William Flintoft
Encyclopedia
William Morris Flintoft (1890 – 3 May 1951), commonly called Bill Flintoft, was an Australian rules football
player with the Melbourne Football Club
and the St Kilda Football Club in the Victorian Football League
(VFL). He played Victorian Premier Cricket
for the Melbourne Cricket Club
. Flintoft also served in the First Australian Imperial Force
in World War I
. In later life Flintoft was Mayor of Prahran, on the Committee of the Melbourne Cricket Club, and on the Board of the Melbourne Football Club, serving as president of the latter for three years.
, the son of Josiah James Walter Flintoft, a three-time mayor of Prahran, and Fanny (née Mitchell), in 1890. He was educated at Prahran College and he became a clerk.
, at the age of 19, and made his VFL debut for the Melbourne Football Club in round 3 of the 1909 season
. His career with Melbourne lasted from 1909 to 1912, playing 42 games and kicking 18 goals. Described as "the Beau Brummell
of League football", Flintoft played in the centre and was known for being "dapper on and off the field". Flintoft left Melbourne at the end of the 1912 season
and joined St Kilda for the 1913 season
. However, his time with St Kilda was unsuccessful, playing only one game in the lone season he was at the club. The 1913 season was Flintoft's last in the VFL.
er, playing Victorian Premier Cricket
, the top level of cricket in Victoria
, with the Melbourne Cricket Club
(MCC). He played for the MCC from 1909 to 1927, with a hiatus from 1915 to 1919, in order to serve in World War I.
, to serve in World War I
, on 2 August 1915. He began his service as a Second Lieutenant
in the 58th Battalion
, with which he would remain for the entirety of World War I, and embarked from Melbourne, Victoria on 16 December 1916, on the HMAT A7 Medic. The 58th Battalion was attached to the 5th Australian Division and saw action in Egypt
and on the Western Front
, fighting in France
and Belgium
. Flintoft fought in many of the deadliest battles of World War I, such as Fromelles
, Amiens and Mont St. Quentin
. Flintoft, however, remained unharmed throughout World War I, was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant
, and returned to Australia on 3 March 1919.
and took over from Joe Blair
as president of the club in 1947, serving in the position until 1949, when Albert Chadwick
took over the presidency. During his time as president, Melbourne won the 1948 premiership
. He was awarded life membership of the club in 1945. Flintoft was also on the Committee of the Melbourne Cricket Club
, from 1937 until his death on 3 May 1951. Flintoft was survived by his wife and two sons.
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...
player with the Melbourne Football Club
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....
and the St Kilda Football Club in 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). He played Victorian Premier Cricket
Victorian Premier Cricket
Victorian Premier Cricket is the elite club cricket competition in the state of Victoria, administered by Cricket Victoria. Each club fields four teams of adult players and usually play on weekends and public holidays. Matches are played on turf wickets under limited-time rules, with most results...
for the Melbourne Cricket Club
Melbourne Cricket Club
The Melbourne Cricket Club is a sporting club based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1838 and is regarded as the oldest sporting club in Australia....
. Flintoft also served in the First Australian Imperial Force
First Australian Imperial Force
The First Australian Imperial Force was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during World War I. It was formed from 15 August 1914, following Britain's declaration of war on Germany. Generally known at the time as the AIF, it is today referred to as the 1st AIF to distinguish from...
in 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...
. In later life Flintoft was Mayor of Prahran, on the Committee of the Melbourne Cricket Club, and on the Board of the Melbourne Football Club, serving as president of the latter for three years.
Early life
Flintoft was born in South Yarra, VictoriaSouth Yarra, Victoria
South Yarra is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area are the Cities of Stonnington and Melbourne...
, the son of Josiah James Walter Flintoft, a three-time mayor of Prahran, and Fanny (née Mitchell), in 1890. He was educated at Prahran College and he became a clerk.
Football
Flintoft was recruited from the South Yarra Football ClubSouth Yarra Football Club
South Yarra Football Club was an Australian rules football club formed in Melbourne circa 1864. The club is notable as it is one of the earliest Australian rules football clubs and formed part of the famous St Kilda Football Club, having merged in 1873 with St Kilda Cricketers.A team from South...
, at the age of 19, and made his VFL debut for the Melbourne Football Club in round 3 of the 1909 season
1909 VFL season
Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1909.-Premiership season:In 1909, the VFL competition consisted of ten 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...
