Toast ANZAC Day - St Kilda Players who died at war

[Sunshine Saint]

On April 25th, we mark the 100th Anniversary of the ANZAC landings at Gallipoli Turkey. It is timely in our lead up to this day, that we highlight each of those ex-St Kilda players, who paid the ultimate price in fighting for Australia.

Below is a list of past St Kilda players who represented Australia and died in either World War 1, or World War 2.

World War 1

1. Claude Crowl (3) Private 8th Battalion, First A.I.F - 25 April 1915 - Gallipoli Turkey
2. Lou Holmes (1) Captain 10th Battalion, First A.I.F - 10 May 1915 - Gallipoli Turkey
3. Arthur Caldwell (8) Private 4th Battalion, First A.I.F - 26 July 1915 - Valleta Malta
   
4. Jack Walker (4) Sergeant 8th Battalion, First A.I.F - 27 July 1916 - Pozieres France
5. Hugh Plowman (26) Captain 60th Battalion, First A.I.F - 19 July 1916 - Fromelles France
6. Jim Farnan (1) Private 46th Battalion Infantry - 9 August 1916 - France
7. Harold Parker (3) 2nd Lieutenant 37th Battalion Infantry - 30 January 1917 - France
8. Bill Madden (26) Lance Corporal 22nd Battalion Infantry - 3 May 1917 - France
9. Ralph Robertson (14) Second Lieutenant Royal Flying Corps & Second Lieutenant 8th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment - 11 May 1917 - Aboukir Egypt
10. Otto Lowenstern (12) Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) - 1 December 1917 - France
11. Paddy McGuinness (1) Private 51st Battalion Infantry - 6 May 1918 - France
12. Bert O'Connell (2) Private 24th Battalion, First A.I.F - 1st November 1918 - Wales

World War 2

1. Jack Shelton (2) Lieutenant 2/21st Battalion, Second A.I.F - 1 May 1941 - Libya
2. Stuart King (43) Flying Officer, 11th Squadron, R.A.A.F - 28 February 1943 - off Cairns, Far North Queensland
3. Beres Reilly (13) Pilot Officer, 454 Squadron, R.A.A.F - 23 July 1943 - over Crete
4. Bill Downie (69) Private 105 Transport Company, Australian Army Service Corps - 11 September 1943 - Burma Siam Railway Burma
5. Wallace Mills (1) Warrant Officer Class II, 2/41st Light Aid Detachment, Australian Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers - 24 November 1943 - Far North Queensland
6. Bob Flegg (18) Warrant Officer R.A.A.F attached to 70 Squadron R.A.F - 7 July 1944 - over Feuersbrunn Austria
7. Bill Hudson (5) Lance Corporal 51st Field Park Company, Royal Australian Engineers - 11 April 1945 - New Guinea
8. Harold Comte (105) Private 2/24th Battalion, 2nd A.I.F - 30 May 1945 - Tarakan Dutch East Indies
9. Paul Bell (15) Lance Corporal Cavalry (Commando) Squadron, Second A.I.F - 4 July 1945 - Balikpapan Borneo

Each of these players has a unique story and it is fitting that we recognise and acknowledge our past players who died in the service of our country.

 

[Sunshine Saint]

http://www.awm.gov.au/people/P10287522/collection-items/

http://www.awm.gov.au/people/rolls/R1684220/

Alfred William Paul Bell
Lance Corporal Cavalry (Commando) Squadron, Second A.I.F

736th Player to Represent St Kilda
15 Games / 20 Goals - 1937-1938
Age at Death: 30

Paul Bell debuted for St Kilda in round 11, 1937. Paul was an outstanding country athlete from Shepparton, having previously won the Shepparton gift. Paul was in demand with approaches from Hawthorn and South Melbourne, before joining Richmond. After playing reserves for Richmond for a season, Paul returned to the country and was pursued by a variety of clubs again, with this time joining St Kilda.

Paul Bell played for St Kilda for 15 games, 8 games in 1937 and 7 games in 1938 he returned to Shepparton. When asked about his time at St Kilda he spoke fondly and listed playing with the St Kilda champion full forward Bill Mohr as his highlight.

Paul Bell on the return to the country opened bicycle stores in Shapparton and Cobram, married his local sweetheart Rennie and had two daughters.

Lance Corporal Paul Bell enlisted in 1942 and was a member of 2/5th Australian Commando Squadron and tragically lost his life on July 4th, 1945 at Balikpapan, an island off Borneo. Such was the comradeship in his group, that his commanding officer went back to retrieve his body and sadly also lost his life. Paul Bell is buried at Labuan War Cemetery, Labuan Malaysia.

