The VFL during the World Wars
Encyclopedia
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
was heavily affected by both World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Hundreds of leading players served their country abroad, and many lost their lives. On the home front
Home front
Home front is the informal term commonly used to describe the civilian populace of the nation at war as an active support system of their military....
, competitions like the Victorian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
(VFL) went ahead during these wars, but faced many restrictions.
World War I
In March 1915, the VFL voted on whether or not to suspend the 1915 season1915 VFL season
Results and statistics for the VFL/AFL season of 1915.-Premiership season:In 1915, the VFL competition consisted of nine teams of 18 on-the-field players each, with no "reserves", although any of the 18 players who had left the playing field for any reason could later resume their place on the...
, but voted in favour of playing by 13 votes to four. Melbourne University Football Club
Melbourne University Football Club
Melbourne University Football Club, often known simply as University is an Australian rules football club.The club achieved prominence by being a member of the game's most elite competition in the early 20th century, the Victorian Football League between 1908 and 1914.Although there are no records...
were forced to withdraw from the league as too many of their players had enlisted to fight. The season began on 24 April, the day before Australian troops landed at Gallipoli
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula is located in Turkish Thrace , the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles straits to the east. Gallipoli derives its name from the Greek "Καλλίπολις" , meaning "Beautiful City"...
. Attendances were poor throughout the year.
St Kilda changed their club colours because their traditional red, white and black colours were the same as the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
. Their new colours of black, red and yellow were chosen as support to Australia's ally Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, where a group of St Kilda players were serving.
The 1916 season
1916 VFL season
Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1916.The 1916 season of the VFL saw just four teams competing, due to World War I...
was heavily affected by the war. Only four clubs, Carlton
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
, Collingwood
Collingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
, Fitzroy
Fitzroy Football Club
The Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...
and Richmond
Richmond Football Club
The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...
, competed in the league. The other clubs withdrew from the competition, both out of patriotism and as a result of player shortage. Despite finishing the home and away season in last place, Fitzroy won the Grand Final that year.
Both Geelong
Geelong Football Club
The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...
and South Melbourne
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
returned to the league in 1917, while St Kilda and Essendon
Essendon Football Club
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
made their comeback in 1918. Melbourne
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
spent the longest time out of the league, missing three seasons before rejoining the VFL in 1919.
The "Pioneer Exhibition Game" in London (1916)
On Saturday 28 October 1916, the former Olympic champion swimmer and the later Lord Mayor of Melbourne, LieutenantLieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Frank Beaurepaire
Frank Beaurepaire
Sir Francis "Frank" Joseph Edmund Beaurepaire was an Australian distance freestyle swimmer from the 1900s to the 1920s, who won three silver and three bronze medals, from the 1908 Summer Olympics in London to the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, setting 15 world records.He was also a decorated...
, organised an Australian Rules football match between two teams of Australian servicemen in aid of the British and French Red Cross
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human...
.
The match was promoted as a "Pioneer Exhibition Game of Australian Football in London". It was held at Queen's Club
Queen's Club
The Queen's Club is a private sporting club in West Kensington, London, England. Founded in 1886, the Queen's Club was the world's first multipurpose sports complex and named after Queen Victoria, its first patron...
, West Kensington
West Kensington, London
- Commercial/education :Local business consists of small shops, offices and restaurants, with the Olympia Exhibition Centre nearby. Indeed, it is the mix of local shops that give the area its character....
before an estimated crowd of 3,000, which included the (then) Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
(later King Edward VIII
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
), and King Manuel II of Portugal
Manuel II of Portugal
Manuel II , named Manuel Maria Filipe Carlos Amélio Luís Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga Francisco de Assis Eugénio de Bragança Orleães Sabóia e Saxe-Coburgo-Gotha — , was the last King of Portugal from 1908 to 1910, ascending the throne after the assassination of his father and elder brother Manuel...
.
The members of the competing teams, Australian Training Units and The Third Australian Divisional Team, were all highly skilled footballers, the majority of whom had already played senior football in their respective states.
A news film was taken at the match.
