George Brock (footballer)

Halcombe George Brock (3 April 1919 — 2 August 1941) was an Australian rules football ruckman who played 24 senior games with Port Adelaide Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), and 4 senior games with the North Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He died as the result of an air collision during a RAAF training exercise on Saturday, 2 August 1941.

George Brock
Personal information
Full name Halcombe George Brock
Date of birth (1919-04-03)3 April 1919
Place of birth Casterton, Victoria
Date of death 2 August 1941(1941-08-02) (aged 22)
Place of death near the You Yangs, Victoria
Original team(s) Port Adelaide
Height 189 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 92 kg (203 lb)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1937, 1939–1940 Port Adelaide 24 (26)
1941 North Melbourne 4 (3)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1941.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Family

The son of Denzil William Brock,[1] and Maude Josephine Brock, née Koch,[2] of "Fairleigh", Merino, Western Victoria,[3] he was born on 3 April 1919.[4]

Footballer

Exeter Football Club

Recruited from the Exeter Football Club in the South Australian Amateur Football League (SAAFL), he played one senior game for Port Adelaide in 1937.[5]

He returned to Exeter for the 1938 season, winning selection in the SAAFL's State team for the Australian Amateur Football Carnival in Launceston.[6] In the match against New South Wales, Brock was the best on ground.[7]

Port Adelaide

He returned to Port Adelaide and played for them in the 1939 and 1940 seasons.[8]

North Melbourne

He sustained serious head injuries in a car crash, in Adelaide, on Saturday night, 26 September 1940 (the evening of the S.A. Grand Final between Sturt and South Adelaide)[9] — which explains the remarks made about Brock's first appearance for North Melbourne, against Hawthorn, on 5 July 1941: "Recently injured, [Brock] played with one side of his head plastered",[10] and "[Brock] was playing at a disadvantage through a recent head injury".[11]

Following his enlistment in the RAAF on 6 January 1941, and his subsequent relocation to the RAAF Flying Training School in Victoria,[12][13] Brock was granted a permit to play with North Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL) on Saturday morning, 5 July 1941.[14] He played in his first match for North Melbourne that afternoon; and then played on each of the next three Saturdays (i.e., 4 senior games in all).[15][16][17][18]

Death

He was killed in an aircraft accident near the You Yangs, on 2 August 1941, during a RAAF training exercise in World War II,[19] when two training aircraft, flying in formation, collided with one another.[20][21]

Brock had been chosen to play for North Melbourne against Richmond on Saturday 2 August 1941.[22] However, because he was unable to get leave from the RAAF,[23] he had to withdraw from the team at the last minute -- and he died on that very morning (when he would have, otherwise, already been on his way to the Arden Street Oval).

Coroner's inquest

At the coroner's inquest, conducted by Mr Tingate, P.M. on 19 August 1941, evidence was given that the conditions on the day were far from satisfactory -- very gusty and, as a consequence, there were many air pockets -- and that Brock was a passenger in one of three aircraft flying in a V formation.

At one stage of the training exercise, the trainee pilot (Maurice McGuire 401137)[24] of Brock's aircraft "signalled to the other pilots to change positions in the V formation, and the plane on the left of the V dropped underneath to take up a new position". Brock's plane hit an air pocket, the pilot (McGuire) "felt a bump, and his plane dropped on to the one beneath" — "[McGuire's] controls failed to respond, and the machine spun down out of control".[25]

The trainee pilot of the other aircraft (Colin Fallon 407785)[26] lost control of his craft immediately the planes collided; and both he and his passenger, John Distin Hill (407792),[27] successfully bailed out.[28] However, despite being instructed to bail out by the pilot McGuire (who successfully escaped the aircraft) his passenger Brock did not jump -- McGuire stated that "Brock must have felt the crash and known what happened, but still did not jump".[29]

Coroner's verdict

The coroner's finding was one of accidental death.[30]

Funeral

His funeral was held on Monday, 4 August 1941, at the Springvale Crematorium. His remains were cremated.

Tribute
"NORTH MELBOURNE — The team will wear black armbands [in their match against Carlton tomorrow] as a mark of respect to the memory of Leading Aircraftsman H.G. Brock, who was killed in an air accident last Saturday." -- The Age, 8 August 1941.[31]
"North and Carlton players stood in silence before the match for George Brock, ex-North player and South Australian airman, who was killed in an air collision last Saturday." -- The Sporting Globe, 9 August 1941.[32]
"In a brief and dignified ceremony before the [Grand Final between Norwood and Sturt on 4 October 1941], the big crowd stood in silence for a minute to honor [the eight] League players who have died on active service in the present war, The chairman of the League (Major E. Millhouse)[33] told spectators that … they were L.K. Rudd (Port Adelaide),[34] D. Waite (West Torrens),[35] D.L. Carlos (Glenelg),[36] H.G. Brock (Port Adelaide),[37] A. Exley (Glenelg),[38] H.R. Farrant (North Adelaide),[39] L. Leahy (Norwood),[40] and J. Wade (Port Adelaide).[41]" -- The Chronicle, 9 October 1941.[42]
gollark: Hey, it's something.
gollark: Ideally, we'll have a wonderful, slow to dislodge mass of crazy.
gollark: Breeding to AP.
gollark: Yep <@284397085959258112>.
gollark: Why Not.