Pauls legacy lives on with his grandsons all being excellent country footballers, with seven of the grandsons (Brooks) all playing for Barooga in the Picola/Murray Leagues.

Lest We Forget

Athletic Team, 2/7th Cavalry Commando Regiment, the winners in their event at the 7th Division Sports Meeting. Identified: VX109089 Trooper (Tpr) A N Bear (1); SX28880 Tpr C D Taylor (2); VX64509 Tpr J A Nicholl (3); WX361 Lieutenant Colonel N L Fleay DSO, Commanding Officer (4); NX14371 Captain (Capt) A H McCulloch (5); VX89863 Tpr W A Rewbridge (6); QX19819 Tpr H I S McCallum (7); VX112214 Capt A B C Harrison (8); Tpr Porter (9); VX102887 Lance Corporal (LCpl) R N Schellenberger (10); VX51279 Lieutenant (Lt) F A Redhead (11); VX27404 Lt G L B MacLeod (12); VX61056 Tpr W J Chisholm (13); VX83083 Tpr J J Leane (14); VX73184 LCpl E M MacGregor (15); WX17394 Lt B G Davies (16); WX17330 Lt D L Carew-Reid (17); NX142004 Capt C P West (18); VX90356 Tpr A J Cull (19); NX45609 Lt W B Watson (20); VX79445 LCpl A P W Bell (21); VX105946 Tpr L S Denton (22).

 

[Winmar2Lockett]

Thanks for posting that SS.

 

[Sunshine Saint]

http://www.awm.gov.au/people/rolls/R1729266/

Claude Terrell Crowl
Private 8th Battalion, First A.I.F

374th Player to Represent St Kilda
3 Games / 0 Goals - 1911
Age at Death: 22

Claude Crowl was born at Stratford Victoria on December 26th 1892. He was the cousin of Geelong footballer Captain Joseph Terrell Crowl who also died at Gallipoli, 27 June 1915.

Claude attended Caulfield Grammar where he was an outstanding athlete. At Caulfield Grammar sports day, he won 100 yd, 220 yd and was second in 440 yd as a 14 year old. Two weeks later running in the Victorian Athletics Championships he came third in the Under 14, 100 yards sprint.

In a recruiting coup, while Claude had been training with Carlton, he played his first senior game for St Kilda, ironically against Carlton on 29 July 1911 (round 15). He was one of nine men who took the field for St Kilda for the first time on that day, due to a large number of regular St Kilda players being on strike. One of the first game players that day was the great Roy Cazaly.

Claude enlisted in the First A.I.F on 25 August 1914. He listed his occupation as a farmer at Poowong Victoria. He embarked Melbourne on the MNAT Benalla on October 19, 1914.

A private in 8th Battalion, Claude died on the first day of landing at Gallipoli on April 25 1915. Fen McDonald who also played his first game for Carlton on the same day Claude made his debut for St Kilda also died on that first day of the Gallipoli campaign.

Six former VFL footballers died in the chaos of the landing on the first day at Gallipoli:

1. Claude Crowl (St Kilda)
2. Rupert Balfe (University)
3. Alan Cordner (Geelong & Collingwood)
4. Charlie Fincher (South Melbourne)
5. Fen McDonald (Carlton & Melbourne)
6. Joe Pearce (Melbourne)

It is impossible to say who was the first footballer to die in conflict, with all of these ex-players dying on that first day.

Records often read of the return of a soldiers personal effects. Claude Crowl's father was sent his effects which were:

• Handkerchief
• Gift Tin Purse
• Metal Watch & Strap (damaged)
• Belt
• Strop (razor strap)
• Metal Ring

Claude Crowl is honoured at the memorial at Lone Pine Gallipoli Turkey and the Honour Roll at Caulfield Grammar School.

Lest We Forget

 

[CALL ME SNAKE]

Nice respectfull idea Sunshine

 

[Sunshine Saint]

http://www.awm.gov.au/people/rolls/R1654836/

http://www.saints.com.au/news/2010-04-21/lest-we-forget-anzac-day-2010

(article & information below written by Allan Grant for Saints website 2010)

Hugh McDonald Plowman
Captain, 60th Battalion AIF

334th Player to represent St Kilda
26 Games / 1 Goal - 1910-1912
Age at Death: 26

Hugh was killed in action on 19/20 July 1916 in France aged 27, in a battle that would eventually find its place in modern Australian history. This was largely a forgotten battle until recent years when a number of historians, writers and researchers brought it to the attention of the Australian public.

