Melbourne's wartime heritage is significant.

The Melbourne Football Club is inextricably linked to both world wars, with many players and officials serving, and the club’s home ground – the MCG – being utilised for accommodation during the Second World War.

With great service comes tragedy, and those Melbourne players who were lost in war are honoured and commemorated on an ongoing basis. In the ultimate tribute, a number of the club’s best and fairest awards are named in recognition of those who fell in conflict.

Below, we share snapshot profiles of all those who are listed (as of April 2022) for the Melbourne Football Club:

World War I

Name

Career

Location of death

Date of death

Jim Bonella

1 game, 1908

Étaples, France

24 May 1918

Clifford Burge

5 games, 1914

Hervilly, France

14 August 1918

Jack Doubleday

36 games, 1912-1914 (University)

17 games, 1915 (Melbourne)

At sea, in HMAT Malta, of illness

30 October 1918

William Fischer

1 game, 1909

Potijze, Belgium

15 October 1917

Albert Gourlay

3 games, 1903 (Melbourne)

3 games, 1904 (Carlton)

Walton Military Hospital, Surrey, England

1 November 1918

Malcolm Kennedy

17 games, 1911-12

Wytschaete, Belgium

2 January 1918

Frank Lugton

36 games, 1913-14

Pozières, France

29 July 1916

James 'Charlie' Mackie

5 games, 1913

Longatte, France

20 March 1917

William Maxwell

2 games, 1909

Passchendaele, Belgium

12 October 1917

Fenley McDonald

10 games, 1911-1912 (Carlton)

1 game, 1913 (Melbourne)

Gallipoli, Dardanelles

25 April 1915

Thomas 'Alick' Ogilvie

1 game, 1905 (Melbourne)

27 games, 1908-1909 (University)

Auberge de Bavière Hospital, Malta

29 December 1917

Arthur Mueller 'Joe' Pearce

152 games, 1904-1913

Gallipoli, Dardanelles

25 April 1915

Leo Rankin

1 game, 1899

Wareham Military Hospital, Dorset, England

10 May 1917

Harold Rippon

5 games, 1898, 1900 (Melbourne)

5 games, 1903 (South Melbourne)

38th Casualty Clearing Station, Heilly, France

16 January 1917

John Filomeno Percival 'Percy' Rodriguez

17 games, 1914 (University)

5 games, 1915 (Melbourne)

Somme, France

20 March 1917

Robert 'Bobby' Royle

3 games, 1898

Gueudecourt, France

3 November 1916

Alf 'Lofty' Williamson

11 games, 1912-1914 (Carlton)

8 games, 1914 (Melbourne)

Bullecourt, France

11 April 1917

World War II

Name

Career

Location of death

Date of death

Syd L. Anderson

52 games, 1939-1941

Wewak, Dutch New Guinea

20 May 1944

(Ernest) John Atkins

4 games, 1940

Sinking of HMAS Perth, Battle of Sunda Strait

21 May 1944

Harold Ball

33 games, 1939-1940

Malaya

9 February 1942

Ron J. Barassi 

58 games, 1936-1940

Tobruk

31 July 1941

Patrick Lawrence 'Laurie' Brady

1 game, 1913

Repatriation Hospital, Caulfield, of illness

1 May 1944

(Arthur) Noel Ellis

3 games, 1940-1941

Jimboomba Army Camp, Queensland

2 July 1944

(Reginald) Clyde Helmer

71 games, 1937-1941 (Geelong)

2 games, 1942 (Melbourne)

Aitape, New Guinea

24 May 1945

(Crawford) Derek Mollison

66 games, 1923-1928

Rockhampton, Queensland

19 December 1943

George Frederick 'Ted' Regan

4 games, 1938 (Melbourne)

7 games, 1939, 1941 (Essendon)

Burma

9 July 1943

Beresford 'Beres' Reilly

8 games, 1935-1936 (North Melbourne)

2 games, 1938 (St Kilda)

Crete

23 July 1943

Archibald 'Archie' Roberts

36 games, 1932-1936 (Melbourne)

12 games, 1937 (Essendon)

POW, Ambon Island, Indonesia

6 June 1945

Keith 'Bluey' Truscott

50 games, 1937-1940, 1942

Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia

28 March 1943

Percival Barnes 'Barney' Wood

5 games, 1928

Litani River, Syria

10 June 1941

 

MAJOR SOURCES

ONLINE:

AFL Tables -  https://afltables.com

Australian Dictionary of Biography Online – https://adb.anu.edu.au

Australian War Memorial – https://awm.gov.au

Commonwealth War Graves Commission – https://www.cwgc.org

National Archives of Australia (RecordSearch, NameSearch) – https://naa.gov.au

State Library of Victoria – https://slv.vic.gov.au

Trove (National Library of Australia) – https://trove.nla.gov.au

World War Two Nominal Rolls (DVA) – https://nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au


PUBLICATIONS:

100 Years of Football: the story of the Melbourne Football Club 1858 – 1958 by E.C.H. Taylor (Wilke & Co, 1958)

Fallen: The Ultimate Heroes – Footballers who never returned from war by Jim Main and David Allen (Crown Content, 2002)

Grand Finals Volume I: 1897 – 1938 (Slattery Media, 2011)

Grand Finals Volume II: 1939 – 1978 (Slattery Media, 2012)

Melbourne Cricket Club Melbourne Football Club Annual Report, assorted years, 1939 to 1947

Harder Than Football: League Players At War by Barbara Cullen (Slattery Media, 2015)

The Grand Old Flag: the history of the Melbourne Football Club by Lynda Carroll (Hardie Grant, 1999)

 

NOTES

  • Where possible, the language of the day has been used. For example, in WWI, reference was typically made to ‘wife and child/children’ left behind. By WW2, this had transformed to ‘widow’.
  • The profiles presented are as accurate as possible to the time of publication. However, wartime is a time of rapidly moving records, including name (both place and personal) changes, date of birth changes, and inconsistent spelling. Any verifiable corrections are welcome.
  • Not all stories can be included for each person. Each is highly valued, and has been given as much room as possible at the time.