Rugby League in the military.

copa

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Some great historical info available here..

http://www.rl1908.com/rugby-league/war-league.htm

Any mention of rugby league in the AIF has long been glossed-over in historical accounts of life in the Australian military overseas in World War One. Some even go so far as to say that the AIF banned rugby league from being played.

While information on rugby league matches under the AIF is scant, a few references prove the code was played, was not banned, and held wider support amongst the enlisted men than previously thought. The first-hand accounts of some of the men also mention rugby league being played.

Rugby union international Tom Richards (1908 Wallaby and 1910 British team), wrote in The Sydney Mail how both rugby codes were played on that same "sun-baked mud" field in front of the pyramids seen in Gallipoli. Richards said, "Games were fought out with the vim and earnestness of a rival inter-town match - whether the surface was soft or hard, what mattered it, as long as the prestige of the company or battalion was worthily upheld?"

Newcastle's Stan Carpenter, (who played rugby league Tests for Australia against the Maoris in 1909), recalled in a 1959 newspaper interview that he played in the first League game in Egypt "in early 1915". Carpenter captained the "Infrantry Brigade" in an 8-6 victory over the "2nd Battery".

Tom Richards, who only played in the rugby union matches, wrote that the highlight of those football contests in Giza was a rugby league match between "NSW" and "Queensland".

One of the men involved was Sgt. Edward Larkin (1st Battalion), who had been the NSWRL's Secretary. He had moved into state parliament in 1913, and joined the AIF as soon as enlistments opened in August 1914.

Tom Richards did not think particularly highly of Larkin or the professional code. Richards recorded in his diary that "he [Larkin] played football [rugby league] the other day and boomed the miserable game in the Cairo press".

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...........

The Australian War Memorial (AWM) archives hold photographs and notes that reference the playing of rugby league amongst the soldiers.

One photograph shows a football team referred to as the "8th Australian Field Ambulance RLFC 1915-17". The football held by one of the players is marked "8 F Amb. R L F C. 1915-6-7".
[Refer AWM Collection Item C00504.]

The AWM also holds a football jersey worn by Richard Alfred Overy, who was a plumber from Haberfield (Sydney, NSW). Overy enlisted in September 1914, and served at Gallipoli. In March 1916 he was with the "4 Machine Gun Company" in France.

The AWM notes, "During his time in France, rugby league was a favoured recreational activity and a group of soldiers from '4 MGC' formed a team, the 'Mudlarks', with a black and white bird silhouette upon the chest of their jerseys that represented the Australian mudlark, also known as a magpie-lark or pee-wee." The "Mudlarks" name is suggestive of the terrible muddy conditions experienced on the Western Front. [Refer AWM Collection Item REL32907.]

If you do an image search at the War Memorial website they have heaps of great photographs of RL being played all over the world by our men in uniform..

A fave photo of mine is this from PNG during WW2:
 

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Rus13

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Copa

During WWII the Australian solders played an RL interstate match on Bouganville Island.


Just for the record Queensland won.
 

ParraEelsNRL

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I guess it comes down to who was running the show with regards to RL being played.

My old neighbour was in Vietnam and I asked him if he ever played RL in the Army, he said he was never allowed to play the sport and he never heard of anyone playing it.

He said they could play AR, Cricket and union though.

I guess if you had someone incharge who liked the game, you might've been able to have a game, if you had a Private school w@nker' running the show, no chance.
 

copa

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ParraEelsNRL said:
I guess it comes down to who was running the show with regards to RL being played.

My old neighbour was in Vietnam and I asked him if he ever played RL in the Army, he said he was never allowed to play the sport and he never heard of anyone playing it.

He said they could play AR, Cricket and union though.

I guess if you had someone incharge who liked the game, you might've been able to have a game, if you had a Private school w@nker' running the show, no chance.
Your neighbour was either lying or is plain stupid.

Check out the AWM site.

There are great photographs of it being played all over the world at many different times.
 

ParraEelsNRL

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copa said:
Your neighbour was either lying or is plain stupid.

Check out the AWM site.

There are great photographs of it being played all over the world at many different times.

I've seen the photos and read up about some of it, I don't know why he said you couldn't play RL, maybe he's full of .... or maybe he never seen any, I wouldn't know.

But thats what he told me.
 
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