“Fromelles may well be the most tragic battlefield of Australia’s history” (Les Carlyon)

At Fromelles, in a 24 hr period 1,299 Australians were killed in action, 314 of those killed were in Hugh Plowman’s 60th battalion. Hugh was born in March 1889. He was a good all round sportsman and in his late teens he played first grade cricket with Prahran and VFA football for Brighton. He made his VFL debut for the Saints in Round 5, 1910 against Essendon.

After playing for St Kilda he joined the AIF with the rank of Corporal in 1915. After a short period of officer training he was commissioned as a Lieutenant in July 1915. He was later promoted to Captain while in France. In July 1916 Hugh was a Captain in the 60th Battalion part of an Australian force made up of the 4th and 5th Divisions AIF. In overall command of Australians were Generals White and Birdwood. The commander of Hugh’s brigade was Brigadier General H.E (Pompey) Elliott.

Lieutenant-General Richard Haking, Commander of the 11th British Corps had put a plan in place to attack the German trenches at Fromelles. He was no stranger to such a plan having unsuccessfully committed British troops to similar attacks with devastating results.

The Australians were set a task to attack an area known as the Sugarloaf salient south of Armentiers. Pompey Elliot believed this attack was at a grave risk of disaster and although Generals White and Birdwood agreed they were unable to convince the British General and his superiors Generals Gough and Haig to cancel the attack. After two days of delay the Australians attacked the salient manned by the 6th Bavarian reserve. The Australians met a withering tempest of machine gun and rifle fire that decimated their numbers. Lines of Australians went over the top never to return. In the 5th Division, 35 officers were hit, half mortally.

Hugh Plowman is presumed to have died in No Man’s Land, although there were conflicting reports. Soldiers from his battalion variously reported him as killed by machine gun fire, wounded and taken prisoner, or mortally wounded and crawling back to the lines. It is therefore possible that he is one of the fallen interred by the Germans following the battle and now the subject of the recovery of Australian remains from Pheasant Wood. Whatever the truth of the matter he has no known grave like many of his comrades. He is remembered at VC Corner, Australian Cemetery Memorial just outside the village of Fromelles.

Lest We Forget

 

[Persevering Saint]

Hi guys,

I'm going to do a few of these, too. But if you want to do some, the resources for researching them are very easily available, and very accessible.

You can see that Sunshine has been using the Australian War Memorial site, which is fantastic. You can just look the person up via their search: http://www.awm.gov.au/search/all/?op=Search&format=list . Just type in the name, and then unclick the boxes for everything other than "people" under the searchbox. Easy as.

Another great place to get stuff is at the National Library of Australia. Just go here: http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/NameSearch/Interface/NameSearchForm.aspx . Type in the name, then click "World War I" or "World War II" (as appropriate) from the list under "Category of Records". You'll often find some great stuff - All service records for the army at the time have been digitised, so you'll be able to see where they served, injuries, illnesses, disciplinary problems etc - if there's ever something that looks interesting, but that you can't read (not always the best handwriting in a foxhole...), let me know, as I am kinda used to that kind of thing.

 

[Sunshine Saint]

http://australianfootball.com/players/player/bill+downie/4968

http://boylesfootballphotos.net.au/Bill Downie

http://www.awm.gov.au/people/rolls/R1709408/?query=William Downie&op=Search&format=list&rows=20&section[0]=people

http://hellfire-pass.commemoration.gov.au

William Downie
Private 105 Transport Company, Australian Army Service Corps

99th Player to Represent Footscray
54 Games / 26 Goals - 1929-1932

675th Player to Represent St Kilda
15 Games / 2 Goals - 1933

Age at Death: 34

Bill Downie was originally from Eaglehawk, Bill Downie was a solidly built, strong marking ruckman who gave fine service to three top level clubs. He began with Footscray, where he played 54 VFL games and kicked 26 goals between 1929 and 1932. A single season stint with St Kilda followed, where he added 15 games and two goals, before moving to Northcote where he rounded off his career. A member of the Brickfielders' 1937 premiership team, Downie won the following year's Recorder Cup (jointly with Williamstown's Arthur Cutting), and, for good measure, topped the club's goal kicking list with 48 goals.

Bill was captured by Japanese forces in the Second World War and interned at Prisoner of War camps working on the infamous Burma Railway. There are several references to his death, with the Australian War Memorial listing his death as due to illness, but also references to war crimes and the cowardice and brutality of a Japanese guard.