In order to celebrate the match Beaurepaire commissioned a set of team photographs that were inserted into a mounting board decorated with a British Union Jack
Union Flag
The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the flag of the United Kingdom. It retains an official or semi-official status in some Commonwealth Realms; for example, it is known as the Royal Union Flag in Canada. It is also used as an official flag in some of the smaller British overseas...
and an Australian Red Ensign, that had "Australian Football in London. Pioneer Exhibition Game. At Queen's Club, West Kensington. Saturday 28 Oct. 1916" at its head, and "Organizer of Match & Donor of Photos to Club Lieut. Frank Beaurepaire" at its foot.
The names that follow are taken from the names of the team members and officials that appear beneath each of the photographs on the mounted set; some of the names have been corrected from VFL, A.I.F. records, etc.
Officials
The Field Umpires were Corporal Gray and G. Barry, the Boundary Umpires were Sinton Hewitt, and E.J. Watts, and the Goal Umpires were Lieutenant A. Olsson and S.M. Keen.Australian Training Units Team
The team played in a red guernsey with a large white kangaroo on its left breast, and in black shorts.The team's captain was Charlie Perry
Charlie Perry (Australian rules footballer)
Charles 'Charlie' Julius Perry was an Australian rules footballer who played with Norwood in the SAFL.Perry, commonly known as 'Redwing' due to his red hair, appeared in 58 games for Norwood and would have played more had World War I not interrupted his career...
(Norwood
Norwood Football Club
Norwood Football Club, nicknamed, Redlegs, is an Australian rules football club belonging to the South Australian National Football League in the state of South Australia...
).
The team members were: Jack Cooper
Jack Cooper (Australian rules footballer)
John Thomas "Jack" Cooper was an Australian rules footballer who played for Fitzroy in the Victorian Football League .He died in action, whilst serving in the First AIF, during the Battle of Passchendaele....
(Fitzroy
Fitzroy Football Club
The Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...
), eighth man (seventh player) from left, top row, Percy Trotter
Percy Trotter
Percy Trotter is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Fitzroy in the early days of the VFL.Trotter played as a rover and was versatile in that he could kick well with both feet. He debuted in 1901 at the age of 18...
(East Fremantle
East Fremantle Football Club
The East Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Sharks, is an Australian rules football club playing in the West Australian Football League . The team's home ground is East Fremantle Oval...
), third from left (of five) in middle row, Clyde Donaldson
Clyde Donaldson
Clyde Donaldson was an Australian rules footballer who played for Essendon in the VFL.After two seasons playing with Essendon, Donaldson's career was interrupted by World War I when he spent fours years overseas with the Australian Expeditionary Force...
(Essendon
Essendon Football Club
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
), sixth man (fifth player) from left, top row, Harry Kerley
Harry Kerley
Henry Charles "Harry" Kerley was an Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood and St Kilda in the Victorian Football League ....
(Collingwood
Collingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
), John Hoskins (Melbourne), Harold Boyd
Harold Boyd
Harold Boyd was an Australian rules footballer who played for West Perth in the WAFL during the 1920s.A half back, Boyd started his career at West Perth when the WAFL resumed after the First World War. He won a Sandover Medal in 1922 and was appointed captain-coach the following season. In 1924 he...
(no club given), Stan Martin
Stan Martin
Stan Martin was an Australian rules footballer who played with University in the Victorian Football League. A bayonet instructor during World War I, he played in the Services game in London, but was later killed in action.-Sources:...
(University
Melbourne University Football Club
Melbourne University Football Club, often known simply as University is an Australian rules football club.The club achieved prominence by being a member of the game's most elite competition in the early 20th century, the Victorian Football League between 1908 and 1914.Although there are no records...
), ninth man (eighth player) from left, top row, A.C. Cesnvi(?) (Association), Charlie Armstrong (Geelong
Geelong Football Club
The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...
and (Melbourne
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
), J. Scullin (South Fremantle
South Fremantle Football Club
The South Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Bulldogs, is an Australian rules football club, based in Fremantle, Western Australia, playing in the West Australian Football League...
), Malfield (Fremantle), Thomas Paine (Northam), George Bower
George Bower (footballer)
George Buxton Bower was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League .When Bower made his debut in round one, 1909, against Geelong, at Corio Oval on 1 May 1909....