. His career with Melbourne lasted from 1909 to 1912, playing 42 games and kicking 18 goals. Described as "the Beau Brummell
Beau Brummell
Beau Brummell, born as George Bryan Brummell , was the arbiter of men's fashion in Regency England and a friend of the Prince Regent, the future King George IV...
of League football", Flintoft played in the centre and was known for being "dapper on and off the field". Flintoft left Melbourne at the end of the 1912 season
1912 VFL season
Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1912.-Premiership season:In 1912, the VFL competition consisted of ten 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...
and joined St Kilda for the 1913 season
1913 VFL season
Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1913.-Premiership season:In 1913, the VFL competition consisted of ten 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...
. However, his time with St Kilda was unsuccessful, playing only one game in the lone season he was at the club. The 1913 season was Flintoft's last in the VFL.
Cricket
Flintoft was an accomplished cricketCricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er, playing Victorian Premier Cricket
Victorian Premier Cricket
Victorian Premier Cricket is the elite club cricket competition in the state of Victoria, administered by Cricket Victoria. Each club fields four teams of adult players and usually play on weekends and public holidays. Matches are played on turf wickets under limited-time rules, with most results...
, the top level of cricket in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, with the Melbourne Cricket Club
Melbourne Cricket Club
The Melbourne Cricket Club is a sporting club based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1838 and is regarded as the oldest sporting club in Australia....
(MCC). He played for the MCC from 1909 to 1927, with a hiatus from 1915 to 1919, in order to serve in World War I.
World War I
Flintoft enlisted in the First Australian Imperial ForceFirst Australian Imperial Force
The First Australian Imperial Force was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during World War I. It was formed from 15 August 1914, following Britain's declaration of war on Germany. Generally known at the time as the AIF, it is today referred to as the 1st AIF to distinguish from...
, to serve in 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...
, on 2 August 1915. He began his service as a Second Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
in the 58th Battalion
58th Battalion (Australia)
The 58th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was raised in 1916 for overseas service during World War I and saw action on the Western Front from June 1916 until the end of the war...
, with which he would remain for the entirety of World War I, and embarked from Melbourne, Victoria on 16 December 1916, on the HMAT A7 Medic. The 58th Battalion was attached to the 5th Australian Division and saw action in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
, fighting in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and 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...
. Flintoft fought in many of the deadliest battles of World War I, such as Fromelles
Battle of Fromelles
The Battle of Fromelles, sometimes known as the Action at Fromelles or the Battle of Fleurbaix , occurred in France between 19 July and 20 July 1916, during World War I...
, Amiens and Mont St. Quentin
Battle of Mont St. Quentin
The Battle of Mont Saint-Quentin was a battle on the Western Front during World War I. As part of the Allied counteroffensives on the Western Front in the late summer of 1918, the Australian Corps crossed the Somme River on the night of August 31, and broke the German lines at Mont Saint-Quentin...
. Flintoft, however, remained unharmed throughout World War I, was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant
Lieutenant
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...
, and returned to Australia on 3 March 1919.
Later life
Flintoft was Mayor of Prahran from 1934 to 1935. In 1934, Flintoft's wife gave birth to a son. He served on the Board of the Melbourne Football ClubMelbourne 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....
and took over from Joe Blair
Joe Blair
Joe C. Blair , known as J. C. Blair and JCB, was president of the Melbourne Football Club, treasurer of the Melbourne Cricket Club, vice-president of the Victorian Football League and deputy chairman of the Vacuum Oil Company.- Early life :Blair had an outstanding school sporting career and was...
as president of the club in 1947, serving in the position until 1949, when Albert Chadwick
Albert Chadwick
Sir Albert Edward "Bert" Chadwick was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League. He was born in Beechworth and educated at Tungamah High School....
took over the presidency. During his time as president, Melbourne won the 1948 premiership
1948 VFL Grand Final
The 1948 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Melbourne Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 2 October 1948. It was the 52nd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for...
. He was awarded life membership of the club in 1945. Flintoft was also on the Committee of the Melbourne Cricket Club
Melbourne Cricket Club
The Melbourne Cricket Club is a sporting club based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1838 and is regarded as the oldest sporting club in Australia....
, from 1937 until his death on 3 May 1951. Flintoft was survived by his wife and two sons.