Derwas Cumming
Derwas Cumming | |||
---|---|---|---|
Personal information | |||
Full name | Derwas Goring Charles Cumming | ||
Date of birth | 29 September 1891 | ||
Place of birth | Millicent, South Australia | ||
Date of death | 3 May 1918 | (aged 26)||
Place of death | Villers-Bretonneux, France | ||
Original team(s) | Christian Brothers' College | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Playing career | |||
Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
1907–10; 1914 | Perth (WAFL) | 51 (?) | |
1911–12 | University (VFL) | 21 (34) | |
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com |
Derwas Goring Charles "Dave" Cumming MC (29 September 1891 – 3 May 1918) was an Australian rules footballer and soldier who was killed in the First World War.
Born in
Early life
Family
Cumming was born in Millicent, South Australia, on 29 September 1891, the second of five children born to Catherine Frances Henrietta (née Jones),[1] and Charles Walter Cumming.[2] Both his parents were of English origin.[3]
Cumming's uncle, Brigadier General Michael Derwas Goring-Jones,
Cumming's older brother, Redmond Harry Owen Cumming, had been taken as a prisoner of war in April 1917.[6][7] Unable to cope with his wartime experiences, he poisoned himself in March 1922,[8] two months before the birth of a daughter.[9]
Education
At a young age, his family returned to Perth, Western Australia (Charles Cumming's hometown). There, he attended the Christian Brothers' College on St Georges Terrace, serving as a prefect in 1909. According to The West Australian, Cumming was "one of the best known and most popular of the boys attending the secondary schools of Western Australia".[10]
At school, he excelled at both cricket and football, captaining the college's cricket team in 1909.[11] The following year, he was named Champion Athlete at the combined athletics carnival of the Public Schools Association,[12] after winning the 100-yard race, 220-yard race, the 440-yard race, the 120-yard hurdles, the high jump, and the long jump.[13]
Football career
Perth (WAFL)
While playing for the school football team, Cumming caught the eye of recruiters from the Perth Football Club in the West Australian Football League (WAFL), and subsequently made his debut against East Perth on 22 June 1907.[14]
Cumming did not play in Perth's grand final over East Fremantle in September 1907, in which they recorded their first premiership, but did play in the losing grand finals in 1908 and 1909.[15]
He was aged 15 years and 273 days on his debut, making him one of only four people confirmed to have played senior WAFL football before their sixteenth birthday, along with Stan Hussey, Anthony Forrest, and Stan Magro.[16] In 1941, when asked to rank Perth Football Club champion players over the preceding 30 years,
- "[club stalwart, Roy] White chose Derwas Cumming as Perth's best half-forward. He was a great footballer at Christian Brothers' College, and while still at school played for Perth. Even at that age he distinguished himself. Unfortunately, he was one who left the playing field for the battle field and was killed." Western Mail, Thursday, 7 August 1941.[17]
University (VFL)
After graduating from Christian Brothers' College in 1910, he left Western Australia to attend
He played a total of 21 games for the club,
Military career and death
Working for a time at Yalkin, his mother's farm at Doodlakine, Cumming enlisted in the Australian Army in September 1914.[23]
He left Australia on the transport ship Medic in November 1914 as a private in the 1st Divisional Ammunition Column, but transferred to the
Cumming was again promoted, to
In April 1918, Cumming received a Bar to the Military Cross, for "conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in command of a flank company". He had "repeatedly repulsed" the enemy, then "protected the left, bringing very heavy fire onto the enemy", fighting a "brilliant rear guard action until the battalion was established in fresh positions."[27]
Cumming died of wounds after the
Honours
See also
Footnotes
- ^ Thrilling Pioneering: Early Days in South-East: Chat with Mrs. Kate Cumming, The (Adelaide) Register, (Wednesday, 28 April 1926), p.12.
