Billy Orchard
William Henry Orchard MC (9 August 1888 – 22 July 1965) was an Australian rules football player for the Geelong Football Club between 1906 and 1915. He served in the First AIF. He was awarded a Military Cross.
Billy Orchard | |||
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Personal information | |||
Full name | William Henry Orchard | ||
Date of birth | 9 August 1888 | ||
Place of birth | Geelong, Victoria | ||
Date of death | 22 July 1965 76) | (aged||
Place of death | Geelong, Victoria | ||
Original team(s) | Geelong Grammar | ||
Debut |
Round 16, 1906, Geelong vs. Carlton, at Corio Oval | ||
Height | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) | ||
Weight | 76 kg (168 lb) | ||
Playing career1 | |||
Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
1906, 1908–1915 | Geelong | 112 (67) | |
Coaching career | |||
Years | Club | Games (W–L–D) | |
1914 | Geelong | 18 (11–6–1) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1915. | |||
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com |
Family
The son of Edwin Orchard (1863-1927)[1] and Ruth Orchard (1866-1938), née Mallett,[2] he was born on 9 August 1888. He married Henrietta Jessie Galbraith (1895-1966) on 21 July 1915;[3] they had three children, William, Douglas, and June.
Football
He captained the club for two seasons in 1914 and 1915. He was also playing coach in 1914.[4]
He played for the (winning) Third Australian Divisional team in the famous "Pioneer Exhibition Game" of Australian Rules football, held in London, in October 1916.[5] A news film was taken at the match.[6][7]
He was a field umpire in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1920s.
Cricket
Orchard was an outstanding cricketer taking 264 wickets at 12.6 between 1903–1936 in the Geelong Cricket Association.
Military career
In 1918 at Ypres he was awarded the Military Cross for "the efficient manner in which he (Captain Orchard) carried out his task of reorganisation and his cheerfulness under depressing circumstances that earned for him the Military Cross." [8]
See also
- "Pioneer Exhibition Game" in London (1916)
Footnotes
- Deaths: Orchard, The Geelong Advertiser, (Saturday, 10 December 1927), p2.
- Deaths: Orchard, The Age, (Monday, 14 November 1938), p.1.
- Social Gossip, The (Ballarat) Evening Echo, (Saturday, 24 July 1915), p.3.
- Geelong Football Club Honour Roll Archived 16 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- The Game of their Lives; Nick Richardson, Pan Macmillan, Sydney, 2016.
- The original newsreel: Australian Football (Pathé Newsreel, 1916) on YouTube
- The 2019 remastered and colourised version of the original newsreel: Australian Football (Pathé Newsreel, 1916), remastered and colourised version (2019) on YouTube
- The Story and Official History of the 38th Battalion A.I.F.; Eric Fairey : The Bendigo Advertiser Pty Ltd and the Cambridge Press; Bendigo, Vic. 1920
References
- Pioneer Exhibition Game Australian Football: in aid of British and French Red Cross Societies: 3rd Australian Division v. Australian Training Units at Queen's Club, West Kensington, on Saturday, October 28th, 1916, at 3pm, Wightman & Co., (London), 1919.
- World War I Service Record: Captain William Henry Orchard, National Archives of Australia.
- Photograph: Captain William Henry Orchard, M.C., collection of the Australian War Memorial.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Billy Orchard. |