Noel Ellis
| Noel Ellis | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Arthur Noel Ellis | ||
| Born | 9 July 1921 | ||
| Died |
6 July 1942 (aged 20) Queensland | ||
| Original team | Wesley College / Collegians | ||
| Height | 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Weight | 82.5 kg (182 lb) | ||
| Position | Half back flank | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1940–41 | Melbourne | 3 (0) | |
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1941. | |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Arthur Noel Ellis (9 July 1921 – 6 July 1942) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne in the Victorian Football League.
Family
The son of Cornelius Stanley Ellis (1894–1948)[1] and Amy Gertrude Ellis (1894–1982), née Christensen, Arthur Noel Ellis was born on 9 July 1921. He had two brothers: Paul and Graeme.
Education
He attended Wesley College on St Kilda Road.[2]
Football
Ellis played for Wesley College's First XVIII[3] and, at the same time, was playing for Collegians Football Club.[4][5]
In 1940, "Noel Ellis was outstanding at centre half-back with Collegians, in the Victorian Amateur Football Association, [who] transferred to the Demons when the amateurs suspended their competition halfway through the season [due to the war]" (Sporting Globe, 24 August 1940).[6]
Ellis's application for a permit to play with South Melbourne was refused by the VFL Permit Committee, on 26 June 1940 – on the precedent-setting grounds that, as a boarder at Wesley College, Wesley College (rather than his parents' residence at Red Cliffs, Victoria) was deemed to be his official place of residence – and, so, given the physical location of Wesley College (on the eastern side of St Kilda Road), Ellis was residentially bound to Melbourne. The VFL Permit Committee granted him a clearance from Old Collegians to Melbourne.[7]
Ellis participated in his first practice at Melbourne the following evening.[8] He was selected as 19th man in his first First XVIII match for Melbourne, against Hawthorn, on 24 August 1940 (round 17).[9] He also played for the First XVIII in the first two matches of the 1941 VFL season (against Fitzroy,[10] and South Melbourne).
Ellis was injured while playing for Melbourne against Carlton in the first round of the Patriotic Premiership (1941), at the M.C.G., on Saturday, 24 May 1941,[11] and did not play again.
Cricket
He played cricket at Wesley College[12] and South Melbourne Cricket Club.[13]
Military service
He enlisted in the Second AIF in October 1941 – V185010.[14][15]
Death
Only 20 years of age (three days before he turned 21), Ellis was accidentally shot and killed,[16] by a mishandled revolver, at a World War II military camp in Queensland.[17][18][19]
The soldier who fired the weapon, Lieutenant Mervyn David Henry (VX101968),[20] had been talking to Ellis in the mess tent when the incident occurred.[21][22]
The Melbourne First XVIII wore black armbands in their match against Carlton, on 11 July 1942, as a mark of respect for the memory of Ellis.[23]
See also
References
- ^ Deaths: Ellis, The Argus, (Tuesday, 4 May 1948), p.2
- ^ School Speech Nights: Wesley College The Age 16 December 1939 page 32
- ^ 'Old Boy's' Sporting Review: College Sports, The Australasian, (Saturday, 8 July 1939), p.19; 'Old Boy's' Sporting Review: College Sports, The Australasian, (Saturday, 5 August 1939), p.16.
- ^ Amateur Permits: Final Meeting, The Age, (Tuesday, 5 July 1938), p.15.
- ^ The Amateurs, The Age, (Friday, 14 June 1940), p.4.
- ^ The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 24 August 1940), p.3.
- ^ Position of Schoolboy Boarders, The Argus, (Thursday, 27 June 1940), p.12.
- ^ Around League Clubs, The Argus, (Friday, 28 June 1940), p.16.
- ^ South Cricketer 19th Man for Melbourne: Noel Ellis a Sturdy Utility Player, The (Emerald Hill) Record, (Saturday, 24 August 1940), p.3.
- ^ "Ellis, in his first game, showed promise": Fitzroy Fast, The Age, (Monday, 28 April 1941), p.10.
- ^ V.F.L. Patriotic Premiership, The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 24 May 1941), p.3: at [1] and [2].
- ^ Old Boy, "Wesley College: Public Schools Champions", The Australasian, (Saturday, 8 April 1939), p.28.
- ^ South Melbourne Cricketer-Airman Killed, The (Emerald Hill) Record, (Saturday, 11 July 1942), p.1.
- ^ Sportsmen Turn to War, And Footballers are Proud of a New Uniform, The Australasian, (Saturday, 22 August 1942), p.12; Taylor, Percy, "They Take Strike Against the Enemy: Cricketers are On Service Everywhere, The Australasian, (Saturday, 29 August 1942), p.12.
- ^ Taylor, Percy, "Melbourne are Proud of their Great War Record", The Australasian, (Saturday, 24 June 1944), p.23.
- ^ Victorians in Army Casualty List: Killed Accidentally, The Argus, (Wednesday, 4 November 1942), p.5.
- ^ "Killing Charge Over Gun Fails". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane. 14 August 1942. p. 4. Retrieved 19 May 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Deaths: On Active Service, The Argus, (Thursday, 9 July 1942), p.2; Deaths: On Active Service, The Argus, (Thursday, 9 July 1942), p.5.
- ^ Memorial Service for Late Noel Ellis, The (Emerald Hill) Record, (Saturday, 22 August 1942), p.1; Memorial Service for Deceased Athlete, The (Emerald Hill) Record, (Saturday, 29 August 1942), p.3.
- ^ World War II Nominal Roll; Henry, Mervyn Davis (VX101968).
- ^ "Manslaughter Charge". The Telegraph (City Final Last Minute News ed.). Brisbane. 13 August 1942. p. 2. Retrieved 19 May 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ In relation to the incident, and the subsequent inquest, (i) Henry's service record (see [3]) makes no mention of the incident; and (ii) Ellis's service record has not been digitized (see: [4]).
- ^ Melbourne Confident, The Argus, (Tuesday, 14 July 1942), p.6.