Noel Ellis

Arthur Noel Ellis (9 July 1921 – 6 July 1942) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne in the Victorian Football League.

Noel Ellis
Personal information
Full name Arthur Noel Ellis
Date of birth (1921-07-09)9 July 1921
Date of death 6 July 1942(1942-07-06) (aged 20)
Place of death Queensland
Original team(s) Wesley College / Collegians
Height 175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight 82.5 kg (182 lb)
Position(s) 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

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, in St Kilda Road.[2]

Football

He 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 half way through the season [due to the war]" (Sporting Globe, 24 August 1940).[6]

His 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]

He 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 season (against Fitzroy,[10] and South Melbourne).

He was injured when playing for the Melbourne First XVIII against Carlton in the first round of the Patriotic Premiership (1941), at the M.C.G., on Saturday, 24 May 1940,[11] and did not play ever again.

Cricket

He played cricket at Wesley College;[12] and, also, for the 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
  1. Deaths: Ellis, The Argus, (Tuesday, 4 May 1948), p.2
  2. School Speech Nights: Wesley College, The Age, (Saturday, 16 December 1939), p.32.
  3. '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.
  4. Amateur Permits: Final Meeting, The Age, (Tuesday, 5 July 1938), p.15.
  5. The Amateurs, The Age, (Friday, 14 June 1940), p.4.
  6. The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 24 August 1940), p.3.
  7. Position of Schoolboy Boarders, The Argus, (Thursday, 27 June 1940), p.12.
  8. Around League Clubs, The Argus, (Friday, 28 June 1940), p.16.
  9. South Cricketer 19th Man for Melbourne: Noel Ellis a Sturdy Utility Player, The (Emerald Hill) Record, (Saturday, 24 August 1940), p.3.
  10. "Ellis, in his first game, showed promise": Fitzroy Fast, The Age, (Monday, 28 April 1941), p.10.
  11. V.F.L. Patriotic Premiership, The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 24 May 1941), p.3: at and .
  12. Old Boy, "Wesley College: Public Schools Champions", The Australasian, (Saturday, 8 April 1939), p.28.
  13. South Melbourne Cricketer-Airman Killed, The (Emerald Hill) Record, (Saturday, 11 July 1942), p.1.
  14. 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.
  15. Taylor, Percy, "Melbourne are Proud of their Great War Record", The Australasian, (Saturday, 24 June 1944), p.23.
  16. Victorians in Army Casualty List: Killed Accidentally, The Argus, (Wednesday, 4 November 1942), p.5.
  17. "Killing Charge Over Gun Fails". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane. 14 August 1942. p. 4. Retrieved 19 May 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  18. Deaths: On Active Service, The Argus, (Thursday, 9 July 1942), p.2; Deaths: On Active Service, The Argus, (Thursday, 9 July 1942), p.5.
  19. 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.
  20. World War II Nominal Roll; Henry, Mervyn Davis (VX101968).
  21. "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.
  22. In relation to the incident, and the subsequent inquest, (i) Henry's service record (see ) makes no mention of the incident; and (ii) Ellis's service record has not been digitized (see: ).
  23. Melbourne Confident, The Argus, (Tuesday, 14 July 1942), p.6.
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