In tune with the general prosperity of the area, Forfar Athletic started the decade well with James Black, as always, energetically promoting the interests of the club at national level. The team had a good autumn in 1910, and then in February 1911 produced the best result of their history to date.

The mighty Falkirk came to town on Scottish Cup business. The Bairns had finished second only to Willie Maley's Celtic in the Scottish League in 1908 and 1910, and would finish third this year. They met their Scottish Cup nemesis however at Station Park on February 11th. To supplement the meagre seating arrangements, Forfar built a temporary stand in the North East corner of the ground, for a vast crowd of 2,500 appeared, paying £60 and vindicating Black's brave decision not to sell ground rights and play the game at Brockville.

Forfar won 2-0. Goals were scored by local hero "Jummer" Petrie and Davie Easson (who was almost considered a foreigner, for he came from Brechin), and then the mighty Forfar defence, well marshalled by inspirational captain Adam Bowman held the line during the second half. In fact, Forfar were awarded a penalty on the final whistle, but missed it. Tears of joy appeared a minute later when the referee pointed to the "hoosie" i.e. the dressing rooms behind the east goal. The temporary stand swayed dangerously as every one stood up to cheer their heroes.

Aberdeen at Pittodrie were the opponents in the next round and about 500 Forfarians took advantage of the cheap day return to visit the Granite City. Sadly, reality dawned in a big way as the black and golds of Aberdeen beat Forfar 6-0. But it had been a great adventure.

1912 saw Forfar playing in the Scottish Reserve League – a mixed blessing as it turned out, for it involved a lot of travelling and a few heavy defeats from the likes of Rangers Reserves. But there was another great day for Forfar on March 23rd 1912 when Scotland played England at Hampden Park, and Davie McLean of Sheffield Wednesday, but ex-Forfar was Scotland's centre forward. In fact there were two Forfar men on the park that day, for Scotland's linesman (neutral linesman were not yet appointed) was none other than James Black! Hundreds of Forfarians made their way to Hampden (not without problems for there was a rail strike, and the long, tortuous and expensive road journey in these new "omnibuses" or charabancs had to be travelled), and McLean played respectably in a 1-1 draw.

A few weeks later the Titanic sank in mid-Atlantic, but the Forfar Herald was able to assure people that as far as it could make out "there were no Forfar people on board". Football however in the Angus area was now giving the impression of sinking as more and more clubs deserted the Northern Football League. In summer 1913 however, Forfar entered the Central League, while also playing in the Northern League.

1913-14 was a memorable season with the brief return of Davie McLean and his abrupt departure once again to Sheffield Wednesday, a Cup encounter with Glasgow Celtic, but most significantly of all, perhaps, the unearthing of a great new star in Alec Troup who played on New Year's Day 1914 against Arbroath and set Forfar alight for the next season and a half.

Yet Forfarians have cause to feel cheated about not seeing the best of Wee Troupie, for by the start of season 1914-15 the country was at war, a terrible one. The files of the Forfar Herald and the Forfar Dispatch in summer 1914 are interesting. Until the end of July, there is not a hint of any sort of international crisis as everyone enjoys the lovely weather and awaits with impatience the start of the football season, now that Forfar have a good side including the local boy wonder Alec Troup.

War came suddenly and dramatically and it was soon clear that it would not be all over by Christmas, as propaganda tried to state. Forfar Athletic played bravely on and finished season 1914-15, but were compelled by all sorts of pressures to close down. Troup signed for Dundee before enlisting, as most of the Forfar's young men took themselves off to foreign parts, some never to return. David Mackie's book "Forfar In The Great War" mentions 439 casualties – an astonishingly high amount for a small town.

The war finished in November 1918, but that winter as still a terrible one as the "Spanish Flu" raged through Forfar. So many died that funerals were even allowed in the cemetery on a Sunday throughout that winter, such was the fear of infection. Soldiers began to trickle back home, some of them badly disfigured, most of them to a certain extent at least traumatized – and 439 of them not at all.

There had been some football played at Station Park during the War with various Army teams and junior scratch sides, but Forfar Athletic did not really start business again until summer 1919. Even then, there was a struggle, for things had changed so radically. This season, with Station Park updated and a new modern grandstand in place (a remarkable achievement for the year after a terrible war) Forfar played in an Eastern League, but with so many men still in the forces and transport still poor, Forfar struggled in the first post-war season.