To highlight the dramatic experience of working on the Burma Railway, it is worth noting the huge numbers of Australian prisoners that died whilst being held by the Japanese and working on the Burma Railway. Over 22 000 Australians were captured by the Japanese when they conquered South East Asia in early 1942. More than a third of these men and women died in captivity. This was about 20 per cent of all Australian deaths in World War II. Of those who worked on the Burma Railway more than half died there. The shock and scale of these losses affected families and communities across the nation of only 7 million people.

The railway was never completed and was of no use to the Japanese war effort.

Bill is buried at the Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery Myanmar (Burma)

Lest We Forget

Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery Myanmar (Burma)

 

[Sunshine Saint]

http://www.awm.gov.au/people/rolls/R1669131/

http://australianfootball.com/players/player/Jack+Walker/2772

http://www.ww1westernfront.gov.au/v...retonneux/the-town-of-villers-bretonneux.php#

John Preston Walker
Sergeant 8th Battalion, First A.I.F

351st Player to Represent St Kilda
4 Games / 2 Goals - 1910-1911
Age at Death: 23

John "Jack" Walker started his football careers with Melbourne Grammar and then Dandenong before coming to St Kilda. Before enlisting Jack Walker was a law clerk in the city and lived in Moorrabbin.

Jack Walker died in the Battle of Pozieres.

The Battle of Pozières was a two-week struggle for the French village of Pozieres and the ridge on which it stands, during the middle stages of the 1916 Battle of the Somme. Though British divisions were involved in most phases of the fighting, Pozières is primarily remembered as an Australian battle. The fighting ended with the Allied forces in possession of the plateau north and east of the village, in a position to menace the Germanbastion of Thiepval from the rear. The cost had been enormous for both sides and in the words of Australian official historian Charles Bean, the Pozières ridge "is more densely sown with Australian sacrifice than any other place on earth."

Jack Walker is buried at Villers-Bretonneux Picardie France. Villers-Bretonneux is well known to many Australians for their ongoing association and appreciation of Australia. It was Australian troops who liberated the town from German occupation. After the war the school in Villers-Bretonneux was rebuilt with donations from school children in Victoria (many of whom had relatives who died in the liberation of the town). The school is known as the Victoria school.

To reinforce their appreciation for Jack Walker and his fellow Australians, there is a large war memorial honouring the fallen dead, an Australian museum at the local school and the renaming of a number of their streets after Australian cities. Villers-Bretonneux still celebrates ANZAC Day each April 25th.

Lest We Forget

 

[Sunshine Saint]

http://www.awm.gov.au/people/rolls/R1723089/

http://australianfootball.com/players/player/Jim+Farnan/1355

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Farnan

James Thomas "Jim" Farnan
Private 46th Australian Infantry Battalion

95th Player to Represent St Kilda
1 Game / 0 Goals - 1899
Age at Death: 41

Jim Farnan born July 12, 1875 was one of five children to William and Bridget Farnan of Emerald Hill (now known as South Melbourne).

Jim was recruited from Montague and played 1 game for St Kilda on the half back flank against Essendon at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground on 8 July 1899 (round 9). Essendon won by 79 points that day, with the Saints failing to score in the last 3 quarters of the match.

He enlisted aged 40, in the First A.I.F on 7 August 1915. Jim gave his occupation as packer and marital status as single. Jim embarked Australia on 23 November 1915 on the HMAT Cermic A40. He was part of a contingent of Australian reinforcements for the Western Front in France.

Jim was killed in action on 9 August 1916. Like fellow Saints player Jack Walker, Jim Farnan also died in the battle of Pozieres. Jim is buried in the Pozieres British Cemetery at Ovillers-la-Boisselle Picardie France.

Lest We Forget

 

[Kilroy]

........James Thomas "Jim" Farnan
Private 46th Australian Infantry Battalion

95th Player to Represent St Kilda
1 Game
0 Goals
Age at Death: 23

Jim Farnan born July 12, 1875 was one of five children to William and Bridget Farnan of Emerald Hill (now known as South Melbourne).

Jim was recruited from Montague and played 1 game for St Kilda on the half back flank against Essendon at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground on 8 July 1899 (round 9). Essendon won by 79 points that day, with the Saints failing to score in the last 3 quarters of the match.

He enlisted aged 40, in the First A.I.F on 7 August 1915. Jim gave his occupation as packer and marital status as single. Jim embarked Australia on 23 November 1915 on the HMAT Cermic A40. He was part of a contingent of Australian reinforcements for the Western Front in France.

Jim was killed in action on 9 August 1916. Like fellow Saints player Jack Walker, Jim Farnan also died in the battle of Pozieres. Jim is buried in the Pozieres British Cemetery at Ovillers-la-Boisselle Picardie France.

