Carlton v Adelaide Sat April 26
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen,
Shortly we’ll watch 44 young men from Carlton and Adelaide do battle in a friendly game of Australian rules football.
We’ll do so on a weekend when we remember the tens of thousands of brave young men who gave their lives in the horrific battles of war.
For those who lost loved ones in war, the ANZAC Day weekend is a particularly heart-rending time.
We at Carlton are not untouched.
13 of our former players have fallen in battle. Each one was cut down in their prime through the course of two world wars.
But only this week we learned of another Carlton “cobber” whose young life was brought to an awful end on the battlefields of north-western France almost 90 years ago.
His name was William Martin Rogers – or “Willie” as he was endearingly known to his family and friends.
Willie Rogers was raised in Woolamai by the shores of Westernport Bay.
He was the second of six children. And he was only 15 years-old when his timber cutting father was hit and killed by a falling tree.
Although this family tragedy forced Willie and his older brother to shoulder much of the load, they still turned out for the neighbouring Wonthaggi football team when time permitted.
Willie showed real prowess at the game.
He moved to the big smoke, had a run with Carlton district and later joined Carlton seniors.
Willie made his senior debut for the Blues against Geelong on the King’s Birthday weekend of 1913.
It was the first of only three senior appearances.
But Willie was proud of the Carlton monogram he wore like a badge on his broad chest.
In 1916, despite the protests of his older brother, Willie enlisted for wartime duties.
He was 22 years old – the average age of today’s Carlton players who will shortly take to the field.
Willie’s exemplarary war service meant he was steadily promoted through the ranks.
He was made a lance corporal at the same time he was first wounded - in October 1917 - when he was hit in the foot by a shell splinter.
Willie was to have been repatriated. But he recovered enough to return to the battlefield before a ship could ferry him home.
He was later promoted to corporal, and then acting sergeant. But he wouldn’t see out the end of the war.
On September 21, 1918, just outside of Rouen, Willie was critically wounded by automatic gunfire.
He died in a field hospital the following day. They buried him in a cemetery not far from the river seine.
Willie’s personal belongings – which included a metal watch, a horseshoe and prayer book – were later returned to his heartbroken mother.
It’s almost 90 years since Willie’s untimely death. But remarkably his story has only recently become known at Carlton.
This was because he’d been incorrectly listed in club records as William “H” Rogers rather than William “M” Rogers.
As a result his name did not correspond with the records of any of Australia’s war dead.
Willie wore the no.28 for Carlton in those three games back in 1913.
Today, some 95 years later - our no.28, Cameron Cloke will wear a black armband as a mark of respect.
He will do so in the presence of Willie Rogers’ niece, Mrs Erin Forbes, who’s with us here today.
Erin, we’re all indebted to your uncle and men like him.
He was one of the great fallen who gave their lives so that we can enjoy the freedoms we now have.
Ladies and gentlmen, the guns fell silent over France long ago.
But Willie Rogers, his Carlton “cobbers”, and all those who gave their lives for king and country, will long be remembered.
Lest we forget....
Thankyou for listening and please enjoy the game.