- ^ Derwas Goring Charles Cumming – GENi. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
- The Register, 28 April 1926. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
- ^ "[...] also May 1919, his uncle, Brigadier General Michael Derwas Goring Jones, C.M.G., D.S.O., the result of gas on the Somme." Family Notices – The West Australian. Published 5 May 1921. Retrieved 7 April 2012, from Trove.
- ^ Durham at War: Michael Derwas Goring-Jones (1866-1919).
- ^ World War I Service Records: Captain Redmond Harry Owen Cumming.
- ^ The Brave Pioneers: The Old Spirit Remains: Descendants in the War, The (Adelaide) Express and Telegraph, (Thursday, 11 June 1919), p.1.
- ^ See: Department of Repatriation Records: Captain Redmond Harry Owen Cumming.
- ^ Births: Cumming, The Western Mail, (Thursday, 25 May 1922), p.19.
- ^ "Captain Cumming was one of the best known and most popular of the boys attending the secondary schools of Western Australia. He was a good athlete, and a natural leader." DEATH OF CAPTAIN DERWAS CUMMING. – The West Australian. Published 21 May 1918. Retrieved 6 April 2012, from Trove.
- ^ "Mr. Derwas Cumming, the captain of the College Cricket Club, and one of the prefects of the school, on behalf of the teachers and students, then presented Lady Bedford with a handsome silver-mounted toilet case [...]" CHRISTIAN BROTHERS' COLLEGE. – The Western Mail. Published 10 April 1909. Retrieved 6 April 2012, from Trove.
- ^ "Christian Brothers' College were also represented by the most successful athlete in Cumming, who, it may be stated in passing, is a prominent League foot-baller." SECONDARY SCHOOLS' SPORTS – The Western Mail. Published 10 December 1910. Retrieved 6 April 2012, from Trove.
- ^ SECONDARY SCHOOLS' SPORTS – The West Australian. Published 27 October 1910. Retrieved 6 April 2012, from Trove.
- ^ "It was the first appearance of Cumming, who hails from the Christian Brothers' College [...]" EAST PERTH V. PERTH – The West Australian. Published 24 June 1907. Retrieved 6 April 2012, from Trove.
- ^ THE FINAL MATCH – The Daily News. Published 26 September 1908. Retrieved 7 April 2012, from Trove.
- ^ Greg Wardell-Johnson and Steve Davies. "Youngest WAFL footballers"
- ^ Ranking List: Perth Champions Recalled, The Western Mail, p.40.
- ^ Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing.
- ^ The University Team, The Leader, (Saturday, 4 May 1912), p.29.
- ^ Dave Cumming – AFLTables. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
- ^ University v Geelong, Sat, 2-Sep-1911 3:00 PM – AFL Tables. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
- ^ 1911 Player Stats: University – AFL Tables. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
- ^ Info 3f, Derwas Cumming – JCC Glass. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
- ^ A Letter from France, The Saturday Record, (Saturday, 2 September 1916), p.12.
- ^ Copy of Attestation Paper – National Archives. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
- ^ a b Derwas Goring Charles CUMMING Archived 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine – The AIF Project. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
- ^ "He saw much service at France, was wounded at Pozieres, gained the Military Cross at Messines, and the bar to the Cross at Albert, in April 1918." THE BRAVE PIONEERS – The Advertiser. Published 27 June 1919. Retrieved 7 April 2012, from Trove.
References
- Main, J. & Allen, D., "Cumming, Derwas", pp. 52–54 in Main, J. & Allen, D., Fallen – The Ultimate Heroes: Footballers Who Never Returned From War, Crown Content, (Melbourne), 2002.
- First World War Nominal Roll: Captain Derwas Goring Cumming, Australian War Memorial.
- Roll of Honour: Captain Derwas Goring Charles Cumming, Australian War Memorial.
- First World War Service Record: Derwas Goring Charles Cumming (3087, National Archives of Australia.
External links
- Derwas Cumming's playing statistics from AFL Tables
- Derwas Goring Charles Cumming on the Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour