Bill Stormont

William "Bill" Stormont (25 August 1898 – 4 June 1925) was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand. His parents were John Stormont (1 Aug 1863 – 23 September 1936), a pastry chef and baker, and Annie Stormont nee Brownlie (1871 – 7 Dec 1944).

William Stormont
Personal information
Full nameWilliam Devanney Stormont
Born25 August 1898 (1898-08-25)
Birmingham, England
Died4 June 1925 (1925-06-05) (aged 26)
Auckland
Playing information
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight11 st (154 lb; 70 kg)
PositionProp
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1920–1924 Marist 24 31 0 134
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1920–1924 Auckland 16 4 2 0 16
1920 New Zealand 3 0 0 0 0
Source: [1]

Playing career

Stormont played for Marist in the Auckland Rugby League competition. He represented Auckland and was first selected for the New Zealand national rugby league team in 1920. Stormont was the first member of the Marist club to be selected for the Kiwis.[2][3]

Military career

Stormont enlisted in the New Zealand Defence Force on 11 May 1917 aged 18 using a false birthdate (25/4/1897).[4] At the time, recruits were required to be 19 to be posted overseas. He travelled to France on 31 December 1917 but did not see action until June 1918.

Later Years and Death

He returned to play rugby league for Marist in 1920, later becoming the club captain. Stormont died from rheumatic heart disease on June 4, 1925 after a long battle with illness aged 26. The William Stormont Memorial Shield was presented to the Auckland Rugby League by the Stormont family. That same year, Ponsonby defeated City 35-3 to become the first holder of the Stormont Shield.[5]

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References
  1. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  2. Marist Memories 1919-1969 by Terrence Hyland
  3. STORMONT, William Devanney - 1920 nzleague.co.nz
  4. "Archway online service record"
  5. Coffey, John and Bernie Wood Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909-2009, 2009. ISBN 978-1-86969-366-4.
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