Jim died at 41yo (not at 23 as Jack Walker did).
Also noticed the "electronically translated text" on Trove had misspelt his surname as "Farnam". So I corrected it.
Thanks for telling us about Private Farnan, Sunshine Saint.
RIP Jim.

PS - Still a Saint, mate.

 

[Barrels]

Check out my all-time draft thread side... There's a couple of bios.

 

[Kilroy]

Check out my all-time draft thread side... There's a couple of bios.

That was a great service you did those guys Uncle, as Persevering Saint and Sunshine Saint are doing here.
Bob Flegg and Harold Comte deserve to be remembered that way and would be tickled pink I'm sure.

Still recovering from this photo.....

I know it's not our boys but it might as well be.
Extraordinary what a bunch of blokes did for each other and ultimately for us.

 

[Sunshine Saint]

http://www.awm.gov.au/people/rolls/R1710696/?query=comte&section[0]=people&op=Search

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/st-kilda-all-time-draft.1083920/page-31#post-36551357

http://boylesfootballphotos.net.au/Harry Comte

http://australianfootball.com/players/player/Harry+Comte/5197

William Henry (Harry) James Comte
Private 2/24th Australian Infantry Battalion

633rd Player to Represent St Kilda
104 Games / 55 Goals - 1930-1937
Age at Death: 36

Harry Comte was born in Moama NSW and had a decorated football career playing with St Kilda and Sandringham.

Harry Comte played over a hundred games as a rover and sometime small defender with St Kilda.Described as having formidable strength, and 'great determination and vigour', his tenacity belied his slight frame and made him a monster in close. Harry won St Kilda's best & fairest in 1933. Tough and fearless in football and in life.

Also playing some games with Sandringham, Comte retired from the Saints in 1937 before serving in World War II with the 2/24th Battalion, Second A.I.F. Sadly, at the age of 36, Private Comte was killed in action in the 1945 Battle of Tarakan. The Battle of Tarakan was the first stage of the Borneo campaign and was an amphibious landing by Australian forces. Tarakan is a small island 24 kms by 11 kms. Harry sustained wounds in the battle and died 5 days after Australian troops captured the island. It is agreed that the cost of life, was not worth the loss of life suffered for this tiny island.

Harry is buried in Labuan War Cemetery, Labuan Malaysia. Harry left a widow Ruby. As St Kilda's longest serving player to have died in the service of Australia, he rightly deserves a special place in the history of the club and country.

Lest We Forget

 

[Sunshine Saint]

http://www.awm.gov.au/people/rolls/R1717493/

http://australianfootball.com/players/player/Beres+Reilly/5924

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beres_Reilly

Beresford Stanley (Beres) Reilly
Pilot Officer No 454 Squadron

754th Player to Represent St Kilda
8 Games / 2 Goals (North Melbourne) 1935-6
3 Games / 1 Goal (Melbourne) 1937
2 Games / 0 Goals (St Kilda) 1938
Age at Death: 28

Beres Reilly when representing a Victorian schoolboys team, tried out with Footscray. He wasn't given a game and as such moved on to North Melbourne. Two seasons at North Melbourne, a season then at Melbourne followed by one year at St Kilda.

He was a good friend of Keith Truscott (Melbourne 50 games / 31 goals), who was also killed in World War II. Serving as a Pilot Officer in the RAAF, Reilly was killed when his Martin Baltimore aircraft crashed off Crete.

The battle to recapture Crete in 1943, had followed on when Crete originally fell to the Axis powers in 1941. This battle to retake Crete, followed on shortly after the infamous Viannos massacre, it which German troops killed all residents of 20 villages as punishment for partisans who were preparing for the Allied troops landing in confronting German troops stationed there. One of the darker episodes of the war.

As seen in the R.A.A.F letter to Reilly's mother, that he was on his last flight, the wireless airgunner in a Baltimore aircraft detailed to take part in a low level bombing attack on the central section of Crete, on the 23rd July 1943. An SOS message was received from the aircraft and its position was fixed on the south coast of Crete. She was advised that in the view of the Defence Department his ultimate fate may never be known.

Reilly was married for only a month, before he enlisted.

As Beres body was never been recovered from his plane crash, he has no listed cemetery with the Australian War Memorial, but is listed on the Alamein Memorial, El Alamein War Cemetery, El Alamein, Marsa Matruh, Egypt.