(South Melbourne
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
), second man (first player) from left, top row, McDonald (Essendon), Alfred Jackson (South Australia), and H. Moore (South Australia).
Third Australian Divisional Team
The team's captain was Bruce Sloss
Bruce Sloss
Bruce Moses Farquhar Sloss was an Australian rules footballer who played as a follower with Essendon and South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League , and with Brighton in the Victorian Football Association ....
(South Melbourne
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
), seated at left of man with hat, middle row.
The team members were: Jack Brake
Jack Brake
Jack Brake was an Australian rules footballer who played with University and Melbourne in the Victorian Football League . Generally regarded as one of University's few great players, he usually played in the ruck. He represented Victoria in 1912, and was vice captain of the University side in 1913...
(University
Melbourne University Football Club
Melbourne University Football Club, often known simply as University is an Australian rules football club.The club achieved prominence by being a member of the game's most elite competition in the early 20th century, the Victorian Football League between 1908 and 1914.Although there are no records...
and Melbourne
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
), Dan Minogue
Dan Minogue
Daniel 'Dan' Minogue was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League.Minogue was considered a courageous, or perhaps reckless, centre half-back as epitomised when he sustained a broken collarbone playing for Collingwood Football Club in the first minute of the 1911 Grand Final...
(Collingwood
Collingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
), seated at right of man with hat, middle row, Carl Willis
Carl Willis (sportsman)
Carl Willis was an Australian sportsman who played Australian rules football with South Melbourne and University in the Victorian Football League as well as first-class cricket for Victoria....
(South Melbourne
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
), Leo Little
Leo Little
Leo P. Little is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne and University in the Victorian Football League .-References:...
(Melbourne
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
), Bill Sewart
Bill Sewart
William 'Bill' Isaac Sewart was an Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the VFL. He was also a first-class cricketer, representing both Queensland and Victoria....
(Essendon
Essendon Football Club
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
), James Pugh
James Pugh (footballer)
James Pugh was an English footballer. His regular position was at full back. He was born in Hereford, Herefordshire. He played for Manchester United, Clapton Orient, Coventry City, Luton Town, Brighton & Hove Albion, Hereford United, Bridgend Town, Abertillery and Wrexham.-External links:*...
(Launceston), H.M. Moyes
Harry Moyes
Harry Moyes was an Australian rules footballer who played for St Kilda and Melbourne in the Victorian Football League ....
(St Kilda), Percy Jory
Percy Jory
Percy Jory was an Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda in the Victorian Football League .Jory came to St Kilda from Tasmania and soon established a place in their side as a forward who could play in the ruck...
(St Kilda), Charlie Lilley (Melbourne
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
), Les Lee
Les Lee
Les Lee was an Australian rules footballer from South Australia who played with Richmond in the Victorian Football League. He played in the famous services match in London, but was killed whilst serving in Belgium during World War I.-Sources:...
(Richmond
Richmond Football Club
The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...
), fourth player from left, top row.Cyril Hoft
Cyril Hoft
Pte. Cyril Louis Hoft was an Australian soldier and Australian rules footballer who played for and in the West Australian Football League and Glenelg in the South Australian Football League...
(Perth
Perth Football Club
The Perth Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the West Australian Football League . The club plays its matches at Lathlain Park.-History:...
), player at right of middle row with back row team mates' hands on his shoulders, L. Martin (University), Ned Alley (Williamstown
Williamstown Football Club
The Williamstown Football Club, nicknamed The Seagulls, is an Australian rules football club based in Melbourne and are currently playing in the Victorian Football League...
, formerly South Melbourne
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
), Hugh James
Hugh James
Hugh James was an Australian rules footballer who played in the VFL between 1909 and 1916 and, upon returning from military service, from 1919 to 1923 for the Richmond Football Club.He served in the AIF between 1916 and 1919...
(Richmond
Richmond Football Club
The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...
), fourth player from right, top row, Benjamin Mills
Benjamin Mills
Benjamin Mills was a lawyer and judge who served in the Kentucky Circuit Courts and the Kentucky Court of Appeals. He also represented Bourbon County, Kentucky, in the Kentucky House of Representatives. Mills issued a significant ruling in the 1820 case of Rankin v. Lydia which dealt with the...
