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Research Tracking down the 'missing Hawks'

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This is the list of players Hawthorn has no contact details for family/next of kin...

1772074125284.webp

There is a 20th player - Wayde Skipper. Seems he might have chosen to take himself off the grid, so to speak, as the Bulldogs have apparently also lost contact.
 
Also, I believe Trafford, Wilkins, O'Halloran, Farrelly, Hickey, Smith and Lyons on that list are missing a photograph.
 
Also, I believe Trafford, Wilkins, O'Halloran, Farrelly, Hickey, Smith and Lyons on that list are missing a photograph.
Is the photo of Vin (Alfred Vincent) Smith at Brocklesby in 1938 (available through Wiki page link) not deemed good enough quality wise? It is rather ordinary.

BTW, you have him being born in 1913, but 1914 looks to be correct. 1902 for Bernie Trafford!
 
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This is the list of players Hawthorn has no contact details for family/next of kin...

View attachment 2536388

There is a 20th player - Wayde Skipper. Seems he might have chosen to take himself off the grid, so to speak, as the Bulldogs have apparently also lost contact.

Nice one. Given the size and scope, I reckon this is worth of its own thread. I'll separate it out.
 

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Is the photo of Vin (Alfred Vincent) Smith at Brocklesby in 1938 (available through Wiki page link) not deemed good enough quality wise? It is rather ordinary.

BTW, you have him being born in 1913, but 1914 looks to be correct. 1902 for Bernie Trafford!
Per other thread - That photo will do me, thanks for the quick win.

Thinking, maybe my last detailed sweep of wiki was too long ago.
 
Leonard Clements appears to simply be Leo Joseph Clements.

A footy fan with some genealogy interest appears to have already done some research here:

Screenshot 2026-02-26 17.00.42.webp

But there is some conflicting info around:

Screenshot 2026-02-26 17.01.36.webp

And his currently accepted DOB matches neither:

Screenshot 2026-02-26 17.03.14.webp

Upon Leo's first application to the Army, he listed 7 November 1907 as his DOB, a date hereto unseen:

Leo Clements Original.webp


On the second time around, seven years later, he decided to alter that date to 7 November 1909 (as seen in some Ancestry trees):

Leo Clements.webp

Given the Vic BDM birth records lists 1908 as the registration year (which can happen when births happen in the last couple of months of the previous year), I would be confident in going with 7 November 1907 as Clements' DOB, with a birthplace of Casterton, Victoria.

Screenshot 2026-02-26 17.00.07.webp

I also believe the currently listed DOD to be wrong, and instead I believe it to be 3 July 1979 at Bundoora, Victoria (the second Ancestry tree almost had it right but misspelled the place, which can sometimes make it more genuine if the entry is manual.

Regardless, I am trusting of PROV's Probate records here.

Screenshot 2026-02-26 17.08.59.webp

There are further trees out there that list slightly different dates again, with no sources linked.

Screenshot 2026-02-26 17.15.35.webp

Without a headstone, it is hard to be 100% certain, but it surely is not what is listed currently.

I would be leaning towards a 7 Nov 1907 DOB and a 3 Jul 1979 DOD. What do we think?
 
Leonard Clements appears to simply be Leo Joseph Clements.

A footy fan with some genealogy interest appears to have already done some research here:

View attachment 2536515

But there is some conflicting info around:

View attachment 2536516

And his currently accepted DOB matches neither:

View attachment 2536517

Upon Leo's first application to the Army, he listed 7 November 1907 as his DOB, a date hereto unseen:

View attachment 2536518


On the second time around, seven years later, he decided to alter that date to 7 November 1909 (as seen in some Ancestry trees):

View attachment 2536519

Given the Vic BDM birth records lists 1908 as the registration year (which can happen when births happen in the last couple of months of the previous year), I would be confident in going with 7 November 1907 as Clements' DOB, with a birthplace of Casterton, Victoria.

View attachment 2536520

I also believe the currently listed DOD to be wrong, and instead I believe it to be 3 July 1979 at Bundoora, Victoria (the second Ancestry tree almost had it right but misspelled the place, which can sometimes make it more genuine if the entry is manual.

Regardless, I am trusting of PROV's Probate records here.

View attachment 2536528

There are further trees out there that list slightly different dates again, with no sources linked.

View attachment 2536536

Without a headstone, it is hard to be 100% certain, but it surely is not what is listed currently.

I would be leaning towards a 7 Nov 1907 DOB and a 3 Jul 1979 DOD. What do we think?
This also has 3 July 1979:
1772087500067.webp
So it really should be 3 July, though this very sad story (from Ancestry) makes it seem certain that it should have been 2 July (at the latest):
1772091362283.webp

1772091478788.webp

1772091629252.webp
 
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Gerry Hickey (not Geoff) is Gerald Joseph Hickey. Again our Hawks fan friend on Ancestry has done the heavy lifting here with a well-sourced profile. Hickey won a Queen's Police Medal for Gallantry in 1971!

1772087900479.webp

Obviously these findings aren't providing contact details as such, but better to work off accurate listings than inaccurate ones for now!
 
Barry Metcalfe is Barry Stanley Metcalfe. A sad end, no doubt.

I do query the listed DOB (28 September 1935) given the only public record of Metcalfe's DOB on Ancestry gives something slightly different: 25 September 1935. One would think if there was an inaccuracy that it may have been amended given all the handwriting on the page.

Barry Metcalfe.webp
 
Obviously these findings aren't providing contact details as such, but better to work off accurate listings than inaccurate ones for now!
Sorry yes, I should have gone over them again, it was based on a pretty old spreadsheet from the club. I got an updated list of player names today but used the old data. I suspect the club still has the old details.
 
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Also, I believe Trafford, Wilkins, O'Halloran, Farrelly, Hickey, Smith and Lyons on that list are missing a photograph.
1772092943200.webp
This should be your man:
1772092869873.webp
He has a different DOB in his Army records (out by one year):
1772093026118.webp
1772093081201.webp

1772093260805.webp
On Ancestry they've gone with 1914 for his year of birth, but I'm wondering if that reg. number (1924) might have come a bit early for it to be 21 March 1914 (and if it really was 1913)?
 

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