Lest We Forget

 

[CALL ME SNAKE]

nice work Sunshine
Thank you

 

[Sunshine Saint]

http://www.awm.gov.au/people/rolls/R1495860/

http://australianfootball.com/players/player/Paddy+McGuinness/1584

Patrick (Paddy) McGuinness
Private 51st Australian Infantry Battalion

144th Player to Represent St Kilda
1 Game / 0 Goals (St Kilda) 1901
Age at Death: 40

McGuinness was living in Perth and working as a school teacher, when he enlisted on Jan 4th 1916. He embarked Melbourne on Oct 30, 1917 and sailed to Europe where he joined his unit in Calais France. Fighting on the Western Front France, on April 27th 1918 he was wounded in action. Paddy lived for another 9 days until dying of his wounds in the 47th General Hospital.

Paddy McGuinness died not having married. Whilst not married or having left children behind, he was loved by his immediate family with records from his family writing for any personal belongings to be returned to them.

He is buried at the Mont Huon Military Cemetery France.

Lest We Forget

 

[Sunshine Saint]

http://www.awm.gov.au/people/rolls/R1702146/

http://boylesfootballphotos.net.au/Bob Flegg

http://australianfootball.com/players/player/Bob+Flegg/6730

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Flegg

http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/Veteran.aspx?ServiceId=R&VeteranId=1013664

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/st-kilda-all-time-draft.1083920/page-34#post-36605105

Robert (Bob) Barnes Flegg
Warrant Officer No 70 Squadron RAF (R.A.A.F)

785th Player to Represent St Kilda
18 Games / 47 Goals (St Kilda) 1941
Age at Death: 25

Bob Flegg was born in Hampton Victoria on Aug 19, 1918.

An undeniable talent, in 1937 - at only 18 years old - Flegg kicked a mighty 130 goals from full forward for the fledgling Ormond Football Club in the VAFA, before transferring to Sandringham (then in the VFA) for seven games in 1940/41 where he kicked an incredible 26 goals.

Poached by the Saints for the 1941 season, the now 22 year old Flegg dutifully topped the goalkicking with 47 goals after the sudden retirement of legendary spearhead Bill Mohr, including kicking 7.6 in a two-point loss - in only his second game - against Geelong in round 2, in the first game at Kardinia Park. He kicked further bags of 5, 6 and 7 against Essendon, eventual premiers Melbourne and Carlton in the next three rounds, and a further bag of 5 - again against Geelong - in round 15. In a team that won only 3 of 18 games for the season, Flegg was clearly a standout.

Sadly, the war called and Flegg signed on with the RAAF. He was attached to the 70 Squadron RAF and served on transport and bombing missions in North Africa and over Europe. On 7 July 1944, the Vickers Wellington X bomber MF138 piloted by the now-WO Flegg was shot down over Feuersbrunn, Austria with the loss of all on board; he was not yet 26.

He is buried with his crew in Klagenfurt War Cemetery, Klagenfurt, Austria.

Though I can't specifically identify Flegg from the above photo of the 70th - it's the not the bloke marked 'me' - it's tempting to assume the lad in the second row with the Aussie-style slouch hat may be our fella.

A clear talent, taken way too young.

Thanks to Daddy_Barrels for this write up and information on Bob Flegg

Lest We Forget

 

[Sunshine Saint]

http://www.awm.gov.au/people/rolls/R1500374/

http://www.saints.com.au/news/2012-04-23/former-saint-honoured-in-anzac-match

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Parker_(footballer)

http://australianfootball.com/players/player/Harold+Parker/2903

Harold Parker
2nd Lieutenant 37th Battalion Infantry

369th Player to Represent St Kilda
3 Games / 0 Goals - 1911
Age at Death: 24

The son of Robert Grainger Parker and Eva Parker, Harold Park was born in Elsternwick, Victoria on 26 September 1892. He attended Essendon State School. He married Jessie Parker (she remarried after the war and became Mrs. Cumming). At the time of his enlistment, he gave his occupation as warehouseman.

During the latter part of the 1911 season, the St. Kilda Football Club and its off-field operations, and its on-field performances were very seriously affected by a players' strike due to protracted disputes with the committee relating to its (mis-)management of club affairs.

Due to the sudden decisions of various players not to play in a particular match, the club used a total of 62 players that season, the most ever used in a single season by a VFL club. This indicates that, given Parker only played towards the end of the season (rounds 9. 13, and 14), he may not have been selected at all if all of the regular players were available.

When measured on his enlistment in the army in 1915, he was 5 ft 9in tall, and weighed 13 stone.

