Soccer anzac features

 Soccer Anzacs published pieces

The strange case of Thomas Witham and Whitmore Pink

A gentleman of the game

The Lowe brothers from St Kilda

The Irymple nine

The last Dockerty Cup before the Great War

Peter Coppock + Coppock match report

Western Sydney

Bull Jennings

Joseph Bilbie

Newcastle Soldiers at Play

This is a tremendous article that relays a letter from Peter Coppock, the Australian soldier and Merewether Advance footballer who participated in a game between the 34th Battalion from Maitland and a team of English soldiers (Tommies). It speaks to the importance of soccer to this group of Australian soldiers and their qualities as players. It's also just one of the scores of examples of Australian soldiers using soccer as means of relaxation and morale building. The letter reveals Coppock's good humour and also to some extent his modesty (downplaying his achievements). 

Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate, 4 February 1918, page 3

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FOOTBALL. B.A. RULES. SOLDIERS AT PLAY. 

Mr. W. B. Tamlyn, secretary to the Northern Association, has received a long and interesting letter from Peter Coppock, the ex-Merewether and inter-State half back. Peter comments on Soccer matters in general, and says either Wallsend or Weston Alblons would win the competition. He was a good Judge, as these two teams met in the final, Wallsend, it will be remembered, winning 2 goals to nil. The versatile Peter states that he selected a team to play some R.F.A. Tommies. He had a job to get a team, but succeeded, and the following is an account of the game, which was played just behind the lines: The 34th Battalion (or Coppock's team) won the toss, gaining no advantage neither sun nor wind being in evidence. The Tommies Immediately attacked, but Taylor surprised them and put the ball well down the field to Bates. The winger got across a beautiful centre, but the forwards were too slow, and the Tommies' backs cleared the danger. Jones, however, banged the ball back, and it was sent just over the bar. The next few seconds found the Tommies' centre forward making towards the 34th goal. He tricked Lovett, the ex-Teralba boy, and closing in beat goaly Sneddon, and so the Tommies led one to nil. This reverse stirred the 34th up, and they hotly attacked. A lot of bustling took place near the Tommies' goal, and Messenger had bad luck with a quick shot, which hit the post and bounced out again to Jones, who, closing quickly in, put through, thus making the scores one all. Excitement was very high, the supporters of the 34th making themselves heard, and shouting out all sorts of odds on the 34th, but the Tommies indulged in some splendid passing bouts, and for a time had the 34th tied up, but Sneddon in goal could not be beaten, and the interval score was one goal each. 

Starting the second half, the colonials made for the Tommies' goal, and things were very willing. The Tommies' goaly was in good form, and always appeared to be in the right spot. James put in a good shot, but this was sent well up the field. Lovett and Taylor were defending well, and sent the ball back. The Tommies' right back jumped up to head the greasy ball, which glanced off his head to Harris, who put out to Bates, whose good centre made matters very exciting. The general mix-up in the Tommies' goal area caused a great deal of laughter. On one occasion there were three players on top of the ball, and the Tommies' full back put it out with his hand, but the referee did not see the offence, and the 34th claims for a penalty were ignored. The ball was eventually sent clear, but Jones put in a hot shot; which hit and broke the upright. The game was delayed for a few minutes until the wounded post was repaired. Resuming, the Tommies made for the 34th goal, and from a suspicious looking offside position their inside scored their second goal. Referee "'Buggie" White's decision for a goal caused him to be strifed by the 34th supporters. The colonials were not yet beaten, and made desperate attempts to draw level, but luck and the Tommies' good goalkeeper kept them out. The last few minutes of the game were all in the 34th favour, but no further score took place, and the Tommies had won a hard fought game by 2 to 1. The 34th, though beaten, were not disgraced. The Tommies' team have not been defeated, and the hard game played was a great surprise to all who saw it. Peter says it reminded him of the games 'twixt Merewether and West Wallsend, Cessnock and Weston. 

The 34th team was: A. Sneddon (Cessnock), goal; E. L .Taylor (Cessnock), H. Lovett (Teralba), backs; F. W. James (West Wallsend), W. Jones (Adamstown), P. G. Coppock (Merewether), half-backs; T. Pease (Adamstown), R, A. Bates (Minmi), J. Brady, E. Messenger, and Harris, forwards. "Buggie" White was selected to play, but arrived late, and so was persuaded to act as referee, and did his work, so Coppock says, well. A. White, the ex-Adamstown player, was selected, but did not play. The colonials' colours were blue and gold.

