Frank Cheadle
Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 12 May 1916 Armentières, France | (aged 30)|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] |
Frank Cheadle (7 November 1885 – 12 May 1916) was an Australian pioneering
Early life
Born in
Rugby league career
Cheadle played in the inaugural series of matches between
Cheadle was awarded Life Membership of the New South Wales Rugby League in 1914.[7]
War service
Cheadle joined the AIF on 4 January 1915 enlisting as a Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant and left Sydney on board HMAT A32 Themistocles on 12 May 1915 as a member the 17th Battalion, 5th Brigade, 2nd Division.
His battalion arrived at Gallipoli in August 1915 to relieve the 1st Division who had been there since April. Cheadle was transferred to the 18th Battalion and promoted to Lieutenant on 1 October 1915. He was evacuated with the 18th Battalion in the December winter, regrouped in Egypt and reached France in March 1916 seeing front line action in the trenches near Armentières.
Cheadle was shot through the head shortly after his battalion moved into the trenches and he died of wounds on 12 May in the 7th Australian Field Ambulance. Charles Bean, the Australian war historian, wrote that "Lieutenant Cheadle of the 18th Battalion, when boldly scouting with the moon nearing the full, was seen by the enemy, fired on and fatally wounded as the patrol withdrew over the parapet". He is buried in the Erquinghem-Lys Churchyard, 1.2 km west of Armentières.[8]
References
Bibliography
- Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players, Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney
- Heads, Ian and Middleton, David (2008) A Centenary of Rugby League, MacMillan Sydney
- Williams, Terry (2008) "Through Blue Eyes – A Photographic History of Newtown RLFC", Newtown RLFC
Footnotes
- ^ Rugby League Project
- ^ Heads/Middleton p22
- ^ "LEAGUE RULES", Evening Post, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 59, 6 September 1913, p. 14
- ^ Middleton, David (24 April 2010). "Footy stars taken on battlefield". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
- ^ "ROLL OF HONOUR" (PDF). dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
- ^ ARL Annual statement 2005, p. 52
- ^ Referee, Sydney- Life Members of the NSW Rugby League- 13 May 1914. (page 12)
- ^ Rugby League Anzacs Archived 6 July 2007 at archive.today, rl1908.com