Recruited from the Essendon District Football League, aged 18, Parker played his first senior VFL match for St Kilda, against Collingwood, at Victoria Park on 17 June 1911. He played his second, against Fitzroy, at the Junction Oval, on 15 July1911. He played the last of his three VFL senior matches against Melbourne on 22 July, at the Junction Oval.

Parker was a well known oarsman, and was a member of the Civil Service Rowing Club. Prior to his enlistment on 11 October 1915, Parker had 3½ years experience in the Citizen's Military Force. Parker was promoted to Second Lieutenant on 21 Feb 1916.

He was badly wounded in action with the 37th Infantry Battalion of the 3rd Division of the AIF, during a trench raid in France on the night of 29 January 1917, when he was struck in the groin by German machine gun fire. He was lying in a shell hole, and was too badly wounded to be carried back to the Australian lines. The entire stretcher party that had gone to retrieve him were shot down before they could reach the shell-hole; and, by the time a patrolling party could reach the site, Parker was no longer there. (Read the first hand accounts below this)

He was taken prisoner by the Germans, and was admitted to the Bavarian Field Hospital, Lambersart, Lille, France. He died of his wounds in the German hospital the next day.

Buried at the Rue-Petillon Military Cemetery, Fleurbaix, France, Parker is commemorated in a two-panel memorial window installed at St. Johns Uniting Church, at the corner of Mount Alexander Road and Buckley Street, Essendon ("In Loving Memory of Lieut Harold Carlyle Parker, 27th Battln, Died of wounds within the German Lines at Armentieres, 30th Jany 1917, aged 25 years. Thy Will be done)

Lest We Forget

A group of officers of the 37th Battalion before the Battalion left for France in November 1916. Lt H C Parker is standing in the back row second from the left. Officers were encouraged wear gloves and to carry canes and whips as a signal of their status. Australian War Memorial Collection

On the left is a sodier of the Australian Imperial Force, wearing officers' spurs and a lieutenant's pip on his epaulettes, receiving a Crown of Life from Jesus. On the right St George of England crushes the head of a dragon beneath his heel. The captions read, on the left, "Be Thou Faithful unto Death and I Will Give Thee a Crown of Life. Rev 11.10" and on the right, "In Loving Memory of Lieut Harold Carlyle Parker, 27th Battln, Died of wounds within the German Lines at Armentieres, 30th Jany 1917, aged 25 years. Thy Will be done".

St John's Uniting Church, Mt Alexander Rd, Essendon

 

[Sunshine Saint]

http://www.awm.gov.au/people/rolls/R1803800/

http://australianfootball.com/players/player/Arthur+Caldwell/2576

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Caldwell_(Australian_footballer)

Arthur Caldwell
Private 4th Battalion, First A.I.F

280th Player to Represent St Kilda
8 Games / 1 Goals - 1909
Age at Death: 29

Arthur Caldwell was from a football family, with his brother Jim playing 155 games for South Melbourne (now Sydney Swans).

Arthur joined the First A.I.F and stayed with his sister Sarah O'Brien in Sydney before departing there on the troop ship HMAT Shropshire on March 17, 1915. Arthur joined his battalion at Gallipoli on May 31, 1915 and 6 short weeks later on July 13 was severely wounded in the spine and arm. Caldwell was taken from Gallipoli to the Military Hospital Tigne Malta, where he died from his wounds a fortnight later on July 27, 1915.

Arthur Caldwell with fellow St Kilda past players Claude Crowl and Lou Holmes all died fighting at Gallipoli.

Arthur Caldwell is buried at the Addelerate Cemetery Malta.

Lest We Forget

 

[Verdun66]

Incredibly impressive. Thanks to all the contributors. I have gone to the WW1 battlefields a few times, but will seek some of these names out when I next go.

I haven't been to Gallipoli but intend to. Added impetus.

 

[Sunshine Saint]

http://www.awm.gov.au/people/rolls/R1491430/

http://australianfootball.com/players/player/Bill+Madden/2428

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Madden_(footballer)

William (Bill) Charles Madden
Lance Corporal 22nd Battalion Infantry

267th Player to Represent St Kilda
26 Games / 14 Goals - 1908-1909
Age at Death: 35

Bill Madden was born in Melbourne, grew up in Brunswick, married and lived in Brunswick and joined the A.I.F Recruiting Office in Brunswick.

At 26 years of age, he was cleared to St Kilda, from West Melbourne on 29 April 1908. Madden played his first senior match, in the first round, against Carlton, at Princes Park on 2 May 1908. Of the three St Kilda debutants, Madden, Bismarck Kulpa and Alby Landt, he was considered to be "the most promising" of all the new St Kilda players. Although not a tall man, he played as a backman, a forward, and a ruckman, with an equally high level of skill and performance during his senior VFL career.

In his first season at St Kilda (1908) he played in every senior match, including the Semi-Final against Carlton, at the M.C.G. on 19 September 1908. Carlton thrashed St Kilda, by 58 points (12.12 (84) to 3.8 (26), Madden was selected as the forward pocket resting ruckman for St Kilda. The match was played in extremely wet and muddy conditions, and the umpiring was of such a poor standard that St Kilda lodged a complaint.

In his second season (1909) he only played seven matches, the last of which, against Melbourne at the Junction Oval on 24 July 1908 (round thirteen) was only possible because he was needed to replace an unavailable player.

Bill Madden prior to entering the Australian military was a tinsmith. Madden enlisted on March 30, 1916. Madden departed Melbourne on July 28, 1916 and arrived in Plymouth England on Sept 11, 1916. Madden was sent to fight in France on the Western Front. On May 3, 1917 at Bullecourt France, Madden was seen by a fatigue crew in a newly dug trench with a wound to his right arm, or shoulder. He was never seen again. His body was never recovered.

Bill Madden left a widow Priscilla and two children William and Dorothea.

Lest We Forget

 

[CALL ME SNAKE]

Some amazing work being done here so we can read up on some brave men who sacrificed all.
very interesting reading.
What a shame Bob Flegg didnt get to reach his full potential. Sounded like a champ.
So many sad stories of lives taken too soon.

 

[Sunshine Saint]

http://www.awm.gov.au/people/rolls/R1690940/

http://australianfootball.com/players/player/Bill+Hudson/6917

http://www.afc.com.au/news/2013-04-25/magarey-medal-then-off-to-war

Ross William (Bill) Hudson
Lance Corporal 51st Field Park Company, Royal Australian Engineers

816th Player to Represent St Kilda
5 Games / 6 Goals - 1942
Age at Death: 24

Bill Hudson was an outstanding South Australian footballer with West Adelaide.

"4 more goals and Bill Hudson will reach 100 for West Adelaide. He showed brilliant form at centre halt-forward against South Adelaide a fortnight ago. He had to stand down last week owing to injuries. He has played most or his football in League ranks at centre half-forward, or at centre and his tally of 96 goals for the 48 matches he has played, is excellent in the circumstances." Adelaide Advertiser

Bill Hudson played his football career in Adelaide and only joined St Kilda after he entered service with the military and was stationed in Melbourne. Bill went to New Guinea where unfortunately he lost his life due to unspecified injuries. The Adelaide Crows web site lists this as an unfortunate accident.

Just off the road from Port Moresby at the southern end of the Kokoda track is Bomana, the largest war cemetery in the Pacific. It contains 3779 graves. There are 3069 known and 237 unknown Australians from the fighting in New Guinea together with 443 Allied soldiers sailors and airmen.

Bomana was established in 1942. Over the next several years those who had been temporarily buried elsewhere in New Guinea, or in other cemeteries around Port Moresby, were re-interred at Bomana. One of them was Bill Hudson.

Inter-service football teams and competitions were common. The 2nd Australian Motor Division (names of teams constantly changed due to censorship restrictions) contained 12 ex VFL players, including former Saints players Harold Comte, Sam Loxton, Bill Hudson and Jim Matthews. With 12 ex VFL footballers in the side, there were by any measure a more than competitive side.

Lest We Forget

 

[Sunshine Saint]

http://www.awm.gov.au/people/rolls/R1683929/

http://australianfootball.com/players/player/Wally+Mills/6225

Wallace Mills
Warrant Officer Class II, 2/41st Light Aid Detachment, Australian Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers

816th Player to Represent St Kilda
1 Game / 0 Goals - 1937
Age at Death: 28

Wallace Mills was born in Melbourne and played his first and only game for St Kilda when he was 22 years 198 days old. Wallace had a football career that was cut short by the war and then tragically his military career was cut short as well. Mills died serving in the military before he even left Australia for overseas service.

The Court of Inquiry into his death, heard that Wallace Mills was stationed in Far North Queensland and on November 24, 1943, was involved in a traffic accident and taken to the 63 American Hospital at Gordonvale where he passed away. He suffered extensive injuries, when the army vehicle when he was a passenger collided with a RAAF truck and trailer on the Innisfail / Cairns road. It was deemed there was no negligence from any party and that it was a tragic accident.

Wallace Mills is buried in the Atherton War Cemetery in Far North Queensland.

Lest We Forget