Lidcombe Methodists

Lidcombe Methodists

A similar story can be found in relation to another Western Sydney club in the Second World War. The Lidcombe Methodists also provided a good number of soldiers, three of whom did not return.The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocateof 31 July 1940 contained the following report:

FIVE, FROM ONETEAM IN A.I.F.

Protestant Churches Soccer

The inevitable has happened.Lidcombe Methodist team has beenforced to draw out of the first gradecompetition owing to five of itsmembers joining the A.I.F.Regrettable as it may seem, there isthe consolation to its leaders thatits eligible members have respondedto the call of Empire.(p 4)

Little was the writer to know that many more from the club would enlist over the next few years. InOctober 1941The Cumberland Argustold the story of how seven of these schoolfriends and teammates "together since kindergarten" joined up as a group. The important things to note again are how local and embedded these young men are in their communities, how ordinary their jobs were, and how 'typical' they seem.

Together since their kindergartendays, these seven Auburn soldiers areall serving overseas with the A.I.F.Mrs. Haggett, of Simpson-street,Auburn, told their story this week;She is the mother of Gunner Haggett."These boys grew up together andlooked upon my house as their own,"she said. "They all went to AuburnNorthSchool together and played withthe Lidcombe Methodist Soccer Club."

"'Bunny' left with the first A.I.F.contingent, and the others resolved tofollow him, which they did."All the boys but mine have methim, but my boy wanted to see him, perhapsmost of all. Once in the.MiddleEast, he missed him by a few hours:"Private Burrows has been throughevery A.I.F. campaign, and was lastheard of in Palestine.Gunner Viquerat and Gunner Haggettwent to Syria, but their presentwhereabouts is unknown. DriverManks is in Malaya, and Private Bowen,Driver Klein, and Gunner Froudare in Syria.Before enlisting, Private Burrows wasemployed by the Australian Gas LightCompany, Gunner Viquerat was adriver for Schweppes, Gunner Haggettwas an upholsterer, Driver Manks wasa plumber, Driver Klein worked at theAustralian General Electric Company;Gunner, Froud was at the AdvanxTyre and Rubber Company, and PrivateBowen was employed on the railways.
"All 'the lads write to me regularly,and now they're looking forward to theday when they stage their big re-union,"said Mrs. Haggett. "But there'll be abigger, re-union when they get back toAussie," she added, Wistfully.

A member of the Auburn Red Cross,Mrs. Haggett also belongs to the AuburnWomen's Voluntary Services.

The mothers of the other boys belongto the W.V.S.

In July 17 1946The Cumberland Arguscontained a follow up piece which told that ultimately 16 players from the club served and three of them (Manks, Moss and Thomas) did not return. Nonetheless the players fulfilled a vow they made to each other to reform the team (as theAuburn DistrictSoccer football club)and play again. No doubt some thoughts for their fallen teammates were part of the process of renewal.

The Pledge HasBeen Fulfilled

When 16 members of theLidcombe North MethodistSoccer Club joined the A.I.F.in a body in 1940, theyvowed that all who returnedwould again team-uptogether.

Today, the pledge hasbeen fulfilled, and the formercomrades on the field of battleare together again on theSoccer field.All but three returned.They were Driver "Joey" Manks(21) who died in Borneo in 1945;Allan Moss, R.A.A.F., killed in, Australia;and Driver Arthur Thomas,killed in Borneo.

Those who returned are nowassembled in the Auburn DistrictSoccer football club.Playing first-grade metropolitanleague, until recently they were theleading team. They are only threepoints down now.One of the players said to-day:

"NOT QUITE AS GOOD"

"We're not quite as good as wewere-after:all, six years away fromthe game does mean something."But we've never been defeated bymore than two goals," he added.He spoke highly of club presidentPerce Bunyan, who, he said, had"rounded up the players, helpedfinance the club, and got it goingagain."

"Only for him we would not bewhere we are to-day. All the boysappreciate his work," he added.Other club stalwarts are vice-presidentRowe Denny (First A.I.F.), andsecretary Tom Haggett.

Again the beauty of this story lies in its ordinariness: everyday, predominantly working-class Australian men thrust into war and whatever misery, heroism and solidarity they might have encountered in their time in the armed forces. Among the nourishing memories of family, school and friendship they each had soccer as a game that united them, sustained them and gave them something they could return to and ritualise if they were fortunate enough to return physically in one piece.
Soccer was there before they left and it was in place when they returned. And it is still there today at one of its not infrequent peaks in a 130 year-old history of being a vital sporting mainstay of Western Sydney.

Posted byIan Syson