Alex Nash

James Alexander Nash DFM (10 January 1923 – 28 March 1944) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

Alex Nash
Personal information
Full name James Alexander Nash
Date of birth (1923-01-10)10 January 1923
Place of birth Carlton, Victoria
Date of death 28 March 1944(1944-03-28) (aged 21)
Place of death Solomon Sea, off Bougainville Island, New Guinea
Original team(s) Hawthorn Colts
Position(s) Half back
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1942 Hawthorn 1 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1942.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Family

The son of Stanley Nash, and Myra Lucille Nash, née McIntosh, James Alexander Nash was born at Carlton, Victoria on 10 January 1923.[1]

Football

His only VFL game, which was against Collingwood, was while he was on leave from Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) duties.

Military service

A notable pilot, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal for his efforts during the Second World War; the award was presented to his mother by William McKell, the Governor-General of Australia, at Government House, Melbourne, on 20 October 1947.[2][3][4][5]

Death

He was killed in action off Bougainville, on 28 March 1944, when the bomber he was flying crashed into the sea in poor conditions and failing light while making a steep turn on his return to base after a strafing raid.[6][7]

His body was never recovered. He is commemorated at the Rabaul War Cemetery.[8]

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See also
  • List of Victorian Football League players who died in active service

Footnotes
  1. Service Record.
  2. "No. 36401". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 February 1944. p. 1010.
  3. Radio Man Saved Five Lives, The Newcastle Sun, (Saturday, 4 March 1944), p.4.
  4. Honours and Awards (Recommendation): Flight Sergeant James Alexander Nash (410368), Collection of the Australian War Memorial.
  5. Mr. McKell Presents War Honours, The Argus, (Tuesday, 21 October 1947), p.6.
  6. RAAF documents.
  7. In Memoriam: On Service: Wade, The West Australian, (Thursday, 28 March 1946), p.1.
  8. Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

References
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