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

Footnotes
  1. Familiar Figures: 23. Mr. Denzil W. Brock, Soldier of Fortune, The (Adelaide) News, Monday, 20 October 1930), p.4; Death of Mr. D.W. Brock, The (Adelaide) News, (Wednesday, 10 June 1936), p.7; Funeral Notices: Brock, The Advertiser, (Friday, 12 June 1936), p.7.
  2. Deaths: Brock, The (Adelaide) Chronicle, (Thursday, 3 April 1952), p.34.
  3. List of Valuations of the Shire of Glenelg for the Year ending 1918-19: South Riding, The Casterton News and the Merino and Sandford Record, (Monday, 25 November 1918), p.6.
  4. Births: Brock, The Argus, (Thursday, 10 April 1919), p.1.
  5. Colmer, R., "Effective System Gives Port Lead at Alberton", The (Adelaide) News, (Saturday, 4 September 1937), p.2.
  6. Amateurs Leave for Launceston, The (Adelaide) Advertiser, (Friday, 12 August 1938), p.18.
  7. S.A. Victory at Football Carnival, The (Adelaide) Advertiser, (Tuesday, 16 August 1938), p.12.
  8. Heard in the Clubrooms, The (Adelaide) News, (Thursday, 23 March 1939), p.21.
  9. Footballer Injured, The Advertiser, (Monday, 30 September 1940), p.15.
  10. Football Flashes from the Grounds, The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 5 July 1941), p.3.
  11. Western Australians Prominent, The Weekly Times, (Saturday, 12 July 1941), p.39.
  12. RAAF Nominal Roll: Halcombe George Brock (407779).
  13. More Sportsmen Rally to the Colors, The (Adelaide) News, (Tuesday, 21 January 1941), p.6.
  14. Taylor, P., "League Four Defined", The Argus, Monday, 7 July 1941), p.8.
  15. North's Big Recruit, The Age, (Friday, 4 July 1941), p.3.
  16. Taylor, Percy, "Football Changes: Interstate Stars Chosen", The Argus, (Friday, 4 July 1941), p.8.
  17. Men who play the game, The Sporting Globe, (Wednesday, 23 July 1941), p.10.
  18. The Teams, The Age, (Friday, 4 July 1941), p.3.
  19. S.A. Airman Killed in Crash, The (Adelaide) Mail, (Saturday, 2 August 1941), p.1.
  20. Planes Collide: S.A. Airman Killed: Three Others Parachute to Earth, The (Grafton) Daily Examiner, (Monday, 4 August 1941), p.3.
  21. Funeral of Airman, The Argus, (Tuesday, 5 August 1941), p.3.
  22. The Teams, The Age, (Friday, 1 August 1941), p.2.
  23. Footballer Dies in Air Crash, The Weekly Times, (Saturday, 9 August 1941), p.6.
  24. World War II Service Record: Sergeant Maurice McGuire (401137); Australian National Archives: Service Record: Maurice McGuire (401137); Australian National Archives: Service Record: Maurice McGuire (401137)..
  25. Plane in Air Pocket Fell on Another: S.A. Man Trapped, The (Adelaide) News, (Tuesday, 19 August 1941), p.3.
  26. World War II Service Record: Flight Sergeant Colin Fallon (407785); Australian National Archives: Service Record: Colin Fallon (407785); Australian National Archives: Service Record: Colin Fallon (407785);
  27. World War II Service Record: Flight Lieutenant John Distin Hill (407792);Australian National Archives: Service Record: John Distin Hill (407792).
  28. RAAF Planes Collide, The (Perth) Daily News, Saturday, 2 August 1941), p.1.
  29. The News, 19 August 1941, p.3.
  30. Accidental Death, The Age, (Wednesday, 20 August 1941), p.7.
  31. Rover Killed in Action, The Age, (Friday, 8 August 1941), p.5.
  32. Football Flashes from All Grounds, The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 9 August 1941), p.3.
  33. Death of Sir Eric Millhouse, The Age, (Monday, 27 February 1950), p.2; Many Tributes to Sir Eric Millhouse, The (Adelaide) Advertiser, Monday, 27 February 1950), p.3.
  34. Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour: Lieutenant Lloyd Kitchner Rudd (SX2923).
  35. Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour: Corporal Donald Godfrey Waite (SX6640).
  36. Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour: Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour: Don Lionel Carlos (28456).
  37. Australian War Memorial: Roll of Honour: Leading Aircraftman Halcombe George Brock (407779).
  38. Australian War Memorial: Roll of Honour: Private Albert Ira Exley (WX3798).
  39. Australian War Memorial: Roll of Honour: Lance Corporal: Henry Raymond Farrant (SX2224).
  40. Australian War Memorial: Roll of Honour: Private Leo Stanislaus Leahy (SX7545).
  41. Australian War Memorial: Roll of Honour: Private John Samuel Wade (VX8242).
  42. Norwood Wins, The (Adelaide) Chronicle, (Thursday, 9 October 1941), p.17.

References
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