The above should be very interesting, practically all the 34th team being Newcastle Soccerites. Peter concludes his letter by saying he is quite well, and sends good wishes to all his Soccer friends. He also adds a P.S. to say he had been awarded the Military Medal for doing his duty in the battlefield. All join in congratulating this Soccer soldier on the honour conferred on him. Though Peter says it was for doing his duty, yet it is good to know he could do it so well as to merit the honour he received. He also signs himself lance-corporal, but does not say when he received that rank. Coppock is not the first Newcastle Soccerite to win the M.M. Steine, the ex-Wallsend player, recieved the award some months ago.

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Hetherington Vol 1 Page 263 reports the following improved performance from a team of solely Newcastle region players

Dispatch From The Front. 

During the season, a special dispatch from France brought the news that the 34th Battalion of Newcastle had beaten an English Army Unit 3x2. For the record the Newcastle team was Sneddon (Cessnock), Lovett (Teralba), Taylor (Cessnock), Jones (West Wallsend), White (Adamstown), Peter Coppock (Merewether), Gaul (Cessnock), Slavin (West Wallsend), Colquhoun (Cessnock ), Bates (Minmi), Bilbie (West Wallsend) 

As a tragic footnote to the story, Coppock survived the rigours of the war only to be struck and killed by lightning in 1922 at The Homestead, Weston's home ground. The following is from Hetherington Vol 1 Page 313.

HOMESTEAD TRAGEDY

In September this year, while a number of players and spectators were sheltering in the iron dressing shed at The Homestead, it was struck by lightning. The bolt killed player Peter Coppock, one of the finest half backs to play the game. Also killed was a fine young fellow, Gordon Hadfield, who had just turned 15 years of age. Several other people received shocks with three of them requiring hospitalisation. 

 

Welcome

There be of them, that have left a name behind them, that their praises might be reported. And some there be, which have no memorial; who are perished, as though they had never been; and are become as though they had never been born; and their children after them. Bible, King James Version Ecclesiasticus, 44 Verses 8-9

This is very much a work-in-progress of what will be a complex and thorough site of information. The ultimate goal is to create a database noting every senior soccer player in Australia who enlisted in the Australian Armed Forces. This site will also record those who lost their lives in the process of fighting.

A massive difference exists between what a culture does and the way the culture remembers its actions. We behave in particular ways but when we come to discuss such things the story shifts drastically; whether that be in the media we consume, the movies we produce or the books we write.

So it is with soccer. I’ve been researching Australian soccer for over 15 years now and I'm staggered that historic facts about Australia's most played football code tend to vanish into thin air. Of the many questions I hit upon in the early part of my research a particular question stood out: why is soccer so absent in discussions that weave ANZAC and sport together? Whether it be the contemporary sporting celebrations around the day or the historic stories that are told, soccer is missing.

Using the wonderful resource of the Trove website (funded by the federal government) which is a storehouse of Australia’s archival records, especially our newspapers, I found that the current position of soccer in our national discussion didn’t quite sit with what I was finding in the digital record, 100 years ago.

My research revealed some astounding information. 

1. Enormous numbers of soccer players enlisted in the Armed Forces in World War I. 
2. A staggering number of deaths of these players were suffered, usually in action but often as a result of injuries. 
3. I found the game played by Armed Forces personnel across the theatres of war. 
4. And soccer has a surprisingly central place in Australia’s war effort. 

None of these seem to be common knowledge. Indeed they remain obscure historical points.

We need to build on the research we have conducted so far. Substantial work has been done already. 

Firstly I and Athas Zafiris have constructed two sizable databases of Newcastle and Victorian soccer enlistments and deaths. The figures are astounding, yet remain incomplete. 

A second point is that research has alerted us to a number of missing artefacts and memorials to do with soccer participation in the Armed Forces. One of the great sadnesses for me is the disappearance of the Merewether Advance roll of honour which included 76 names of Merewether players who had enlisted in the Newcastle battalions. (It's not the only missing Roll). The second powerful artefact is what was termed the soccer ashes, constructed out of materials that had spent time at Gallipoli and was intended to represent footballing superiority in ,soccer est matches between Australia and New Zealand. The trophy went missing after 1954 and has not been seen since stop finding this object has become something of a grail for researchers.

More research needs to be done:

1. Completing the databases
2. Understanding the fate of the various artifacts.

This site will gather the threads of this material and provide a resource for myself and others working on the topic of Soccer ANZACs.