 1912-13 and 1913-14 seasons. At the end of the 1914 season he returned to his hometown of Glasgow. He enlisted and was killed in action in January 1916, aged 27.

The full back had transferred to Luton from Tottenham in 1912 and helped them to gain promotion to the First Division of the Southern League in the 1913-14 season. Circumstances prevented him from playing for the full 1913-14 season and as the seasone ended he returned to Scotland. At the outbreak of war he enlisted in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and was sent to France in October 1915.

Jock was reported missing in the Leighton Buzzard Observer of 18th January 1916 when a letter received by his friend Stuart Clarke of 14 Union St Luton was published. The letter from his officer Lieutenant Sinclair-Thompson told Stuart " Please inform the relatives of Pte Jarvie that he was reported missing on 2nd January 1916. He and 13 others were blown up by an enemy mine explosion and we could only report him missing as we never saw the body. Please accept and convey to his people my deepest sympathy".

The officer had written to Stuart because letters from him were found amongst Jarvie's things. Perhaps he felt that there would be a delay in official notification or wanted to avoid any false hope that a notification of "Missing believed killed" might produce, having seen the incident with his own eyes.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission record that the remains of Private Jarvie were buried in Cambrin Churchyard Extension.

All images are used with kind permission of Roger Wash, Luton Town Football Club Historian