Gus Young (footballer)

Leo "Gus" Young (18 May 1915 – 29 May 1941) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League. Rated as a top forward early in his career, Young was killed in action in World War II during the Battle of Crete.[3]

For the Australian boxer of the 1990s, see Leo Young (boxer).

Gus Young
The only known image of Gus Young, the paybook photo taken upon his enlistment.
Personal information
Full name Leo Young
Date of birth (1915-05-18)18 May 1915
Place of birth Heyfield, Victoria[1]
Date of death 29 May 1941(1941-05-29) (aged 26)[2]
Place of death HMS Hereward, off Cape Sideros, Crete
Original team(s) Maffra
Height 183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 78 kg (172 lb)
Position(s) Forward
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1939–40 Hawthorn 10 (5)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1940.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Military career and death

Young enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in August 1940, and became a bombardier in 3 Light Anti Aircraft Regiment RAA, Royal Australian Artillery. The unit was posted to Crete to protect RAF Heraklion from attack, and was involved in the German paratrooper attack that marked the beginning of the Battle of Crete. During the battle, Young was a member of a Bofors gun crew.

The battle quickly turned in the Germans' favor, as the Allies had problems with resupplying and communications. On 29 May, Young and his unit were evacuated from Crete on the destroyer HMS Hereward, but the ship was bombed twice by Stuka bombers, with the second bombardment sinking the ship. Most aboard were rescued by MAS torpedo boats and the Italian destroyer Crispi, but Young was among the 48 Australians killed. Originally presumed missing, his status was changed to "presumed dead" soon after. His body has not been recovered, and he is remembered on the Australian War Memorial.[4][5]


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

References
  1. "World War Two Nominal Roll". Government of Australia. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  2. "Roll of Honour: Leo Young". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  3. "ROLL OF HONOR OF THE AUSTRALIAN MILITARY FORCES". The Age (26, 880). Victoria, Australia. 12 June 1941. p. 10.
  4. "Lest we forget". hawthornfc.com.au. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  5. "KILLED - Bombardier Leo Young". The Gippsland Times (11, 220). J.J. Hart. 8 January 1942. p. 2. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  • Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing.
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