One of the men behind the remembrance display at Vicarage Road admitted he “welled up” when he first saw pictures of their achievement.

Supporters group The 1881 created a 6,800-foil display which spanned the whole of the Rookery Stand prior to Saturday’s match with Millwall to mark the 100th anniversary of the beginning of The First World War.

It had taken several months to plan and around 100 fans showed up at Vicarage Road on the morning of the game to help prepare.

Roy Moore, one of the founders of The 1881, said: “People rushed over to show me pictures of it immediately after the display because by that point they were all over Twitter and Facebook.

“I’m not afraid to admit that I welled up a bit because of the pride and also the relief that it all came together.

“There were a lot of factors and events which could have resulted in it going wrong and we didn’t know it had gone well until afterwards.

“I was immensely proud and so were the team. We all sit near each other and we had a bit of a moment together.”

A small team from The 1881 started to lay out the more intricate details of the display at Vicarage Road on Friday night.

The group had asked for volunteers to be at the ground at 9am on Saturday and Moore admitted he only expected a third of the 100-plus fans who showed up.

It was The 1881’s first display of this kind so they took additional steps to ensure the foils would be ready in time. Ultimately, the preparation was complete by 10.30am that morning.

Fans were asked to arrive at the stadium ten minutes before kick-off and while the players surrounded the centre circle, 14-year-old local cornet player Tom Watts played ‘The Last Post’ and ‘The Rouse’ and was joined by a standard-bearer from the Royal British Legion.

“I am immensely proud and immensely grateful to all the fans who helped out in the morning and who ensured they arrived at the ground ten minutes before kick-off to make sure it was possible,” Moore continued.

“Everything worked better than we hoped and it felt like the fans all came together.

“It felt like we were all together – the fans, the club and the players – and it was nice when the players turned around to applaud us.

“I also want to state that we are really proud of the 14-year-old cornet player, Tom Watts. He was under so much pressure so I want to say thank you and well done from everyone in The 1881.”

Moore thanked Watford FC for their help, which included helping to order the foils and putting them in the envelopes in the week building up to the club’s ‘Remembrance Matchday’.

He also asked if The 1881 ‘team leaders’ who helped organise the event could be thanked individually, which were Alex Prentice, William Worth, Ali Shah, Barry O’Neill, Brad Simmons, Matt Turner, Chris Stephenson, Matt Winn, Russell James and Craig Freeman.

Moore received an email from Watford’s chief executive, Scott Duxbury, and the head of supporter communication and sales, Richard Walker, thanking him and The 1881 for their efforts.

“For me, the events reinforced just how special a club Watford is,” Duxbury said via the club’s website.

“I have sent my personal thanks to Roy Moore for what was a truly stunning achievement.

“The whole matchday also owes a debt of gratitude to not only staff from within the club, who worked tirelessly in collaboration with supporters to ensure it was a success, but also the volunteers who were here in great numbers on Saturday morning.”

He added: “Yesterday (Saturday) was a fantastic show of unity and pride from fans, players and staff – the kind of powerful togetherness that is an essential ingredient of any successful group of people.

“Last, but by no means least, I must mention a very courageous 14-year-old in Tom. On such an important occasion, his performance was a credit to himself and his family and he should be rightly proud of his part in a truly unforgettable experience.”

A Norwich City fan has contacted Moore to ask how the impressive foil was made possible and a Millwall supporter who was at the game has also been in touch.

“The Millwall fan said how proud he felt because of the work we had done to recognise those fallen soldiers,” Moore said.

The only dampener on what was a hugely successful day for the Golden Boys, who won 3-1 that afternoon, was the display’s lack of coverage by the Football League Show on BBC1, which annoyed Moore.

The 1881 group was set up in the summer of 2013 with the aim of creating a singing section to improve the atmosphere at Vicarage Road.

Moore said: “Twitter was full of really good feedback about the display and it included messages from Watford fans that had nothing to do with The 1881 and also from some people who were critical of us 18 months ago.

“It is good to see the perception of our supporters’ group has now changed.”

The 1881 plan to hold two more foil displays before the end of the season; one in the New Year and one in May, which could be dependent on the team’s success.

The group recently ordered a ‘legends’ banner and are contemplating creating a large surfer flag to remember all the Watford fans who have passed away.