(Brunswick
Brunswick Football Club
Brunswick Football Club was an Australian rules football club which played in the VFA from 1897 until 1990. They were originally nicknamed the Pottery Workers before being renamed the Magpies and were based in Brunswick, Victoria. The club wore black and white guernseys...
), Jim Foy (East Perth
East Perth Football Club
The East Perth Football Club, nicknamed the Royals, is an Australian rules football club that is a member of the West Australian Football League...
), and Billy Orchard
Billy Orchard
Billy Orchard was a player for the Geelong Football Club between 1906 and 1915. He captained the club for two seasons in 1914 and 1915. He was also playing coach in 1914. He was a field umpire in the VFL during the 1920s...
(Geelong
Geelong Football Club
The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...
), player at left, top row.
Result
The Third Australian Divisional Team beat the Australian Training Units Team 6.16 (52) to 4.12 (36).
World War II
Disputes over whether football should be played in wartime came up again in World War II. Geelong withdrew from the 19421942 VFL season
Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1942.-Influence of World War II:World War II had many negative effects on AFL in Australia:*Geelong were unable to compete in the competition because of wartime travel restrictions...
and 1943
1943 VFL season
Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1943.-Influence of World War II:*Geelong were still unable to field a team due to the war, so the bye was retained.-New System:...
seasons when rail and road transport restrictions made it too difficult to attend games in Melbourne. Many clubs also had to play their home games away from the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
because it was taken over by the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
who turned it into a base. The West Australian Football League
West Australian Football League
The West Australian Football League is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The WAFL is the second-most popular in the state, behind the nation-wide Australian Football League...
restricted the competition to players under the age of 18 between 1942 and 1945.
Australian rules football also played a significant part in the Australian forces during the war, with the first Australian assault in Libya commencing with the signal of a football being kicked into no-man's land.
Prisoners of War
Australian rules football was also played by Prisoners of War throughout World War II, with competitions held in Singapore and Germany. The Changi Football League, played at Changi PrisonChangi Prison
Changi Prison is a prison located in Changi in the eastern part of Singapore.-First prison and POW camp:...
was held in 1942/43 and contested by teams called "Melbourne", "Richmond", "Essendon" and "Carlton", while a League was also set up at Stalag 383, near Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
, contested by the "Kangaroos", "Emus", Kookaburras" and Wallabies".
The Changi Football League, run by Brownlow Medal
Brownlow Medal
The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
ist Wilfred Smallhorn, awarded its only Changi Brownlow for Best and Fairest to Peter Chitty
Peter Chitty
Leslie Allan "Peter" Chitty BEM was an Australian rules footballer who played for St Kilda in the Victorian Football League and who won the only "Changi Brownlow" awarded in the Prisoner of War Changi Football League....
, a former St Kilda footballer.
VFL players who died in active service
Many VFL players served in the armed services, and a number lost their lives, including Ron Barassi Sr.Ron Barassi, Sr.
Ronald James Barassi was an Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne in the VFL. His grandfather came from Italy and Ron was the father of Hall of Famer Ron Barassi, Jr. who was signed to the club under the Father-Son rule.Originally from Castlemaine, Barassi was a rover and made his...
, Bruce Sloss
Bruce Sloss
Bruce Moses Farquhar Sloss was an Australian rules footballer who played as a follower with Essendon and South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League , and with Brighton in the Victorian Football Association ....
and Len Thomas
Len Thomas
Len Thomas was an Australian rules footballer who played 187 games with South Melbourne in the VFL during the 1930s, before finishing his career as captain-coach at both Hawthorn and North Melbourne...
.
Commemorations
Since 1995 a matchThe ANZAC Day clash
The Anzac Day clash is an annual Australian rules football match between Australian Football League teams Collingwood and Essendon, held on Anzac Day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground .-Early history of Australian rules on Anzac Day:...
between Collingwood and Essendon has taken place on Anzac Day
ANZAC Day
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all...
as a tribute to those who died serving their country.
See also
- 1916 VFL season
- 1941 VFL season